How to Use Sublimation Paper: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

What Sublimation Paper Actually Does

Sublimation paper is not ordinary printing paper. It is a specially coated carrier sheet designed to hold sublimation ink after printing and then release that ink as a gas when heat and pressure are applied. The ink bypasses a liquid phase entirely — it goes directly from solid to gas, which is where the term "sublimation" comes from. This gas penetrates the surface of polyester fabrics or polymer-coated hard substrates and bonds permanently at the molecular level.

The practical implication is important: sublimation paper is a transfer medium, not a printing surface. The quality of your finished print depends heavily on how well the paper holds the ink before transfer and how efficiently it releases it under heat. A poorly coated sheet will bleed, ghost, or leave ink behind — wasting both ink and substrate.

Understanding this helps explain why paper selection matters as much as printer calibration or press temperature. We manufacture sublimation transfer paper across multiple grades — from ECO economy rolls to super-speed industrial formats — because different production environments have genuinely different requirements.

Equipment and Materials You Need Before You Start

Before printing a single sheet, confirm you have the right setup. Using incorrect equipment is the single most common reason for failed sublimation transfers.

Printer Requirements

You need a printer loaded with sublimation-specific dye-sublimation ink — not standard dye or pigment ink. Most users work with converted Epson EcoTank or Sawgrass printers, while high-volume industrial operations use dedicated wide-format sublimation printers running at speeds that can exceed 100 m²/hour. Standard inkjet ink will not sublimate; it will simply sit on the substrate surface and wash or peel off.

Heat Press Requirements

A heat press — not a household iron — is required. Irons cannot maintain consistent temperature across the full print area, which creates uneven transfers with visible hot and cold spots. A flat platen press is standard for shirts and hard substrates. A mug press is used for cylindrical items. For items with irregular surfaces or significant stretch, a draw press or convection oven system may be appropriate.

Substrate Requirements

Sublimation only works on polyester content of at least 65% for fabric applications. For hard substrates — mugs, aluminum panels, phone cases, ceramic tiles — the item must have a polymer coating. Uncoated natural fibers like 100% cotton will not hold the dye. Many suppliers sell "sublimation-ready" blanks that meet this requirement.

Step-by-Step: How to Use Sublimation Paper

1. Set up your design file. Work in RGB color mode, not CMYK. Sublimation inks are formulated for RGB workflows, and converting to CMYK before printing will dull your colors. Set your document resolution to at least 150 DPI for large-format prints; 300 DPI for detailed small-format work.
2. Mirror your image before printing. Because the paper is placed face-down onto the substrate during transfer, you must flip the image horizontally before printing. Skipping this step produces a mirrored final result — a mistake that is irreversible once the transfer is complete.
3. Configure your printer settings. Select the correct paper type in your driver — typically "matte" or a dedicated sublimation profile if available. Set ink saturation according to the paper's capacity. Overloading a sheet causes ink bleeding; underloading produces faded colors.
4. Load the paper with the coated side facing the print heads. The coated side is typically brighter white or slightly glossy compared to the back. Printing on the wrong side results in ink that sits on an uncoated surface and will not transfer correctly.
5. Allow the print to dry fully before transferring. Even with fast-drying papers, give the sheet at least 30–60 seconds after printing before handling. High-speed industrial papers with superior ink absorption dry almost instantly; slower papers require more time. Touching a wet print smears the ink.
6. Pre-press your substrate for 3–5 seconds. This removes moisture and wrinkles from fabrics, which significantly improves ink absorption and prevents ghosting. It also brings the substrate to a more uniform starting temperature.
7. Position the paper face-down on the substrate and secure it. Use heat-resistant tape to keep the paper from shifting. Even a 1–2 mm shift during pressing causes ghosting — a blurred double image that ruins the print. For stretchy fabrics, tacky sublimation paper eliminates the need for tape by adhering temporarily to the substrate surface.
8. Apply heat and pressure according to substrate specifications. See the recommended settings table below. Press times and temperatures vary meaningfully between substrates — a setting correct for a polyester shirt will scorch a thin phone case coating.
9. Peel the paper while following the manufacturer's peel instruction. Some applications call for hot peeling immediately after pressing; others require the substrate to cool first. Peeling at the wrong temperature can lift ink from the substrate or leave residue.
10. Allow the finished piece to cool completely before handling. The dye continues to off-gas slightly as the substrate cools. Stacking finished pieces while still warm can cause dye transfer between items.

Choosing the Right Type of Sublimation Paper for Your Application

Not all sublimation paper is interchangeable. The coating formulation, weight, and drying speed determine which paper performs best in a given scenario. Choosing the wrong grade is a frequent source of production problems that operators mistakenly attribute to their printer or press.

Standard vs. High-Speed vs. Super-Speed

Standard sublimation paper suits low-to-medium volume desktop printers. High-speed paper is engineered to dry quickly enough for industrial printers running at elevated head-pass speeds, maintaining ink dot integrity at higher throughput. Super-speed paper — our fastest grade — is designed for printers pushing beyond 80–100 m²/hour, where ordinary paper becomes a bottleneck due to ink pooling and smearing before the sheet exits the print zone.

Matching paper speed to printer speed is one of the most impactful cost-saving decisions in industrial sublimation production. Using a standard paper in a high-speed press environment typically means running the printer at reduced speed — effectively cutting output in half to compensate for a paper limitation.

Tacky/Sticky Paper for Stretch Fabrics

Sportswear, swimwear, and activewear fabrics stretch during the transfer process due to heat. Standard paper shifts as the fabric relaxes under the press, causing ghosting. Tacky sublimation paper has a heat-activated adhesive coating on the print side that bonds lightly to the fabric during pressing, preventing movement. This is essentially mandatory for high-polyester stretch garments.

Sheet vs. Roll Format

Desktop users printing onto mugs, phone cases, or small rigid items typically use A4 or A3 cut sheets. Roll formats — ranging from 0.62 m to 3.2 m wide — are used in continuous wide-format printing for fabric, flags, and banner production. Using cut sheets in a roll-fed machine, or vice versa, creates feed errors and wasted media.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

Most sublimation failures fall into a small number of predictable categories. Here are the most frequent issues and their root causes:

Ghosting (Blurry Double Image)

Ghosting is caused by paper movement during or after pressing. Even a 1 mm shift is enough to produce a visible ghost. Solutions include: securing the paper with heat tape, switching to tacky paper for stretch substrates, using a pressing pillow that stabilizes the substrate, or reducing pressure if the platen is pushing the paper sideways as it closes.

Faded or Washed-Out Colors

Fading is usually caused by insufficient temperature, too-short press time, or a substrate with low polyester content. Check your press thermometer with an external calibration thermometer — many consumer presses read 10–20°C lower than actual platen temperature. Also verify that your ink profile and paper ICC profile match your printer's output.

Ink Bleeding or Fuzzy Edges

Bleeding happens when the paper cannot absorb ink fast enough, causing dots to spread laterally into adjacent areas. This is a paper capacity issue. Reduce ink saturation in your printer settings, slow down print speed, or upgrade to a paper with higher ink absorption capacity. It can also result from printing on the wrong (uncoated) side of the paper.

Paper Curling After Printing

Sublimation paper naturally curls toward the printed side as it absorbs ink and then dries. Severe curling makes alignment on the substrate difficult and can cause air pockets under the press. Anti-curl formulations in the paper's base and coating help minimize this. Store paper flat in its original packaging at 40–60% relative humidity to reduce pre-press curl caused by moisture imbalance.

Uneven Color Density Across the Sheet

If color density varies from edge to edge or corner to corner, the problem is usually uneven press pressure. Test your press with pressure paper or a consistent solid-color print and look for density variation patterns. Also check that your platen is level and that the substrate is placed consistently within the press area.

Storage and Handling to Preserve Print Quality

Sublimation paper is sensitive to its environment. Improper storage degrades coating performance before the paper even reaches the printer.

• Temperature: Store between 15–25°C. Heat accelerates coating degradation and can cause rolls to develop permanent curl.
• Humidity: Maintain 40–60% relative humidity. High humidity causes the paper to absorb ambient moisture, which leads to cockling, feeding issues, and reduced ink absorption after printing. Low humidity causes static and brittleness.
• Packaging: Keep paper in its original sealed packaging until ready to use. Once opened, reseal the roll end or use airtight bags for sheet stock.
• Printed sheets: Store printed sublimation sheets flat, away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Sublimation inks are not fully stable until heat-transferred — exposure to warmth before pressing can cause premature partial sublimation and color shift.
• Stacking: Never stack printed sheets face-to-face or face-to-back with other printed sheets. Ink can transfer between sheets under pressure or elevated temperature.

Industrial vs. Desktop Use: Key Differences in Practice

The fundamental chemistry is the same whether you are printing one custom mug on a desktop setup or running 500 meters of sportswear fabric per day on an industrial line — but the practical requirements diverge significantly.

For industrial buyers, the economics are driven by throughput and consistency over thousands of linear meters. A paper that saves 10 seconds per meter of drying time translates to meaningful gains in daily output. For smaller operations, the priority is typically color accuracy and reliable transfer completeness per sheet.

Getting Consistent Results: A Practical Checklist

Consistency in sublimation comes from disciplined process control. Every variable — temperature, time, pressure, moisture, paper grade — compounds. A checklist approach reduces the number of variables in play at any one time:

• Verify press temperature with an external calibration thermometer at least monthly
• Print and keep a reference color swatch at the start of each production session
• Pre-press all fabric substrates for 3–5 seconds before transfer
• Allow prints to dry for the paper manufacturer's recommended time before pressing
• Keep the paper in sealed packaging until ready to print, particularly in humid environments
• Run a small test transfer on a scrap substrate whenever changing paper batch, ink lot, or press settings
• Document your press settings (time, temperature, pressure) per substrate and paper combination for repeatability

The fastest way to improve print quality is usually not to change equipment — it is to tighten process discipline around the equipment you already have. In our experience working with customers across apparel, promotional products, and soft signage applications, the majority of recurring quality issues trace back to inconsistent process steps rather than hardware limitations.