One benefit of sublimation transfer is that it provides incredible photo quality results on both soft and hard substrates. Whether you’re producing holiday ornaments, award plaques, or T-shirts, you’re essentially using the same equipment and supplies to create them all. With products ranging in size from jewelry to car floor mats, the most important thing is to pick a sublimation printer and heat press that are large enough to produce the items you want to sell now and in the future.
Items you’ll need to get started:
- Inkjet sublimation printer running high-quality sublimation inks
- Graphics software program(s) for working with both raster and vector artwork
- Sublimation media (a variety of papers exist for hard and soft substrates)
- Heat tape or spray for holding transfers securely in place during the heating process
- Swing-away heat press for producing a wider variety of products with different thicknesses
- Mug press for producing traditional coffee mugs or a convection oven and specialized shrink film for producing traditional coffee mugs and newer styles of drinkware
- Clean, flat surface for cooling the pressed items
- A supplier that provides the experience and support you need to be successful
For more on sublimation equipment and production check out this interview with Howard Potter of A&P Master Images.
