Don’t Make These Sublimation Mistakes
If you love sublimation or are thinking about getting into it, you’re going to want to read this post about common sublimation mistakes that you should avoid. With these sublimation tips and tricks in your back pocket, you will be all set to make beautiful sublimation projects again and again.
We want to set you up for crafting success wherever we possibly can so we went through the most commonly asked sublimation questions and troubleshooting so we can share these with you. Keep reading so you can find out what not to do when working on your sublimation crafts. Sublimation beginners, this is a must read!
Don’t Make These Sublimation Mistakes
1 – Thinking that you can’t do sublimation.
Okay so this isn’t a true mistake but it’s still important. So many people limit themselves by thinking they can’t do things like sublimation. It may seem daunting at first, but with our help, you can definitely master sublimation.
2 – Just pulling out a printer and starting.
It’s not that hard to do sublimation but there are steps that you need to take before you can get started with sublimation. You can’t just print and go. You either need to get a sublimation-ready printer or put sublimation ink into a regular printer (and not all printers can be used for sublimation!). Your printer will need to be set up specifically for sublimation and you’ll need to get your color profiles set as well.
3 – Diving into the black hole of Youtube.
There is so much information out there and so many videos on sublimation. It can be overwhelming. There are some experts out there who are really good at teaching sublimation but there are different styles of teaching available. Taking a little bit here and a little bit there and trying to put it all together can get confusing. Pick one teacher who resonates with you and stick with them for all of your lessons.
Did you know that we have our own sublimation course? You can sign up for Makers Gonna Sublimate here! Check out our special deal going on right now!
Even if you haven’t purchased anything for sublimation yet, we will walk you through what to buy, what to do, and how to make amazing sublimation projects.
4 – Not tacking your print down to your blank
You might think, “oh this is a flat surface so I don’t need to tack down my print”, but we are here to tell you that it is still very important to do. No matter what, there is always a chance of it moving and you don’t want to risk that. Be sure to always secure your print.
5 – Not getting a good seal on tumblers
When you tape down your design, especially on a full wrap tumbler, it’s so important to make sure you have a good seal on the seam. Use your fingernail or a burnishing tool to go along and press it down, making sure it is nice and flat before pressing. This is especially important in a convection oven. If your print isn’t completely flat against your blank and there’s some space in there, it won’t transfer to your surface properly.
6 – Not letting your heat source preheat to the correct temperature
Whether you’re using a heat press or convection oven or whichever heat source you use, not letting it come up to the correct temperature can definitely affect the quality of the transfer you get. You want the most vibrant results you can get so make sure you’re using a heat source that has come up to the correct temperature.
7 – Using a Teflon sheet instead of butchers paper
It’s okay to put a Teflon sheet on your heat plate to protect it from ink, but you must always use butchers paper, at least underneath the Teflon sheet. It helps to absorb the moisture, making it essential for sublimation. You also don’t want to throw away Teflon sheets over and over again, but if you get ink on the butchers paper, it can just get thrown in the garbage.
In addition, you will want butchers paper on top of your project to prevent any transfer of ink to the top heat plate. You could consider making a sublimation sandwich: butchers paper, blank, sublimation print, butchers paper to get the best results.
8 – Reusing butchers paper
If there is any chance of even the tiniest bit of ink on that butchers paper, it will transfer over to your next project. When we do reuse it, we make sure it’s clean and we only use it 2-3 times because the more times it is used, the darker the paper will get and it can begin to interfere with your sublimation prints.
9 – Not using enough pressure on your heat press
You need to have adequate pressure in order to get a good sublimation print. It should take a bit of effort to close your heat press (but not so much that it’s a big struggle!). Ample pressure is a very important part of the sublimation process. With an EasyPress, you need to give it some good pressure while avoiding any movement of the press. Be sure your project is taped down well.
10 – Checking on your project while it’s being pressed
Once you start pressing, don’t stop the process until the timer is up. You will get ghosting where you lift up the design to check on it and your design may lose a little heat as the heat press is lifted away from it.
11 – Trying to press a project more than once
As with the previous tip, this is going to cause ghosting and you won’t get that perfect print that you are looking for. If you didn’t get the results you wanted the first time, you need to try again from scratch.
12 – Using the wrong heat source
Your heat press needs to be large enough to cover your project all in one go. You need an even heat source all at one time. If you are making a blanket, for example, and there are different designs on different parts of it, you could use a heat press that is large enough for each of those designs, rather than the whole blanket. But for each design, it needs to be completely covered by the press. If you try to press several different areas at different times, you could easily end up with uneven heating.
Same goes for tumblers and cups. You cannot effectively heat them using a typical heat press. So, you need to get a proper cup/tumbler press or use a convection oven. Check out our post on using an air fryer for sublimation too!
13 – Not mirroring your design
You need to mirror your design so that when you place it on the blank and press it, it will be the right way and not backwards.
14 – Choosing the wrong color profile
Each type of ink and each printer needs the correct color profile to give you the best and most vibrant results with your sublimation. We spent a great deal of time working out the best color profiles for you in our Makers Gonna Sublimate course so you can save a lot of time and effort by signing up for the course where it is all done for you. If not, you will need to experiment with a variety of blanks and settings to find the perfect color profiles for yourself.
15 – Cutting out your design
Instead of cutting it out, you should be tearing the edges for the best possible results. This is especially important when working with textiles. Cut lines can show up as harsh lines when you heat your design. Tearing provides a softer, more feathered appearance.
16 – Not cleaning your blank.
No matter what kind of blank you’re working with, you need it to be as clean as possible before sublimating on it. There can be fibers and other debris on those blanks – even ones you don’t see – and they can interfere with the sublimation process. They will change color during the process and you won’t get a perfect sublimation project. Clean or lint roll your blank to ensure you have a clean surface.
17 – Not using your printer.
You need to use your printer at least once a week or so, especially with converted printers so that the jets don’t get clogged. It’s almost impossible to get them working properly again once that happens. You can just print out something and save for heat pressing later.
Have you made any of these mistakes before? Let us know in the comments on the Youtube video.
SUBLIMATION SUPPLIES YOU MIGHT NEED:
Disclosure: Some of the links below are paid links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase
- Heat Resistant Tape: https://amzn.to/3QfpBnZ
- Tape Dispenser: https://amzn.to/46KLhig
- Sublimation Printer EPSON ET 2800: https://amzn.to/3PTxJKv
- Sublimation Paper: https://amzn.to/3ty3Xnb
- EPSON SureColor F-170: https://www.lexjet.com/epson-surecolo…
- EPSON ET-8550: https://amzn.to/3rOUo2w
- Butchers Paper: https://amzn.to/3rRZ0VI
- Teflon Sheet: https://amzn.to/3M21OGu
- Heat resistant gloves: https://amzn.to/3LZpgo3
- Shirt: https://amzn.to/3vclT7r
- Sublimation HTV clear: https://amzn.to/48iG42j
- Sublimation HTV white: https://amzn.to/48q3rXC
