Can You Use Sublimation Ink on Heat Transfer Paper?

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For sublimation printing, we use different types of inks and papers. The question is, can you use sublimation ink on heat transfer paper? First, you’ll need to know about sublimation printing, ink, and heat transfer paper. In this article, I will tell you about all these things that will clear up your doubts about using sublimation ink on heat transfer paper.

Read the article carefully to understand the sublimating concepts!

Table of Contents

What Are Sublimation Printing And Sublimation Ink?

Sublimation printing is a process that prints versatile mediums by converting a solid into a gas state without going to a liquid state. The process is simple. We will need a printer, sublimation ink and paper. The printer prints the design on sublimation paper. Then heat press the ink from the paper to the sublimation coated item.

Sublimation ink is commonly used in sublimation printing. Sublimation ink prints particular types of things, including polyester-coated and sublimation-coated items. This ink is long-lasting and of high quality. I found outstanding results from sublimation ink. When we use sublimating ink, the printed design will not be removed even after washing many times.

Advice For Improving The Look of Sublimation Ink

  • Use high-quality sublimation ink at all times.
  • Check that your sublimation ink and printer are suitable.
  • The substrate you plan to sublimate should be high quality and suitable for use with sublimation ink.
  • The heat transfer time for the material should be ideal.
  • For sublimation printing, choose a light-colored fabric.

What is heat transfer paper?

Heat transfer paper transfers graphics and designs onto cotton fabrics like shirts, clothes, and other items. The design is initially printed on paper, after which it is transferred to the material using heat. This paper is specially used to print designs on cotton fabric. Using heat transfer paper, you can use an inkjet printer to sublimate high-quality designs.

Heat transfer paper has two types: light and dark. We will use light paper for light color .For dark color, we will use dark paper. When we talk about sublimation on cotton fabric, heat transfer paper provides more durability than other papers. The usage of this paper is more straight forward than other printed papers. Heat transfer paper uses a unique advanced technology that provides high-quality prints.

Is special ink or a printer required for heat transfer paper?

There is no need to use any special ink for transfer paper. if you already have any ink or printer. If you’re going to buy a new printer and ink, I’d recommend getting an inkjet printer and ink that works great with heat transfer paper. Read Our Other Sublimation Inks’ Unbiased Reviews: Best Sublimation Ink

Can you use sublimation ink on heat transfer paper?

No, you can’t use sublimation ink on heat transfer paper. The reason is that sublimation ink is suitable for polyester and sublimation coating items. When we use sublimation ink during sublimation, it will only transfer the ink to the fabric. Whereas if we see heat transfer paper, I will use it only for cotton fabric .it will convert the complete design from start to end on cotton fabric. Inkjet printer and ink will be best with heat transfer paper.  By using sublimation paper, the sublimation ink will be best.

Benefits of heat transfer printing

  1. It will work on cotton fabric.
  2. It’s easy to setup in home and for small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can’t use sublimation ink on regular paper. This is because sublimation ink has a specific chemical that requires the sublimation paper. The sublimation ink will only be absorbed when using regular paper. The best options are sublimation papers because they are of excellent quality.

The sublimation ink’s longevity depends on the material, color retention, and printer type. For example, use an inkjet printer, sublimation ink, or sublimation paper while printing a design on a polyester-coated t-shirt. The lifespan of the print will be approximately 5 years.

Transfer printing is the shifting of old images from one place to another. While more recent versions use specialised paper and can transfer almost anything, the original version of this process was used to transfer images from metal plates to pottery. We used ink on a specific surface that we pressed against a printing object to transfer the ink. Then heat is imposed on the inked area for permanent image printing.

Heat transfer is a two-step process to print an image on an item or cotton clothes. The first step is to print a design onto transfer paper. After that, the design is transferred to heat transfer paper. Step two involves printing the design on the t-shirt by using a heat press. The printing is finished by carefully removing the heat transfer paper from the clothing.

A sublimation printer prints a design on the sublimation paper, and the heat press presses the ink directly onto the fabric. We will remove the paper when the design is converted to fabric.

Bottom line

Can You Use Sublimation Ink on Heat Transfer Paper? The reasonable answer is Depends on your printing machine and type of ink. In this article, I will try to share my research about sublimation printing, sublimation ink, and heat transfer paper. Heat transfer paper and sublimation ink are not the best matches for each other.

Sublimation ink will work at optimum level with sublimation paper. However, using sublimation printers that are compatible for heat transfer will also enable you to get the better result. As the regular paper absorbs the ink, it will not convert the design into fabric.

In contrast, sublimation paper will smoothly design the print on the t-shirt. You will use heat transfer paper and sublimation ink according to the fabric. If you are going to sublimate on cotton fabric, use heat transfer paper with an inkjet printer and ink. But if you are going to sublimate the polyester and sublimation coated items, sublimation ink and paper will be the best match.

I hope this article clears all your concepts.

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