When looking for the best sublimation printer, you will want to get one that will give you photo-lab quality photos from the comfort of your own home, which translates into huge savings from not having to get all of your pictures developed on a regular basis.  You need to understand, however, that these printers can tend to be a bit more expensive than their normal ink jet printer counterparts. This is for a few reasons.

For one thing, when you use a sublimation printer, you will need special printer ink and paper for the printer too.  This means that you need to have an entirely separate stock of products and accessories available to help you through all of your printing needs.  The printers themselves may range anywhere from $70 through a few hundred dollars, with top scale models costing thousands.  Add to this cost, the special paper and printer ink to ensure that you are budgeting correctly for this sublimation printer. Using this knowledge, you should be able to find the best printer to help you have copies of all your favorite photos.

The monitor on your computer will need to be one which displays colors correctly, so you will be able to see if the image is correct.  You will need special sublimation printer ink for your printer as well as the correct type of paper to take sublimation printing. Printer ink will also be needed in bulk quantities, especially if you plan on printing out a great number of pictures.  A heat press will be necessary, although this is a feature which should be found with your printer itself.  Finally, in order to get the best quality photos, you may wish to have a photo editing software on hand which can help you produce the best looking photos possible.

Within Canon, you will find sublimation printers in the Selphy line.  This particular line comes with a number of different models, ranging from the CP710 to the CP780 printers.  Each of those units will have a slight variation in the way it will be able to produce your photos, but all of the images that come out will be photo lab quality.  Between the speed of the printer and the size or what it is compatible with, you are going to find that the Canon Selphy line is one which you need to take a closer look at.

The hard surfaces which you may turn to would include polymer coated objects.  This hard surface will absorb the printer ink from the printer and when you touch the object itself, you should not be able to even notice the print.  Soft surfaces which can be printed on would include synthetic fabrics such as rayon, polyester, nylon and satin.  Cotton does not take to sublimation well and is best avoided as it can turn out to be a wasted effort.

White surfaces will be the best that you can turn to for sublimating because they will create a true replication of  the colors being placed onto it resulting in a sharper, clearer image. This is unlike colored surfaces which could combine the image colors with the colors of the surface, resulting in a color that is not a true representation of the original.

Sublimation printers employ innovative printing techniques that are quite different from that used by a traditional printer.  Not only will you be using long strips of “film” which have the printer ink embedded into them but you will be getting these quality photos by sealing the printer ink with heat.  This causes the printer ink itself to seep into the actual surface of the paper and make all of the colors blend better.  As a result of this, you will see that the final picture product that you get will be extremely sharp and crystal clear, unlike those produced by a traditional ink printer.

What can be sublimated?
• White or lighter substrates – Sublimation inks are translucent in nature and therefore it shows best result in white substrates. Likewise, you can use grayish substrate for getting near natural results. But when you use other light colored substrates you can expect the best results when the images are with dark colors and complementary to the color of the substrate. But most of the time darker substrates cannot produce the results you expect.
• Soft substrates – For good results you should use synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon satin, or rayon using sublimation printing process. Use the specific types of nylon or rayon that go well with the process. Your vendor will be able to suggest you the right one. You can use this process for printing on soft surfaces like can koozies, mouse pads, car flags, and colorful puzzles and cubes.
• Hard substrates – Sublimation process of printing can produce the best result in hard surfaces. The sublimation print can penetrate the coating and gets crosslinked with it to become permanent. As it goes in the layer of the coating you cannot even feel the print on the surface.

What cannot be sublimated?
• There are some hard substrates that are not polymer coated and hence you cannot use sublimation process of printing. But, you can get some hard surfaces that are coated with polymers and therefore can accept sublimation prints. You must remember that because of the inherent nature of the printing process lighter color bases produce best result but dark substrates may not produce the colors truly.
• Again, you cannot use cotton substrates for sublimation. Though you can use a substrate with 50/50 mix of cotton and polyester, the color will look dull and faded. For these types of substrates it would be wise to use heat transfer paper.

Which items are commonly sublimated?
There are plenty of items that can be sublimated and newer products are being added to the list every day. Some of the most common products that can be sublimated are – aprons, tiles, dog tags, license plates, bag tags, ceramic mugs, door hangers, light switch covers, boxer shorts, clipboards, hardboard tiles, mini tees, tote bags, softlink t-shirts, plaques, pet shirts, neckties, travel mugs, ornaments, pet tags, puzzles, lab coats, dash plates, business card holders, name badges, jewelry, coaster, bookmarks, mouse pads, jackets, clocks and car flags.

What do you need for sublimation?

Here is the list of sublimation supplies you’ll need.

• A computer with a good amount of RAM and hard drive storage space.
• A monitor that is able to display colors properly.
• Sublimation ink – ArTainium UV+ ink is perfect for Epson printers.
• ICC Profiles – This is an accurate method for color management that instructs the inks how to mix colors to produce the right color.
• Sublimation paper.
• Printer – Epson.
• Bulk ink.
• Heat press.
• Specialty tools for easy printing, photo enlargement and photo editing.

Now you are ready to use ArTainium sublimation ink for sublimation printing.

What is a sublimation printer? A sublimation printer is a type of printer that uses the process of heat transfer to a substrate at 400 F. At this temperature, the ink turns into gas (like dry ice) and forms a permanent bond on the substrate. The substrate is a polymer coated item or synthetic fabric. The resulting print is a premium full color, photographic quality image that does not crack, peel or wash away.

Which are the items on which a sublimation printer can print? Some of the most common objects on which a sublimation printer can print are There are plenty of items that can be sublimated and newer products are being added to the list every day. Some of the most common products that can be sublimated are – aprons, tiles, dog tags, license plates, bag tags, ceramic mugs, door hangers, light switch covers, boxer shorts, clipboards, hardboard tiles, mini tees, tote bags, softlink t-shirts, plaques, pet shirts, neckties, travel mugs, ornaments, pet tags, puzzles, lab coats, dash plates, business card holders, name badges, jewelry, coaster, bookmarks, mouse pads, jackets, clocks and car flags. Apart from these, more items are being added every day.

What other items do you need in addition to a sublimation printer? Apart from the sublimation printer, there are some other items that are needed for sublimation printing.

• A computer with a good amount of RAM and hard drive storage space.
• A monitor that is able to display colors properly.
• Sublimation ink – ArTainium UV+ ink is perfect for Epson printers.
• ICC Profiles – This is an accurate method for color management that instructs the inks how to mix colors to produce the right color.
• Sublimation paper.
• Printer – Epson.
• Bulk ink.
• Heat press.
• Specialty tools for easy printing, photo enlargement and photo editing.

Is a sublimation printer costly? Sublimation printers are slightly more costly to purchase and operate than normal printers because they require special paper to print on.

Which substrate colors are ideal for sublimation printers? Since sublimation ink is translucent, white substrates replicate true colors. Ash gray substrates also work well. For other light colored substrates, if the print colors are dark and complementary, then sublimation can be done well. Darker substrates kill the color of the print.

Can I use a sublimation printer on cotton clothes? Cotton substrates cannot be sublimated. If there is a fabric that is 50-50 cotton and polyester, sublimation cannot be done. The image will look unimaginative, faded and dull. For decorating 50-50 cotton and polyester fabric, heat transfer paper should be used.

Are sublimation printers easily available? The breakthrough in sublimation technology has ensured that sublimation printers are now easily available in the market.

• Canon Selphy CP760 – It has a plug and play design and is easy to use. It is a color printer and can print 4 in x 8 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled and can print directly through USB.

• Canon Selphy CP770 – It includes a bucket for travelling with it easily. It is a color printer and can print 4 in x 8 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB and Infrared enabled and can print directly through USB.

• Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Series 3 – It produces great photos and is easy to use. However, it is a bit clumsy in design. It is a color printer and can print 4 in x 7.25 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled and has a camera dock. It can print a page in 1.5 minutes.

• Canon Selphy CP740 – This printer is more for the casual photographers. Prints are inexpensive to produce. It is a color printer and can print 4 in x 8 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled and can print directly through USB.

• Professional 1400 Digital Photo Printer – This printer is ideal for portrait photographers. It is a color printer and can print on A4 sheets (8.25 in x 11.7 in) and legal papers (8.5 in x 14 in). It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled. It can print a page in 1.5 minutes.

• Canon Selphy CP710 Compact Photo Printer – This printer is fast and is easy to operate. It is a color printer and can print 3.9 in x 7.9 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled and can print a page in 1.5 minutes.

• Canon Selphy CP780 – This is an ideal printer for homes and offices. It is a color printer and can print 4 in x 8 in photos. It is wired and is compatible with PC and Mac. It is USB enabled and can print directly through USB. It can print a page in 0.8 minutes

With the increase in the usage of sublimation printers, the use of sublimation ink has also increased manifold. There are thousands of sublimation ink suppliers from all over the world. Searching the Internet is the best option of locating your nearest sublimation ink supplies.

Pigment-based inks are those inks that contain some mixed chemicals to ensure that the pigments adhere to the surface of the paper and cannot be removed be mechanical abrasion. These chemicals are generally called resins or binding agents. Resins are used in solvent-based inks and binding agents are used in water-based inks. The advantage of pigment-based inks is that lesser quantity of these inks is required for printing because these inks stay on the surface of the paper. The intensity of the color is the same as dye-based inks. Pigment-based inks are more resistant to washes and are recommended for use where erasure is not wanted. Among pigment-based inks, gel inks are the most resistant to washes. They produce the most colorfast prints. To prepare pigment-based inks, size of the pigment is an important element to be able to diffuse smoothly into the ink solution. Pigment quality also affects the lightness, brightness, saturation and hue, four important print quality characteristics of the ink.

Dye-based inks are stronger than pigment-based inks and can produce more intense colors on a given surface of paper. However, they tend to soak into the paper. As a result, they may sometimes bleed and destroy the quality of the image. To ensure that this problem of show through does not happen, various quick drying solvents are mixed with the dye-based inks. In this case the ink dries quickly forming a film on the surface before the solvent van permeate the substrate. Some measures are also taken during the printing process, including blowing hot air over a fresh print or harder paper sizing (use of fillers) and using specialized paper coating. Another important technique is to use charged coating on the paper. If the dye is oppositely charged, then it is attracted to the paper coating and is retained. The solvent sinks into the paper. Cellulose is most commonly used to retain the dye.

A big advantage of dye-based inks is that the dye molecules in these inks interact chemically with the other ingredients in the inks. As a result, they perform better than pigment-based inks in interacting with brighteners and other color enhancing agents to increase the intensity of the color and also to enhance the appearance of the dyes.

When dye-based inks react with cellulose coating on the printing papers, they manage to color the paper permanently. Dye-based inks and cellulose form images that are not affected by common solvents like water, alcohol and others. An important application of this combination is used in check washing to prevent frauds that involve the removal of signatures. Many of the modern printers now use dye-based inks to print images that become permanent and offer glossy and better than lab quality prints.