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.

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.