A dye-sublimation printer uses special ink and paper to print your design or photograph The ink (or dye) can then be heat-transferred onto polyester materials or materials with a polyester coating, called “sublimation blanks.”
You can create designs and heat transfer them to t-shirts, mugs, hats, bags, and more through this process. The design has to be printed on special sublimation paper up to 8.5” x 14” which can be purchased from the library.
Your design should be saved as a PDF or JPG file on a USB Drive. You can also create your design on the Library’s computers using free programs like Cricut Design Space™ or Canva. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop can be used. These programs are available on the MakerSpace Mac.
If your image has text be sure to mirror your design before printing. This will ensure the text is in the correct direction on your finished project.
Print your design and use one of our heat presses to transfer the design to the sublimation blank.
The Library will stock a variety of sublimation blanks in the MakerSpace that customers can purchase.
If bringing your own materials, they must be compatible with the machine.
Fabric or t-shirts must be at least 65% polyester and light-colored. The more polyester in the fabric, the more vivid your image will be.
Other materials must be made specifically for sublimation (have a polyester coating).