Sublimation Transfers: Make vs Buy

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A sublimation transfer is a design printed in sublimation ink on sublimation paper, ready to press onto a polyester or poly-coated blank. You can make your own with a sublimation printer, or buy ready-to-press transfers from a transfer shop and skip the printer entirely. Making your own wins on cost per print and flexibility once you're pressing regularly; buying wins when you're testing ideas, pressing occasionally or don't want to manage ink and color.

The right answer depends on volume, how often your designs change and how much printing you want to learn. Here's how the two routes compare, and how to get good results either way.

Make vs buy at a glance

When buying transfers makes sense

You're testing the market

If you're not sure a design or product will sell, buying a small batch of transfers lets you press samples and list them without buying a printer. If the line flops, you've lost a few sheets, not a printer.

You only press occasionally

Sublimation printers like to be used. Ink sitting in a printhead for weeks raises the risk of clogs, and HTVRONT lists inconsistent use as one of the main causes of blocked heads. If you press a handful of items a month, transfers on demand avoid that maintenance.

You don't want to manage color

Getting reds to look red is part ink, part paper, part printer settings. A transfer seller who prints all day has already solved that for their own setup. You just need to press at their recommended settings.

You want sizes your printer can't do

An 8.5-inch printer can't print a full adult shirt front. Rather than buying a 13 x 19 or 24-inch printer for occasional large jobs, you can order large transfers for those and keep printing small items yourself.

When making your own wins

You personalize

Names, dates and customer photos are where sublimation shines, and you can't order those in advance. If most orders are one-of-a-kind, you need your own printer.

You press weekly or more

Once you're pressing regularly, cost per print drops well below what you'd pay for bought transfers, especially on printers that use large ink bottles. Epson's SureColor F-series, for example, refills from 140 mL bottles. Our sublimation business cost guide breaks down where the money goes.

You want same-day turnaround

A local customer wants a team mug by Friday? With your own printer, design to finished product can be under an hour.

For other printers, see our best sublimation printers for beginners.

How to make your own sublimation transfers

1. Set up a sublimation printer. Use a purpose-built model (Epson F170, Sawgrass SG500, Brother SP-1) or a converted EcoTank with third-party sublimation ink. Regular inkjet ink won't work: Cricut says regular inkjet ink and toner won't sublimate, and Unisub advises against using an ordinary printer and paper.
2. Create or license the design. Work at the final print size. Leave a small margin unless you're printing edge to edge for a specific blank.
3. Mirror the image. Standard sublimation paper is pressed face-down, so the print must be mirrored. Cricut's Sublimation Printable Iron-On is the exception and should not be mirrored.
4. Print on sublimation paper. Print on the coated side; Cricut's paper, for example, has a white printable side and a pink back. Unisub recommends paper heavier than 100 gsm for hard goods, and 140 gsm if you see cockling or banding. Our sublimation paper guide compares options.
5. Let it dry. Cricut suggests about a minute before handling. Heavy ink coverage may need longer.
6. Trim and press. Trim close to the design, tape it to the blank and press at the blank maker's settings. Our sublimation temperature chart has starting points.

Color tips for home transfers

• Use the printer's sublimation profile or the ICC profile from your ink maker. Prints look dull on paper; the color appears after pressing.
• Print a test strip whenever you change paper or blank.
• Keep paper dry. Unisub advises storing sublimation paper in the same room as the printer, dry and at room temperature. Epson recommends 45–60% humidity while printing its F570.

How to buy and press ready-to-press transfers

What to ask the seller

• Paper and ink used, and whether the transfer is for standard sublimation or a cotton workaround.
• Recommended time, temperature and pressure for your blank type.
• Whether it's mirrored (it should be for standard sublimation).
• Exact print size, so it fits your blank and your press.
• Storage advice. Ask how long they recommend keeping the transfers before pressing.

How to press a bought transfer

1. Check the blank. It must be polyester (Cricut recommends 90%+ for fabric) or carry a sublimation coating. Light colors only.
2. Lint-roll and pre-press. Geo Knight recommends 2–4 seconds on shirts to remove moisture and wrinkles.
3. Tape the transfer face-down with heat-resistant tape at the corners.
4. Cover with fresh butcher paper, larger than the platen. Cricut says not to reuse it.
5. Press at the seller's settings. If they don't give any, Geo Knight's starting point for polyester is 400°F for 35 seconds.
6. Peel and discard. Each transfer is single-use: the dye has moved into the blank.

Where sublimation designs come from

You can draw your own, hire a designer or license ready-made files. Some options built into the tools you may already use:

• Brother's Artspira app includes 100+ sublimation designs for the SP-1.
• Cricut Design Space offers printable images you can send through Print Then Cut.
• Unisub offers free sublimation templates and graphics to registered users, sized for its blanks.
• Marketplaces and independent designers sell PNG files made for sublimation, often with separate personal and commercial licenses.

Licensing: the part people skip

A design you can download isn't automatically a design you can sell. Check every file's license for commercial use, quantity limits and whether you can sell physical products made with it. Characters, team logos and brand marks belong to their owners; Cricut's own site carries a long list of licensed character trademarks for exactly this reason. Keep a copy of each license with your business records.

Common mistakes

1. Pressing transfers on cotton. The ink will wash out. Use polyester or a cotton workaround.
2. Forgetting to mirror your own prints. Text comes out backwards.
3. Judging color on the paper. Sublimation prints look dull until pressed.
4. Reusing protective paper. Ghost images from the last job transfer onto the next.
5. Buying transfers bigger than your press. Unisub warns that using the full platen leaves weak edges; size the press larger than the design.
6. Selling unlicensed designs. It's the fastest way to get a shop taken down.

FAQ

Next steps

• Ready to print your own? Compare ink options in our best sublimation ink guide.
• Buying transfers and need a press? Start with our sublimation heat press picks.