Sublimation printing is the Hottest New Crafting Trend! It is a super fun and easy way to transfer complex colorful designs onto mugs, t-shirts, and any sublimation blank. I am going to share with you how easy it is to convert an Epson EcoTank Printer into a sublimation printer so you can start creating incredible sublimation projects!
Hello fellow crafters! I am so excited to be talking about sublimation in this post. It’s such a fun addition to crafting that opens up a whole new world of opportunities. This post is a step-by-step guide on how to convert your Epson Ecotank printer into a sublimation printer so you can start your sublimating adventures today!
What is sublimation? In basic terms, sublimation is printing a design onto sublimation paper with sublimation ink and then using heat and pressure to transfer that design onto a sublimation friendly material called a sublimation blank. The heat turns the ink into a gaseous state that embeds within sublimation blank and is infused into the material.
The final effects are permanent, vibrant and long lasting.
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For sublimation you need 6 basic supplies:
A Sublimation Printer. I have the Epson Ecotank 2750 and I love it!
Sublimation blanks. I love making mugs using Cricut's Mug Blanks.
A heat source like a Cricut Mug Press, Cricut EasyPress or a Convection Oven.
Your Design. All my designs come with a 300 dpi PNG file that can be used for sublimation. I also have designs made just for sublimation: Sublimation Mug Designs
***You might also need to purchase gloves and empty bottles or syringes depending on the type of sublimation ink you buy. Also, I placed a towel under my printer while added the sublimation ink to catch any spills (make sure it's a towel you don't mind getting stained).***
Set-up Instructions:
You’ve purchased your Epson EcoTank printer, Sublimation Ink, Sublimation Paper and Sublimation Blanks… now it’s time to set-up your printer.
I will be walking you through how I set-up my brand new Epson Ecotank 2750 printer. You can apply these steps to almost all new Epson Ecotank Printers.
*This guide is for new printers that have never had regular ink inside them.
Step 1: Unbox your printer and remove all of the tape, paper and plastic. DO NOT plug your printer in.
Unbox your ink. I use Hiipoo Sublimation Ink and have loved the results. The ink is fast drying and my projects have turned out vibrant and beautiful. You will want a pair of gloves for the next step!
Note: Once you pick a sublimation ink you want to stick with it, you don’t want to be mixing ink in your printer.
Step 2: Filling your printer with Sublimation Ink
The Epson Ecotank 2750 printer comes with 4 ink bottles: Black, Yellow, Magenta and Cyan. DO NOT FILL YOUR PRINTER WITH THE INCLUDED INK. Set these bottles to the side and save them for another printer or purpose. You want to use the Sublimation Ink you purchased in addition to your printer.
It’s time to put on your gloves. Open the housing that holds the ink tanks. Flip up one of the blue covers on the ink tank. Fill one of the syringes with the corresponding Ink color. Do this by removing the lid of the ink container, inserting the syringe into the top, tilting the bottle sideways and pulling up slowly. Once the syringe is full, insert the syringe into the corresponding color hole and slowly press the plunger down to release the ink. You will hear ink starting to flow into the tank.
When your tank is full, close the ink tank cover and repeat the process filling the other colors. Use a new syringe for each color of ink.
Step 3: Once all of your ink tanks are full, plug in your printer. Your printer will come with set up instructions, follow these instructions to complete setup. Here is a summary of what your instructions might look like:
Once you turn it on it will have you select your location and the time.
Next your printer will go through a preparing sequence.
Before you can use your printer to print it needs to do a priming of the ink. Follow the instructions for how to go through this process because it might be slightly different for each printer. This uses up some of your sublimation ink, so you may want to top up your tanks when it is done. This step is only done the first time you set up your printer. After you top up your printer you can clean the syringes so that they are ready to use the next time you need to fill the ink in your printer.
Next your printer will run through an alignment sequence. You can use regular printer paper to print the alignment sheets. Note: your Sublimation ink will appear muted on the paper. Don’t worry your color will only appear vibrant after it has been heated and transferred to a sublimation blank.
Finally you will be able to connect your printer to your computer. You can do this either by using the disk that comes with your printer or by going to the link provided in your instruction book.
Once your printer is all set up, you are ready to print your first sublimation sheet!
Make sure to always mirror your design before printing especially if you are printing something with words.
You will want to change your print settings to “Matte Paper Best Quality”.
The color will look muted on the sublimation paper. This is 100% normal. The ink will intensify and become more vivid once applied to your blank.
Why I love sublimation printing:
It is permanent - Just like Cricut’s Infusible ink, Sublimation ink is infused right into the material you sublimate it onto (as opposed to sitting as a layer on top) which means you will never have to deal with HTV peeling off of shirts or vinyl peeling off of mugs.
It is so simple and saves you time - With Sublimation you do not have to worry about weeding or layering. You can print any design you want onto a piece of sublimation paper and transfer it right onto your blanks. One piece of paper, one press and you are done!
Here are some basic supplies that you will want to have for sublimation crafts: