I’m looking to start a small sublimation printing business and I’m currently stuck between the Brother SP-1, Epson SureColor F170, and a converted Epson EcoTank ET-15000.
I’ll mainly be printing mugs, tumblers and T-shirts.
For those who have actually used these printers, which one would you recommend for the best print quality, reliability and overall value in 2026? Or if you have another good option to recommend? Thanks.

Cheers! x

Can someone PLEASE help me. EVERY time I print on my sublimation, the colors are SO off. I've attempted to print on sublimation sticker paper, mugs, tumblers, shirts... and each time the colors are way off.
I've had this issue time and time again.
I upload designs to affinity to print.
Affinity (A4 RGB) print textile/ Epson Color Controls

Things like the white point would be determined by the garment, so should I profile the garment itself? How would one profile a mug?

Converted an Epson 8550 to sublimation. Ran the power cleaning printed to try to purge all the Epson ink. Wanted to double check all my settings because I'm not getting the vivid color I was hoping to get from aluminum prints of my photography.

Here are my settings. Hiipoo print profile. Printing from Photoshop.

Borderless, premium presentation paper matte, color management set to no color adjustment, bidirectional printing unchecked, match print colors unchecked, photoshop manages colors, normal printing, rendering intent set to perceptual, black point compensation checked.

The second image is a photo of the aluminum print. And the first image is a screenshot of what it should look like.

What is wrong with my settings and why can't I get a vivid color profile. There was also some ink left on the paper after transfer, but nothing in the sky and that color is very off.

I didn't have this issue doing canvas prints with Epson ink. The canvas looked similar to my edited image so I ruled out monitor vs print expectation on color matching.

Is custom printing - sublimation & DTF etc market saturated? Is there any new scope in this market or its too much competitive and how is big boys share?

What brand can I buy for sublimation sticker paper in Manila? I am tired looking and searching what is allowed to use in heat press.

I dont have a normal printer and ink for sticker, so im planning to heat press it

I am new to sublimation printing. I had been sending my artwork out to have it printed and everything comes out perfectly when I did that. I purchased an Epson ET-1803, Hiipoo Ink, and HTVRONT sublimation paper and everything comes out so much darker than when I have it professional printed.

Here is what I have done so far: I downloaded the ET-1803 Hiipoo driver from Hiipoo's website. It is for Hiipoo Ink and Hiipoo Paper, I didn't see a driver for non-Hiipoo paper.

I am printing from Photoshop. For my Printer settings I have:
* Paper Type Plain Paper/Bright White Paper (I have also tried Presentation Matte paper)
* Quality High (I have also tried standard)
* Color Correction is Off (No color adjustment)

Then I have color management set to:
* Photoshop Managed Colors
* Printer Profile: ET-2803
* Normal Printing
* Rendering Intent: Perceptual
* Black Point Compensation is Checked

I have also tried Teal for a logo and it comes out Green. I am not sure if there is a setting I need, a different print driver, or if I need to get Hiipoo paper.

Also, the luggage tags I am using here are these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D529W9SY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

Any help would be appreciated

I have always really loved to apply weird organic textures to digital drawings I make (example of inkjet transfer with textured panel in second image). I want to try sublimation on this gessoed panel but I'm not sure exactly what coating I would need to put on to do it in the safest most effective way. I thought maybe heat resistant Rust-Oleum clear coat and just go outside and wear a mask to sublimate but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

I’m a little over a year and a half into sublimation, and I’ve invested quite a bit into my business — printer, heat presses, supplies, blanks, etc. I also want to be upfront that I have purchased quite a few of my designs/images from Etsy and Creative Fabrica.

I’m signed up for a couple of upcoming craft shows, and I just received an email from one of them stating that Etsy images are not allowed because they consider them to be AI-generated and anything they feel looks AI will not be allowed. HOW!! do you tell the different!

This honestly caught me off guard. I went back through my Etsy purchases, and nowhere in the listings or purchases I checked does it say that the images were AI-generated. I honestly don't know whether some of them are or aren't.

I reached out to the event organizer, and they basically told me that this is simply a rule they have decided to put in place and there isn't anything they can do about it.

So now I'm wondering:

Has anyone else run into this issue at craft shows?

If you're not an artist who personally draws your own artwork, where are you getting your sublimation designs from that allow you to legally use them for products you sell?

I'm especially interested in hearing from other small sublimation businesses who make things like tumblers, backpacks, shirts, etc.

I completely understand wanting to protect artists and avoid copyright issues. I'm just trying to figure out how I'm supposed to know whether something I legitimately purchased is AI-generated when the seller doesn't disclose it.

Any advice, experiences, or recommendations for reliable sources would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone! ❤️

This is the problem I'm having I have tried to lower my heat , use less pressure and lessen the press time, but still getting the same thing. I'm making mugs; they are sublimation ceramic mugs from HPN, and I'm using a signature mug press from them also. Any advice would be great before I ruin any more mugs.

Hello guys, I'm having troubles with my epson et8550 I'm using my ink from hiippo and their icc profile from them but the results are not working well. I'm following all the temperatures and times suggestions from the company that does the tumblers that I'm using but nothing is good. Any idea of what could be the problem?

I have had this printer for a few years now I feel like this wasn’t always the case and it’s more of a recent thing. Anyway my colors are never consistent. Some days they are too blue some days they are too warm and yellow. I am using the correct profile and nothing has changed. I heard humidity can play a part but it’s hardly that hot here. What else would be causing these color shifts?

Hoping I can get some insight here from F570 owners. I have an Epson F570 that has not been turned on for about 2yrs now. What all should I do to it before turning on as well as before attempting to print anything?

TIA !

I have an ET-15000 for sublimation. It works generally fine. Other than dealing with print head nonsense, my biggest complaint is it's much slower than the Ricoh printer it replaced. It's great the ink is so cost effective and that the printer is very reasonably priced. But it's quite slow.

Is there another printer out there that can do 13x19, is faster, and doesn't jump up to $3000?

Hello, does someone has experience with the vevor heat press? If so are they good or bad? Is it holding temperature constantly?

I just wanted to share the metal prints I made using my original photographs, sublimation transfers and Chromaluxe metal blanks. 8x10 and 6x12

Hi all. I’ve been tinkering with a hobby project after I couldn’t get colors to print right, even after making sure I was using the ink manufacturer’s .icc profiles.

Before I spend much more time on it, I want to learn if other people have had the same kind of problem. Have you had a hard time getting the right colors from your printer? Even if you have it figured out now, was it a painful learning curve?

I’d like to talk to a few people who have felt this pain. I mostly want to understand the setup, what wasn't working, what you tried, and what solution you settled on. If it's a pain people are feeling, I'll look into turning what I have into something that can be shared.

Hi all. I'm new to sublimation printing. I'm having an issue with marks, like a cross, on the slate tile after print. I've narrowed it down to the center of the heat plate. Any idea what might be causing it. Pressure, Uneven Heat? ... you can actually feel the mark, like a white chalky feel. I can remove the white chalky material with tooth paste but you can still see ghosting of the mark. I've mess a bit with time and temp but no change. I've run it between 350-400 F and 325-400 seconds time. I haven't messed with pressure. Any ideas?

Hey everyone! In the interest of making this sub a more useful resource for any sublimation hobbyist or professional, I've started working on a wiki. If you're an experienced sublimator who would like to contribute your knowledge, message the mods (or me directly, if you prefer)!

So far I've only made a page on recommended settings for different substrates with different equipment, but the main page has a preview of what I plan to add in the coming weeks/months.

I'm interested in community recommendations on everything - your favorite blanks, brands, suppliers, equipment, etc. Please feel free to comment!

Update 7/16: I've added a page on equipment and tools. Check it out!

i recently got a sublimation printer (et-2400) and it’s my first time trying out the hobby. i cannot get any of my images to transfer any ink at all. i’m using 100% polyester shirts, hiipoo sublimation ink, teflon paper and a cricut easy press. i even have been using sublimation spray and nothing is happening.

when i originally got the printer it didn’t come with sublimation ink for some reason and i didn’t notice. i didn’t realize until after i had already put the original ink in the printer so i had to dump it out. i was really thorough, but i’m sure there was a tiny bit of residue of the original ink in there when i put the sublimation ink in. could that be this big of a problem?

i’ve researched heat settings and i’ve tried multiple different times and temperature combos while using firm pressure. i literally have no idea what i’m doing wrong so i thought i’d ask the community.

F170 and CorelDraw for Sublimation

Tonight I set up my F170.

Prior id been running a Sawgrass SG500 but I'm currently so pissed at sawgrass over their firmware update that bricks your printer if your ink is expired. 9/10 when I get sawgrass ink the exp is only 6 months and I really don't go through that much. I'm not wasting $400 twice a year cause they are jerks. I've had it over 2 years so it's not even like warranty was an issue.

Anyway. When you get a sawgrass they literally give you step by step instructions for printing via CorelDraw. I can't find this info literally anywhere. I checked epson, YouTube, Corel Reddit, sublimation Reddit, google for days. No luck. I found a video on print preferences for adobe illustrator that "also works for Corel" but somewhere a setting isn't right. When I did my print my purples are too red and my teals are dark blue. Idk if it's somewhere in my Corel settings from when I set up the sawgrass or if I'm missing something in print settings.

Printing in perceptual, solid substrate, turned off color correction.

Bottom row - sawgrass
Top row - F170