Sublimation Printing for an Online Marketplace

Etsy is an online marketplace that allows individuals and small businesses to sell handmade or vintage items, as well as craft supplies and unique factory-manufactured items. Many Etsy sellers offer custom printing services, and sublimation printing is a popular choice for producing high-quality prints for a wide range of products, including t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and other items.

To use sublimation printing to support an Etsy store, you will need the following equipment:

1. A sublimation printer: This is a specialized printer that uses sublimation ink to transfer the dye onto the substrate.
2. Sublimation ink: This is a special type of ink that is made up of solid dye nano-particles that are suspended in a glycol based liquid form.
3. Heat press: This is a machine that is used to apply heat and pressure to transfer the dye onto the substrate.
4. Sublimation paper: This is a special type of paper that is used to transfer the dye from the transfer paper onto the printable substrate.

To use sublimation printing to create custom imaged products for an Etsy store, you will first need to create a design using a graphics software program. You can then print the design onto sublimation paper using a sublimation printer, and transfer the image onto the desired substrate using a heat press.

It's worth noting that sublimation printing is best suited for printing on polymer-coated materials and hard surfaces. If you are planning to offer custom printing on a wider range of products, you may need to consider other printing methods as well.