HP, Brother, and Canon printers are some of the most popular on the market, known for their reliability and high-quality printing. These printers are really good at printing on paper and photos because they are designed for general printing and on the other hand sublimation printers are specifically designed for high-quality photo and graphic printing. For presenting the article much easier, I will try to make my statement clear from the perspective of an HP user.
Quick Answer: The only way to convert one of your printers to a Sublimation printer is to use a regular printer that is indicated as sublimation ready. Fortunately, it is possible to convert a regular printer into a sublimation printer within five minutes if you read our full blog.
Here I’ve introduced the easiest way to convert your HP inkjet or laser printer into a Sublimation machine. After successfully converting your printer, you can print your own T-Shirts, Hoodies with your own design. Who knows, maybe this sublimation process can make you a lot of money by selling your design.
Related: Cheapest Sublimation Printers
Step-by-Step guide to turning your HP Printer into a Sublimation Printer
If you have an HP printer and if it is used, you will not be able to convert it for sublimation. That’s because a used cartridge is always filled up with Ink and it’s definitely not gonna work if you mix Ink with Sublimation Ink.
Items Required for the Sublimation Process
- A sublimation inkjet printer.
- Sublimation inks and paper.
- Heat Transfer paper.
Step 1: Choose a Brand New Printer
When you choose an HP printer for converting it to a Sublimation printer, make sure that the machine has never been used before. If you try to start the converting process with a used printer, there is a chance of mixing up ordinary ink with sublimated colorants. So, to avoid this incident always choose a brand new printer for this conversion process.
Step 2: Remove the Ink Cartridge and Fill it up
If you have sublimation inks, remove the printer cartridge and fill it up. Sublimation inks are a type of dye-based ink that is activated by heat, and they are specifically designed for use with HP sublimation printers. The HP sublimation printer uses four ink tanks, and each tank must be filled with the correct color of HP sublimation ink. In case you make any mistake while filling up the ink cartridges with sublimation inks, your printer will not operate correctly.
Related – How to Reset Brother Printer Ink Cartridge
Step 3: Choose your Photo
To start the sublimation process and to print on your t-shirts, download any image editing app and edit your pictures. These photo editing apps give you hundreds of options for adjusting the size of the image before saving it on a shirt template so you can ensure that it looks perfect when you are about to print it on a T-Shirt.
Step 4: Start the Printing
To start the printing process you need some paper and it’s better if you got any letter-sized papers in case you don’t have special paper for color printing.
Now click on File in the top tab then select Print from the dropdown menu. You will see a new tab “printing options” and after clicking on that you will see the “Sublimate Printer” option. Select the sublimation option and you’re ready to print. Now you can print the way you print generally.
Step 5: Inspect The Printed Image
If you are printing on fabric or something, when the printed image comes out of your printer, carefully inspect it to make sure there are no lines or gaps in between. If you see any, throw away that page and print another until they’re gone!
However if after inspecting all ok then go ahead and heat press your shirt before washing which will make sure any flaws show up better. But if what looks like a little lightness turns out alright on closer inspection. – Don’t worry because sublimation ink shows up better when heated onto fabric with a heat press.
Step 6: Do Not Forget to Iron the T-Shirts
Before you do the sublimating, you must do the Ironing so that there is no lines in between the T-shirt. Do not choose crooked or wavy fabric because this can cause unwanted discrepancies during printing and can mess up the T-Shirt.
The Ironing will make the image printing clear and it’s really important to make the T-Shirt look absolutely perfect. If it’s possible, I recommend ironing both sides since some fabrics can’t handle high temperatures without being pressed flat first.
Related – How to Remove Sublimation Print From Shirt
Step 7: Start the Heat Pressing
In this process take printed paper and slip it under the shirt. The printed paper should be applied with adhesive so that it doesn’t get stuck anywhere and you can iron it directly on top of where you want your images to be printed. The adhesive will protect the T-Shirt from sticking elsewhere down below.
Now you can easily start pressing the printing. While the printing is over, hold the print together with printed paper. Slowly peel away the paper and do not damage any of its fibers before putting on another layer.
Conclusion
All the information you need to change your HP printer into a sublimation printer is described in this article. Though you’ll need a few items and know-how of how printers work, it’s very easy and fun to make the whole process work.
Whenever you are choosing a printer, whether it’s for printing on normal paper or printing on glossy paper, it is very important to know what features you’re spending that much money on. Even if you’re not into printers, at least look for the general printing feature that is included within the printer.
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