- Hello everybody, Jennifer Maker here. It's a beautiful day to make
an easy sublimation T-shirt. If you've been making
iron-on vinyl shirts, you might be wondering
what is the big deal about sublimation anyway and how is it different
from iron-on vinyl? So let me show you the basics by walking you through
making a sublimation t-shirt from start to finish the
easiest way possible. Come with me to my craft table and I will show you everything. (light upbeat music) So what's the difference
between a sublimated shirt and an iron-on vinyl shirt? First, they look and feel different. When you look at a sublimated shirt next to an iron-on vinyl shirt, you can see the difference right away. While the iron-on vinyl
has been fused to the shirt using high heat, it stays solid and sits on top of the
fibers, almost like a sticker. Sublimation, on the other
hand, uses heat to turn an ink design into a gas,
which dyes the shirt's fibers before returning back to a solid. You cannot feel the sublimation
design on the shirt, it's entirely smooth without any edges that can wrinkle, crack, or peel. It's super cool. Second, sublimated shirts last longer than iron-on vinyl shirts. A sublimation shirt on the proper material will last as long as the material itself. Whereas the iron-on vinyl shirt will begin to lift, crack, and peel after roughly 50 washes or less if it wasn't applied properly. So there's really a lot of
benefit to sublimating a shirt. So how do you do it? The sublimation process
requires a few things to create the best results. The fastest way to create
sublimation projects on your own is with a sublimation printer. I'm using my Epson EcoTank
with sublimation ink but you can also use a
purpose-built sublimation printer like this Sawgrass. If you're working on your very
first sublimation project, be sure to follow my
beginner sublimation videos at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-printers to set up your printer properly. You'll also need a device that you can connect to your printer. I'm using a Mac, but you can
also use Windows computers. They work basically all the same for this. You can work from some mobile devices, but you might have limited options. So try using a desktop or laptop first, if you are able to do so. And while there are lots of ways to print your sublimation designs, I'm going to show you my favorite way. It's free, available to
everyone, Mac or Windows, and super easy to use. All you need is internet and
the Google Chrome browser, which is also free. We'll also need a heat source. I'm going to use my Cricut
Autopress right here but you can also use a Cricut EasyPress or a traditional heat press. Just make sure your heat press can get up to about
400 degrees Fahrenheit, and you have a properly
protected pressing area. To make our t-shirt, I'm going to use a white Cricut t-shirt. Sublimation works best on shirts with a high polyester count. And these are 95% polyester with a bit of spandex for comfort. Technically, sublimation
will work on materials with a 65% polyester or
higher, like this shirt. But I got the brightest
and crispest results the closer I went to 100% polyester. Avoid 100% cotton shirts
and I'll show you why later. You can use some cotton
blend shirts, however, and I tested a few shirt blends. So stay tuned for my results. You'll also need some sublimation paper. I'm using 125 gram 8 and 1/2 by 11 inch paper by A-SUB. You can use regular like laser paper, but I think you'll get better
and more consistent results if you use sublimation paper. A few other materials
will help you sublimate safely and effectively, white cardstock and white butcher
paper to protect the press and the pad and some scissors and heat resistant tape to get the perfect transfer. And remember how I said
that the sublimation ink turns into a gas to dye the fibers, that does produce fumes which
you should not breathe in. Ventilation is very
important when sublimating, so have some windows open, turn on a fan, and don't put your face
close to your project until the fumes have dissipated. Remember, safety first. Now that we have the basics down, let's go over the steps
to sublimate a t-shirt. Step one, get or prepare a
sublimation shirt design. You can use any of my free
sublimation shirt design files. To find them, go to jennifermaker.com/394 and look for libraries in
the red bar at the top. Then either click get a password
if you don't yet have one or click enter the library. You can find the design
by searching the page for design number 394, and then click it to download a zip file with high quality design
files perfect for sublimation. The four designs I've
included have positive sayings with beautiful watercolor backgrounds. The variation of watercolor is a great use of sublimation's abilities. The first design says live a colorful life on a round rainbow background
with a pretty heart. The second says the future is bright on a soft teal background. The third says be a pop of color and a black and white world
on this pretty orange. And the last is it's not
all rainbows and sunshine, but a good amount actually is
on a fun rainbow background. You can also make your own
sublimation print designs. I provided the blank
background designs free to get you started today. I'm going to make the
rainbows and sunshine designs because I love both of them so much. Now, what size you make your design depends on your shirt size and your own personal preferences. I've added some helpful diagrams to the blog post for this tutorial, which you can find over at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-t-shirts and that will help you
determine the best size for your size shirt. I'm going to test my designs on
an adult large t-shirt today. So I won't make them any larger than 10 and a half inches wide and 12 and a half inches tall. If you use my designs
to print and transfer, I've listed the best print
dimensions for this shirt on my blog post. Once you've picked a design,
you'll need to print it on a good quality sublimation
paper for the best results. While you can use copy paper, in my opinion, it just isn't
as good as sublimation paper. Feel free to experiment, but
I recommend sublimation paper. Now I'm using A-SUB paper and my Epson EcoTank using Hiipoo Ink. You can of course do this on
another sublimation printer with different sublimation
ink and paper too. There are lots of ways
to print your design, but I'll show you my favorite method. Google Doc, yes, really, the
free online document editor. It works really well. Here's how. Go to Google Docs in the
Google Chrome web browser on your computer at google.com/docs/about. You can also download and
open the Google Docs app on a phone or tablet, but be aware that you
won't be able to install or access any printer
profiles from a mobile device. If you don't have a Google
account, no problem, they're free and easy to get. Just visit google.com/docs/about for help getting one set up. To begin, click on blank
to open a new document. In the top file menu, select page setup. Change your margins to zero
by clicking in each box and typing zero. And change your paper size to match your sublimation paper size. I'll use eight and a
half by 11, letter size and then click okay. Now click on the insert menu
at the top and select image and select upload from computer. Locate the sublimation
design that you want to use. So if you're using the one that I made, look for the folder that you
downloaded from my library. I'm going to use the rainbows design, then click open. The image will appear and fill your page. But it won't necessarily come in at the original design size and that's okay, because
we want to resize it to fit our shirt anyways. For an adult large sized shirt, we can make the design up
to 10 and a half inches wide or 12 and a half inches tall. But remember to stick to your paper size, I'm using letter sized paper. So I'm not going to go any
wider than 11 and a half inches. To resize the design, select the image and then click and drag a
corner until it fits the page. Or you can right click the
image, select image options, and then size and rotation, and change the size in the fields. Next, you want to make
sure the design will print in the right spot on your paper. To reposition the image, select it and then click on wrap text from the menu that appears below. You might have to hover your cursor at the bottom of the image
to bring up the menu. Now you can click and drag the
image anywhere on your page. I recommend putting your design
in the center of your page as that ensures it won't
get cut off at the edges and you have plenty of
space to feather the sides for a clean press. I'll show you that trick when
we get to the pressing stage. Once you're happy with the design, give it a name by clicking
where you see untitled in the top left field. Another great thing about Google Docs is the autosaving feature. No more losing your work if you forget to save every
few minutes, I love that. Now, before we print, make sure your paper is loaded
correctly into your printer. Check your printer manual
and paper packaging for help identifying the
right side to print on and how to load it. If you're using A-SUB paper in an EcoTank printer like I am, place your paper face down with the words A-SUB subvisible so that the design will print
on the bright white side of the sublimation paper, just like this. I'll show you the printing steps for an Epson printer
first and then a Sawgrass for those of you who have one. While printer settings do vary, the main things we have to watch for are paper type and print quality. All right, let's do
the Epson print method. If you have an Epson, go to
the file menu and choose print. Select your printer under destination. Then click the arrow beside more settings and click print using system dialogue. Make sure your sublimation printer is selected under printer. Then under layout, click flip horizontally to mirror your image. Most sublimation projects
need to be mirrored, so remember that step. Choose print and change your
media type to presentation paper matte and change your print
quality to best quality. Now we've already mirrored the image, so don't click that box
and don't use high speed. If you see that option, do not click it. If you've installed an ICC printer profile for better colors, which I covered in my
sublimation printer setup videos at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-printers you can select that here as well. Select color matching and
choose your printer profile. If you're on a Mac, as I am,
you'll want to choose color sync, click on the menu, select other profiles and select your printer
profile from the list. Once you've correctly
adjusted your settings for your printer, click on presets and choose save current
settings as a preset, and then you can choose that from now on to make this whole process go much faster. All right, let's talk about
how to do this with a Sawgrass. So to print on a Sawgrass
from Google docs, go to the file menu, choose print, and select your printer under destination. Then click the arrow beside more settings and click print using system dialogue. And this is where the steps
change from the Epson. Select the PDF menu in
the lower left corner and choose Sawgrass Print Manager. If you're having an issue finding this, look for your print options and select Sawgrass Print
Manager as your printer. This is the only way to access the helpful ICC printer
profiles that Sawgrass provides. Now, your window might
look different than mine but choose your settings
that match your shirt. For mine, I'll set the substrate and that means the surface
that we're sublimating onto to polyester and the paper to type A, because that matches the A-SUB paper. Again, I recommend high
quality over high speed, and Sawgrass automatically knows that we want to mirror our design, so we don't uncheck that box by accident. Then look at the preview on the right and make sure your design looks correct. If it doesn't click, cancel and make any adjustments that
you need until you're happy. And finally, click the pink print button and watch the magic happen. Step two, prepare your print
and shirt for sublimation. Here's how my design printed out. Now, it doesn't quite look like
it did on the screen, right? It's a lot duller and less
vibrant and that's okay. That's what it's supposed to look like when it prints onto
sublimation paper like this. Once we add heat and pressure, that's when the magic happens. Now, trim the paper, close to the design to avoid getting lines
at the edges of the paper when you transfer it onto your shirt. Polyester has a memory and it will remember those lines, okay? You could also gently tear the edges to smooth out the transition. Tearing also prevents any lines of sublimation ink that might have snuck onto the edge of your paper undetected. I always make it a rule
to cut or tear the edges of my printed sublimation
prints for the best results And I recommend you do the same thing. Now set your heat press to a temperature between 385 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 196 to 204 degrees Celsius, And we're doing that to
warm it up in advance. I'm using the Cricut Autopress and I find that shirts work best with this at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit with a time of 60 seconds. You can also use a traditional heat press or a Cricut EasyPress, of course. Do not, however, use a household iron as it just won't get hot enough or give you a consistent press. Now, since sublimation does create fumes. Be sure to open your windows and turn on a fan to craft safely. Remember, safety first. I'm going to show you
how to press a design using white 95% polyester
shirt that I got from Cricut. For this project, don't use anything less than a 65% polyester shirt or your ink will be faded and eventually disappear in the wash. So 65% or higher, and
the blend can be cotton, or spandex, or rayon, or
anything else, really. Just 65% polyester or higher. Now you don't have to pre-wash your shirt if you don't want to. In fact, some manufacturers suggest that you don't pre-wash
at all before you press. My personal role is that
I'll pre-wash if it's for me or a family member, but I don't pre-wash if I'm
going to gift it or sell it. It's your choice, however. But do be sure to lint roll a shirt to remove any dust, dander, or pet hair because those can cause
strange dots and marks and sublimate right into
the surface of your shirt. And for a professional result, add a vertical crease to help
you get your design centered. To do this, fold your
shirt in half vertically, make sure that your sleeves and the sides are perfectly aligned and press it for 10
seconds along the crease. When you open it up you'll have a nice center line and pressing it like this
also serves as the preheat, removing moisture and
ensuring a good transfer. Preheating is important for a really good sublimation transfer, so please don't skip over this step. Now unfold your shirt and lay it face up on the pressing area. Slide a piece of white
cardstock inside the shirt where your design will appear. This will protect the
back layer of your shirt from any sublimation ink
that may bleed through. Now gently fold your printed design the same way as the shirt and crease it at the top
and the bottom of the paper. Don't fold through any of
the inked image, however. Just the parts that
don't have ink on them. Since I'm making a crew neck t-shirt, the top of the design should start about two inches below the collar. For more tips on placing
your sublimation designs on t-shirts in the optimal position, check out the blog post for this tutorial. Now, lightly place the
design ink side down on the preheated shirt,
lining up the creases. Secure the design with heat-resistant tape on all four edges of your transfer to keep it in place and prevent
ghosting or fuzzy images. Do not skip over this step. Now place a piece of white
uncoated butcher paper larger than your heat plate
on top of your t-shirt. Do not use parchment paper,
wax paper, freezer paper, or even Teflon paper as
these will trap moisture and can produce fuzzy transfers. I also recommend you avoid
colored butcher papers, and sometimes they're actually dyed and that color can transfer to your shirt. Step three, press your sublimation print. Once your heat source reaches
the right temperature, you're ready to go. If you're using the
Cricut Autopress, as I am, the pressure is set for you automatically, and you don't have to worry about it. If you're using an EasyPress, you'll want to use light pressure which means that you're
mostly just pressing down lightly with one hand. If you're using a traditional heat press, you'll want light to medium
pressure about 40 PSI. I'm going to demonstrate how
to press using my Autopress. So that you'll just press
the lid down to close it and start the pressing process. The Autopress conveniently
comes straight down onto the transfer, which
is perfect for sublimation. You want your press to come
down as straight as possible. If you're using something
other than the Autopress. Press you're sure for 45 to 60 seconds. If you're not sure whether
to go with 45 or 60 seconds, start with 45 seconds. Some experimentation is normal if you're using a
different shirt or press. If your transfer looks dull or
washed out when you're done, that means you should
press for longer next time. If your transfer has a
brown or a yellow hue, you pressed it for too long. Always take notes. If you're using the Autopress,
it will open when it's done. If you're using the Cricut EasyPress, lift it up straight from your shirt. The pressing area and
materials will still be hot, so be careful. You could remove the butcher
paper but leave the t-shirt in place without moving
it so it can cool down, because it's still sublimating for about 10 to 15 seconds afterwards. And if you move the t-shirt immediately, it could make the image
ghost and look blurry. So when you're confident that
your shirt has cooled down, remove the tape and the paper. Step back and enjoy your
gorgeous full color, sublimated t-shirt, isn't this amazing? So our shirts turned out
amazing, don't you think? So, let's see how they looked on shirts with different amounts of
polyester and different colors. Here is our white Cricut
shirt with 95% polyester. This shirt sublimated the best of all the shirts that we tried. Here is a shirt with 65%
polyester and 35% cotton. Notice how the design
seems pretty awesome, but perhaps not quite as vibrant
as a 95% polyester shirt. And here is a color shirt with
65% polyester and 35% cotton. See how the transparent
sublimation ink looks on the shirt? Colors look a little muddier since we're seeing the green of the shirt through the design. And here, is a 100% cotton. You can see right away that
the color looks lighter and more faded, but not horribly so. However, this cotton shirt
has not been washed yet. So to test out how well a
sublimation shirt did in the wash, I washed and dried all of these shirts so we could compare them. To wash a sublimation shirt, you want to take a few extra steps that will keep your design looking lovely. First, turn your shirts inside
out before washing them, that way the front of the shirt won't rub against the other things in the machine. Use cold or warm water
and a mild detergent to keep the design vibrant. If you're using white shirts, like I am, don't wash them with lots of other colors, especially new items that
can bleed excess dye. So you don't want to throw
your sublimation shirts in with your new red sweater. Take your sublimated
shirts out of the wash right when they're done, you don't want them sitting
crumpled up and wet, right? And then you'll want to air dry them which you can do either on a hanger or in a dryer set to
air dry or on low heat. The key is not to expose
your sublimation shirts to super high heat again, as the ink might sublimate out. That said your washer and dryer probably don't get up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to reactivate the sublimation ink. So you should be just fine. So here's how my washed shirts look. Let's go in reverse order and start with the 100% cotton shirt. Most of the ink washed right out. This is why you want to avoid
using a mostly cotton shirt. The natural fibers just
cannot hold onto the ink the way polyester fibers can. And while you might think
this looks cute, and vintage, the truth is is that after a while, it will be all washed out. All of the ink will be gone. Or you'll just see sort of a ghost, okay? Here's the color t-shirt
made of 65% polyester. It still looks pretty good
compared to the original. Here is the white t-shirt
made of 65% polyester. Again, still pretty good. And here is the white Cricut
t-shirt made of 95% polyester. It still looks bright and vibrant and remains the best
option for sublimation. So if you want the best
sublimation transfers that will stay wash after wash, look for shirts with
at least 95% polyester. I love sublimation and I love how it just
becomes a part of the shirt. It is really, really cool. Now, if you need any help
getting set up for sublimation be sure to check out my
sublimation startup mini course at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-startup. I walk you through choosing
and setting up your printer with the right ink,
show you in more detail all of the tools that you can use and a wide variety of things
that you can sublimate onto way beyond just t-shirts. And then show you how to use software to print and press beautiful
sublimation projects. You can sign up right now
and learn at your own pace. I also have a group just
for sublimation crafting where you can get help and
tips from other crafters who love to sublimate too. Come join us at
jennifermaker.com/sublimation-group to ask questions, share
ideas, and get inspired. And that's it for today, until next time, this is Jennifer maker reminding you to craft a life you love. (light upbeat music)