Can You Do Sublimation On Glass? Best Process and Guide
Sublimation is getting easier day by day. More variety of products can be sublimated now. Glass sublimation is one of them. That was not possible before, but with the new techniques and methods, it is very much possible with great results.
You can use the idea of glass sublimation as a new business opportunity. Not many people are in the field yet. Today’s article will cover everything you need to know about sublimation on glass for the best results.
There are multiple ways to do sublimation on the glass. Some are complicated and some are easy yet effective. The process/guide we will tell you is the simplest yet gives the best results.
Material Requirements – Sublimation On Glass
Sublimation Printer:
Needed to print the design for sublimation on glass. You can use any sublimation printer, just the quality of print should be good.
Heat Press Machine:
A heat press machine is required to transfer the print from the paper to the glass via heat transfer. For sublimation on glass, a flat heat press is needed if your glass substrate is flat.
Sublimation Paper:
Sublimation paper is needed to print the design on it. You can use other paper but it includes some additional steps that cause more time and resources. So the best is to use sublimation paper.
Sticky Adhesive Vinyl Sheet:
A sticky Adhesive vinyl sheet is very important in the process of glass sublimation. It is used as a sticker on the glass on which we do our actual sublimation.
Application Fluid For Vinyl Wrap:
This fluid is needed to stick the vinyl sheet with the glass more strongly. Although the vinyl sheet is already sticky when its heat pressed it might lose the stickiness with the glass.
Heat-Resisting Tape and Small Accessories:
Heat-resisting tape, squeegee, tape dispenser, scale, and gloves are also needed. These are not necessary because you can use any alternative for these if you can. But recommended is to use proper and all mentioned accessories.
Process Of Sublimation On Glass
The process of glass sublimation is simple. Just follow these steps and you will achieve great professional results.
Step 1:
Step one is to prepare all the accessories and designs on your computer. Once the design is ready, print it on sublimation paper using a sublimation printer.
Step 2:
Clean your glass substrate with scrub and let it dry. Cut your vinyl sheet according to the size and measurement of the substrate. Most people use “dollar store” glass cut sheets. It is inexpensive as well as tested. You can use that as well.
Step 3:
Remove the vinyl sheet from the paper, on the sticky side spray application fluid for the vinyl sheet and place it on the glass. Now using squeegee and work from the center out to get rid of the fluid present under the sheet. Using squeegee is necessary, otherwise, you may face bubbling issues after the sublimation is done.
Step 4:
Then heat press the glass and vinyl sheet for a few seconds. Once it’s done, place the sublimation on the heat press, and on top of it place your glass-facing vinyl sheet on the paper. Tape the corners with heat-resisting tape. It does not allow the sheet and glass to move while pressing. Heat press it for 150-180 seconds depending on the glass and heat press at 395 F at medium pressure.
Step 5:
After the heat press is done, let the glass gets cool down and then remove the heat-resisting tape and sublimation paper from it, and your sublimation printed glass is ready.
Pros
Great business opportunity.
Easy to do the process.
A great vibrant result can be achieved.
Long-lasting high-quality designs can be printed on the glass.
Cons
Beginners may find it hard and ruin the glass at the first few attempts.
At What Temperature Does Glass Sublimate?
Glass sublimation has almost the same standard process of sublimation. There are just a few additional differences that make the glass sublimation possible.
While heat pressing the glass, the temperature, pressure, and time are very important. If you do heat press over or less than required it can make your sublimation look faded.
There is no exact temperature and time for sublimating a glass. Pressure is used medium most of the time. Time and temperature depend on the heat press and what glass you are sublimating.
But for standard practice, 395 F and 150-180 seconds are enough.
Can you sublimate on Mason jars?
There are many materials that can be sublimated. You just need the right knowledge and accessories to do that.
Mason jar sublimation is also possible. But the jar must be design-free and made up of glass. In addition, you will need a special heat press for that.
There are many heat-press in different shapes. For mason jar sublimation, you will need the one which has a round shape and can do heat press round objects.
Sublimation Cup Printing Ideas:
Sublimation printing cups has great potential and demand in people. People want to give these sublimated cups as a gift to their loved ones.
The business opportunity is also there. Even you can offer customizable sublimation printing cups or sell already sublimated cups.
For ideas about design and photos, you can use many websites like Pinterest or buy some designs as well. Furthermore, you can use royalty-free images from google as well.
Best Places To Buy Glass Blanks
Once you know the process and requirements, now you want to do sublimation on glass. But for that, you will need the accessories and materials needed. You can find all these on your own but it will cost you your time. Let us help you with this. Underneath we have listed Top 4 places to buy sublimation glass blanks.
Well-known online marketplace. Trusted by millions of customers, Amazon has a huge variety of sublimation blanks. When it comes to glass sublimation blank, they also have a wide range of products.
You can easily find the best and cost-effective sublimation glass blanks from there.
The site is loved by people for its pricing. Dollar Tree is an online and physical store-based website that offers multiple household-related items at very cheap rates. You can find glass sublimation blank from there as well and most of the glass sublimation has been done on their blank by professionals.
eBay:
eBay is famous for used items selling and buying. You can find many items in good conditions there like sublimation printer or heat press machine at very cheap.
As far as glass sublimation blank is concerned, there are multiple options for it on eBay as well. You just need to do a little research for it and you can find the best blank for your glass sublimation.
Etsy:
Etsy is popular among art lovers and creative people. You can not find regular household-related stuff there. Instead only art-related or any object that can be used to do some creativity can be found on Etsy.
Sublimation glass blank is one of them and can be found very easily there. You can also get a professional-looking design for your sublimation from there.
Recommended to read: Sublimation Printing on Metal
