This detailed review will show you which is the best sublimation paper.
We compare six (6) sublimation papers and show you the actual printed transfers, final pressed images so you can see for yourself what the differences are, and the cost of each sheet of paper. Our detailed comparison and review of the most commonly used sublimation papers will help you decide which sublimation paper is the best.
There are many sublimation papers to choose from and doing the research can take hours and days. You can read the reviews on buyer’s feedback, read the reviews on sublimation groups, and listen to the pitches from the manufacturers themselves. All this information can make your head spin and you may be more confused than getting closer to finding which paper to get.
After you spend so much time doing the homework and researching which sublimation printer is the best one, which ink to use, what heat press for sublimation to get, then you know choosing the right sublimation paper can play a big role in what your final, pressed sublimated projects will look like.
But don’t just trust the word of the reviewers or people who use them. See for yourself with our detailed sublimation paper review. This comparison and review of the sublimation papers should help you decide what the best sublimation paper is based on actual printed transfers and final pressed sublimation blanks.
We have several reasons for doing this comparison and review of the most widely used sublimation papers.
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To help you choose which is the best sublimation paper, we are comparing the six (6) most popular sublimation papers that a lot of sublimakers use.
The six papers we purchased to use for our comparison testing are: Printers Jack for Light Colors, A-Sub 105G, Epson DS Transfer Multi-Use Paper, Koala Sublimation Paper, HTVront, and Texprint-DT Sublimation Paper. We used the 8x5x11″ size for this testing.
1 – Sublimation Papers Used For TestingThe backside of this sublimation transfer is blue so there is no confusion as to which side is the one that you print on. This is a plus because if you’ve ever made a mistake on printing on the wrong side of the paper, it is a complete waste of time, paper, ink, and sublimation blank.
In the US, it is available in three sizes: 11×17”, 13×19”, and 8.3×11.7”. You can choose which size to get according to your sublimation blanks, printer, and heat press.
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A Sub is available in 105g and 125g weights. The 105g is thinner than the 125g paper. The thicker paper is made for designs with deep, heavy colors while the lighter paper is for designs with lighter colors.
We chose the 105g because it was in stock and the 125g was out of stock at the time of our purchase.
The backside of this paper has a faint A-Sub watermark. This is helpful because you can see which side to print on.
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This Epson DS Transfer Multi-Use Paper came with our sublimation printer, the F170, so we decided to test it.
It has a matte surface and feels as thick as the Texprint DT Heavy paper. According to the epson website, it is made from Alpha Cellulose Paper with a thickness of 4.5 mil and weighs 85gsm. It is made for a wide variety of sublimation substrates including textiles and hard substrates. It also has a high ink transferability.
The backside of this sublimation paper is not marked and it is white, just like the front, printable side. The only difference is that the front is brighter white. So you will have to look hard to figure out which is the front and which is the back.
Swing Design
To figure out what side is the front (printable) side of a sublimation paper, compare the front and back. The brighter, whiter side is generally the printable side.
If you print on the back side, then your image may not transfer or if it does, it will be dull.
The backside of this sublimation paper is blue so you can quickly tell which side is the printable side. There seems to be a newer version of this paper now as the packaging that’s available is different and the back has a watermark instead of the color blue. The manufacturer said it is the same except for packaging.
One thing we noticed with this paper is that it is the thinnest of the six we tested.
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This paper is what we have been using for our business for years because it has given us consistent results. We have been happy with the colors and have not had any problems with getting it from our suppliers. But since there are other sublimation papers available, we are always open to trying new papers…which is one of the reasons why we are doing this comparison testing.
It has the Texprint watermark on the back so we always know which side is the printable side. It comes in multiple sizes including the small mug sizes (3.5×9” and 4×9.5”), letter, legal, tabloid (11×17”) and 13×19”.
In 2021, Texprint DT Heavy is the new name for Texprint-R paper. They are the same exact paper and the only difference is the name.
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Heat Press Nation
The backside of this sublimation paper is watermarked so you won’t confuse which is the printable side. We used the 125g weight for this sublimation paper comparison test.
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The design we used is our original creation using Adobe Photoshop 2022, 300ppi, and in RGB color mode. This RGB format is what you will be using for your own sublimation designs in order to have the best pressed outcome.
Although there are other design softwares you can use for sublimation, Adobe is our favorite as it is capable of handling professional photography images that we use for our sublimation designs.
Below is the screenshot of the image we used to compare the sublimation papers. We made it so it is bright, colorful, vivid, and has a wide range of the colors.
Image used for sublimation paper comparison, ©SublimakersAcademyAnd the below image is the actual jpg image we sent to the printer to print on the sublimation papers we tested.
For this comparison, we chose to use a hard substrate: an 8×12-inch white aluminum that’s made for sublimation. We used this because we have a few leftover from a sublimation project.
It has a bright white surface which, in our own personal business experience, sublimates well and is very affordable.
We used our Epson SureColor F170 Sublimation Printer for this paper comparison. This printer is an actual sublimation printer rather than an inkjet printer converted for sublimation.
It is affordable and comes with a warranty and tech support from Epson. We’ve been using this printer for a couple of years now and have been happy with it’s performance. We haven’t had any problems with it at all so we haven’t called their tech support. See the full review of the Epson F170 Printer so you can see other images of our test prints from this printer.
It is equipped with the Epson Sublimation Ink that is designed for this printer. It is the only ink that is recommended by Epson to be used for this printer. As a side note, this is also the same ink that is used in the F570 Sublimation Printer. It works well with the ICC profile that Epson supplied in their printer driver.
Now let’s compare the prices of each sheet of paper. Just remember that prices can fluctuate based on many factors such as availability, additional shipping costs, and where you purchase your papers from.
For this comparison chart, we used the actual cost of the current price of the paper divided by how many sheets each pack contained. Remember that prices can fluctuate so always check current prices to do your own calculation/comparison.
Sublimation PaperCost Per Pack*Sheets Per PackCost Per Sheet*A-Sub $1911017 centsEpson$3620018 centsHTVront1612013 centsKoala$1917011 centsPrinters Jack$1610016 centsTexprint$1911017 cents*Prices may vary, increase, and change without notice. Prices are from May 2023.After printing the design on our test papers, there were not any big differences that caught our attention at first glance. Judge for yourself, can you spot any major differences on these printed sublimation transfers?
–updated images coming soon–
We have a GeoKnight DK20S Swing Away Press that we use for our business and is also what we used for this testing. This has been a workhorse and is Made in the USA!
If you’ve noticed, there can be a wide range of recommended heat press temperatures and pressing times for the same sublimation blanks. For example, the manufacturer’s website recommends 325°F for 70 seconds for these aluminum blanks.
It all comes down to finding what time and temperature works for you because it all depends on type of heat press, humidity of your environment, and amount of substrate you’re pressing at one time.
So for us and based on our experience with pressing these coasters, we found that 300°F for 50 seconds with a medium pressure is what works. We pressed one 8×12″ aluminum at a time.
After pressing the images on the blank sublimation coasters, let’s study and compare them to each other.
First, let’s take a look at the color bars. As you can see in the image below, all the colors look pretty much the same and nothing makes one stand out more than the other. The reds are reds instead of having an orange tint, and the blacks are black instead of dark brown.
–updated images coming soon–
Based on testing the six sublimation papers: A-Sub, Epson, HTVront, Koala, Printers Jack, and Texprint DT Heavy, we found that Texprint-R seems to be the best sublimation paper
Texprint DT Heavy, made by Beaver Paper (a Koehler Paper Group) and made with a Clay coating to accept the sublimation colors of the sublimation printers. We’ve been using this brand of paper for several years and we still believe it’s the best based on the sublimated images.
–updated images coming soon–
*DISCLAIMERS: Any prices mentioned above are the price at the time of the original publication. These can vary, can fluctuate, and can change at any time. Please check the retailer for current prices.
We make every effort to make sure the above information is correct and up to date by doing our due diligence when performing our research. However, typos can occur and unintended mistakes happen. We are not responsible for any incorrect data published here.
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