DSF

I bought some A3 sublimation paper from a major supplier on Amazon recently and been happily print my 11 inch clocks with it. Today though there were some water type marks on the clocks and I thought that maybe the paper had got damp with the changes in temperature.

Took a closer look at the pack and even read the packaging and not a sign of the word sublimation on the pack. Just states it high quality photo paper.

Umm I thought, surely not. So I used some of my Go Inkjet 180gsm glossy photo paper that I use for prints and posters and hey presto it worked. And worked really well on aluminium bookmarks. If anything the Go inkjet paper gave a deeper colour than the known sublimation paper that I use in my A4 printer.

Can you spot the difference. The top book mark was printed using a brand name sublimation paper and the bottom bookmark was printed using Go Inkjet glossy photo paper.

I'm putting them both through the dishwasher tonight to see how stable the colours. If they hold fast then tomorrow I'll test the paper on an aluminium clock.

If the photo paper is as good as it first promise I'm going to save a fortune because I buy the paper in bulk amounts that gives me really good prices.

I seriously wasn't expecting photo paper to do the job of sublimation transfer paper so well.

Colours look more vibrant on the bottom image, also a little sharper, that may be the focus on your camera though.

If you get the kit to create your own ICC profiles (or work with someone who does) you can get around the colour shift (which you get a little bit of when changing between different actual sublimation papers)

Off the shelf Epson matte photo paper used to be a regular option years ago and even through some of the main suppliers. Sublimation paper is just a tweaked version of these types of photo papers aimed at better ink release.

Once they add the word sublimation to an item there does seem the automatic 50% increase in price.

If it works for you that's great, always wondered why sub paper was so much more and whether it's marketing rather than actual production cost related

If I'd known photo papers could be used for sublimation printing I'd have changed earlier

A pack of 100 A3 Go inkjet paper works our at less than £15.00 while a pack of 100 A3 branded sublimation paper works is £27.00.

I've only tried in on aluminium but today I'll test it out on ceramic and on notebook covers.

No, colours using the photo paper is much deeper and richer in real life too.

I had not noticed the sharpness until you pointed it out and looking with a magnifying glass the edges of the text and print is sharper with photo paper.

Epson matte photo paper used to be a regular option

Are matte photo papers better than glossy photo paper for sublimation?

I use standard Tesco paper (£3.75 for 500 sheets) for a lot of my black and white work on vests.

Remember, the paper is just the carrier and as long as the ink releases it will do what you need it to.

the paper is just the carrier

I did not know that. I thought it was also part of the process and left a coating as well.

I think I've got a lot of experimenting to do to get a good mix of quality and cost if any paper can be used