The Best Sublimation Starter Kit
Nobody can sublimate with a printer alone. This is the five-part list, assembled from parts we would actually buy rather than a bundle someone boxed up.
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Buy the printer, the paper, polyester blanks and a real press — those four are the kit, and the Epson SureColor F170 is the printer to get if you can, because nothing is converted and nothing is unsupported. The budget pick is a small refillable EcoTank plus third-party ink, which is the cheapest working route in. The component people get wrong is the press: sublimation needs a held high temperature, and an iron does not deliver one. Here is the full list and what each part is for.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Epson SureColor F170The lowest-priced printer sold as a dye-sublimation machine rather than converted into one — the honest ans... | The printer — the piece to get right | $399.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 2 |  A-SUB Sublimation PaperThe paper most beginners land on, and a sensible default: high transfer rate, dries fast enough to handle, ... | The paper — not optional, not interchangeable | $19.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 3 |  Polyester Blank ShirtsSublimation bonds to polyester and only polyester — the blank matters more than the printer, and this is th... | The blanks — the part that decides whether anything works | $19.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 4 |  Cricut EasyPress SEThe current EasyPress and the easiest first heat source: controlled temperature, a flat even plate, and it ... | The press — where most kits cut the wrong corner | $79.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 5 |  Sublimation Tumbler BlanksPolymer-coated tumblers are the most forgiving sublimation blank there is — the coating does the work, so a... | The first project worth doing | $33.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 6 |  Epson EcoTank ET-2800The printer most people convert — cheap, refillable, and widely documented. Read the warranty section befor... | The budget pick — the cheapest printer route into a kit | Check price on Amazon #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Prices come from Amazon on the date stamped on each button and can change after that — check the listing before you buy.
Why we do not recommend boxed bundles
Boxed sublimation starter bundles tend to be assembled around a price point rather than around a working setup, and the component they cut is almost always the one that matters most.
- The press is the usual casualty. A bundle that includes a small iron-style press keeps the price attractive and leaves you unable to hold temperature across a design.
- Blanks are often cotton or low-polyester. Which means they will not take the dye at all, and the first failure gets blamed on the printer.
- Ink is unbranded. Ink quality varies more than any other component, and a bundle rarely tells you whose it is.
- You pay for things you already own. Tape, gloves and scissors are not a value-add.
- What a bundle does get right: it stops you forgetting the paper. That is a real risk, and it is the reason to work from a list like this one instead.
1. Best for the printer — the piece to get right
Epson SureColor F170
Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-10-29
The top pick because a purpose-built sublimation printer removes the one problem that derails most beginner kits: converting a photo printer and then being unable to tell whether a bad print is the ink, the profile or the paper. Manufacturer ink and manufacturer profiles mean your first print has a known-good baseline. Honest cons: small format, so large designs are out, and the ink is the manufacturer's — which is the trade for being supported.
What works
- Sold and warranted as a sublimation printer, so nothing about it is a workaround
- Refillable ink bottles rather than cartridges, so ink cost per page stays low
- Epson supplies the sublimation print software and profiles itself
- Costs substantially less than the Sawgrass machines it competes with
What does not
- Epson's own published resolution is lower than a converted photo EcoTank's
- Same 8.5 in width limit as the cheap convertible route
- One year of warranty, where Sawgrass publishes three on the SG500
- Stock comes and goes — Epson's own store has shown it out of stock
Not for you if
Your budget genuinely stops at $200. This is not a sub-$200 printer, and pretending otherwise is how people end up disappointed.
Key specs
- Type
- Dedicated dye-sublimation printer
- Max paper width
- Epson states 8.5 in; printable length limited by the application and driver
- Resolution
- Epson states a maximum of 1200 x 600 dpi
- Ink
- Four-color C/M/Y/K Epson T49M dye-sublimation ink bottles into a reservoir
- Connectivity
- Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and 10/100 Ethernet
- Warranty
- Epson lists a standard one-year unit exchange with phone support
Price as of November 12, 2026
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2. Best for the paper — not optional, not interchangeable
A-SUB Sublimation Paper
A-SUB · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Sublimation transfer paper is coated to release dye under heat, and ordinary printer paper will not do it. This is also the component that most often causes a pale or blotchy first print, usually because the wrong side was printed on. Buy a well-reviewed general-purpose paper: it works across dedicated and converted printers alike, so it is not a decision you have to revisit when you change hardware.
What works
- Consistent results across shirts, mugs and hard blanks
- Dries quickly enough that sheets do not smudge when stacked
- Cheap enough to practice with
What does not
- Only works with sublimation ink — regular ink will not transfer
- Printing on the wrong side wastes the sheet and the ink
Not for you if
You are printing on dark fabric. Sublimation does not work on dark fabric at all, whatever paper you use.
Key specs
- Type
- Dye-sublimation transfer paper
- Weight
- Commonly 125 gsm
- Sizes
- Letter and larger sheets
- Transfer rate
- High — most of the ink releases to the blank
- Printed side
- One side only — the coated side
Price as of November 12, 2026
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3. Best for the blanks — the part that decides whether anything works
Polyester Blank Shirts
Joyclub · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
The single most important thing to understand before buying a kit: sublimation bonds to polyester and polymer coatings, not to cotton. Polyester blanks are therefore not a preference, they are a requirement, and a high polyester content gives brighter, more durable results. Honest cons: a 100% polyester tee feels different to a cotton one and dark garments are off the table, because sublimation ink is translucent and cannot print white.
What works
- The only fabric sublimation genuinely bonds to
- Result has no hand feel at all — the design is in the fabric
- Will not crack or peel the way a vinyl transfer can
What does not
- White or near-white only — this is a hard physical limit
- 100% polyester feels different from a cotton tee
- Blends fade the design, which you may or may not want
Not for you if
You want a soft cotton shirt or a dark shirt. Use heat transfer vinyl instead — it works on both.
Key specs
- Fabric
- 100% polyester, or a high-polyester blend
- Color
- White or very light — dark fabric will not work
- Why polyester
- Sublimation ink bonds to polymer, not to cotton fiber
- Blend behavior
- A 65/35 blend gives a faded, vintage-looking result
Price as of November 12, 2026
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4. Best for the press — where most kits cut the wrong corner
Cricut EasyPress SE
Cricut · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Sublimation needs a high temperature held for a long dwell with even pressure, which is more than an iron can deliver and the reason boxed kits that include an iron-style press disappoint. A controlled flat plate that reaches and holds a set temperature across the whole design is the minimum, and it is the component where spending properly changes your output most. Honest cons: you supply the pressure, so technique matters, and a flat plate cannot touch a curved blank.
What works
- Holds a set temperature, which a household iron does not
- Even plate contact across the whole design
- Cricut's Heat Guide gives exact settings for it by material
- Stores away, which matters more than people expect
What does not
- You supply the pressure by leaning on it, so results depend on your technique
- Costs more than a comparably sized clamshell press
- Small plates mean multi-press passes on a big design
Not for you if
You are pressing more than a handful of shirts a week. Leaning on a handheld press twenty times an evening gets old fast — buy a clamshell.
Key specs
- Type
- Handheld heat press
- Plate sizes
- 12 x 10 in and 9 x 9 in in the SE line
- Temperature
- Set precisely; holds it, unlike a household iron
- Timer
- Built in, with an audible finish
- Storage
- Shelf or drawer — no permanent bench space
Price as of November 12, 2026
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5. Best for the first project worth doing
Sublimation Tumbler Blanks
UIRZOTN · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Worth buying with the kit because a coated tumbler is the most forgiving first sublimation project there is: the coating is designed for this, the result looks professional immediately, and tumblers are what most people around here actually want to make. Honest cons: a flat press cannot press them — a curved blank needs a wrap-style press or an oven method — so check what you have before ordering a box of twenty.
What works
- The coating makes color come out bright and sharp
- Very forgiving of small timing errors
- Sold in cheap multi-packs so practice costs little
What does not
- Must be sublimation-specific — an ordinary tumbler will not take the ink
- Needs a tumbler press or an oven; a flat press cannot do it
- Not dishwasher-proof in practice, whatever the listing says
Not for you if
You only have a flat heat press. A flat plate cannot wrap a tumbler evenly.
Key specs
- Coating
- Polymer coating — required for sublimation to bond
- Common size
- 20 oz skinny tumbler
- Heat source
- Tumbler press, convection oven, or shrink wrap plus oven
- Color
- White or very light — sublimation ink is translucent
Price as of November 12, 2026
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6. Best for the budget pick — the cheapest printer route into a kit
Epson EcoTank ET-2800
Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
The cheapest way to assemble a working kit, named as such, and the route a lot of people genuinely take: a small refillable printer plus third-party sublimation ink. If you are not yet sure sublimation is for you, this risks the least money. Honest cons: it is a conversion, so no support, no supplied colour profile and no way back; maintenance is yours; and print size is small. Read our conversion page before you commit to it.
What works
- By far the cheapest way to start sublimating
- Refillable tanks mean low running cost once converted
- Very widely documented by the crafting community
What does not
- Converting it with third-party sublimation ink voids Epson's coverage for ink-related damage
- A converted printer cannot go back to regular ink
- 8.5 in width limits you to letter-size transfers
Not for you if
You want a supported, warrantied sublimation setup you can call for help on. Buy a dedicated sublimation printer instead.
Key specs
- Type
- Refillable-tank inkjet — sold as a regular printer
- Sublimation
- Not a sublimation printer as sold; people convert it
- Max print width
- 8.5 in (letter)
- Ink system
- Four refillable tanks
- Warranty note
- Epson's warranty covers damage from genuine ink, not third-party ink
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The material rule that decides everything
Sublimation dye bonds to polyester and to polymer coatings. It does not bond to cotton, and it cannot print white, so light-coloured polyester garments and coated hard blanks are the whole addressable range. This is not a limitation of cheap kits — it is how the process works. We set it out in can you sublimate on cotton and can you sublimate on dark shirts, and both are worth reading before you spend anything.
What the whole kit costs
More than the printer, and the gap surprises people. Our sublimation startup costs page adds it up honestly, is sublimation worth it weighs it against heat transfer vinyl, and sublimation for beginners walks the first project end to end.
Prices in the table are read from Amazon automatically, each with the date it was read beneath the button. Assembling a kit from parts means you can see exactly where the money goes — which is the main argument for doing it this way.
Common questions
What do I need for a sublimation starter kit?
Are sublimation starter bundles worth buying?
Can I use my existing heat press for sublimation?
How we picked
We verify every product is currently sold by reading the manufacturer's own catalog, compare published specifications rather than marketing copy, and rank on what a first-time buyer has to decide. We do not run lab tests and we do not claim to, and commission never affects the order.
Read this next
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Sublimation Startup Costs
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The Best Sublimation Printer Under $1000
Three registry printers currently priced under $1000, ranked by what the budget buys: purpose-built hardware, supported colour, or tabloid-size prints.
The Best Sublimation Paper
Which transfer paper to buy, plus the two beginner mistakes that waste sheets and ink.
Sublimation Printer and Heat Press
How to match a press to a printer, why drinkware needs a curved press, and the complete list of what a working setup includes.
Back to Sublimation.