What Is The Best Sublimation Paper? Comparison and Review

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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. 

Purpose Of This Comparison And Review To Find The Best Sublimation Paper

We have several reasons for doing this comparison and review of the most widely used sublimation papers. 

1. For our business, we have been using Texprint DT Heavy (formerly known as Texprint-R) but we’re always open to trying, learning, and finding something that may be better.
2. We want to save you some time by showing you how each sublimation paper performs for what they are designed for. Instead of listening to or reading about what each sublimaker likes, we are going to show you what the actual printed sublimation blanks look like so you can decide for yourself.
3. We want to save you money too! We purchased all these sublimation papers so you don’t have to. We are doing the printing so you don’t have to waste your sublimation ink to find the best paper. And we save you on the cost of the sublimation blank too!

What We Used To Compare Sublimation Papers

1. Sublimation Papers

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.

Printers Jack for Light Colors

The 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.  

Printers Jack Sublimation Paper

• Affordable and readily available.
• Comes in 4 sizes

Amazon

A-Sub Sublimation Paper

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. 

A-Sub Sublimation paper

• Affordable and readily available.
• Comes in 4 sizes.

Amazon

Epson DS Transfer Multi-Use Paper

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. 

Epson DS Transfer Multi-Use Paper

• Made for Epson’s sublimation printer (F170 and F570)
• Comes in a pack of 200 sheets
• Available in 3 sizes

Swing Design

Koala Sublimation Paper   

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.

Koala Sublimation Paper

• Affordable and readily available.
• Comes in different weights
• Comes in different paper sizes

Amazon

TexPrint DT Heavy 

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.

Texprint DT Heavy Sublimation paper

• Affordable and reliable.
• 120 gsm
• Available in multiple sizes
• Lower price from Heat Press Nation

Amazon Heat Press Nation

HTVront

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.

HTVront Sublimation Paper

• Affordable and readily available.
• Available in 2 different weights
• Available in 4 paper sizes

Amazon

2. Software and Design

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. 

And the below image is the actual jpg image we sent to the printer to print on the sublimation papers we tested.

3. Sublimation Blank

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. 

4. Sublimation Printer, Ink, Print Settings

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.

Price Comparison Of The Sublimation Papers We Used

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 Paper	Cost Per Pack*	Sheets Per Pack	Cost Per Sheet*
A-Sub	$19	110	17 cents
Epson	$36	200	18 cents
HTVront	16	120	13 cents
Koala	$19	170	11 cents
Printers Jack	$16	100	16 cents
Texprint	$19	110	17 cents

Printed Sublimation Transfers

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–

Pressing Method

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.

The Results: Pressed Sublimation Blank Comparison

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–

What Is The Best Sublimation Paper? The Comparison Results

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 Is What Came Out To Be The Best From This Testing

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–

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