What printer settings to use when printing with sublimation ink
A complete step-by-step guide for Epson printers: paper type, quality, mirror, Adobe RGB color correction, and how to save everything as a preset so you no longer waste time on every print.
Many people think a successful sublimation print depends only on the heat press, temperature, and time. The truth is that half of the result is decided before the paper even reaches the press, in the printer driver settings. The same ink and the same paper can produce vivid, accurate colors or a washed-out, purple, or too-dark result, depending on a few checkboxes in the print window.
In this guide, we show you exactly what settings to use for an Epson printer with sublimation ink, why each one matters, how to adjust the colors for photos with people (the hardest test), and how to save everything as a preset so you can apply it with one click.
- 1. What you need before you print
- 2. Basic settings: Main and More Options
- 3. Color correction: Adobe RGB and Gamma 2.2
- 4. Save everything as a preset
- 5. Golden rules for ink and paper
- 6. Not coming out well? Quick troubleshooting
- 7. Interactive recap: all settings
- 8. HONGSAM Ink Packages
- 9. Frequently asked questions
1. What you need before you print
Before any setting, make sure you have the correct combination. The settings below work for:
- Epson printer with CISS or EcoTank system, converted for sublimation
- HONGSAM sublimation ink (not regular ink, ever)
- VeriSub or TexPrint sublimation paper (not copy paper)
VeriSub A4 sublimation paper
100 sheets, fast drying, high transfer rate. Green Print private label.
View the paper
TexPrint XPHR A4 sublimation paper
110 sheets, premium paper recognized internationally for fine details.
View the paperThe 4 base inks (CMYK)
2. Basic settings: Main and More Options tabs
Open the print window (from Photoshop, CorelDRAW, Word, or directly from the image), click Preferences or Properties. All the basic settings are on two tabs: Main (paper, quality) and More Options (mirror, speed).
Main tab: paper, quality, color
- Paper Type → Premium Presentation Paper Matte. If you cannot find this exact option, choose any matte paper setting (Matte). Never Glossy or Plain Paper.
- Quality → High (or Best Photo). It takes a little longer, but the details and color density are visibly better.
- Color → Color (not Grayscale, obviously).
- 2-Sided Printing → Off.
More Options tab: mirror and high speed
Go to the More Options tab. Here there are two critical checkboxes, in the Additional Settings area:
- High Speed → UNCHECKED. High Speed prints bidirectionally, faster, but with poorer dot alignment. For sublimation, you want maximum quality, so you disable it.
- Mirror Image → CHECKED. In sublimation, the image transfers in reverse onto the item, so it must be printed mirrored. Exception: glass products, where the image is applied on the back and viewed through the glass, so no mirroring is done there.
3. Color correction: Adobe RGB and Gamma 2.2
This is where color fidelity is decided. Still on the More Options tab, in the Color Correction section:
Under Color Correction, change from Automatic to Custom. The Advanced button next to it becomes active.
The advanced color options window opens. Here you choose the color mode.
Set Color Mode to Adobe RGB and Gamma to 2.2. These are the starting values for HONGSAM ink.
This is where you play around when printing photos with people
Photos with people, especially faces and leather tones, are the hardest to get right in sublimation. Leather needs a fine balance between magenta and yellow, and any deviation shows immediately: the face comes out too red, too yellow, or too pale.
If, for example, the child's face on the mug comes out with the wrong tint, this is where you adjust it. From the Advanced window, in addition to Color Mode and Gamma, you can also adjust parameters such as:
- Brightness, if the print comes out too dark or too light
- Contrast, for depth
- Saturation, if the colors are too faded or too aggressive
- Density (ink density), if the transfer is too weak
- The individual Cyan, Magenta, Yellow sliders for fine skin correction
4. Save everything as a preset
It makes no sense to set these manually for every print. You save them once as a preset and then select them with one click.
Make sure you have set everything we established above: Matte, High, Mirror ON, High Speed OFF, Custom + Adobe RGB + Gamma 2.2.
In the Printing Presets area (left), click the Add/Remove Presets button.
Give it a clear name, for example HONGSAM Sublimation - Mirrored, optionally add a description ("for normal sublimations without a human face") and press Save.
5. Golden rules for ink and paper
Perfect settings will not save you if you handle consumables incorrectly. Three rules that make the difference between a workshop that consistently produces good colors and one that struggles:
Do not keep the ink in the sun. Ever.
The sun is the biggest enemy of sublimation ink. UV rays and heat degrade the pigments and change the ink’s behavior, leading to color shifts that cannot be corrected from the settings.
✅ Fix: Keep the bottles in the dark, in a cool place (5-25°C), away from windows and heat sources.
Keep the paper always in its packaging
Sublimation paper is porous and absorbs moisture from the air almost instantly. Paper left out of its packaging loses quality: blurry spots appear, the ink "spreads" on the sheet, and the transfer becomes inconsistent. It is a major and frequent problem.
✅ Fix: Take out only the sheets you use and keep the rest in the original, sealed packaging, in a dry place. If you suspect it has absorbed moisture, press the blank sheet for 10 seconds on the flat press before printing.
Do not place the paper on the item immediately after printing
A sheet that has just come out of the printer may still have wet ink. If you place it immediately on the item and press it, you risk smudging, shifting, and ghosting (double, blurry image).
✅ Fix: Let the sheet dry for a few moments before attaching it to the blank. On the other hand, do not leave it for hours either, because it will reabsorb moisture. The balance: let it dry, but press it in the same work session.
6. Not coming out well? Quick troubleshooting
If the print does not come out correctly, go through the list in order. Most of the time, the issue is one of the first ones.
| Check | What to do if that is the case |
|---|---|
| Is the printer new and unused? | Leave it on for 24h to let the ink stabilize before the first serious print. |
| Is Quality set to High and High Speed unchecked? | Set Quality to High, uncheck High Speed, and print again. |
| Is Paper Type set to Matte? | Switch to Premium Presentation Matte (or any Matte) and try again. |
| Have you aligned the print heads? | Run Print Head Alignment from the Maintenance tab. |
| Are there stripes or missing colors? | Run a Nozzle Check. If gaps appear in the pattern, do a print head cleaning (Head Cleaning), 1-3 cycles. |
| Are the colors still drifting? | Check that you do not have double correction (software + driver). Adjust it from Custom → Advanced. |
Checklist before printing
7. Interactive recap: all settings in one place
Below is a reproduction of the Epson window with all the settings already set correctly. Click the Main and More Options tabs to see exactly how each one should look. The values with the green border are the ones you change for sublimation.
8. HONGSAM Ink Packages
The settings above are calibrated for HONGSAM ink. Choose the package according to your printer: if you have a 4-color printer (CMYK), choose the 4-color set, and if you have a 6-color printer (CMYK + Light Cyan + Light Magenta), choose the 6-color set for smooth transitions in photos of people.
4-color set CMYK
For 4-color printers (e.g. EcoTank L1300, L3000 series)
- HONGSAM Cyan 100 ml
- HONGSAM Magenta 100 ml
- HONGSAM Yellow 100 ml
- HONGSAM Black 100 ml
6-color set CMYK + Lc + Lm
For 6-color printers (e.g. EcoTank L800, L805, L810, L1800)
- HONGSAM Cyan 100 ml
- HONGSAM Magenta 100 ml
- HONGSAM Yellow 100 ml
- HONGSAM Black 100 ml
- HONGSAM Light Cyan 100 ml
- HONGSAM Light Magenta 100 ml
9. Frequently asked questions
Why does the print on paper look pale?
Do these settings work with any ink and paper?
Should I use Mirror in Photoshop or in the driver?
The face on the mug comes out with the wrong tint. What should I do?
Do I need to use an ICC profile?
How long does sublimation ink last?
Do you have everything you need for perfect prints?
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