# How do I covert my printer to use sublimation ink? (canon MX340) - can I use regular ink for transfers?



## TheShack

Hi, I just purchased a 6-in-1 heat press machine. I thought this was going to be an easy way to start my own t-shirt business!?! 

Can someone help me figure some things out? 

How do I convert my printer to use sublimation ink? (Canon MX340). If so, how do I go about this? 
Can I use regular printer ink and put it on a t-shirt? 
With that, is this a good quality design vs. sublimation ink? 
Can I use scissors to cut vinyl for shirts? 
The more I search, the more info comes about, and man I am nervous about doing the wrong thing. I have many people wanting to buy my designs on t-shirts but no real knowledge of how to go about it. (at least I thought I did until I hit the internet.


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## MRPRINTER

*Re: Confused*

Hey 
I was in the same boat
you can find all your answers here
this site is really very helpful


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## TheShack

*Re: Confused*

Thanx so much, for the help. I just printed my first and I am not impressed with regular ink jet ink. I can scratch it off with my nail. I can't sell something like that to someone.


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## Rodney

:: edited thread TITLE to be more descriptive  ::​


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## Rodney

> How do I covert my printer to use sublimation ink? (canon MX340)


I'm not sure if you can, but hopefully other members will be able to shed some light on this.

There are printers that are more commonly used for dye sublimation...like the epson or ricoh brand of printers.



> Can I use regular printer ink and put on t-shirt?


This might sound like a silly question, but do understand all of the different types of heat transfers?

There are inkjet heat transfers, laser heat transfers, vinyl transfers, plastisol transfers, and dye sublimation.

Dye sublimation cannot be done on 100% cotton t-shirts. It's a special process that creates a chemical reaction with the inks and the garment (100% polyester or a high poly blend) so that the ink fuses with the fabric. Dye sub also can't be done on dark garments.

When you say transfers with "regular inks", it sounds like you might be talking about heat transfers. For heat transfers you want a printer that prints with pigment inks (like those found in many Epson printers). You'll also want to use a quality inkjet transfer paper (like Jet Pro Softstretch or Ironall). Even then, there will be a bit of a transfer "residue" around the white space in the images and the quality is not the same as dye sublimation.



> With that, is this a good quality design vs. sublimation ink?


Which two processes are you trying to compare here?

You can get a good breakdown of the different printing types and quality comparisons between them here:

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t37985.html

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t48532.html



> Can I use scissors to cut vinyl for shirts?


No, you'll need a vinyl cutter to cut out vinyl designs for t-shirts. You can see the process here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-crossover-diary-heat-press-newbie/t10363.html



> The more I search the more info is coming about, and man I am nervous to do the wrong thing


Anytime you have a question, feel free to start a new topic about that question. That way each topic will have a unique subject title that will help experienced users know what type of help you need 

There's a lot of great information here and sometimes it can take a while (and a few follow up questions) to make it sink it. Once you start understand the different printing types that are being discussed (by reading through the threads I linked to above), it should help to make things clearer.



> I have many wanting to buy my designs on a t-shirt but no real knowing of how to go about it.


There's many ways to do this without wading through the learning curve of becoming a "printer" yourself. 

There's no rule that says you have to do everything yourself. If you're a great designer, that doesn't mean you have to learn to be a great printer in order to sell your designs.

There's many options available. 

Using an online printing and shipping service like Zazzle, CafePress, PrintFection, etc is one way to upload your designs quickly and let another company handle the hassles of printing, customer service, ecommerce, etc. You just send the people interested in your designs to the free stores hosted by those services. As people order, they print and ship the orders on demand.

You could also setup an ecommerce website yourself through a service like storenvy.com, shopify.com, or bigcartel. You would upload pictures of your t-shirt designs and when someone orders you could send the order to a company that does Direct to Garment (DTG) printing to print the order on demand and ship it to the customer. You could get a bunch of t-shirts screen printed and warehouse them in your house and ship out the orders as they come in. You could get plastisol transfers made of your designs and heat press the transfers to the t-shirts as the orders come in.

You have lots of options  Just keep reading, asking questions and moving forward.


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## charles95405

Rodney has given you a lot of info...In short my 2 cents..Canon is not a good choice for any transfers..Epsons seem to be the best for this...but not the 1400 which uses Claria inks. I do not think there are any solutions for using sublimation inks in a Canon You cannot switch back and forth between sublimation and OEM inks without wasting a lot of pricey inks.


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## martisa69

did you find answer? Once the printer is used with normal ink, can it be converted to a sublimation printer? help!


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## mgparrish

martisa69 said:


> did you find answer? Once the printer is used with normal ink, can it be converted to a sublimation printer? help!


Canon printers cannot be used for sublimation period. 

They don't have piezo electric print heads, they have thermal print heads which would cause the ink to start the sublimation process even before it hits the paper. The thermal print head uses heat to transport the inks.

Piezo print heads like used on Epson and Ricoh and a few other wide format models use electrical charge to push the inks thru the heads.


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## dapoopta

mgparrish said:


> Canon printers cannot be used for sublimation period.
> 
> They don't have piezo electric print heads, they have thermal print heads which would cause the ink to start the sublimation process even before it hits the paper. The thermal print head uses heat to transport the inks.
> 
> Piezo print heads like used on Epson and Ricoh and a few other wide format models use electrical charge to push the inks thru the heads.



But can you convert an epson printer to sublimation after you have used it as a regular printer?


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## mgparrish

dapoopta said:


> But can you convert an epson printer to sublimation after you have used it as a regular printer?


Yes. If there are long ink lines like on large format or a few select desktop models then you need to purge out the old inks.

Most desktops just install the carts and do a head clean or 2.


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## dapoopta

I have the workforce 610. I'm still learning.. any recommends on refillable cartridges I should consider?


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## mgparrish

dapoopta said:


> I have the workforce 610. I'm still learning.. any recommends on refillable cartridges I should consider?


I would suggest you get that from your ink vendor. Also, suggest you use an ink vendor that offers ICC profiles.

I use Cobra


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## nredman0

PM me if you can. I have a lot of questions about my canon printer printing on sublimation paper. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you soon.


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## mgparrish

nredman0 said:


> email me if you can. i have alot of questions about my canon printer printing on sublimation paper. my email is [email protected]. Thanks and i look forward to hearing from you soon.


Canon cannot be used for sublimation, the printer uses heat to transport inks, it will start to prematurely sublimate in the print head due to the sub ink.

You must use a piezo head like found on Epson or Ricoh. These use electrical charge to transport the inks thru the head and not heat.


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## DawnM63

TheShack said:


> Hi, i just purchased a 6 in 1 heat press machine. Thought this was going to be easy to start my own t-shirt business!?! Can someone help me figure some things out. How do I covert my printer to use sublimation ink? (canon MX340). If so, how do I go about this? Can I use regular printer ink and put on t-shirt? With that, is this a good quality design vs. sublimation ink? Can I use scissors to cut vinyl for shirts? The more I search the more info is coming about, and man I am nervous to do the wrong thing. I have many wanting to buy my designs on a t-shirt but no real knowing of how to go about it. (at least i thought I did, until I hit the internet.


I use Koala Tshirt Transfer paper for light & dark Tshirts( mirror printed for light* ).* My printer is a Canon Pixma MG3650 inkjet & they come out great. I use a Cricut Maker to print & cut designs too. I also use a heat press to attach them.
I want to start using a mug press & sublimation ink but cannot find anywhere that tells me IF I can use the ink in my printer. I be interested to find out.


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## webtrekker

You cannot use sublimation ink in Canon printers.


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## Gisèle Leb

DawnM63 said:


> I use Koala Tshirt Transfer paper for light & dark Tshirts( mirror printed for light* ).* My printer is a Canon Pixma MG3650 inkjet & they come out great. I use a Cricut Maker to print & cut designs too. I also use a heat press to attach them.
> I want to start using a mug press & sublimation ink but cannot find anywhere that tells me IF I can use the ink in my printer. I be interested to find out.


Do you use special ink or just regular ink 
Sorry new here


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## Cds1022

mgparrish said:


> Canon printers cannot be used for sublimation period.
> 
> They don't have piezo electric print heads, they have thermal print heads which would cause the ink to start the sublimation process even before it hits the paper. The thermal print head uses heat to transport the inks.
> 
> Piezo print heads like used on Epson and Ricoh and a few other wide format models use electrical charge to push the inks thru the heads.


I’m confused. There’s all types of information online about the cannon pixma being used for sublimation. It’s actually one of the top 10 sublimation printers listed on several sites. Because it uses heat to transfer the ink. So why does everyone say canon can’t be used? I’ve been using mine with heat transfer paper but why can’t I use sublimation paper?? I’m going to buy a pack and try it. Consumer sites wouldn’t list that printer as a sublimation printer if you couldn’t use it for sublimation. It’s even printed on the box when you buy the printer.


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## DrivingZiggy

Cds1022 said:


> I’m confused. There’s all types of information online about the cannon pixma being used for sublimation. It’s actually one of the top 10 sublimation printers listed on several sites. Because it uses heat to transfer the ink. So why does everyone say canon can’t be used? I’ve been using mine with heat transfer paper but why can’t I use sublimation paper?? I’m going to buy a pack and try it. Consumer sites wouldn’t list that printer as a sublimation printer if you couldn’t use it for sublimation. It’s even printed on the box when you buy the printer.


Already answered above.


mgparrish said:


> Canon printers cannot be used for sublimation period.
> 
> They don't have piezo electric print heads, they have thermal print heads which would cause the ink to start the sublimation process even before it hits the paper. The thermal print head uses heat to transport the inks.
> 
> Piezo print heads like used on Epson and Ricoh and a few other wide format models use electrical charge to push the inks thru the heads.


Now, if you're talking about just running some sublimation paper through your printer, it might print on the paper. You might even be able to get it to transfer to the substrate--although that's highly unlikely. However, if it's not actually sublimated onto the substrate it will not "stick."


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## webtrekker

Cds1022 said:


> I’m confused. There’s all types of information online about the cannon pixma being used for sublimation. It’s actually one of the top 10 sublimation printers listed on several sites. Because it uses heat to transfer the ink. So why does everyone say canon can’t be used? I’ve been using mine with heat transfer paper but why can’t I use sublimation paper?? I’m going to buy a pack and try it. Consumer sites wouldn’t list that printer as a sublimation printer if you couldn’t use it for sublimation. It’s even printed on the box when you buy the printer.


Ok then. How about posting some links of all of these places you've seen online using Canon Pixma's for sublimation? I, for one, would be very interested!


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## Cds1022

webtrekker said:


> Ok then. How about posting some links of all of these places you've seen online using Canon Pixma's for sublimation? I, for one, would be very interested!











7 Best Sublimation Printers in 2022 【Canon vs Epson】


Bring your home art projects to life with these best printers for sublimation! These best sublimation printers give vibrant colors that are great for your shirts, mugs & what not!




time4buying.com


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## Cds1022

Cds1022 said:


> 7 Best Sublimation Printers in 2022 【Canon vs Epson】
> 
> 
> Bring your home art projects to life with these best printers for sublimation! These best sublimation printers give vibrant colors that are great for your shirts, mugs & what not!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> time4buying.com











10 Best Sublimation Printer For T Shirts 2022 - World Cup Tech


The best sublimation printer for T shirts come in handy for crafters who want to go beyond printing on paper and canvass to designing T-shirts.




www.worldcuptech.com


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## into the T

Cds1022 said:


> 10 Best Sublimation Printer For T Shirts 2022 - World Cup Tech
> 
> 
> The best sublimation printer for T shirts come in handy for crafters who want to go beyond printing on paper and canvass to designing T-shirts.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.worldcuptech.com


all those sites are made for the affiliate links, they use keywords to trick the unsuspecting/naive interweb users
they do this for every product under the sun

they are not made by someone who has used the printers listed for sublimation
i mean they have the kodak selphy listed as a good printer for sublimating t-shirts

as mgparrish mentioned in this thread:
you CANNOT use a canon pixma for sublimation, it is the wrong printhead technology


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## webtrekker

You, and many others, are confused because Canon make the 'Selphy ' so-called 'sublimation' printer for printing out photos. It uses entirely different technology that has been sadly misnamed as sublimation.

Canon printers can NOT be converted to dye sublimation as we know it. Please read the following...

*Are Canon Printers Good for Sublimation?*
*Canon makes answering this question easy. No, Canon printers cannot be used for sublimation or converted to be used for sublimation. They use thermal printing technology which would negatively impact sublimation ink.*

But what about the Canon Sublimation printer? I know, I know,…most people have heard that Canon makes a dye sublimation printer and it confuses people for obvious reasons.

The Canon Dye Sublimation Selphy Printers (link to check product) are the coolest little desktop printers but they are not sublimation printers. Rather, they use sublimation ink and a built-in heater to sublimate your photos onto clear film. They do not allow you to insert paper and print out sublimation prints.

Conclusion: You Cannot use Canon printers for Sublimation and don’t be confused by Canon’s sublimation desktop photo printer.

Hope that helps. My advice - forget about Canon for sublimation and don't believe everything you read in reviews without thoroughly checking out the facts!


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## Cds1022

into the T said:


> all those sites are made for the affiliate links, they use keywords to trick the unsuspecting/naive interweb users
> they do this for every product under the sun
> 
> they are not made by someone who has used the printers listed for sublimation
> i mean they have the kodak selphy listed as a good printer for sublimating t-shirts
> 
> as mgparrish mentioned in this thread:
> you CANNOT use a canon pixma for sublimation, it is the wrong printhead technology


ok. I’m new to sublimation. I didn’t know. I bought my canon printerBased on these sites for sublimation. I haven’t tried sublimation paper with it I’ve been using heat transfer paper and my heat press and it makes great shirts. I wasn’t meaning to sound rude. I was just confused based on what I had read. Thanks for the information


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## into the T

Cds1022 said:


> ok. I’m new to sublimation. I didn’t know. I bought my canon printerBased on these sites for sublimation. I haven’t tried sublimation paper with it I’ve been using heat transfer paper and my heat press and it makes great shirts. I wasn’t meaning to sound rude. I was just confused based on what I had read. Thanks for the information


 no problem

my issue is with these sites looking official and claiming knowledge they do not have

sublimation paper will not do anything with regular canon dye inks

have you done any wash/dry tests with your canon (12 should be your minimum before selling)
there is some indication dye inks will bleed out of the design with normal washing and drying


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## webtrekker

Cds1022 said:


> ok. I’m new to sublimation. I didn’t know. I bought my canon printerBased on these sites for sublimation. I haven’t tried sublimation paper with it I’ve been using heat transfer paper and my heat press and it makes great shirts. I wasn’t meaning to sound rude. I was just confused based on what I had read. Thanks for the information


It's a shame you've been led down the garden path and duped into buying a printer that's not fit for purpose.

Canon make great printers, so the one you have bought may still come in handy for many other things, but for sublimation you should be looking mainly at Epson, Ricoh, or some Brother machines. Sawgrass printers are very popular but are basically just overpriced Ricoh's and Sawgrass inks are prohibitively expensive. Although I use Ricoh printers myself, I'd probably advise you to start out with an Epson, which is a popular choice for most dye-subbers and excellent, cheap compatible inks will cut your costs while making a great job of your prints.

For printing heat transfers you should really be using a printer with pigment, not dye inks. The Canon's usually only have a pigment black, with the other colours being dye. As into the T has said, do a good few wash tests of your products if you intend selling any. Selling prints made with ordinary dye-based inks will come back to bite you.

Also, be aware of the limits of sublimation when applying to garments. The fabric MUST contain a large percentage of polyester for sublimation to work, typically 50 to 100%. Best prints are obtained on pure white, 100% polyester. Poly/cotton mixes can be sublimated and look great when they come out of the press, but the ink will wash straight out of the cotton fibres after the very first wash, leaving a faded 'retro' look to the garment.


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## Lilas~naenae

martisa69 said:


> did you find answer? Once the printer is used with normal ink, can it be converted to a sublimation printer? help!


Once you use regular ink on a printer NO you can not put sublimation ink in that printer, hope that can answer your question


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## Lilas~naenae

I've bought a canon Maxify, I bought empty cartridges an sublimation ink an it's works just as good


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## NoXid

Lilas~naenae said:


> Once you use regular ink on a printer NO you can not put sublimation ink in that printer, hope that can answer your question


You remove the existing ink and purge with head cleaner or sublimation ink. Details vary depending on whether it is a cartridge printer or a tank printer. I've done it. Many people have done it. It is not an issue.

The Canon Maxify printer you mention works with sublimation ink? Aren't all Canon print heads thermal-based, using heat to expel ink? Epson and Rioch use piezo heads, no heat, so no problem with sublimation ink.


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## Brian

NoXid said:


> You remove the existing ink and purge with head cleaner or sublimation ink. Details vary depending on whether it is a cartridge printer or a tank printer. I've done it. Many people have done it. It is not an issue.
> 
> The Canon Maxify printer you mention works with sublimation ink? Aren't all Canon print heads thermal-based, using heat to expel ink? Epson and Rioch use piezo heads, no heat, so no problem with sublimation ink.


Maybe what you'all need to do is to explain the diiference between "dye sublimation ink and Sublimation ink. What kind of ink is 'Lilas-naenae' using in the Cannon?( can't find the tildae? on my keyboard).


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## NoXid

Brian said:


> Maybe what you'all need to do is to explain the diiference between "dye sublimation ink and Sublimation ink. What kind of ink is 'Lilas-naenae' using in the Cannon?( can't find the tildae? on my keyboard).


The difference is whether people bother to type both words. Sublimation is the important word, as there are other types of dye ink that are not sublimation ink, but all sublimation ink is dye ink.


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## into the T

NoXid said:


> You remove the existing ink and purge with head cleaner or sublimation ink. Details vary depending on whether it is a cartridge printer or a tank printer. I've done it. Many people have done it. It is not an issue.
> 
> The Canon Maxify printer you mention works with sublimation ink? Aren't all Canon print heads thermal-based, using heat to expel ink? Epson and Rioch use piezo heads, no heat, so no problem with sublimation ink.


you are right on the first point

the second point needs an updated answer
canon has new pigment ink printers that can be used for sublimation, 
check the list of eligible printers here (anything that uses their drhd inks)

i doubt you will get an icc for the canon and sub ink
you could pay for a custom profile, or just try the profile for epsons when you buy from cobra/inkowl/cosmos


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## marwa

mgparrish said:


> Canon cannot be used for sublimation, the printer uses heat to transport inks, it will start to prematurely sublimate in the print head due to the sub ink.
> 
> You must use a piezo head like found on Epson or Ricoh. These use electrical charge to transport the inks thru the head and not heat.


Does Sawgrass SG series use piezo print head?


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## blue_lazer

marwa said:


> Does Sawgrass SG series use piezo print head?


Sawgrass printers are manufactured by Ricoh, it uses their Geljet technology which uses low viscosity ink, presumably piezo inkjet technology.


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## Dan12

MRPRINTER said:


> *Re: Confused*
> 
> Hey
> I was in the same boat
> you can find all your answers here
> this site is really very helpful


Could you please send me to the link to the site


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## NoXid

Dan12 said:


> Could you please send me to the link to the site


That was 11 years ago, so they may not still be active on the forum. But regardless, there was never a link. They were referring to this forum.


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