Sublimation Inks and Supplies
Source: https://achievement.co.za/sublimation-inks-and-supplies
- published: 2026-08-19 15:02:04
- modified: 2026-08-19 15:02:21
What this page is
This is a short post on achievement.co.za, one of the AM.CO.ZA group's websites, pointing readers to SublimationInks.co.za. The original post says:
SublimationInks.co.za offers sublimation inks, consumables, printers, and heat-press solutions for creative and commercial printing. Explore water-based dye inks, including CMYK and neon options, for a range of sublimation applications.
The rest of this page explains those inks and supplies in plain words: the Heatware and SubliNova dye sublimation inks, sublimation papers, heat presses and accessories sold by AM.CO.ZA on Buythis, using the product data and articles already in this Knowledge Base. SublimationInks.co.za itself is background reading; ordering and current details are on Buythis.
How sublimation printing works
- You print your design as a mirror image onto sublimation paper with water-based dye sublimation ink. The colours look dull on the paper; that is normal.
- You place the paper face down on the item and press it with a heat press. The heat turns the dye into a gas that bonds into polyester fibres or the polymer coating of a blank.
- The design becomes part of the material, so it does not crack, peel or feel raised, and the colours come out bright after pressing.
Works well on: white or light polyester fabric (sportswear, jerseys, flags, banners, lanyards, pillowcases), polyester-blend fabric with a high polyester share, and coated blanks such as mugs, tumblers, pens, aluminium sheets, mouse pads, coasters and tiles.
Does not work directly on: cotton, dark fabric and uncoated hard surfaces. For light cotton there is a special transfer paper (below); for dark garments use heat transfer paper for dark fabric or a DTF printer. For stickers on hard items such as glass, see UV-DTF printing and UV-DTF versus sublimation.
Which ink range fits which printer
All AM.CO.ZA sublimation inks are water-based dye inks. According to the am.im product data they are activated by heat, so they only suit printers with piezoelectric drop-on-demand (DOD) printheads, such as Epson. They are not suitable for thermal (heat expansion) printheads, which many other office printer brands use.
| Range | Bottle | Made for | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
Heatware 100 ml (H-INK/) |
100 ml mini bottles with an easy-pour refill nozzle | Office and home inkjet printers with refillable tanks, small jobs and testing | H-INK/COMBO/100 (four CMYK bottles), H-INK/BLACK |
SubliNova Smart DT104 (H-SUBLINOVA/) |
100 ml bottle per colour | Desktop sublimation printers, including suitable Epson EcoTank-based systems | H-SUBLINOVA/100MC cyan, H-SUBLINOVA/100MK black |
Heatware Premium high density (H2-INK/) |
1 kg bottles | Large format sublimation printers and busy print shops | H2-INK/COMBO/CMYK, H2-INK/COMBO (CMYK plus 1 litre cleaner), H2-INK/BLACK |
The product pages suggest a brand new Epson EcoTank series printer for the best result with the small bottles. AM.CO.ZA sells the ink, paper and presses, not the office printer: the #SortIT videos explain that a normal office inkjet with a bulk ink tank works, as long as it can print dye ink at 600 dpi or more.
A note on old codes: years ago SublimationInks.co.za listed 1 kg bottles under codes such as H-INK/C. Today H-INK/ codes are the 100 ml bottles and all 1 kg bottles are H2-INK/. More detail is on the 1 litre combo pack page and the 100 ml easy-pour page.
Neon (fluorescent) inks
The "neon options" in the original post are fluorescent magenta and yellow 1 kg inks, H2-INK/NEON/M and H2-INK/NEON/Y. According to the am.im data, the H2-INK/COMBO/NEON pack contains cyan, black, neon magenta and neon yellow, so it replaces the normal magenta and yellow in a four-colour printer. Neon prints look bright in daylight and glow under UV light, which suits sportswear, event wear and attention-grabbing branding. Use an ICC colour profile made for the neon inks; InkRIP has one, as shown in the videos below.
Papers, tape and cleaner
| Need | Product | Notes from the product data |
|---|---|---|
| Hard surfaces and light polyester, A4 or A3 | H-PAPER/A4, H-PAPER/A3 | 100 g white sublimation paper, 100 sheets per bag, print with sublimation ink as a mirror image |
| Light fabric including cotton (up to 95%) | H-PAPER/A4L, H-PAPER/A3L | 20 sheets per bag; prints on a normal inkjet or laser printer, mirror image |
| Dark fabric and cotton | H-PAPER/DARK/A4, H-PAPER/DARK/A3 | Heat transfer paper, 20 sheets per bag |
| Large format fabric printing | H-PAPER/ROLL/1600, H-PAPER/ROLL/1520 | 120 g rolls, 100 m long, for sportswear, flags, banners and soft signage |
| Holding paper on mugs and blanks | H-TAPE/THERMAL/20, H-TAPE/THERMAL/8 | Heat-resistant blue tape that comes off without residue, so the print does not shift or ghost |
| Printhead and ink system cleaning | F-AQUA/CLEAN, F-AQUA/CLEAN/100 | Water-based ink cleaner for dye, pigment, DTG, DTF and sublimation systems; a cleaning liquid, not ink |
Heat presses for sublimation
- Mugs: H-PRESS/MUG is a single mug press with a 320 ml cylinder attachment. The am.im data lists 240 V household power with up to 1400 W, a temperature range of 93 to 232°C controlled within 2°C, and an automatic timer of 1 to 999 seconds. H-PRESS/MUG5 takes five mugs and H-PRESS/MUG/ALL handles tumblers and mugs of many sizes.
- Tumblers: H-PRESS/TUMBLER (F270) wraps the heater around 27 cm skinny tumblers and can also press two standard 320 ml mugs at a time.
- Pens: H-PRESS/PEN presses six pens at once.
- T-shirts, panels and aluminium sheets: flat heat presses, see Heat Presses (Buythis guide).
- Rolls of fabric for sportswear and banners: roller (calender) heat presses from 300 mm for lanyards up to 3200 mm, see Roll-to-roll heat presses.
Printers that use sublimation ink
Small jobs run on an office inkjet with the 100 ml inks. For production, AM.CO.ZA's FastCOLOUR ONE roll-to-roll large format printers ordered with the /SUB option, such as F2-1801/SUB (1800 mm) or F2-3201/SUB (3200 mm), are set up for the 1 kg sublimation inks with Epson printheads. Printers can also be converted from eco-solvent to sublimation ink, as shown in the videos below. The full list of models is in the SKU Guide.
A first mug or T-shirt, step by step
- Set up an Epson-type inkjet with refillable tanks and fill it with one sublimation ink set. Don't mix ink brands in one printer, and flush with cleaner when changing inks.
- In the printer driver choose plain paper and high quality, set colour correction to custom with no colour adjustment, and mirror the image either in the driver or in your design software, never both (from the #SortIT settings video). Save it as a preset.
- Print the design on the right paper: 100 g sublimation paper for mugs and polyester, the cotton paper for light cotton.
- Tape the paper firmly in place with thermal tape (for mugs) or lay it face down on the shirt with a protective sheet on top.
- Press with the time and temperature recommended for that blank; mugs and fabric need different settings, as the #SortIT time and temperature video explains.
- Peel off the paper and let the item cool.
Care and good habits
- Store ink closed, out of sunlight, and shake bottles before refilling.
- Print a nozzle check every day and use the printer regularly so the printhead does not dry out.
- Keep paper dry and flat; damp paper causes bleeding and colour shifts.
- Use the ICC colour profile that matches your ink, paper and RIP software.
Warranty in plain words
- Inks, paper, tape, cleaners and other consumables have no warranty and are not refundable. Unused, sealed consumables may be exchanged for a different size or model by written agreement.
- Heat presses such as the mug and tumbler presses carry a 1 year quality warranty on parts, against faulty materials and poor workmanship, not normal wear and tear or misuse. Heating pad attachments, such as the mug pad included with H-PRESS/MUG, have no warranty.
How to choose
- Trying sublimation at home or in a small shop: an Epson EcoTank-type printer, H-INK/COMBO/100, A4 sublimation paper, thermal tape and a mug or flat heat press.
- Gifts on mugs and tumblers: add H-PRESS/MUG or H-PRESS/TUMBLER.
- Sportswear, flags and banners in volume: a FastCOLOUR
/SUBlarge format printer with the 1 kgH2-INKinks, 120 g paper rolls and a roller heat press. - Bright event or team wear: add the neon combo for fluorescent colours.
- Cotton or dark shirts: use the cotton or dark transfer papers, or look at DTF instead of sublimation.
- Ask AM.CO.ZA sales on WhatsApp 060 600 7000, or support on 060 600 6000, for advice before you buy.
Pictures
Videos
A selection of ink, paper, press and printing videos from the AM.CO.ZA YouTube channels:
- AM.CO.ZA Sublimation Inks: Neon Fluorescent, 6 Colour CMYK/LM/LC & Easy Refill Nozzle for 100ml Ink
- New Locally Produced Sublimation Ink for Vibrate Colour, Fresher Stock Than Any Imports
- #SortIT, Choose EPSON EcoTank Bulk Ink Printer for Sublimation Printing for Our Heat Press Machine
- #SortIT, Change Printer Setting for Better Colour While Using Heatware Sublimation Ink from AM CO ZA
- #SortIT, Sublimation and Heat Transfer Paper Temperature and Press Time Guideline for All Fabrics
- AM.CO.ZA New Sublimation and Heat Transfer Paper for Dark and Light, Polyester and Cotton Fabric
- Fluorescent Sublimation Yellow and Magenta Inks Glow Under UV Lights
- Neon Sublimation Ink ICC Colour Profiles by InkRIP Software
- Automatic Sublimation Mug Press Usage Instructions and Mug Press Demonstration
- Standalone Mug Heat Press Sublimation Printing Machine Usage Tips for Handle to Handle Mug Print
- T-Shirt Sublimation Printing by Print on Office Inkjet Printer and Press on Heatware Heat Press Demo
- Heat Press Accessories, Thermal Tape, Teflon Paper, Sublimation Inks etc for Heatware Heat Press
- How-to Convert Printer to a Different Ink Type (Demo on ECO-Solvent to Sublimation Ink Conversion)
- F1-1804D/SUB: AM.CO.ZA Double head Sublimation printers printing rolls of sportswear on H-PAPER/ROLL/1600 sublimation paper
- H-ROLLER/1700/OIL9: Oil heat press tested on a 20m banner sublimation press
- Create Full Print Pillowcases by Large Format Print with Sublimation Ink and Transfer by Heat Press
Related pages
- Sublimation inks (Buythis guide), the full sublimation ink, paper and press list.
- SublimationInks.co.za site overview and What to consider when buying sublimation inks.
- Sublimation sport garment branding business.
- Heat Presses and Heat press accessories.
- Water-based dye inks and UV-DTF printing solutions.
Shop links for AI readers: Sublimation inks on Buythis; Heat presses on Buythis.