For makers, hobbyists and print shops
Sublimation Center
Learn to print your own plates, desk mats and socks. Then buy the blanks we use.
Everything we know about printing plates, desk mats and socks, from the shop that has pressed over 100,000 of them. Guides, settings, equipment picks, videos, and the same blanks we use, sold in small packs so you can test before you commit.
Start here
The guides
Written from the bench, not the brochure. Every guide has the settings we start at and the fixes for what goes wrong.
How to sublimate license plates
Settings, taping, the haze fix and UV coating.
Read the guideHow to sublimate desk mats & mouse pads
Pressure, pre-pressing, and pressing mats bigger than your press.
Read the guideHow to sublimate socks
Jigs, two-sided pressing, and why polyester content is everything.
Read the guideEquipment guide
Printers, presses, paper and where to buy: Epson, Amazon, Alibaba, Marketplace.
Read the guideTiming, heat & pressure
How to dial in your own settings in six test presses, plus 20 habits.
Read the guideCut a desk mat to size
Clean edges and rounded corners with a utility knife.
Read the guideCheat sheet
Starting settings
Our starting points. Every press reads differently, so run a six-press test and write your own numbers on a label.
| Product | Temp | Time | Pressure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum license plates (gloss) | 400°F / 204°C | 60-75 s | Medium | Watermark/haze = too long; cut 5 s. Tape on the back edges only. |
| Mini plates 4x7 / 3x6 | 400°F | 60 s | Medium | Nest several under one sheet if pressure is even; trim between plates. |
| Desk mats (rubber base) | 400°F | 60 s | Light-medium | Pre-press 5 s. Light pressure or you get an edge line. Section-press big mats. |
| Mouse pads 8x9 / round | 400°F | 50-60 s | Light-medium | Lint roll twice. Cool flat. |
| Gel mouse pads | 385°F | 45-55 s | Light | Gel side down on a silicone pad. |
| Polyester socks (on jig) | 375-385°F | 40-50 s per side | Medium | 95%+ polyester only. Pre-press, tape all edges, flip jig. |
| Plate frames (coated) | 385°F | 50-60 s | Medium | Rails only; mask the center. |
Mirror your print. Fresh butcher paper every press. Lift straight up. Cool flat.
Watch
Video walkthroughs
Real presses in our real shop. New videos as we film them.
Coming soon
Coming soon
Coming soon
Coming soon
Add YouTube links under WHCORE > Settings > Sublimation Center to publish videos here.
Blanks shop
The blanks we press on, in small packs
Test a handful with our settings before you order a pallet from anyone. Kept separate from the custom shop so nobody buys a blank plate by accident.
FAQs
Getting started questions
A sublimation printer (an Epson F170 or a converted EcoTank), a 15x15 heat press, sublimation paper, butcher paper, heat tape, gloves and a few blanks. About $800 all in. The equipment guide has a full list at every budget.
Aluminum plates. Cheap blanks, forgiving settings, and a finished plate looks like a real product the first time you get it right. Mouse pads are second. Socks are the hardest.
Yes. Same supplier, same coating, same batch tests. If a batch fails our test press, it doesn't get listed.
We'll tell you ours (they're on every blank's page and in the cheat sheet above). Yours will be close but not identical, because every press, paper and ink differs. The timing, heat and pressure guide shows how to find your numbers in six presses.
Of course. Many of our blanks customers run Etsy shops and local print businesses. Bulk pricing on blanks applies automatically from 10 units.
That's the other half of the site. Custom plates, desk mats and socks, designed in your browser and shipped in 1-3 days.
Don't want the equipment?
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