How to Sublimate Desk Mats and Mouse Pads (Without Blotches or Lines)

Desk mats are our biggest product by volume and the one most sublimation beginners struggle with, because the mat is bigger than the press, the rubber base holds heat, and the cloth top shows every mistake. Once you understand those three things, they are easy and very profitable.

What you need

• Sublimation printer that can print wide (the Epson F570 prints 24″ rolls, which is why we use it; a 13″ printer can do mouse pads and 10×16 mats).
• Heat press: a 16×24 swing-away or larger for desk mats; a 15×15 clamshell handles mouse pads and 10×16.
• Polyester-top, rubber-base blank mats in the sizes you sell. Blank desk mats and mouse pads.
• Sublimation paper on a roll or in sheets larger than the mat. For 18×36, a 24″ roll.
• Butcher paper, heat tape, gloves, a lint roller.

Settings

Product	Temp	Time	Pressure
Mouse pad 8×9 / round	400°F	50-60 s	Light-medium
Desk mat 10×16 / 12×18	400°F	60 s	Light-medium
Desk mat 14×24 / 18×36	400°F	60 s per section	Light-medium
Gel mouse pad	385°F	45-55 s	Light

Pressure is the thing people get wrong. Rubber compresses; if you crank the pressure you will get a hard edge line where the platen ends and squeeze the rubber base out of shape. Light-medium: the paper is held flat, nothing more.

Step by step

1. Print mirrored at full size plus 1/4″ bleed on every side. Mats shrink slightly and the print needs to run off the edge.
2. Lint roll the mat. Twice. Cloth tops hold fuzz and every piece becomes a white fleck.
3. Pre-press the mat for 5 seconds with butcher paper on top to drive out moisture and flatten it. Skip this and you get faint blotches.
4. Position the paper face down on the mat and tape it on the back side of the mat, folding the paper edge over. Never tape on the print side of a cloth mat.
5. Butcher paper on top, press. Open quickly, lift the paper straight off in one motion.
6. Cool flat on a table, print side up. Don’t roll it until it’s cool.

Pressing mats bigger than your press

An 18×36 mat on a 16×24 press is done in sections. Press the first section, then without removing the paper, slide the mat so the next section is under the platen, overlapping the pressed area by an inch, and press again. The overlap gets double time, which is fine at light pressure because the transferred ink is already gone from that part of the paper. What you cannot do is let the paper shift between sections, so tape it on the back at both ends before you start. Large mats are best done on the largest press you can get; that is why our shop runs a big press for mats and a small press for plates.

Troubleshooting

• Blotchy light patches: moisture. Pre-press the mat, store blanks dry.
• A visible line across the mat: too much pressure at the platen edge, or the section overlap was pressed at high pressure. Reduce pressure.
• Ghosting: paper shifted, usually while sliding a big mat. Tape both ends.
• Wrinkled paper printing lines: humidity curled the paper. Print and press the same day; store paper sealed.
• Edges lighter than the middle: platen not level or not hot at the edges. Rotate the mat 180° for a second short press at the light end.
• Rubber smell / warped base: too hot or too long. Drop to 385°F.

Sewn vs seamless

Seamless mats are pressed as-is. Stitched-edge blanks are pressed the same way, but keep the pressure light so the stitching doesn’t emboss into the print, and let the paper bleed over the stitching.

Want us to print them instead? Custom desk mats ship in 1-3 days. Want to make them? Start with a sample kit and the timing, heat and pressure guide.