My sister has a sublimation printer. Do i understand correctly she could heat press this onto acrylic, or, does it require a sublimation acrylic product?
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Just normal cast acrylic works fine and it’s not specific for sublimation. I have had some cast acrylic not take it as well though, so keep that in mind.
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Thanks, i may need to give this a try:-)
Your sign is really pretty! I know a lot of people inquired about sublimation, I have been interested in it too for a long time but never bit the bullet to buy a sublimation printer. So do I understand that you printed onto a htv sheet using a sublimation printer and then just ironed it onto the acrylic? I guess, if you don’t mind me asking, what supplies are needed to do this on the acrylic? Thanks!
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Thanks!
HTV is not needed and is not the same as sublimation. There is a specific sublimation paper, but you can technically even use sublimation ink on regular printing paper,and it will still work. (Just not as well.) To sublimate, you need a printer, sub ink, a heat source and the material you’re printing on which needs to be polyester, or at least have a high polyester count. What happens is the ink turns into a gas when heated and that gas attaches itself to the polyester.
Here’s a write-up I did for someone else that might be helpful. 
You basically need a printer, heat source that can reach 400 degrees, ink, sublimation paper and stuff to sublimate onto. (And little things like heat tape, butcher paper, gloves etc.) I went with kinda low-middle of the road hobby equipment price wise, but you can go even cheaper.
You can go with an actual sublimation printer or just a regular Epson printer that you “convert”, and I went with the $500 Epson Ecotank 150000. (Converting sounds like a huge deal, but it literally just consists of putting sublimation ink in it versus the printing ink.) I got the largest print size I could afford so I didn’t have to worry about upgrading, but you can get other smaller Epsons that work for less than $200. I went with the ecotank because I didn’t want to deal with printer cartridges clogging etc, and I love it so much I bought another ecotank for my regular printer. (The ink is sooo much cheaper!)
Then there’s a heat press and I got what’s called a “swing away” for a couple hundred bucks. It comes with a mug press, but also got a convection toaster oven that can also do larger tumblers etc. I use the heatpress for things like the acrylic, shirts, garden flags, welcome mats etc. (But if you already have one, even the Circuit “Easypress” works as a heat source.)
My printer
Epson EcoTank ET 15000 All In One Printer - Office Depot
The press I got
Amazon.com: 15"x15" TUSY Heat Press Machine Pro 5 in 1 Heat Transfer Press…
Amazon.com: 15"x15" TUSY Heat Press Machine Pro 5 in 1 Heat Transfer Press Machine Swing Away 360 Degree Rotation Digital Industrial Sublimation for T-Shirt/Hat/Mug/Plate: Kitchen & Dining
This is a good group for info
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Thank you so much @kittski!!! Much appreciated! I have a heat press with all of the attachments for mugs, hats, Pilsner glasses, etc., but haven’t gone any further than using it to apply HTV on t-shirts. I’ve wanted to add sublimation to my bag of arts and crafts fun, but the Glowforge trumped a sublimation printer. Lol! So maybe this I can do!!! 
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Oh heck yeah, if you have a heat press, you’re half way there. If you don’t want/need a larger format printer, you can get a smaller Epson ecotank for around $200 and then all you have to do is get some sub ink and put it in the printer instead of the ink that comes with it; that’s it!
I’m gettin’ the itch to try it out now!! 
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