The 9 Best Sublimation Design Software Options for Flawless Prints

If you’re considering entering the print-on-demand world and want to learn how to design for sublimation printing, you’ve come to the right place.

Sublimation printing is a versatile technique that allows you to produce vibrant prints on materials like fabric, plastic, metal, ceramic, and glass.

Pretty cool, right? But you might be wondering how to create sublimation designs to ensure the best possible result. Let’s start with the most important step: choosing the right design software for sublimation printing. In this article, we’ll guide you through the best sublimation printing software options—free and paid—so you can get started today. Let’s go!

Factors to consider when choosing sublimation software

Everyone has their preferences, so here are some basic factors to help you decide which sublimation software will work best for you:

• What device do you work on: a desktop, tablet, or smartphone?

• Is your operating system Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iPadOS?

• Do you work with raster or vector graphics?

• Is the file format required for sublimation compatible with the software?

• Do you want easy-to-use or more advanced graphic design programs?

With these factors in mind, let’s help you choose the best design software programs for your sublimation prints.

The top 9 design software options for sublimation printing

1. Canva

Canva is one of your best options if you’re stepping into the world of design with no previous experience. The software’s beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor makes designing intuitive and fast. Canva is a great choice if you want to avoid the steep learning curve that often comes with more complex programs.

Source: Canva

Canva has a wide range of built-in templates to choose from in various themes and styles. Templates are available for free and paid plans, however, you’ll need to upgrade to the Canva Pro plan to access premium templates.

Once you’ve chosen a template that you’d like to base your design on, you’re ready to explore the huge element library Canva offers. These range from illustrated designs to 3D graphics, as well as shapes and lines—anything you might need for your sublimation designs. And if you think that’s all, Canva’s Image library will blow your mind. You can find almost anything you want.

One thing to keep in mind is that Canva doesn’t offer a drawing tool, so you’d have to create your ideas exclusively with the templates and other tools available. If this or any other more advanced design features are something you need, take a look at the other software on this list.

Another thing to note is that all your work is stored in the cloud when working on Canva, so make sure you have a stable internet connection.

Canva has a free version, but to access more features you’d have to opt for the pro version which costs $15/mo or $120 ($10/mo) annually. They offer a 30-day free trial, which is a good way to test out all the features before committing to the platform.

2. GIMP

GIMP is one of the best free photo editing software options out there, offering excellent design features. Plus, it only includes essential features, which makes the software easier to use. This is a blessing for beginners, as you’re not confused by a whole library of complex tools. 

Source: GIMP

One of the best features that GIMP offers is their wide variety of Brushes. With this, you can design your own elements to match your brand or product. And although GIMP is not vector graphic design software, using its Bezier Pen, you can achieve precise vector lines and shapes.

If you want to make more specific adjustments and improve your design skills, you can always add plug-ins to update or modify your design tools. And if you’re someone who likes to keep things organized, the software offers a customizable workspace.

The best part? GIMP is completely free to use!

3. Adobe Photoshop

Just like how Kleenex is the new word for tissue, Photoshop has become synonymous with design software. Adobe Photoshop is the go-to design and photo editing software for many, even if you only know how to adjust the brightness.

Source: Adobe

Photoshop offers a variety of design features to help you create the designs you want. They also have guides and tons of tutorials on YouTube.

The software offers a huge collection of templates and elements for editing images, cloning patterns, creating logos, changing backgrounds, and adding filters. You can start from scratch with a blank canvas or personalize pre-made templates by adding your own elements, colors, or design adjustments. 

Some of the features that make creating sublimation designs more efficient with Adobe Photoshop are its movable layers and overlays. You can adjust a layer without changing the original one and later blend them using Blend modes. This way, you get to try out all the features and tools without losing your original image or design.

And if you want to create a pattern of an element or something you uploaded, you can simply use the Pattern Stamp. It lets you copy and create a pattern of the image by painting the pattern over the parts you want.

Adobe works with raster graphics files, so PNGs or JPEGs can be used for printing sublimation designs.

Adobe Photoshop costs $22.99/mo, but you can try the software for 7 days for free. 

4. Adobe Illustrator

The main difference between Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator is that Illustrator is a vector-based design software. It offers an advanced space for developing your designs with its professional tools.

Source: Julian Ball

As a beginner, it might be a bit difficult to dive into Adobe Illustrator because it’s quite complex. That said, there are tutorials available online, and you can certainly learn how to use this design software with some effort.

One of the tools that can help you with your sublimation designs is its Sketch to Vector tool. With it, you can transform your hand-drawn idea into a digital design, with which you can create graphics, logos, or icons. 

Adobe Illustrator also offers a Text tool where you can experiment with a large library of fonts and styles. If your artistic side gets the best of you, you can also create your own using the Sketch to Vector tool.

Adobe Illustrator offers powerful tools like the Paintbrush, Pen, Shape, Line, and Selection tools, designed for vector accuracy. The Modify tools are also handy, as they let you manipulate your design easily and precisely.

Adobe Illustrator starts at $22.99/mo and offers a 7-day free trial. If you want to try both Adobe products, you can opt for the Creative Cloud All Apps for a 7-day trial and see what you like best.

5. CorelDRAW

Similar to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW is vector-based design software you can use for sublimation printing. However, because of its simple user interface, beginners find it easy to navigate. It’s one of the most popular design software options for creating logos, infographics, and your own designs for sublimation printing.

Source: Corel Corporation

But simple doesn’t mean you have limited options. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. CorelDRAW offers various tools and features to help you create the sublimation designs of your dreams. 

Even with minimal experience, you can create high-quality designs using its advanced vector design tools. The Artistic Media Tool lets you work with various brushes and strokes, while the Transparency and Blend tool helps you create smooth transitions between elements and layers to enhance your designs.

The PowerTRACE tool comes in handy if you have bitmap images or raster graphics that you want to include in your designs. This tool will convert them into scalable vector art, which you can add or change to include in your project.

The Pen and Shape tools are also useful: The Pen tool lets you create precise paths and the Shape tool that helps adjust nodes and shapes for detailed editing. All these features make CoreIDRAW one of the best sublimation design software options available.

If you want to try it out for your sublimation print designs, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2024 starts at €16.58/mo or €399/year. This pack suits both Windows and Mac.

Both CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2024 and CorelDRAW Standard 2024 have a 15-day free trial. So, you can check them both out and see which you like best.

6. Inkscape

Inkscape is one of the best free software options for creating vector graphics. It can do almost everything that Adobe Illustrator can, with some limitations. This software is free, beginner-friendly, and definitely worth a try.

Source: Sonia Bennett

Inkscape offers an array of tools that you can use to create standout sublimation designs. One notable feature is the Transform tool, which can be used for scaling, rotating, skewing, or distorting designs. It lets you create patterns as well.

The Clipping and Masking tools allow you to add interesting visual effects by hiding and revealing selected parts. Another visual editing tool is the Path Effects, which has various features that let you manipulate your designs. And, of course, the Shape and Drawing tools will come in handy for creating basic geometric forms and freehand sketching.

Keep in mind that Inscape’s default color mode is RGB, so you’ll need to adjust the settings to sRGB under Color Management to upload your designs to Printful.

7. Affinity Designer

The next graphic design software option on our list is Affinity Designer. It’s known for its advanced features which enable both beginners and professionals to create stunning graphic designs, vector images, and logos.

Source: Katy McCabe

Affinity Designer has a collection of drawing and editing tools, designed to be intuitive for users of all skill levels.

One such tool is the Pressure Gravity tool. While you can create strokes with varying stylus pressure on a tablet, this tool allows you to manually adjust stroke thickness and variation—even when using a desktop. Cool, right?

If you like your workspace organized, you’re in good hands! Affinity offers a customizable user interface and a Symbols and Assets panel, which lets you create and manage design elements. This lets you keep your signature tone across all your sublimation projects as well.

Another feature that’s quite useful for sublimation designs is switching between raster and vector workspaces.

Affinity Designer’s pricing depends on the device type. You can get Affinity Designer 2 for Windows and macOS at a one-time fee of $69.99. The iPad version costs $18.49. You can also get a free trial for Affinity V2 Universal License—a bundle that includes Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher.

8. Procreate

If your device of choice for designing is an iPad, then this is the best graphic design software to choose. It can be used as advanced photo editing software as well. Procreate is raster-based, and it’s great for creating sublimation prints.

Source: Savage Interactive

A major advantage of Procreate is that it’s beginner-friendly, but it also has advanced graphic design features. Out of the design tools it offers, a basic yet powerful one is the Brush tool. With a wide variety of brushes to choose from, you can find the ones that will light up your sublimation design. And even better, you can create your own brush!

Procreate’s collection of filters and effects will also come in handy when creating your sublimation designs.

One thing about Procreate is that since it’s raster graphics, you’ll need to set the DPI to a minimum of 300. Anything less than that could mean a blurry or partial transfer of your design during the sublimation process.

Although it’s not a free sublimation software, Procreate is very affordable at €12.99 for lifetime access. You can also get the iPhone version at $5.99.

9. Bonus: Printful’s Design Maker

If you’re a beginner and don’t know where to start, Printful’s Design Maker is a quick and easy way to create beautiful designs. Since it’s specifically for Printful users, the tool was built keeping our design specifications in mind. That means you don’t need to worry about formats and color modes—your design will be ready for sublimation instantly.

Source: Printful

Printful also offers tutorials and guides to make the design process smoother. The best part? You can preview your sublimation design to see what it’ll look like on your product before ordering or publishing it to your store.

The Design Maker offers an array of tools and graphics to help you create the perfect product. One of them is the Text Tool, which gives life to your words with various fonts and colors. You can also upload your own graphics.

Explore our clipart collection to find the graphics you need for your design. They’re ordered by themes, and you can also search for specific graphics by name.

And if you want your design ready fast, Quick Designs is at your service. As the name suggests, these are ready designs you can use as is or adjust them to your liking.

On top of these tools, you can also create patterns with the Pattern Tool, explore our extensive Getty Images and save your designs to reuse on other products.

Design Maker is completely free. Plus, once your design is ready, you can order your products right away.

Guidelines for sublimation printing with Printful

To ensure your sublimation prints look amazing, let’s review Printful’s design guidelines.

Each product has different sizes and placement options, so check the file guidelines for each item individually.

If you’re designing outside of Design Maker, follow these guidelines to ensure your design files fit Printful’s requirements. You can download a print file template under the File guidelines tab on the product page. 

Here’s an example of our All-Over Print Recycled Long Sleeve Crop Top:

Here’s how to get your files sublimation printer-ready:

• Submit files in PNG or JPG file formats 

• Ensure a resolution of at least 150 DPI or higher, but we highly recommend a DPI of 300 for the best print quality

• Upload files in the sRGB color mode

• Ensure the design doesn’t have white borders

• If your design is only in one part of the print area, keep the background transparent

• Keep all your important graphics close to the middle to avoid any missing elements

• Delete any guides before saving your files

• Your design must fit in the product’s printable area, or it’ll be scaled down to fit.

Last but not least, be careful when resizing your designs, as it may affect the quality of the sublimation print. 

Time to unleash your creativity

Creating sublimation designs is not as hard as it seems. Now that we’ve gone through the best sublimation design software, it’s time for you to select the one that’ll best help you create those stunning sublimation prints.

Let’s get designing!

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