Empowering Student Entrepreneurs: Tech Solutions for Classroom Businesses

Student entrepreneurship is on the rise in schools, and it’s easy to see why. When students get the chance to run their own businesses, they’re not just making and selling products. They’re learning how to collaborate, solve problems, and think creatively. These are the kinds of skills that stick with them long after graduation.

For educators, student-run businesses can boost classroom engagement, encourage innovation, and bring the school community closer together. It’s a win for both students and schools.

Of course, having a good idea is only the starting point. To turn those ideas into real businesses, students need the right tools. That’s where technology makes all the difference.




Students quickly discover that running a business is about more than just making products. They develop financial literacy, marketing know-how, project management skills, and the ability to make data-driven decisions – all in a safe, supportive environment.

From designing a product to figuring out how to fix mistakes in production, students are constantly problem solving. They learn to test ideas, make adjustments, and find creative solutions when things don’t go as planned. These hands-on challenges help them build resilience and connect classroom concepts to real-world situations.

Owning a business – even a small one – gives students agency. They learn to lead teams, make decisions, and present their ideas with confidence. These experiences are invaluable for college applications, future careers, and personal growth.




Choosing the Right Tech for Your Student Business

Not every student-run business needs the same setup. Some schools might launch a simple print shop, while others dive into custom merchandise or prototyping. The key is to pick the right starting point for your program – one that fits your budget, your students’ interests, and the type of products you’d like them to create. Below, we’ll compare some of the most popular tools schools are using for student entrepreneurship, with examples of what each one does best.




If your students want to design and sell banners, event posters, or larger graphics, a poster printer is a great place to start. It’s ideal for programs that want quick wins – big, eye-catching products with relatively simple production.

What Can Students Make with a Poster Printer?

  • Event Banners
  • Promotional Posters
  • Custom Art Prints
  • Graphics and Signage

Starting Point: AGC’s Educator Plus Poster Printer for Schools

AGC’s Educator Plus Poster Printer helps students create banners, posters, and classroom displays quickly and easily. Its intuitive interface and flexibility allow students to bring ideas to life for school events, fundraisers, and entrepreneurship projects.




Vinyl cutters shine when students want to create small, personalized items. From laptop decals to car window stickers, this tool makes it easy to design and sell products that appeal to both peers and the wider community.

What Can Students Make with a Vinyl Cutter?

  • Custom Stickers
  • Car Decals
  • T-Shirts and Spritwear
  • Labels and Packaging

Starting Point: AGC’s Cut Out Studio Vinyl Cutter for Schools

AGC’s Cut Out Studio Vinyl Cutter lets students design and produce custom decals, stickers, and apparel with precision. Easy to use for beginners, it enables hands-on learning while students prepare products for school spirit items, fundraising, or student-run businesses.




Laser engravers allow students to add a high-end feel to everyday items. Think engraved water bottles, keychains, or trophies. This is a great fit if your program is aiming for a more polished, retail-quality product line.

What Can Students Make with a Laser Engraver?

  • Personalized Gifts
  • Awards and Recognition Items
  • School Spirit Merchandise

Starting Point: AGC’s Laser Lab Engraver for Schools

AGC’s Laser Lab Engraver allows students to create personalized gifts, awards, and merchandise. Safe and user-friendly, it gives students professional-level engraving experience while supporting entrepreneurship and creative projects.




Sublimation printers open the door to custom apparel and gift items. T-shirts, mugs, and tote bags are all fair game, making this tool perfect for programs focused on spirit wear or community fundraising products.

What Can Students Make with a Sublimation Printer?

  • Custom Mugs and Drinkware
  • Apparel
  • Personalized Gifts
  • Home & Office Items

Starting Point: AGC’s Sublimation Station for Schools

AGC’s Sublimation Station Printer helps students produce high-quality merchandise like mugs, shirts, and ornaments. Its straightforward setup and reliable results make it ideal for teaching design and production skills in student business programs.




3D printers give students the power to design and build from scratch. Whether it’s prototyping inventions, making custom keychains, or producing replacement parts, this tech is ideal for schools emphasizing STEM and innovation alongside entrepreneurship.

What Can Students Make with a 3D Printer?

  • Prototyping Product Ideas
  • Custom Merchandise
  • STEM-Linked Products

Starting Point: AGC’s Imagin3D Printer for Schools

AGC’s Imagin3D Printer enables students to prototype and produce custom products such as keychains, figurines, or educational tools. Easy to learn and manage, it encourages creativity and problem-solving in student-led business projects.




Comparing Technology for Student Entrepreneurship

MachineBest ForMaterial TypeSkill LevelProductsBusiness Types
Poster PrinterSignage, marketing materialsPaper, vinyl, window film, magnetic, and othersBeginnerPosters, banners, signage, print itemsSchool print shops, event marketing services
Vinyl CutterDecals, stickers, custom apparelAdhesive and heat transfer vinyl materials Beginner – IntermediateStickers, t-shirts, tote bags
Spirit wear, custom merch, fundraising
Laser EngraverPersonalized & engraved productsWood, acrylic, metal, glass, and othersIntermediatePlaques, keychains, trophiesGifts, school awards, online merch shops
Sublimation PrinterHigh-quality, personalized merchandiseApparel, mugs, metal, ceramics, and othersIntermediateShirts, mugs, ornamentsSpirit merch, seasonal products, print-on-demand
3D PrinterPrototypes, STEM-linked productsPLA, ABS, resin, other plasticsIntermediateFigurines, models, toolsSTEM products, prototyping, custom goods



EmpowR Academy provides teachers with structured resources for running student entrepreneurship programs. From selecting products to teaching business concepts, we help educators set up sustainable programs.

EmpowR Academy supports schools throughout implementation, helping with troubleshooting, scaling programs, and integrating lessons into existing curricula.

EmpowR Academy’s student certification programs give students a way to show what they’ve learned. They turn hands-on experience in design, production, marketing, and business management into credentials that students can include on resumes, portfolios, or college applications.

The EmpowR Academy team works directly with educators to ensure programs are successful and adaptable to different school contexts. This partnership makes student entrepreneurship sustainable, effective, and engaging.




Getting Started with Student Entrepreneurship in Your School

Launching a student-run business can feel overwhelming, but small steps make a big difference:

  • Start Small: Pilot a single product or project before expanding.
  • Match Tech to Goals: Use the comparison table to select the best tools for your program.
  • Incorporate Certification: Offer student credentials to increase engagement and provide real-world recognition.
  • Leverage Support: Use EmpowR Academy resources to guide implementation and keep programs on track.

Conclusion

Student entrepreneurship blends creativity, leadership, and business skills in ways few classroom experiences can match. By selecting the right technology and leveraging resources from AGC’s EmpowR Academy, schools can create programs that are both successful and sustainable.

Start small, choose tools that fit your students’ ideas, and let EmpowR help every step of the way. Your students can turn their ideas into thriving businesses – and gain skills that last a lifetime.

4 Easy Christmas Sublimation Gift Ideas

The holiday season is meant to be a time of good cheer, generosity, and gratitude. At its best, a gift can embody all of these values! 

Yet, each year, a new, controversial gift-related hot take seems to “go viral”: that everyone’s too materialistic, that gifts for teachers from students are unethical, or, that somehow gift giving (and receiving!) has become a chore.  

This year, why not go for a personable, affordable gift that’s actually fun to give and receive? Create a unique gift with custom designs through sublimation printing. What type of gift? We can think of a few neat ideas…

Why Make Sublimation Christmas Gifts?

Sublimation is a printing process that enables truly high-quality results. This lets your gifts showcase your unique sense of style, without appearing “cheap.”

Quick Review: What Is Sublimation?

Sublimation printing uses a sublimation printer to dye “blanks”: objects like drinkware or apparel, treated with a special substance that absorbs the dye, adhering the printed design to the object’s surface. 

Unlike other types of printing, like vinyl pressing, the design becomes wholly suffused on the object’s surface, so it can be washed and used normally. In contrast to heat pressing, there’s no risk a sublimated design will peel or wear off with use. 

4 Excellent Qualities of Sublimation Gifts

Sublimation products all share four traits that make them standout gifts. When you give a sublimation product as a gift, you can be confident it will be…

  1. Unique

Sublimation empowers you to create original designs! You’re also free to put your own twist on a design that suits your style. Either way, you can be sure the recipient is the only person in the world with that exact piece.

  1. Affordable

Sublimation blanks can be purchased wholesale, making them a cost-effective choice for a gift. Consider that a popular 20 oz stainless steel tumbler at Target is $29.99. Meanwhile, a stainless steel tumbler blank is only $12.00. That’s quite a savings!

  1. Aesthetically Appealing

You can control all elements of the printed design to align with your fashion sense—or your intended gift recipient’s. And, if you don’t feel confident in your aesthetic sense, you can always download a print created by professional graphic designers that’s ready to go. 

  1. Useful

Sublimation can be used to print on canvases or posters. But, more often, it’s used to add artwork or creative flair to practical items we use every day. In this way, sublimation gifts balance beauty and utility. 

4 Easy, Brilliant Gift Ideas (Simple Classroom Sublimation Projects)

Classroom sublimation projects can be an easy, fun way to get students invested in mastering design and problem-solving skills—all while getting creative! 

Each of these projects utilizes a sublimation printer, a flat heat press, or a component that can be easily fitted to a heat press (like a tumbler-shaped attachment). The ideas’ simplicity stems from the templates, tutorials, and guide design options available for each. 

At the same time, these sublimation projects can be altered and adapted, so they can suit students of varying skill levels. (If you need more detailed information on how to make sublimation gifts, check out our guide).

  1. Sublimation Christmas Ornaments & Holiday Decor

Sublimation Christmas ornaments are festive and straightforward. Simply choose a sublimation ornament blank in an iconic shape—maybe a Christmas tree, a snowflake, or a star—then work with students to create an original design that fits the shape, or to work from a template. For younger students, a popular option is to use a blank that incorporates a frame into its design, like this bell.  Then, as you create the digital design to print, use the student’s school photo (or, a family photo) as the design’s centerpiece.

  1. Sublimation Fashion Accessories 

Fashion accessories are fun, trendy, and useful. Patches, which gift recipients can stitch onto their bags or sashes, are a perennially popular punk look. 

Backpacks and hats are practical while offering a large “canvas” for students’ creativity. They’re particularly popular among the athletes on your gift list. 

When choosing blanks, consider how the curve or waviness of the accessory might affect your design. It might be best to choose bold, central images which read clearly across the room, or fun abstract patterns and prints. 

  1. DIY Home Decor Project With Sublimation

Home decor is a fun gift category for people who might otherwise be hard to buy for. 

Maybe your thoughtful, studious cousin would appreciate a notebook printed with a one-of-a-kind design. Or, maybe your mom would appreciate a set of coasters to protect her end tables (and brighten them up!). 

From clocks to keychains to refrigerator magnets, sublimation can spruce up almost anything in the house.

  1. Sublimation Printed Tumblers & Drinkware 

Drinkware is an S-tier sublimation Christmas gift. Not only is it useful—everyone needs to stay hydrated!—but it also helps your giftee save money on bottled drinks, helps protect the environment, and adds a bit of creative charm to every meal. 

Drinkware like tumblers, mugs, and bottles can be sublimated in a process that is largely similar to typical sublimation projects. There is one extra step: using the curved heat press attachment to affix the print on your cylindrical blank. Other than that, though, the process is smooth sailing. 

AGC Education: Equip Student Makers With Technology, Vision, and Support

Holiday breaks don’t mean taking a break from getting creative! That’s why AGC Education offers full-service technical support every day of the year.

Classroom edtech solutions can’t be one-size-fits-all. Our maker space products and resources are fully customizable, so you can craft a solution that fits your community’s unique needs. And, each and every client gets the undivided attention of our support service team—no matter when you call.

If sublimation projects are right for your classroom—or you have questions about maker space options—contact us at 1 (800) 535-7553. Or, reach out for more information at [email protected].

How to Make Sublimation Tumblers: A Step-by-Step Guide

In December 2023, Stanley™ cups went viral. The luxury mug brand rocketed into the spotlight when a video showed its iconic insulated tumbler was keeping a TikToker’s drink ice cold—right after she pulled it from her burning car!

The brand’s time in the spotlight may have passed, but tumblers are as popular as ever. To get in on the fun, we’re exploring how to use sublimation to make a unique tumbler of your own.

Discover how students can use sublimation to transform unique designs into fun, useful accessories!

Gear and Materials

To start sublimation printing on containers, you’ll need a sublimation printer, a heat pressing machine, and a few supplies.

We recommend our Sublimation Printer: All-In-One Printing Machine. It’s built with classrooms in mind, designed to empower students at different skill-levels.

We also recommend choosing from a wide range of heat press options, to best meet your class’s needs. Just make sure your heat press machine comes with a tumbler-compatible attachment or add-on.

Additional Materials:

  • Heat tape
  • Heat-resistant gloves
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape
  • Scraper
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Cloth
  • Sublimation paper
  • Sublimation ink
  • Design software
  • Scanner (optional)

Select Blank Sublimation Tumblers

Choose blank cups with surfaces coated with a sublimation-compatible material (like polymer). The coating is necessary to meld sublimation ink into the object’s surface.

One popular tumbler material is stainless steel, as it’s durable and dishwasher-safe. For example, this lidded, 22 oz travel cup is strong, lightweight, and 100% compatible with sublimation.

Choose a white, light-hue, or translucent blank.

Translucent elements, like the frosted blue gradient on this glass tumbler blank, adds a bit of pizzazz to the piece without affecting your printed design.

Step #1. Discover How To Make Sublimation Designs For Tumblers (With Creative Apps!)

Measure the height and circumference of your tumbler’s print-ready surface.

Make a design for your tumbler on an app, or download a free design from crafters on Pinterest.

You’ll likely have to crop your design, so the design’s most important elements should be in the vertical center of the image.

Make sure to save your completed design as a PNG file, with a resolution of 300 dpi or greater.

Before printing, resize your image so its height and width match the cup’ height and circumference (respectively).

Step #2. Print Your Design Onto Sublimation Paper

Use the tumbler’s measurements to select appropriately-sized sublimation paper for this project.

Load your sublimation paper into your printer, then send the file and print. If you get stuck, call the printer manufacturer’s customer support line.
Step #3. Preheat Your Heat Press To the Ideal Temperature

The optimal temperature (°F), duration (s), and degree of pressure (psi) will vary by material.

Check the printed instructions included with your sublimation blanks (i.e. the blank tumblers) to find the right presets.

If you can’t find the information in the included technical paperwork, look for it on the tumbler manufacturer’s website, or call the customer service line.

As a last resort, use a trial-and-error method to determine the right settings. Run a few test prints, starting with these settings:

Stainless steel: 365 °F / 90-120 s / 40 psi (med.)
Frosted glass: 370-380 °F / 90-120 s / 35 psi (light or med)
Acrylic: 385-400 °F / 50-75 s / 40 psi (med)

Start with the lowest recommended settings. If the print is too light or blurry, increase the temperature, pressure, and time in small increments, then try again.

Repeat until the image on the test tumbler is sharp and saturated.

Step #4. Prepare Your Print and Blank Tumbler For Heat Transfer

As the press preheats, prepare your tumbler.

Peel any protective coatings from your blank tumblers, then clean the cup’s surface. Rub off the adhesive, dust, and any other debris with your cleaning alcohol and cloth.

Use your measurements to crop or trim your sublimation print, then gently wrap it around your tumbler. Make sure the inked side of the print touches the cup’s surface.

Use your hands to flatten the paper, removing any wrinkles or bubbles. Then, after the print is smoothly aligned to the cup, use heat tape to hold it in place.
Step #5. Press Your Sublimation Print and Tumbler

Put on your heat-resistant gloves. The heat press machine will be hot.

Then, put your print-wrapped cup into the tumbler attachment on the heat press and secure it in place.

Adjust the pressure settings to the recommended psi. This can involve manually adjusting tension in the tumbler attachment, to make sure the pressure is evenly distributed.

Then, press your tumbler for the recommended amount of time.

Note:

If your machine doesn’t heat your tumbler evenly, open the attachment after you press it, rotate the tumbler, then press it again.

Step #6. Let Your Tumbler Cool, Then Peel

While wearing heat gloves, move the tumbler to a cooling rack. Once it’s cooled, peel off the heat tape and sublimation paper.
Unique Ways To Use Sublimation Printed Tumblers In Your Classroom
What’s the best way to use sublimation printed tumblers in your classroom? We’ve got some ideas!

Students can keep their personal cups with them all day. This lets them stay hydrated without risking the spread of germs.

Students could also give them away as gifts. As the Stanley™ cup craze showed, tumblers are pretty popular!

Teaching budding entrepreneurs? Students could design tumblers to sell at a craft fair, or sell their accessory-printing services to local businesses.

Get Your Print Lab Kids Ready To Create, Sublimate, Educate and Go!

At AGC Education, we believe technology and art have the power to teach students lifelong skills. That’s why we offer guides like this: to teach each and every kid (and kid at heart) to make real what they’ve dreamed up.

Whether you need sublimation printers, heat presses, or accessories, our team has something to offer.

Call us today at 1 (800) 535-7553 to learn more about bringing our creative technology to your classroom. Or, fill out our online contact form, and one of our experts will get right back to you.

Classroom Sublimation Projects: Create Your Own Christmas Ornaments

Why sublimation print on blank ornaments as a class project? It’s a great way to connect your students to a centuries-old holiday tradition—with a creative, high-tech twist!

Did you know the earliest Christmas ornaments were created by German glassworks craftsmen in 1597? Most of the original decorations were glass fruit and nuts, warm reminders of summer to bring the evergreen tree through winter. 

Yet, tree ornaments only became truly popular 250 years later. 1857 was the year Hans Greiner, the great-grandson of those craftsmen, began selling “baubles”: colorful, spherical “bubbles” made of hand-blown glass. These round Christmas ornaments became a smash hit! 

Today, Christmas decor is an $8B industry, and ornaments come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and materials. Glassworking skills might be a little out of reach for most kids, but sublimation printing is a fun way to create something new at a wide range of skill levels. 

Discover how to run a DIY ornament project that works for everyone, tailored to your particular classroom’s unique needs. 

How Kids Can Make Christmas Ornaments With Sublimation—In 5 Easy Steps!

There are many ways to engage students in a creative sublimation project. For this project, start by reflecting on a few questions, and use what you know about your classroom to weigh different options.

What Are the Best Types of Blank Ornaments To Personalize?

Consider how the ornaments’ colors, materials, and shapes affect the project. There are a range of options that will work on a technical level. Just make sure whatever ornaments you choose are compatible with the sublimation process.

Quick Review: How Does Sublimation Printing Work?

Sublimation printing uses a unique chemical process to transfer designs onto diverse objects. A design printed on sublimation paper, with sublimation ink, becomes gaseous when heated and pressed against an object’s surface. 

In gas form, the printed design integrates into the surface of a sublimation-compatible object. In essence, the vaporous ink dyes the object’s vinyl, polyester, or polymer-coated surface. The vapor dye transforms the colors of the particles or threads composing the object’s surface to reflect the design. 

The result is a smooth, single-layer surface, wholly embedded with the design. 

Process Differences Guide Material Choices

Sublimation differs from other methods of transferring prints. 

For example, heat transfer vinyl methods actually add a thin layer over top of the surface of the object receiving the transfer. The surface of the object itself is unchanged. This layer can chip or peel off over time, so heat transfer vinyl designs have a much shorter lifespan than sublimation printed designs.

In contrast, sublimation actually dyes the material composing the object’s surface, the sublimation ink mixes with the threads’ or particulates’ pre-existing color.

Ornament Color

When sublimation dye ink mixes with colored particulates, the resulting color differs from the one in the original design. Thus, you should only sublimate designs on white, transparent, or light-colored objects. Sublimating directly onto dark reds or greens just won’t work.

That said, there sublimation ornament blanks that incorporate festive colors. The key is making  sure those festive elements are outside the sublimation area. As long as the sublimation surface element of the blank ornament is white, the design will work. 

Ornament Materials

Likewise, the vaporous sublimation ink needs to connect with a compatible surface in order to dye it. Compatible surfaces are typically polyester or have a polymeric coating. Polymer readily absorbs the vapor. In contrast, glass, ceramic, and most natural fabrics repel the gaseous ink. 

There’s good news, though: you can find a wide range of blank Christmas ornaments designed specifically for sublimation. 

Some, like cast acrylic or vinyl blanks, are naturally compatible with the sublimation process. Others, like blank glass, wood, and metal ornaments, are also still viable options, as long as they have a sublimation powder coating. Fortunately, these options are available in an array of shapes and sizes. 

Ornament Shape

That brings us to shape. For most students, sublimation is easiest when they can press their design onto a flat surface. So, while attachments to sublimate onto spheres and cylinders exist, they aren’t the best choice for a class project. Instead, choose a flat, festive shape, like a snowflake, star, or tree

Age Group Considerations

When running projects for a diverse group of students, it’s important to adapt or personalize them based on the students’ ages and levels of skill. Consider each student’s:

  • Dexterity
  • Technological skill
  • Attention span
  • Personal preferences 

Some kids may be old enough and skilled enough to design, print, and press their ornament with minimal supervision. Others may require more one-on-one direction, or they may benefit from lighter-weight tools. [this mini heat press] requires less strength and dexterity to use than the conventional, large heat press.

Once you’ve thought through your options, it’s time to start the project!

Step #1. Get Your Materials Ready 

Any sublimation project requires a sublimation printer and a heat press. 

You might already have both set up in your classroom or maker lab. If so, that’s excellent! If not, try out our best sublimation printer and find out what the right heat press machines are for your space?

In addition to your gear, this project requires a few more materials. 

Materials

  • Sublimation inks
  • Sublimation paper
  • Sublimation blanks (i.e. blank ornaments with polymeric coating)
  • Rubbing alcohol or a similar cleaning agent
  • Cleaning cloths
  • Heat-resistant gloves
  • Cutting tool (optional)
  • Heat tape (optional)
  • Photo- or image-editing software
  • Scanner (optional)

Heat Press Prep Steps 

While you won’t use the heat press until Step 4, it’s good to look up the appropriate settings ahead of time. Your sublimation blanks (the blank Christmas ornaments), should come with printed information that explains the following:

  • Temperature. What temperature should you set your heat press to in order to sublimate onto the ornament?
  • Duration. During the heat press phase, how long should you press the design to the ornament?
  • Detailed Instructions. Is there a QR code or link to a video demo or more detailed instructions?

In some cases, there is no printed information. Instead, you have to go straight to the ornament manufacturer’s website. 

Missing Info? Learn Through Trial-And-Error

If you can’t find the information there either, then you’ll have to do a few trial-and-error tests. 

Try sublimating a basic, printed design onto a test ornament by heating your press to 360℉, then pressing for 60 seconds. If the design doesn’t transfer, increase the heat and duration in small increments and try again. 

Step #2. Create Art For Blank Ornaments 

Once you’ve gotten the supplies together, it’s time for students to create their designs. 

If they’re going to create the artwork for the ornaments digitally, using a program like Pixlr or Canva, skip ahead to Step #3. If, instead, they’re creating art with physical materials, and they’ll digitize them later, read on. 

Encourage kids to draw, paint, or collage photos from magazines to create the design for their ornament. They can use holiday imagery like snowmen or reindeer. Or, they can simply create images that depict something meaningful to them personally. 

Younger students might benefit from a life-size “template,” printed on regular paper, outlining their ornament’s borders. That offers a sense of the parameters their design has to stay within, to make sure it fits on their decor. 

Step #3. Scan, Upload & Edit (Design Phase)

Digitize Physical Works of Art

Once the students have completed their designs in physical materials, upload their pieces into an image-editing app. To do this, photograph or scan their pieces with a scanner. Make sure the resulting digital images have a resolution of 300 dpi sRGB (or greater). 

Save each student’s piece under their individual name, as a PNG file. Then, open the piece in an image editing app.

Editing For Print

At this stage, both students who created digital designs on creative apps, and students who made art with physical media and had it digitized, are ready to edit their image for print. 

Make sure the image is saved at a high resolution, so the design is sharp when printed on sublimation paper. Teach students how to:

  • Improve their design’s contrast
  • Crop or resize the image to fit the ornament
  • “Mirror” the design as a final step

Note that their design will be re-reversed, or oriented correctly, in the heat press phase. So, if they don’t mirror it before printing, it will be backward on the ornament. 

Save and Send

Save the final image as a PNG file. Then, send the image to the sublimation printer. 

Step #4 Print Unique Designs On Blank Christmas Ornaments 

Send the student’s PNG file to the sublimation printer. Make sure the printer is loaded with sublimation paper and sublimation dye ink. Regular ink and paper will not work!

Once the sublimation printer has inked the design on the sublimation paper, you can go straight to Step #5. That said, some students appreciate an additional step, to make the next step easier.

Optional: Cutting and Taping

Cutting and weeding aren’t necessary for sublimation. But, some students do prefer to cut out their printed design, so it has no borders. This lets them secure the printed design to the ornament with heat tape, keeping it stable and aligned more easily. 

If you go this route, make sure the inked side of the cut-out, printed design is the side facing the ornament’s surface. You can secure the design by taping the exterior edge of the ornament and design alike. 

Only use a few strips of tape; too much tape will make it harder to peel later. 

Step #5. Heat, Press, Peel, and Cool

Ornament Prep

Set the blank ornament on the flat tray of the heat press. Make sure the side you want to sublimate the design onto is facing up.

Lay the sublimation paper on top of the ornament, so the inked design is touching the ornament’s surface. While wearing heat-resistant gloves, press the paper flat against the ornament, preventing any wrinkles or bubbles.

Pre-heat the press to the optimal temperature, determined in Step #1. 

Press and Peel

Once the ornament is placed, close and press the ornament and printed design together. Maintain pressure for the recommended duration.

After pressing is complete, let the heat press cool. 

Once it’s begun to cool down, gently release the pressure from the ornament. Don’t let the release jostle the paper. As it becomes cooler, move quickly yet steadily, and peel the sublimation paper from the ornament.

Note: “Cool Peel” Paper

Some sublimation papers are labeled “cool peel.” If you use cool peel paper, then wait until the ornament is 100% cool before removing the paper.

If necessary, you can gently transfer the ornament to a separate cooling tray, to free up the heat press. To transfer, hold both the top and bottom of the ornament, to keep the paper in place until it’s ready to peel. 

This Christmas, Let All Makers Make Merry! Find Festive Projects For Your Maker Space And Beyond. 

Sublimation printing is an excellent method to make beautiful, long-lasting Christmas ornaments. Whether you use them as gifts or outlets for self-expression, these DIY projects make an impact.

At AGC Education, we believe in supporting and cultivating students’ creativity in every phase of life. That’s why we offer the technology to bring kids’ creative visions to life, and the support you need to make the tech work in your classroom. 
Call us at 1 (800) 535-7553 to learn more about our sublimation printing equipment, tools, and accessories. Or, use our online contact form to book a free, personalized consultation.