What Kind of Software Should You Use for Dye Sublimation?

One of the most common questions from people who are new to sublimation is, “what kind of software should I use for sublimation?”. The short answer is CorelDRAW. Although many people think they should use Photoshop, for what we normally do in sublimation, it can sometimes be a nightmare. I have used both Photoshop and CorelDraw, along with other programs, and I can assure you, CorelDRAW is the clear winner for sublimation and for several reasons: 

1. It is easier to learn.

2. It is written specifically for working with graphics, clipart, text and bitmaps all in the same window. It is the only program that does that.

3. It contains a tool called, “PowerClip” which is one of the most useful tools there is.

4. When you do need to use the tools in a photographic program like Photoshop, Corel comes with its own version called PhotoPaint FREE. It is included in the price of CorelDRAW. But even more important, many of the most common tools used in programs like Photoshop or PhotoPaint are actually included in CorelDRAW so you don’t have to jump from one program to the other. When you do need the more sophisticated tools found in these photo programs, you can jump to PhotoPaint and back with just a couple of mouse clicks. This saves a bucket of time.

5. There is a lot of help out there for CorelDRAW. Since probably 90% of all sublimators use CorelDRAW, you can ask a friend for help, or your sublimation or laser engraving distributor or go online for tutorials in YouTube – especially those done specifically for sublimation on CondeTV.

6. Corel comes with a ton of clipart (although a lot of it isn’t very useful), a ton of great fonts, a copy of Bitstream Font Navigator, CorelTrace, and will produce and read PDF files!   All in all, there just isn’t any comparison to CorelDRAW for sublimation.

So, the long and short of it is this: For sublimation, CorelDRAW is by far the preferred program with Illustrator being second. Programs like Photoshop and PhotoPaint are great for what they were designed for, but not great for sublimation.