A different type of dye-sublimation printing can be used to print on fabrics and clothing. These printers are similar to inkjet printers in that they spray ink onto a sheet of paper, but the ink is actually dye-sublimation ink held in a liquid solvent, like water. The ink is applied to a donor material, a special type of paper.

The image on the paper is a reverse image of the final design, so that when it is dry it can be placed onto the fabric and heated, transferring the completed image onto the material via the dye-sublimation process. In this case, the dye turns into the gas and permeates the actual fibres of the material, then solidifying.