Sublimate on Glass Cutting Boards: Two Ways!

Glass cutting boards are a trendy sublimation craft! I’ll show you two ways to sublimate on glass cutting boards—with a sublimation cutting board blank and using a regular cutting board and a lamination sheet!

If you’ve been around the sublimation world for a while, you’ll know that sublimation projects require a poly-coated surface. Which means that you can’t sublimate directly onto glass. But in today’s post, I’m going to share two ways to sublimate on glass—one with a sublimation-ready glass cutting board and one using a regular cutting board I picked up from the Dollar Tree and a lamination pouch!

Glass cutting boards make great gifts and can be endlessly customized with just about any sublimation image. They are perfect for hostess gifts, gifts for your favorite chef or baker, or housewarming gifts. Or add a recipe that’s been handed down for generations!

The Dollar Tree cutting boards also make stellar sun catchers, because you can see through them. Just add a hanging kit and you’re good to go!

About Glass Cutting Boards

Why glass? Some people like glass cutting boards because they find them easier to clean and more hygienic than plastic or wood cutting boards. Personally, I don’t love cutting on glass because they can dull my knives, so I actually use my glass cutting board as a charcuterie board instead of an actual cutting board. I love putting out an array of meats, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit when we have guests over. That being said, there are folks that just prefer glass to cut on and that’s fine too, if that’s your thing!

Sublimation Glass Cutting Board Sizing

Unfortunately, almost all of the glass sublimation-specific cutting boards on the market start at 11″ across. Which means that you can’t do a full bleed image on them using a regular 8.5″ x 11″ printer. You can totally do an image without a bleed (my sublimation cheese board is a good example!), but if you want to use the images I have for you for free, you’ll need that larger printer or you’ll have to be OK with a white border.

The Dollar Tree boards, however, are smaller and can easily be done with a regular printer.

Because I need that larger size for my cutting boards, I am using my Sawgrass SG1000 along with Adobe Photoshop. You can also make this project using a different sublimation printer using another type of software if that’s what you have!

I am also using my WALApress, which is a traditional heat press. I prefer the heavy pressure of the traditional press, but you can use a handheld press, like an EasyPress, just make sure you have a firm pressing mat below your project (I find the EasyPress mat is a bit squishy for sublimation), and that you are giving it firm and even pressure when pressing.

Watch the Glass Sublimation Cutting Board Video

If you’d like to see this project in video form, just hit play below! For a written tutorial, keep reading.

Supplies to Sublimate on Glass Cutting Boards

Get everything you need to make this project on my Amazon sublimation shopping list!

I used a variety of brands and sizes for my cutting boards. I’ve listed them her with their sizes.

• Sublimation printer
• Sublimation paper
• 8″ x 11″ glass cutting board
• Dollar tree cutting board (go in store to buy individually)
• Lamination sheet (if using a regular cutting board)
• Alcohol + microfiber cloth
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Heat press or EasyPress
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Cutting mat and craft knife (optional)
• Hanging kit (optional)
• Sublimation PNGs (see below)

Free Sublimation Stained Glass files under S20

Stained glass sublimation images are perfect for glass cutting boards! I have three versions for each season: round, square, and rectangular, all for free!

This file can be found in my Free Craft Resource Library. The file number is: S20.

Pros and Cons of Each Method

Before we get to the instructions, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons for each of these two methods:

Glass Cutting Board Sublimation Blank

Regular Glass Cutting Board with Lamination

Print Your Image

No matter which method you choose, you’ll start by printing your image. I’ve been having a few issues with Sawgrass DesignMate, so I decided to print directly to my Sawgrass from Photoshop. You can also print from other programs like Google Docs or Cricut Design Space.

For my sublimation-specific cutting board, I used my rectangular spring image. Again, if you want a bleed image on these cutting boards, you’ll need a bigger printer. I sized it to fit my image in Photoshop.

Then I went to File > Print to print my image.

In the Print screen, I chose my Sawgrass and made sure “Printer Manages Colors” was selected. If you have a converted Epson printer, you’ll want to choose your ICC profile here, if you have one. DO NOT mirror your image (called Emulsion Down in Photoshop).

You’ll do the image for the Dollar Tree blank in the same way.

Sublimation on a Glass Cutting Board Sublimation Blank

Sublimation-specific cutting boards have a white sublimation coating on them, making them easy to sublimate. But when the image is sublimated, you won’t be able to see through the glass, unlike the Dollar Tree cutting boards. Depending on the look you’re going for, this may or may not matter to you.

Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the recommended settings for time, temperature, and pressure. For my sublimation cutting board, it is as follows:

• Time: 240 seconds
• Temperature: 400° F
• Pressure: medium to heavy

Set your heat press. Test your heat press pressure before it gets hot so you know it will be correct when you press your cutting board.

If your cutting board has a plastic film over it remove it. Use the alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean your cutting board. We will be sublimating the bright white side.

Tape your transfer to your cutting board using heat-resistant tape. I like to tape from the back on the full sheet of paper. I liked the left side of this image a bit more than the right, so I offset my board, making sure it was within the edges of the print.

Place a sheet or two of butcher paper on the bottom pad of your heat press, depending on the size of your blank.

Position your glass cutting board on the butcher paper with the transfer facing down.

Place a sheet or two of butcher paper on top of the cutting board.

Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn’t shift and you’ll get the best results. Remember that glass is hot, so use your heat resistant gloves if you want to move your project.

Peel back the transfer to reveal your final image! Add the rubber feet to the back of the cutting board so it doesn’t slide around.

Sublimation on a Regular Glass Cutting Board

Next up, we’ll go the much less expensive route and sublimate on some glass cutting boards I picked up for $1.25 each at my local Dollar Tree. Had to dig a bit but I found a few! These will sublimate without the white coating, which means you’ll see right through them. This may make some images harder to see than others, but it makes for really pretty sun catchers.

Adding the Laminate

Before we sublimate our project, we need to adhere the laminate to our cutting board. Start by removing the plastic feet from the cutting board, and setting them somewhere you can find them. We’ll be adding the laminate to the smooth back side of the cutting board.

Clean the backside of your cutting board with alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Make sure you get up any reside left by the plastic feet.

A laminate pouch comes with two layers. Cut a piece about the size of your cutting board. It doesn’t need to be exact, it just needs to be larger than your cutting board.

Place your cutting board face down (with the smooth side up) onto the bottom of your press. Then place your laminate sheet on top, with the cloudy side face down, on top of the cutting board.

Then press to adhere the laminate at these settings:

• Time: 60 seconds
• Temperature: 400° F
• Pressure: medium

The cutting board will be hot, so wait until it cools or handle with heat-resistant gloves.

You can trim off the excess with scissors, but I find using a craft knife on a self healing cutting mat works best. Flip your cutting board over so the laminate is flat against the mat. Then drag your craft knife around the edge to remove the excess lamination pouch.

Now one thing I don’t love about the lamination technique is that if you look at the right angle, you may see some bubbles in your lamination sheet. You can see it the most when I put it on the black background of my heat press pad. No matter how long or what temp I used, I end up with some bubbles.

Once cooled, tape your sublimation image to the side where you added the laminate using heat resistant tape.

There are no manufacturer’s recommended time and temperature settings since this is a hack, but I found these settings to work well for the sublimation portion:

• Time: 180 seconds
• Temperature: 400° F
• Pressure: medium

Place a sheet of butcher paper on the bottom pad of your heat press.

Position your glass cutting board on the butcher paper with the transfer facing down.

Place a sheet of butcher paper on top of the cutting board.

Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn’t shift and you’ll get the best results. Remember that glass is hot, so use your heat resistant gloves if you want to move your project.

Peel back the transfer to reveal your final image! You can definitely see how different is with it being transparent. Replace the rubber feet to the back of the cutting board so it doesn’t slide around or turn it into a sun catcher using the hanging kit.

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And that is two ways to make sublimation cutting boards! I’d love to know which way you think is better in the comments—do you prefer the bold bright color of the sublimation blank with the white background? Or the softer see-through look of the Dollar Tree cutting boards? Let me know!