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Find the best sublimation printers for everyone, from beginners to experts, and start making heat transfers right away! Why call a pro right away if you can do it yourself? Printing on fabric, mugs, and other things is the new thing to do, and it’s also a lot of fun. You can now print your favourite quote or picture on most hard surfaces, like paper, fabric, card, or plastic.
It is a method for putting digital images on fabrics, plastic, paper, and other surfaces that can be sublimated by using heat. With a simple dye-sub inkjet printer and the right ink, you can print transfers to make custom clothing, branded signs and flags, or unique designs on dishes. Check out our Buying Guide for the best sublimation printers if you need any more help.
Best Sublimation Printers
Sawgrass SG500 Sublimation Printer
Features
Sawgrass is an expert in sublimation, and its newest model for beginners makes the process easy and inexpensive. It is a desktop printer that uses special inks to print on transfer paper of any size up to Legal Wide (8.5 x 14 inches). It offers high-resolution inkjet printing using the company’s own UHD inks.
Which work with a wide range of substrates, from polyester fabrics to polymer-coated rigid media like metal or glass. It comes in a box with everything you need to get started, like a 21ml starter set of ink, 100 sheets of Sublisure A4 paper, and Sawgrass software.
Pros
- Strong design and build
- Includes ink and software
- Connectivity options
Cons
- Expensive ink refills
- No touchscreen displays
Epson WorkForce WF-7720
Features
Looking for the best first-time sublimation printer? You can buy many different kinds of sublimation printers. Each has its own good points and bad points. In our in-depth buyer’s guide, we looked at some of the most common options to help you make the right choice.
The Epson WorkForce WF-7720 is the best sublimation printer for beginners because it is fast and makes good prints. Compared to other printers at this price point, the maximum print area is quite large. This makes it easier to work with large designs that need a lot of detail.
Pros
- Excellent build quality and design aesthetics
- Wide-format printing
- Automatic duplex print/copy/scan/fax
Cons
- Color accuracy can be better
- Printing speeds aren’t great
Canon SELPHY CP1300 Printer
Features
Since we’re talking about photo printers, we’ll start by talking about the Canon photo printer, since Canon is best known for digital cameras and how they’re made. It’s a photo printer you can take with you and use outside. This is a photo printer that works wirelessly and lets you print photos anywhere.
You can change the size of the pictures you print on the Canon® SELPHYTM CP1300 so that they are up to 4 x 6 inches. You can also change or get rid of the borders around the image, depending on what kind of photo it is. It takes about 47 seconds to print a standard 4×6-inch photo, but it only takes 39 seconds to print a card-sized photo.
Pros
- Very compact
- Sturdy and durable
- Excellent image quality
Cons
- No-touch functionality
- USB Cable not included
Liene Photo Printer
Features
Liene has also made a very cheap and portable photo printer that you can use to print with sublimation. It’s a popular choice among other options because it’s in a good price range. This is also a wireless photo printer that is small and easy to carry, which is exactly what a photo printer should be. It lets professional photographers bring the printer with them and print out a copy of their work right away.
This printer can also print pictures that are up to 4 by 6 inches, which is a good size for most people. You will also get help with the Liene app, a special app for smartphones that makes it easy to use the printer. Along with the printer, the package comes with 20 sheets of Liene photo printer paper so that you can try out the printer as soon as you take it out of the box.
Pros
- Prints 4 x 6 inches images
- Ships with 20 photo papers
- Compatible with many devices
Cons
- Not a great option for repetitive printing
Fargo DTC1250e Single Sided ID Card Printer
Features
On our list of the best sublimation printers, the Fargo DTC1250e is one of the top choices. This is more of a photo printing set that comes with almost everything you need to print photos and IDs in a professional way. This set comes with a photo printer, 300 PVC cards, Bodno printing software, a colour ribbon, and even a small camera for taking ID photos quickly.
Even though the Fargo DTC1250e has high-end specs, it is pretty easy to use. Once you get used to how the printer works, it will only take you a few minutes to print out ID cards. On the other hand, the app that comes with the printer will show you how to set it up, use its features, and print.
Pros
- 300 PVC cards included
- A compact ID camera included
- Long warranty period
Cons
- It cannot print double sided ID cards
FAQs
What is the best printer to use for sublimation printing?
Sawgrass printers are the most common purpose-built sublimation printers that people use. In particular, the Sawgrass Virtuoso SG500 (which is the updated version of the Sawgrass Virtuoso SG400) and the Sawgrass SG1000 (the upgraded version from the SG800 sublimation printer).
What is the best sublimation printer for a beginner?
- Epson Workforce 7720.
- The Sawgrass Virtuoso 500.
- The Epson Workforce 7710.
- Sawgrass 1000 Sublimation Printer.
- Epson EcoTank 2720.
- Epson EcoTank ET-15000.
What is the best Epson sublimation printer?
For sublimation, what Epson Ecotank works best? The best Epson EcoTanks to convert for sublimation are the ET-2800 and ET-15000, which cost the least. One prints on 8.514″ paper, and the other has a wide format and prints on 1319″ paper.
Is there a special printer for sublimation?
The tanks on EcoTank printers make it easy to use sublimation ink instead of inkjet ink. It’s great for home use and, in the end, is the cheapest sublimation printer. It’s a great choice if you want to try sublimation but don’t want to pay the high price of the Sawgrass SG500 yet.