What Kind Of Printer Do I Need For Sublimation: All You Need to Know
What kind of printer do I need for sublimation? Well! It’s not a complex algorithm; you need printers that can use sublimation ink, a special ink used for printing. However, you can also convert ink from a few regular inkjet printers with dye-sublimation ink.
Epson, Inkjet Piezo print technology printers, Ricoh, and Sawgrass, are a few printers specializing in clothing, signage, and many other products. However, like others, these printers have nothing to do with printer quality, size, and speed.
All you need to focus on is the printer head that uses sublimation ink. The most common printers used for sublimation have Micro Piezo heat-free print heads. The head makes printers work smoothly and efficiently in an affordable range.
If you are in the market for a printer, you can use it for sublimation. There are multiple options, and it’s challenging to choose one. This article provides a complete guideline regarding what kind of printer you need for sublimation.
Let’s have a look
Kind Of Printer Used For Sublimation
Do you want to use your standard thermal or inkjet printer for sublimation? Don’t even think about it because when you put sublimation ink inside the regular printer, it clogs the printer’s head and roughs your printing.
Inkjet printers are easily converted to dye- sublimation ink, and printers that use heat-free Piezoelectric printheads are best. Having detailed information about them is compulsory before making a purchase.
Let’s have a look at each printer one by one.
Sawgrass
One of the top of the list is Swagrass printers. Experts in the field of printing always recommend Swagrass printers and ink for sublimation. The Sawgrass Virtuoso Print Manager is a highly efficient and easy-to-use software with an automatic self-maintenance feature.
Sawgrass never uses any third-party sublimation ink; they have their own. Even Ricoh used sublimation dye ink by Sawgrass. Besides these, it has features like hot folders, image nesting, and RIP-like software. You can also find customizable presets with Sawgrass.
Sawgrass also provides free access to its web-based design program to find thousands of designs and graphics for your products. It offers high output at a low cost. Above all, Sawgrass provides tech support to manage any issue you encounter during printing.
List of Sawgrass Sublimation printers
- Sawgrass SG500
- Sawgrass SG1000
List of Sawgrass Printers Use for Sublimation
- Sawgrass SG400
- Sawgrass SG800
Epson
Whether you want large-formatting printing or desktop printing is your preference, Epson offers a wide range of models for these purposes. Epsons have two options— black and colour cartridges that make switching between sublimation and regular printers easy.
However, these Epson printers have shorter lifespans, typically around 50 hours; therefore, they are used for printing paper-based products. But it needs sublimation ink to produce vibrant colors. Otherwise, it may fade or bleed and produce rough printing.
The good news is that you can use a regular office printer with some limitations for sublimation printing. Genuine Epson printers are costly and difficult to find; therefore, you can replace an inkjet printer with sublimation ink.
List of Epson Sublimation printers
- EPSON F570
- EPSON F170
- EPSON F10070H
List of Epson printers Use for Sublimation
- EPSON WF2750
- EPSON WF3620
- EPSON WF3640
- EPSON WF7010
- EPSON WF7110
- EPSON WF7510
- EPSON WF7520
- EPSON ET2720
- EPSON ET15000
- EPSON ET16500
Ricoh
Are you new to printing technology? Then Ricoh printers are one of the best options for sublimation printing. They used thermal printing technology. Although they are simple, you can find the highest resolution colour scheme among sublimation printers.
Ricoh printers, as compared to Epson, have a longer lifespan and provide black-and-white prints at a rate of 11 ppm. These printers also specialize in producing vibrant colours and 29 ppm coloured copies.
You can enjoy an excellent printing experience with Ricoh monochrome black and do not find any brown and orange spots after pressing. The Ricoh coloured ink is also durable and long-lasting.
List of Ricoh printers Used For Sublimation
- Ricoh Aficio GX2500
- Ricoh SG 3110DN
- Ricoh SG 3110DNw
- Ricoh SG 7100DN
- Ricoh SG 3210DNw Geljet
- Ricoh MP C306
Can I Use Any Kind of Printer Use for Sublimation?
Some standard printers use thermal and piezo technology. After converting to sublimation printers, these printers are used for sublimation. But the truth is that you cannot use them for this purpose as they have some limitations.
Let’s dive into detail to learn about these printers and their limitations.
Brother Printers
Although Brother printers use Piezo technology, there are some limitations. These printers have no replaceable ink or cartridges, and you remain bound to a specific design or profile. Brother printers are used on particular fabrics and ceramics. They have a special line for printers that use dye-sublimation technology.
HP Printers
Regular HP printers work on thermal inkjet printing, allowing printers to bake themselves on their surface. Therefore, HP printers are never compatible with sublimation printing. However, HP has a special line of printers compatible with sublimation processes but too expensive to use.
Canon Printers
Regular Canon Printers can ruin your image within a second as they require high temperatures to give your desired output on your favourite shirt. However, the company makes Canon Dye sublimation Selphy Printers that produce coloured copies, but you cannot use them with sublimation paper.
Conclusion
Sublimation printing is a special type of printing that uses heat and transfers dye onto a substrate. It is vital to note that there are a few printers that you can use for sublimation printing, like Epson, Ricoh, and Sawgrass, that use sublimation-dye ink and have piezo printheads. But regular printers are not capable of using sublimation ink. Although HP, Canon, and Brother have special lines of printers that can be converted to sublimation printers, they have some limitations.
