Best Dye Sublimation printer – Top 6 In-depth Reviews
Dye sublimation printing has completely revolutionized the printing industry by enabling common people to create customized apparel, mugs, phone cases, and many other everyday-use goods. Dye sublimation printers are used to digitally transfer the print on die sublimation sheets.
If you’re planning to dip your toes in dye sub-printing, the first thing that you need is a reliable best dye sub-printer. The market is flooded with dedicated and convertible sublimation printers. To help you choose the best dye sublimation printer we have reviewed the six best options.
Are You In Hurry?
If you are in hurry and have no time to read the complete article. So you can simply go with my recommendation for these top rated dye sublimation printers in 2023.
Our Top Recommendation
- Ultra Fine Mode
- Flawless printing quality
- Convincing software support
- Supports wide format printing
- Solid software support
- Promises ink efficiency
- Ethernet and wireless connectivity
- Supports various media sizes and layouts
- High volume printing
- Incredible printing quality
- Efficient dye substation technology
- Support various standard photo sizes
Comparison Between Best Dye Sublimation Printer – 2023
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURE | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
TOP RATED
| Sawgrass Virtuoso SG 1000 |
| Check on Amazon |
PREMIUM PICK
| DNP DS-RX1HS 6 |
| Check on Amazon |
BEST BUDGET PICK
 | Epson Expression Home XP-420 |
| Check on Amazon |
AMAZON’S CHOICE
 | Canon Pixma iX6820 |
| Check on Amazon |
EDITOR’S CHOICE
| Canon Pixma Pro 200 Printer |
| Check on Amazon |
AFFORDABLE PICK
 | HP DeskJet 4155e All-in-one printer |
| Check on Amazon |
Best Dye Sublimation Printer – Reviews 2023
1. Sawgrass Virtuoso SG 1000 – Best Dye Sublimation Printer
Our Usage Experience:
Sawgrass SG 1000 is the best dye sublimation printer for t-shirts and among the handiest sublimation printing solutions, you can find today. Because the printer uses high-capacity ink cartridges that are compatible with high-quality Sublijet UHG sublimation ink. The printer is made with the needs of the sublimation printing business in mind and offers an optimized resolution of 4880×1200 dpi. Another standout feature of SG1000 is energy efficiency. With an upgraded design and solid software support, it reduces overall energy costs.
The printer supports large format printing and can print various sizes up to 13×52 inches. The printer supports ultra-fine mode for flawless photo printing quality. However, it uses the most expensive sublimation dyes and its printing cost is significantly higher. Also, it lacks fast printing and in the ultra-fine mode, it takes around 5 minutes to deliver a standard 13×19-inch print.
Quick Key Features
- Wide Format Printing Support: Sawgrass SG100 can print media up to 11×17 inches with its standard paper feed tray. Plus it comes with an optional bypass tray and can handle various media sizes up to 13×51 inches, which is more than impressive at this price point.
- Software Support: For hassle-free printing and optimized print quality, you will get Print Manager and Expert Color Management Software support from Sawgrass. Also, it works with Adobe Illustrator, CreativeStudio, and CorelDraw.
- Ultra Fine Mode: The printer features optimized 4800×1200 dpi resolution for unbeatable printing quality. It delivers impressive colour accuracy and saturation on various dye-sublimation press substrates.
- Wireless Connectivity: Sawgrass SG 100 supports a stable WiFi connection allowing you to print various mobile devices like mobiles, laptops, and tablets.
- Ultra Fine Mode
- Flawless printing quality
- Convincing software support
- Supports wide format printing
- High printing cost
- Slow printing speed
Final Thoughts
Sawgrass SG100 is a high-quality sublimation machine for shirts that delivers the richest details and unmatched colour accuracy. Since it can handle media sizes up to 51 inches this is undoubtedly the best dye sublimation printer for t-shirts.
2. DNP DS-RX1HS 6 – Best for Dye Sublimation Printing
Our Usage Experience:
If you are interested in high-volume printing, consider the DNP full-dye sublimation machine. This printer uses the Dye-sublimation thermal printing technique for professional-grade printing output. It is a big structure weighing around 30 pounds and supports two media sizes 4×6 inches and 6×8 inches. With these standard media sizes, you can produce 2×6, 4×6, and 5×7 prints as well.
Instead of individual photo papers, it supports media rolls. The printer incorporates thermal sublimation technology and uses dey-coated films stretching between the plastic spool. The printer has amazing output capacity and can print around 290 4×6 prints in 1 hour.
Quick Key Features
- Profile-grade Print Quality: DNP DS-RX1HS 6 features a resolution of 600×600 dpi and incorporates dye substation technology to print high-quality prints with unmatched colour accuracy and saturation.
- Versatile Media Handling: The printer supports roll media instead of individual sheets. It supports both glossy and matte finish printing without changing the media type.
- Excellent Speed: This event printer by DNP is perfect for people who want to print a big volume in a limited time. With the highest resolution settings, it doesn’t take more than 15 seconds to deliver a high-quality borderless print.
- Intuitive Control: The printer has a 3-inch LCD but it doesn’t come with any physical controls on the board. The only way to control the printer functions is the computer or laptop to which it is connected.
- High volume printing
- Incredible printing quality
- Efficient dye substation technology
- Support various standard photo sizes
- No wireless connectivity
- Slightly higher printing costs
Final Thoughts
DNP DS-RX1HS 6 cost you around 1.91 cent per print, which is slightly higher than some other systems in the class. However, it is a competitively priced printer that can outperform many premium options when it comes to sub-dye printing efficiency and printing quality. If you’re looking for a budget solution for high-volume printing, DNP DS-RX1HS 6 is a small dye sublimation printer for you.
3. Epson Expression Home XP-420 – Best For Home Use
Our Usage Experience:
Epson Expression Home XP-420 is the best multi-function home dye sublimation printer that offers solid performance for everyday printing, copying, and scanning jobs. Since it is marketed as a Home printer, you can’t expect it to perform well in tough corporate environments. The printer only works with genuine Epson ink cartridges and delivers better than expected printing quality ion dye-sub printing.
The paper feeding mechanism is at the rear, but unfortunately, you will not get the duplex printing or Auto Document Feeder (ADF) in this setup. The best part of the printer is its ability to print a photo layout sheet. It can print multiple standard photo sizes up to 4×6 inches.
Quick Key Features
- Mobile Printing Support: It lacks an ethernet connection, but with the help of WiFi and WiFi Direct it allows you to print for smart devices like phones and tablets.
- Average Printing Speed: The printer is not very fast but offers decent printing speed for both monochrome and color printing. The average speed of this printer is around 8ppm for text documents. For 4×6 photo prints, it takes between 60-70 seconds.
- Excellent Output For Price: The printer delivers acceptable printing quality. Other than slight banding issues in graphics, this printer gives excellent output for text documents making it enough for everyday needs.
- Intuitive Control Panel: The printer comes with a 2.5 LCD(not touchscreen) and a few highly responsive buttons. We found it pretty easy to navigate.
- Inexpensive
- Compact and simple
- Support memory card
- Support mobile printing
- No Ethernet port
- Average printing speed
Final Thoughts
Epson Expression XP-420 is the best dye sublimation photo printer yet an inexpensive feature-packed printer, that supports dye sublimation prints with mobile printing. If you are looking for a cheap printer for everyday use, Epson Expression with the best brand name value and unrivalled efficiency is a definite way to go.
4. Canon Pixma iX6820 – [Best Canon Sublimation Printer]
Our Usage Experience:
Canon Pixma iX6820 is the best dye sublimation printer. Because this printer is among the most powerful dye sublimation printers and combines a resolution of 9600×2400 dpi with large-format printing. The biggest perk of getting Canon Pixma iX6820 is that it offers stunning and flawless photo printing quality without limiting the print media sizes.
The printer supports mobile printing and comes with WiFi and Ethernet connectivity options. Plus it has got supper for AirPrint which is the coolest addition for Mac users. With five individual tanks and fine print head technology, it delivers outstanding print quality. However, its printing speed is not very good-only 2.7 ppm.
Quick Key Features
- Cartridge-Free Printing: Canon Pixma iX6820 offers cartridge-free printing. It uses five large-capacity ink tanks and offers effortless conversion to dye submission and maximum ink efficiency.
- Stunning Output Quality: With fine print head technology and 9600×2400 dpi resolution, this printer delivers bright, vivid, and crisp coloured prints on various substrates.
- Mobile Printing: This printer supports WiFi connectivity and allows you to print for your smart devices. It is fully compatible with Mac OS and supports Apple AirPrint also.
- Wide Format Printing: This dye sublimation machine by Cannon can handle print sizes upto 13×19 inches making it perfect for commercial-grade projects like banner printing and apparel printing.
- Low printing costs
- Cartridge free printing
- Supports wide format printing
- Best-in-class printing resolution
- Slow printing speed
- Lacks duplex printing
Final Thoughts
Canon Pixma iX6820 offers a cartridge-free printing solution making it the best printer for dye sublimation printing. With its wide format printing supports and professional-grade print quality, it is the best dye sublimation printer for beginners.
5. Canon Pixma Pro 200 Dye Printer – [Best Dye Photo Printer]
Our Usage Experience:
Canon Pixma Pro 200 with a wide range of media types support and the ability to handle large format printing is our next choice for the list of best dye sublimation printers. This photo printer is pretty famous for its stunning photo printing quality and support for borderless printing. It is a compact and lightweight unit that supports a range of media sizes upto 13×19 inches. Unfortunately, it does not support roll media. What makes it perfect for sublimation printing is its best-in-class resolution of around 2400×4800 dpi.
The printer runs on eight dye-based inks and offers the widest in-class grayscale band. It can handle multiple glossy and matte photo papers and a wide range of sublimation papers and cut sheets. With the help of solid printing software support and Media Configuration Tools Canon Pixma Pro 200 helps you create professional-grade high-end coloured prints for your sublimation and photo printing projects.
Quick Key Features
- Solid Software Support: The printer is backed by Cannon’s Print and Layout PPL2 advanced software support. This software features an intuitive interface that helps you with the best possible print setting for optimized printing results.
- Wide Connectivity Band: For hassle-free printing in multiple environments, this printer comes with multiple connectivity options like Ethernet, USB, and WiFi 11.
- 3-inch LCD: An intuitive 3-inch LCD screen makes the navigation and setup super quick and easy. Plus it allows you to monitor the ink levels and perform maintenance practices with maximum ease and convenience.
- Impressive Speed: Depending upon the size and resolution of the graphics, the printer takes around 50-100 seconds to deliver high-quality prints. We tested the printer’s speed for 12×12 borderless photo print and it delivered this print in 62 seconds which is quite impressive.
- Solid software support
- Promises ink efficiency
- Ethernet and wireless connectivity
- Supports various media sizes and layouts
- No support for roll media
- Ink cartridge capacity could have improved
Final Thoughts
Canon Pixma Pro 200 is a good dye sublimation printing machine because it uses 8 individual dye-sub inks and is capable enough to deliver vibrant and bright prints with unbeatable colour accuracy. With versatile media handling and solid software support, this is the best dye sublimation printer for photos you can buy in 2023.
6. HP DeskJet 4155e All-in-one printer – [Best HP Sublimation Printer]
Our Usage Experience:
HP DeskJet 4155e All-in-one printer is designed for everyday printing, scanning, and copying needs. This all-in-one printer can have a wide range of media sizes up to 8 x 14 inches. The printer comes with HP smart app support that allows you to control all the features of printers from your phone or tablet. It supports wireless and mobile printing and offers a wide connectivity band.
Since the printer is made for everyday printing needs, it offers average printing speeds. For colour printing, its speed varies between 3-5 ppm depending upon the size and resolution of the print. With a resolution of 1200 DPI, this printer offers decent printing quality for photos, travel documents, and everyday text documents. The control panel comprises an icon LCD with 7 small physical buttons making it pretty hard to navigate. Also, it requires regular maintenance and the maintenance costs are higher.
Quick Key Features
- Printing App Support: With HP printing app support, you can print from various devices and sources. Plus, you can navigate the printer’s setup and control all its features from the ease of your phone.
- Decent Print Quality: The printer features 1200 dpi resolution and offers decent colour depth for acceptable printing quality for both monochrome and colour prints.
- Versatile MedialHandling: The printer can handle various substrates like matte sheets, glossy sheets, and photo pacers. Plus it handles a wide range of standard media sizes like A4, 4×6 photos, legal documents, and envelopes.
- MultipleConnectivity Option: HP DeskJet 41552e offers three standard connectivity options besides the HP printing app. These options include Bluetooth, WiFi, and USB 2.0
- Inexpensive option
- Decent print quality
- Wide Connectivity Band
- HP Smart Print App Support
- Low-quality control panel
- Needs regular maintenance
Final Thoughts
HP Deskjet 4155 e is a decent All-in-One printer that allows you to scan, copy and print from various resources. With decent printing resolution and a wide colour gamut, it is a good dye sublimation printer for photos.
Buying Guide For Best Dye-sublimation Printer
Here is a guide discussing all the key features and essentials that you must consider while buying a new dye sublimation printer.
Resolution
Sublimation printing is all about quality and you need a powerful resolution to create high-quality coloured prints on sublimation sheets. The minimum resolution requirement for dye sublimation printing is 1200×2400 dpi. Regular inkjet printers are made with the need of everyday printing needs and may not deliver acceptable printing results on sublimation substrates.
Convertible Or Purpose Built
You can find both purpose-built and convertible sublimation printers. Dedicated sublimation printers like Sawgrass SG 1000 are expensive but offer straightforward printing solutions. However, if you are looking for an inexpensive dye-sub printer, you may consider convertible to sublimation printers like Canon Pixma iX6820. It is advised to look for a cartridge-free printing solution if you are buying convertible to sublimation printers.
Printing Size
The choice of print size support boils down to your personal preference. If you are only interested in photo printing or small designs you may invest in compact dye sublimation printers like the Canon Pixma Photo printer. For projects like t-shirt printing and banner printing, you should look for large format printing support upto 13×19 inches.
Connectivity Options
Multiple connectivity options and mobile printing support enhance your experience. You must look for a wide connectivity band including both physical and wireless connectivity options. Plus you may also consider WiFi direct support, and printing app support.
Printing Speed
The printing speed of dye sublimation printers depends on the resolution and size of the print. The average printing speed offered by regular dye-sub printers varies between 1-3 pages per minute. If you are interested in high-volume printing, you should consider a professional-grade unit like DNP DS-RX1HS 6 that can print around 290 4×6 photos in one hour.
Frequently Asked Questions For Beginners
Conclusion
We are hopeful that this review and buying guide will help choose the best dye sublimation printer that is in line with your needs and budget. It is recommended to choose a wide-format dye-sub printer as it grows with your business. Our top three picks from the list are:
- Sawgrass Virtuoso SG 1000 for wide format printing, flawless print quality, and solid software support
- Canon Pixma Pro 200 Printer for impressive ink efficiency, printing software support, and versatile media handling
- DNP Event Photo Printer DS-RX1HS 6 for high volume printing, efficient dye-sub technology, wide format printing, and decent print quality
Sublimation printing is a broad file that uses various types of sublimation sheets like HTVs, matte papers, glossy pacers, photo paper, etc. So, it is recommended to look for printers that can support all types of sublimation papers.