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Like a great rock band, sublimation printers have their “groupies” and die-hard followers. As such, we’re going to try to explain why beginners might choose one of these printers over the over so that you can narrow down your choices.
A Lot of people have no choice but to go the cheapest route and that’s perfectly acceptable. You will achieve great results with a low cost printer. Others, will want to plug in and go…and are willing to pay a price to do so.
For a visual demonstration, walk yourself through this infographic. Then, we’ll go into greater detail about which printers are best for beginners…and why!
Remember, no matter what you choose, any one of the printers coming up in the next section will get you sublimating!
List of Printers for Sublimation Beginners
Take note, there are printers that cost several thousand dollars. You will not find them here on the beginner page. Here are the printers we recommend for beginners.
Epson Workforce 7720 or 7840 (link to availability and pricing) here or check Epson Clearance
Epson Workforce 7710 or 7820– (link to pricing and availability) or check Epson Refurb Section
Sawgrass 1000 with Sublijet Inks- (link to availability and pricing)
Sawgrass 500 with Sublijet Inks – (link to pricing and availability)
Epson EcoTank 2720 – (link to availability and pricing)
Now let’s get into our reasons for the rankings!
#1 – Epson Workforce 7720 or 7840- Top Pick for beginners to sublimation (budget wise)
Why this is our #1 Pick: Epson Workforce 7720 or 7840 will do everything you need it to do at a price most can afford. If you decide that you really enjoy sublimation, you can upgrade at a later time or keep it.
If sublimation isn’t for you, swap out the cartridges with regular ink and you’ll have a great home printer.
Many small business owners are selling sublimated items using Epson 7720 printers and have no intentions of upgrading – they are that good and allow prints as large as 13 x 19 which is incredibly rare!
Our Number 1 pick -Epson 7720, but it is slowly being replaced with the Epson 7840, which is why we list both. If given the choice, I would go with the 7840 because it’s newer.
It is comparable to the Epson 7710 & 7720 (runner up) except 7720 & 7840 include two paper trays.
What’s so great about a 2nd paper tray?
1-Having 2 paper trays allows you to have sub-paper in one tray and regular copy paper in another (convenient for nozzle checks and cleanings).
or
2-You can have different sized sub-paper in each tray which is convenient if you often do large items (like welcome mats & blankets) and small items (like earrings and phone cases).
If you decide that you LOVE sublimation, you’ll soon wish you had a 2nd paper tray offered in the Epson Workforce 7780 (link to price). So why not just get it to begin with?
Downsides: The Epson WorkForce Models are NOT official sublimation printers. They become sublimation printers after you, the user, buy refillable cartridges (link to cartridge pricing) and sublimation ink kit.
Then, you fill the refillable cartridges with sublimation ink, and insert these new cartridges into the Epson printer.
Tech Support for Epson Converted Epson Sublimation
Any tech support is through facebook or youtube community groups (there are tons of them). Don’t expect any help from Epson and assume you’ll void your printer warranty.
Still, the price is so reasonable, it’s where most beginners jump in. Here is a picture of the Epson 7720 – you can click it to see pricing on amazon.
#2 Pick – Epson Workforce 7710 or 7820 (Runner Up) Sublimation Printer for Beginners
Why: The Epson 7710 is being replaced with the 7820 and both do everything you need it to do and are likely to be the least expensive entry point in to sublimation. If you are scraping together every last dime in order to start sublimating, this is your printer.
The Epson 7710 or 7820 (link to products) is exactly the same as the 7720 & 7840 (our top picks) but these have just 1 paper tray (holds 250 sheets). They still print an incredible 13 x 19 but you’ll be swapping out paper more often.
For instance, when you perform a nozzle cleaning, you don’t want to waste sublimation paper, so you’ll have to swap it out for regular copy paper. And you’ll have to swap out paper when you’re sublimating a phone grip (small paper) vs. a baby blanket (large paper)
Remember – Tech Support is facebook groups and youtube videos. And assume you’ll void any warranty.
#3 Pick Sawgrass 1000 Sublimation Printer -EasySubli Kit
Our #3 Pick is the Sawgrass 1000 Subjlijet Kit (link to product) sold by HeatPress Nation. We recommend HeatPress Nation because they offer real tech support, a free one-on-one appointment to help you setup your printer, price match guarantee, financing, free shipping (min.) and they have many warehouses in the US which results in fast shipping! You will not find those benefits on ebay!
What’s so great about Sawgrass?
Once you go Sawgrass, you may never go back. The printers are MADE for sublimation so users will enjoy 2 year warranties, video demonstrations, tech support, free design studio, and plug and play equipment. But, the hefty price tag is what keeps most beginners in the Epson arena.
If you can afford it, there will be a lot less of a learning curve because Sawgrass printers are made for sublimation.
Furthermore, you might really enjoy the Sawgrass, Subli line, especially the 1000, if you have experience doing vinyl (HTV), screen printing or anything else that has provided you with a good foundation and understanding of transferring designs to substrates.
Sawgrass printers use Sublijet Ink for sublimation..it’s a great ink! On top of that, if you want to change things up, you can purchase special transfer sheets that allow you to sublimate on lighter cottons. These sheets are called Forever Subli Light (link)
So, if you’re the type of beginner that has a healthy budget and if you’re pretty certain you’re in it for the long haul, the Sawgrass 1000 might be the sublimation printer you’ve been dreaming of.
Here is an image of the Sawgrass 1000 Kit at Heat Press Nation. You can click the image and be taken to pricing and availability.
Why Choose Sawgrass 1000 over 500?
Why does the Sawgrass 1000 beat out the 500 (in our opinion)? Print size. The 1000 can print 11 x 17 by as is. and up to 13 x 19 with an add-on bypass tray. The 500 is limited to 8.5 x 14 as-is or 8.5 x 21 (with add-on bypass tray).
It may not seem like a big difference, but it is. The first time you get an order for a 4XL Adult shirt or Throw Pillow, or Senior Graduation Garden Flag, or Baby Blanket…the list goes on; you’ll be so aggravated trying to tape pieces of paper together in order to sublimate something large. If you can afford the upgrade up front, do it.
#4 Pick – Sawgrass 500 Entry Level “Real” Sublimation Printer
The Sawgrass 500 Sublijet Kit (link to pricing) replaces the SG400 as the entry level sublimation printing truly made for sublimation with a 2 year warranty.
So now the Sawgrass 500 is known as the entry level Sawgrass printer and people who have it are usually, totally in love. They also tend to look toward the 1000 within a couple a few years.
If you cannot make the jump to the 1000, but want all the options and ease of a Sawgrass printer, definitely dive into the Sawgrass 500 Sublijet Kit. Especially if you’re okay printing nothing larger than 8.5 x 14.
If you are getting into sublimation because you want to do “smaller” items such as: phone grips, jewelry, business cards, kids tees, onesies, mugs, tumblers, keychains, hair bows, small flags, etc., the Sawgrass 500 should exceed your expectations. You can also learn to piece together larger designs, it’s really not that hard.
And, if you want the option of sublimating onto light cottons (like for onesies), you’ll be happy to have gone with Sawgrass 500 over the Epsons. Sawgrass printers allow to you insert special sublimation paper (Forever Subli Light) that allows sublimation onto cotton.
Here is a picture of the Sawgrass 500 Kit sold at Heat Press Nation. You can click the image to be taken to pricing and availability.
Sawgrass Sublijet Kit vs. Sawgrass EasySubli – For purposes of sublimating onto polymers and polyester such as sublimation blank coffee mugs, tumblers, keychains, mousepads, poly t’s, garden flags, car coasters, bookmarks, air fresheners etc., the Sawgrass Sublijet Kit is best suited. The EasiSubli is more of a heat transfer vinyl process.
#5 Pick – Epson EcoTank 2720 (Simplicity)
Last but definitely not least! Epson EcoTank users can be overheard saying things like: “that was easy” and “I love sublimating!” They got into sublimation at a very affordable price and they are perfectly content with the 2720’s smaller print size limitations of 8.5 x 14.
Eco Tanks are Best Epson Printers for Sublimation Without Cartridge Worries
Really, Any EcoTank Model is going to work with sublimation without the need for 3rd party cartridges. You can see our sublimation comparison table here.
If you decide on the Epson EcoTank 2720 (link to product) you don’t need any special “off brand” cartridges. All you need to do is buy a set of sublimation ink, pour them in when prompted, and you have a sublimation printer.
In fact, we just added the Epson 2720 into our Sublimation aresenal and made several videos of it you can watch on our youtube channel.
During setup of an Epson EcoTank, instead of pouring Epson’s included pigment ink into the generously sized ink tanks, you’ll pour your sublimation ink. That’s it….end of story….you can begin sublimating!
And if you decide sublimating isn’t for you (which we doubt), simply pour out the sublimation ink, fill the tanks with the original inks, and you’ve got yourself a really nice home or office color printer!
Summary
There are many options for beginners and most beginners like the idea of spending as little money as possible in the beginning. For those beginners, the Epson lines will be a little more work, but you’ll get in cheap.
If you are a beginner and can afford the Sawgrass line, you should go for it. It is plug and play, comes with a design program, full tech-support, warranties and the possibilities are endless.
We hope this guide has been helpful! To learn about which INKS and Paper we recommend, click here: Top Picks for Sublimation Ink and Sublimation Paper.
Happy Sublimating!!