Can You Use Any Printer for Sublimation?

Here is all you need to know: can you use any printer for sublimation?, which will make it easier for you to find the right one.

Investing in a sublimation printer is the right thing to do for those who are thinking of starting a home-based business. Many people own ordinary printers and they believe that it will go well for the sublimation process too. The sublimation process is somehow unique as it requires different kinds of paper and sublimation ink in order to print the required material. It means that normal printers do not give the best results for sublimation.

Well, if you are the one who thinks that you can use any printer for sublimation then you are at the right place. In this article, I will let you know if other printers give you the same best results or if you specifically need to purchase the sublimation printer. Read the article in order to get the right printer on time, which is economical and the easiest one to use.

Can You Use Any Printer for Sublimation?

The sublimation process is quite delicate but it becomes easier when you get the right kind of sublimation printer. Sublimation printing is a highly technological process, which requires printing on demand on different materials like metal and ceramic. Sublimation basically imprints on different products, fabrics, and metal materials. There are varieties of printers available but each printer does not have the facility to provide sublimation printing.

Other printers have a difference in their printing quality, and sometimes the colors fade too. So, in order to get 100% accurate printing results it is important that you invest in the sublimation printer. The printing quality of sublimation printers is the best and the printing process is also super easy. Among the numerous variety of sublimation printers, the most popular and commonly used ones are Sawgrass Virtuoso, Epson, and Ricoh.

If you are thinking of buying the sublimation printer then you can prefer one out of these three. The sublimation printers are best for the ones who are thinking of starting a digital industry business as it prints out things smoothly, which results in vibrant colors and has the best printing quality. Well, read the article to know more details about the sublimation printer and its working nature.

How Sublimation Printers Work

Sublimation is a great process of printing images on different materials and fabrics through a heat process. You can print your own favorite design on different garments and materials. Through the heat process, the image from the sublimation paper is printed on the required fabric or material. The sublimation printer has amazing printing results and vibrant printing colors.

You have to put the fabric or material on a sublimation printer in which you have to embed the sublimation ink and then through heat pressure, the required print will be printed on the fabric. The sublimation printing process is somehow very similar to that of applying a tattoo on your hand. The printing effects of the sublimation process last for a longer period of time and do not even fade.

The heat basically opens the pores of the fabric, which absorbs the embedded ink and when it cools down the ink print becomes permanent. The permanent ink print does not crack or fade even after several times of washing. The sublimation printer is quite effective for printing digital prints, which are pretty famous and demanding nowadays. If you are thinking of starting your own styling and digital printing business then the sublimation printers will go best for it.

Epson Inkjets

As discussed earlier, the other printers do not give absolute results like those of sublimation printers. So, it is better that you can specifically use sublimation printers, but sometimes it depends upon which type of printer you own. Among all normal printers, you can convert Epson Inkjets to sublimation printers. The key element of converting Epson Inkjets to sublimation printers is by using dye-sublimation ink.

Dye sublimation ink is the specific ink that is used for the sublimation process, which gives durable and crack-resistant results. Using dye sublimation ink for Epson Inkjets printer will give similar results and also this method is cost-effective and less time wasting

Using Sublimation Ink In Epson Inkjets

For the purpose of testing the sublimation on normal printer I have used the EPSON T822 DURABrite Ultra Ink High Capacity Black & Standard Color Cartridge Combo Pack ink the results would amazed you.

Well, using the sublimation ink in Epson inkjets is the safest thing to do. You can convert the Epson inkjets like that of sublimation because the dye sublimation ink requires heat, which implants the design on the required fabric. Other printers do not work on heat press so it becomes difficult for dye sublimation ink to deposit in the fabric or other materials used for the sublimation process. Normal printers do not penetrate the sublimation ink to the fabric, which results in the spilling of ink and discoloration.

It is important that if you are converting a printer to a sublimation printer then you should use a proper printhead kit. The best printhead that you can buy, which is compatible with most printers, is the Piezo printhead. Well, the printers like Epson Inkjets and Brother are one of the most famous printers that use the Piezo printhead. This means that you can use these printers as an alternative for the sublimation printing process.

Use of Sublimation Paper In Normal Printer

Well, another question that must trigger your mind, will be the use of sublimation paper in a regular printer. A sublimation paper is a special paper used for the sublimation process, which effectively holds on the sublimation ink on the paper. The sublimation paper is different from that of normal printing paper. To answer your question that you can use sublimation paper in a regular printer then it must be NO.

Regular printers will not absorb the sublimation ink and hence the print will not be printed on the sublimation paper. You can use the sublimation ink in normal printers but you cannot use the sublimation papers in regular printers. The sublimation paper will not hold the ink, which means that the regular printer will not be able to print the design. The sublimation printer requires a heat press to transfer the print but regular printers do not possess the heat press, which makes it difficult for the ink to absorb.

Convert Printer to Sublimation

Now, many of you must be thinking of how to convert a printer to sublimation. The best thing and method of converting a printer to sublimation printing is by using the Piezo printhead. It is very important that after using the Piezo printhead kit you should fill it up with the dye sublimation ink. Do not use ordinary inks, which will obviously create a mess.

What Epson Printers can you Use for Sublimation?

Well, there are many Epson sublimation printers available in the market. So, the question arises: what Epson printers can you use for sublimation purposes? The happy news is that you can use almost all Epson printers for sublimation. Epson printers work best with the Piezo printheads, which are best suitable for a variety of inks and more importantly with the dye-sublimation ink. The best three Epson printers that you can convert to the sublimation process are the following;

• EcoTank PrintersPurpose-Built Sublimation Printers
• Cartridge-Based Printers
• Epson EcoTank Printer to Convert to Sublimation

The Epson EcoTank printers are best to convert to sublimation printing because of their supertank printers. This printer is best to use for home base digital business as it is quite suitable in size, has different expected features, and is easy to maintain. The EcoTank printers can be converted to sublimation because of some specific reasons, which are as follows;

Cheap EcoTank For Sublimation

Well, the most common and cheap EcoTank printers that are best to convert to sublimation printers are ET-2800, ET-2803, and ET-2850. Each of these EcoTank printers has its unique specialty, which makes them best to be used for the sublimation process. If I talk about ET-2800 then this printer is best to be used by home crafters because of its maximum width. The ET-2803 in comparison to the ET-2800 is more specific in its printing target. At last, the ET-2850 is more efficient with the two printing sides.

There are other Epson EcoTanks printers like ET3830–ET3850, which are best to use for sublimation because of their large paper tray capacity, fast printing color, big controlling screen, and great connectivity. The ET-4850 is more flexible in its features. The EcoTank Pro series i-e ET-5100 and ET5800 offer high printing capacity and great features. Among them, ET-2800 is the most convenient to use for sublimation printing.

Epson Cartridge Printers For Sublimation

Another excellent printer that you can use for sublimation printing is the Epson Cartridge printer. The Epson Cartridge printer is highly efficient to use because of several reasons. You can use dye-sublimation ink for these printers, which will make it super easy for you to print the design on fabric or other material of your choice. The best and the wider format Cartridge printer that can be used for the sublimation process is the ET-15000.

Can you Convert Brother Printer To Sublimation Printing?

Well, Brother printer also uses the Piezo printhead just like that of Epson printers, which makes sure that you use dye-sublimation ink for this process. Still some printers of Brothers are not compatible enough to use dye-sublimation ink and in return, they do not provide the expected printing results to the user. The INKvestment is one of the popular printers of Brother that has a significant super tank, which can be easily converted to sublimation.

FAQ’s | Can You Use Any Printer for Sublimation?

Conclusion

Proper research is very important when you are thinking of doing an experiment. The conversion process becomes more simple when you find out which printer has all the features that are required for sublimation printing. There are a few varieties of printers that you can convert to sublimation, which makes your work easier, and cost-effective. I hope that this article has cleared your questions regarding whether you can use any printer for sublimation in order to get the best sublimation printing results.