Epson sublimation printers - a guide to Epson's core offering

by William Elward November 29, 2023

Epson dye sublimation printers are renowned for their reliability, exceptional print quality, and fast output, making them ideal for businesses of various sizes.

The Epson SureColor F170, in particular, stands out as an easily set up, compact dye sublimation printer, suitable for creating custom clothing, home decor, accessories, and gifts. This model, released in early 2021, is praised for being an affordable, true sublimation printer that doesn't require conversion from a standard inkjet, offering a 1-year manufacturer's warranty and technical support.

The F170 is compatible with various sublimation design software and comes with a full set of CMYK sublimation ink, a power cord, and a detailed installation guide. Its 140ml ink bottles are designed to prevent the accidental mixing of colors during refilling. This printer supports Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet connections, and its installation process is straightforward, involving ink tank filling, ink charging, and driver installation. It can handle sublimation paper sizes up to 8.5 x 14 inches and offers a maximum print resolution of 1200 x 600dpi.

Based on our extensive testing and analysis, we've found the Sawgrass UHD Virtuoso SG500 to be one of the best starter sublimation printers on the market today. In addition the SG500 and the Epso F170, Epson also offers a range of sublimation printers suitable for various needs:

Epson WorkForce ET-4750: Known for its eco-friendly design, this model is economical with ink and offers wireless printing, customizable print sizes, and borderless photo printing. However, it may have issues with its automatic document feeder (ADF).
Epson EcoTank ET-8550: This wide-format printer is ink-efficient, has a high resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi, and features a range of connectivity options, including voice-activated printing. It's a bit expensive but offers impressive printing quality.
Epson EcoTank ET-15000: Ideal for A3-sized prints, this model is budget-friendly, offers fast printing with less ink consumption, and supports wireless and voice-activated printing. It is prone to paper jams, though.
Epson EcoTank ET-2760: A compact and eco-friendly option, this printer is ideal for bulk printing and home use, offering cartridge-free printing and integrated scanning and copying capabilities. However, its print speed is relatively slow.
Epson EcoTank ET-4760: Suitable for bulk sublimation printing, it offers great print quality with low ink costs, but its wireless connectivity is not as impressive.
Epson WorkForce WF-7720: A high-volume printer with impressive print quality and economical power consumption, though it is more expensive.
Epson EcoTank ET-2720: An economical printer ideal for beginners, offering good print quality and integrated scanning and copying, but lacks auto-duplexing and has a slower printing speed.
Epson Expression XP-15000: A wide-format printer with high resolution and color accuracy, suitable for high-quality image printing. It is compact but has high ink replacement costs.

These printers cater to a variety of applications, from small start-ups to high production businesses, making them versatile for different printing needs such as fashion, home decor, promotional products, and more.

Check out our additional sublimation resources:

About William Elward

Founder of Castle Ink, William Elward has 20 years experience in the printer industry. He's been featured on CNN Money, Yahoo, PC World, Computer World, and other top publications and frequently blogs about printers and ink cartridges. He's an expert at diagnosing printer issues and has published guides to fixing common printer issues across the internet. A graduate of Bryant University and Columbia's Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program, he's held various leadership positions at The College Board, Bankrate, Zocdoc, and Everyday Health. Follow him on Twitter at William Elward's Twitter Profile