Sublimation Printers How Do You Convert A Printer?

As we mentioned in our ‘Sublimation Introduction’ article the main consideration in printer selection is that it must have a piezo electric print head. Epson are famous for using this technology but there are some others such as Mimaki and Ricoh too – the thing is Epson are so mainstream they are the clear favourite.

You can buy a sublimation printer that is produced and sold as exactly that eg the Epson Surecolor F160. But printers produced for sublimation can be a bit pricier, hence why people convert Epson printers by the bucket load – plenty of them for a cheaper price.

So, now that we have Epson in mind which models can we choose from?

The simplest answer is, look to the Epson Ecotank range – they don’t use ink cartridges, they use refillable ink tanks which makes them very convenient to use for sublimation printing.

The next big question is how do you convert them for sublimation printing? If your converting a printer for DTF you have quite a few hoops to jump through, with a sublimation printer you need to;

• Buy a brand new Epson Ecotank printer
• Buy some sublimation ink (the usual CMYK combination)
• Fill the printer with the sublimation ink
• Sell the Epson supplied ink that came with your printer on eBay
• Buy some sublimation paper
• Start printing your images

It is as simple as that!

The only other consideration is the paper size that the printer can handle, do you only want to print A4 size, or do you plump for an A3 (which can do any size paper up to A3, so that includes A4)? If you can, my suggestion would be go for the A3 because you will likely be looking to upgrade once bitten by the bug.

I want to end with two caveats here.

• I am in no way affiliated with Epson, my knowledge comes from years of using electronics, repairing, selling, using, and such-like.
• And the BIGGIE – if you use sublimation ink in a non-sublimation printer you void the warranty, most people are comfortable with this as little goes wrong with them, and if you are using it for a side hustle, it doesn’t take long to recoup your cost.

Next up will be inks and papers….