What is the Cheapest Sublimation Printer in 2024? 

As you may be aware, the sublimation printer prints a brilliant, permanent pattern on cloth, garments, and designed products. However, they are expensive, making them a large expense and a distant goal for several individuals. Due to this disadvantage, it is hard for persons on a small budget to obtain a competent sublimation printer. But, do you know, the cheapest sublimation printer can benefit small workplaces and offices with low-cost sublimation printing!

With a limited budget in mind, I have cut down our hunt to the 6 best cheapest sublimation printers. This includes Epson EcoTank ET-2720, which is the cheapest sublimation printer out there. In my experience, Epson EcoTank ET-2760 is another affordable printer equipped with an Epson Ecotank ink system that minimizes the ink cost. Meanwhile, Epson WorkForce WF-7820 is the cheapest wide-format printer with great features and Super tabloid printing. But wait, the list doesn’t stop here. We’ve listed a few more top-of-the-line printers below that will fit your budget.

To know about other best affordable sublimation printers, let’s jump right into it:

6 Best Cheapest Sublimation Printers For Beginners in 2024

1. Epson EcoTank ET-2720: Best Overall

Specification:

The Epson EcoTank ET-2720 is a multi-function, most compact, and the best cheapest sublimation bulk-ink printer. It isn’t the quickest or most upscale AIO on the market, but it produces high-quality prints at a modest cost per page. This sublimation printer does not use any cartridges. Epson has incorporated 4 high-yielding supertank ink bottles into this printer to replace small ink cartridges. Furthermore, you get a 1.44-inches tilting LCD that I easily tilted upward to see the screen, and it provides excellent accessibility even if you’re sitting or upright. Also, it features a 100-sheet single paper tray that lifts up and out through the back of the machine.

Additionally, the input tray may hold twenty photo paper sheets and up to ten No. 10 envelopes. The ET-2720 is rated at 10.5 black pages per minute (ppm) with 5 pages per minute (ppm) in color sheets which is the adequate speed for being the cheapest sublimation printer. Not to forget, this printer’s greatest print size is 8.5×14 inches, making it the best sublimation printer for mugs, t-shirts, and other sublimation substrates. This printer uses a Micro Piezo Heat-Free printing process to generate precise, high-resolution images. I performed my analysis by printing very vivid and bright 4×6-inch sample pictures many times that averaged 30 seconds per each.

Epson ET-2720 allows you to connect through USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi direct when it concerns connectivity. Lastly, among the iOS and Apple mobile connectivity options, you can print using Google Cloud Print, Fire OS, Mopria Print Service, Apple AirPrint, and Epson’s iPrint app.

Final words:

The Epson EcoTank ET-2720 is a good cheapest sublimation printer for household printing. It has excellent page yields and offers very low cost-per-print. The downside I consider in this printer is that it lacks an automated document feeder that makes multi-page scanning slow-going.

2. Epson EcoTank ET-2760: Best EcoTank pick

Specification:

Epson ET 2760 is similar to the aforementioned ET 2720 and is another excellent low-cost option. It has many of the same features as the ET 2720 and the 4 EcoTank ink mechanism, which eliminates the need for ink cartridges. Furthermore, this printer features a 1.4-inch non-touch color display and a collection of navigation buttons and other keys, including Back, Home, Cancel and Copy. In terms of paper processing, the ET-2760 has a single 100-sheet paper tray that feeds through the backside and a modest output tray with 30 printing sheet capacity.

In addition, the input tray may take up to 20 pages of fine photo paper and ten No. 10 envelopes. The print paper ranges from 8.5 x 14 inches, including an additional user-specified range of 8.5 x 47.2 inches. Also, this printer prints around 10.5 black pages per minute (ppm) and 5 pages per minute of color documents, which is acceptable for an affordable sublimation printer but far from quick.

Moreover, this printer offers a 5760 x 1440 dpi printing resolution with stunning quality and bright colors. I put the ET-2760’s ability for photo-printing to the mark by timing as it printed two of the 4×6-inch photos. The ET-2760 averaged 30 seconds for each photo. The connectivity options available in this cheapest sublimation printer are Wi-Fi direct, USB 2.0, and Wi-Fi. As for mobile connectivity, you can connect and print via Fire OS, Google Cloud Print, Epson iPrint, Mopria Print Service, and Apple AirPrint.

Final words:

Overall, the Epson ET-2760 is the best cheapest sublimation printer for modest or household work. While it prints a large page count for a reasonable cost per print, it excludes several key office capabilities, such as an automatic document feeder (ADF). Additionally, the ink tanks are difficult to reach because you have to elevate the whole flatbed scanner part to get access.

3. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7820: Editor’s choice

Specification:

The WorkForce Pro WF-7820 is a multifunction wide-format inkjet printer that can print, scan, copy, and fax. It is one of the best cheapest sublimation printers for modest to moderate workplaces. Furthermore, it allows super tabloid sheets up to 13×19-inch and scanning, copying, and faxing duplex tabloids up to 11×17-inches. Moreover, it comes with a fast 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD that is simple to use. There are several buttons; however, the touch screen helps the most in performing most of the printing.

Also, this printer is equipped with PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology, making the WF-7820 the best cheapest sublimation printer for well-organized workflow. It has a high print resolution of up to 4800 x 2400 dpi, which justifies the better-than-average print quality. Also, it has a built-in 50-sheets ADF that aids in the handling of two-sided documents, resulting in increased productivity.

The WF-7820 features a single 250-sheet paper tray which differs from the WF-7840, which had two 250-sheets trays. Although the rear 50-sheets paper tray remains the same. When it comes to printing speed, it can print 25 black pages per minute and 12 colored pages per minute, making it an excellent choice for design firms.

Not to forget, it utilizes DURABrite Ultra inks that are the key to Epson’s vibrant and dazzling color print and scans. I ran the standard snapshot speed test, which entails printing two brightly colored, incredibly exact 4×6-inch photographs. WF-7820 the pictures in around 23 seconds. The WF-7820 lets you print from your phone or tablet by using Apple AirPrint, Epson Smart Panel App, Mopria, and Epson iPrint.

Final words: 

Overall, the WF-7820 wireless all-in-one wide-format printer is the cheapest sublimation printer that boosts efficiency in the office. It’s designed with auto duplex printing, higher yield, and a comprehensive collection of features. However, it accepts single sheets of paper, a significant downside for workplaces with a moderate to high output rate.

4. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840: Best budget pick

Specification:

The WF-7840 is a fantastic wide-format printer with comprehensive business functionality that includes a large capacity, high volume, and borderless tabloid printing. The WF-7840 allows you to fax, scan, and copy two-sided tabloid-size sheets of 11×17-inches. Furthermore, it comes with a responsive 4.3-inches LCD touchscreen that is easily accessible. The LCD panel contains touch-sensitive Help and Home buttons and four shortcut buttons for interrupting or resetting the machine.

Further, this best cheapest sublimation printer offers printing 25 black pages per minute and 12 color pages per minute at a 4800 x 2400 dpi resolution. Also, it includes two front-facing paper trays that can hold 250 sheets, each with width sliders to meet various paper sizes. In addition, a third paper tray on the rear side holds 50 sheets.

This printer uses Epson’s PrecisionCore Heat-Free printheads, just like the rest of the WorkForce Pro line, producing basic pictures. I performed the usual photograph speed test, which involves printing two vividly colored, overly precise 4×6-inch photographs. The WF-7840 took approximately 24 seconds to process each image.

Moreover, it features a flatbed scanner that offers high color depth and high resolution. WF-7840 has a 50 sheets automatic document feeder that allows double-sided scanning of documents up to tabloid size. You may print wirelessly using AirPrint, Wi-Fi, or Mopria Print. Lastly, this printer allows you to print straight from a USB drive using the front USB interface.

Final words:

The Epson WF-7840 is the best cheap sublimation printer for home or small workplaces. It features a solid build and a great scanner that can handle duplex faxing and scanning. Printing in black and color ink is cost-effective; however, the page yield in black printing is low; thus, you will need to refill the cartridges regularly.

5. HP Smart -Tank Plus 551: Best Printer for Students

Specification: 

The HP Smart Tank Plus 551 is a multi-purpose supertank printer with a small footprint. This printer is designed with a 4 refilling super ink tank that allows you to print many pages out of color and black ink before having to refill it. The Plus 551’s basic interface consists of a seven-segment 2-inch monochromatic display and many buttons to handle walk-up operations such as creating copies and scanning documents.

Furthermore, this printer has a capacity of 100-sheets in the input tray that pulls out from the printer’s back. In addition, it accommodates ten No. 10 envelopes and 30 label media sheets.

The Plus 551 prints at 11 pages per minute (ppm), which is 0.5ppm quicker than the previous models. Also, it comes in a variety of print sizes, ranging from 3x5inches to 8.5×14 inches. I averaged the outcomes of multiple prints of the 4×6-inch snapshot photo. The Plus 551 produced the overly precise and bright test photographs in 28 seconds. The finest aspect of the HP Smart Tank Plus 551, in my experience, is that it has numerous modes of connection, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB.

Final words

In brief, the HP Smart Tank Plus 551 is an excellent choice for students. This HP best cheapest sublimation printer is quite economical for printing articles and projects. Also, it allows printing a large number of pages before the tanks need to be replenished. However, printing black-text papers require a while which is inconvenient if you’re running late on the due date.

6. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000: Best wide-format printer

Specification: 

The Epson Photo HD XP-15000 is a consumer-grade Wide-Format super tabloid (13-by-19-inch) photo inkjet printer. The XP-15000 has improved paper processing and networking capabilities and a more sophisticated and user-friendly control panel. As XP-15000 solely prints, it includes a 2.4-inch LCD and a collection of buttons for accessing settings and onscreen authoring tools and preferences. Furthermore, it has a higher input paper volume of 250 printer paper and 50 photo paper.

Also, this printer creates borderless sheets in a variety of sizes, ranging from 4×6 inches to 13×19 inches. EPSON RATED the XP-15000 at 9.2 black pages per minute (ppm), which is comparable to the speeds of many consumer-grade image printers.

Moreover, it has a maximal 5760×1440 dpi print resolution. Indeed, XP 15000 is the first cheapest wide-format sublimation photo printer that I’ve encountered that prints images using Epson’s Claria Ultra HD inks. I summed the results of many 4×6-inch snapshot photo prints.

The XP 15000 took 37 seconds to take the highly precise and brilliant test images. Not to forget, it enables you to connect through Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi Direct. In addition, you can connect your PC with this printer by USB Host and USB. Further, mobile alternatives for printing through the Epson Connect range of cloud access networks include Epson E-mail Print, Epson iPrint App, and Epson Remote Print. Lastly, you can print via your mobile device using Google Cloud printing, Apple AirPrint, Mopria, and Fire OS printing.

Final words: 

Briefly, the Epson XP-15000 is the best affordable sublimation printer for those who prefer a touchscreen interface and vibrant results. It also features a very simple printing process. However, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000’s greatest flaw is its high operating expenses. Which, if you aren’t into photography, can be extremely high.

Conclusion: 

To summarize, we brought in-depth information about the most budget sublimation printer in this review. By reading the specification, positives, and negatives, you may better understand the best cheapest sublimation printer that can accomplish its main and essential task. In case you own a more affordable sublimation printer, feel free to share what printer and about your favorite printer! Stay tuned for further information on sublimation printers and more detailed information. Before ending, let us have a quick review of our top best cheapest sublimation printers:

•   Best overall, Epson ET-2720: This printer has incorporated 4 high-yielding supertank ink bottles into this printer to replace small ink cartridges. Also, this printer uses a Micro Piezo Heat-Free printing process to generate precise, high-resolution images.
•   Best EcoTank pick, Epson ET-2760: This printer features a 1.4-inch non-touch color display and a collection of navigation buttons. Moreover, this printer offers a 5760 x 1440 dpi printing resolution with stunning quality and bright colors.
•   Editor’s choice, Epson WF-7820: This printer allows super tabloid sheets up to 13×19-inch and scanning, copying, and faxing duplex tabloids up to 11×17-inches. Also, this printer enables you to print through Wi-Fi direct, and Ethernet connections.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

•   What is the price of a sublimation printer? 

Ans: They can range from $300 for a residential model. Whereas high-end sublimation printers are available at $600. Larger printers, used for large-scale production, typically cost around $10,000.

•   Which sublimation printer is the least expensive?

Ans: The Epson 2720 is the most affordable sublimation printer. Epson has created several high-quality and cost-effective sublimation printers on the market.

•   What is the lifespan of sublimation ink cartridges?

Ans: Sublimation ink cartridges have been known to last up to ten years. However, you have to print via very high-quality and professional sublimation ink cartridges to get the most out of it.

Camryn