The best sublimation printers for shirts are the Brother SP-1 for most people starting out, the Epson SureColor F170 for the highest rated dedicated option, and the Sawgrass SG500 when you want a full-front adult panel from one sheet. Add the Epson SureColor F570 24-inch if your product mix includes all-over jerseys, and read the fabric rules below before you spend anything, because sublimation only bonds to light-colored polyester.
That last point is where most first-time buyers get caught. Dye sublimation sends ink into the fabric as a gas under heat and pressure, and there is no plastic layer sitting on top to crack or peel later. The catch is that the dye has nothing to grab onto in cotton, and it disappears into a dark garment. So the printer you choose matters less than confirming your blanks will accept the transfer at all.
We did not bench-test these six machines ourselves. Instead, we compared the manufacturer specifications, the box contents, and the patterns that show up repeatedly across hundreds of owner reviews, because that is where the failure modes show up months later rather than on day one. Where reviewers disagree, we tell you which way the split runs.
Table of Contents
Top 3 Best Sublimation Printers for Shirts in 2026
Pinckney Super-Tank
- Cartridge-free ink tanks
- Built-in scanner and copier
- Auto-fill nozzles
All 6 Picks at a Glance in 2026
| Product | Specifications | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Brother SP-1 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Epson SureColor F170 |
|
Check Latest Price |
| Pinckney Super-Tank |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Sawgrass SG500 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Epson SureColor F570 24-Inch |
|
Check Latest Price |
 PC Universal Super-Tank Bundle |
|
Check Latest Price |
1. Brother SP-1 – Best Overall Sublimation Printer for Shirts
Brother Sublimation Printer and Black Ink Cartridge
Dye sublimation
Letter 8.5x11 media
4800 x 1200 dpi black and white
12 ppm black and white, 6 ppm color
Pros
- Bundled Artspira app with over 100 sublimation designs
- Fast output of up to 45 seconds per sheet
- Extra standard-yield black cartridge included
- Wi-Fi plus Ethernet and USB
Cons
- Heat press not included
- Cartridge ink means ongoing replacements
- Letter media limits large designs
The SP-1 is our top pick because it has the largest verified owner base of any machine in this roundup, with 574 reviews holding a 4.4 average, and 76 percent of those reviewers gave it five stars. That volume matters. It means the failure reports have already surfaced and been answered by other owners, so you are not the first person to hit an odd color band or a cartridge recognition error.
Out of the box it does more for a first-time printer than anything else here. The Artspira app comes bundled with more than 100 sublimation designs and an image-to-drawing conversion tool, which removes the single biggest early obstacle: getting artwork onto a transfer sheet that will actually press correctly. You still need a heat press, and that press is not in the box, but everything on the software side is handled.
The speed figures are the practical headline. The specification sheet lists 12 pages per minute in black and white and 6 pages per minute in color, and owners quote roughly 45 seconds per sheet in normal use. On a chest-logo workload of a dozen shirts that is a couple of minutes of printing, not a queue you babysit.
Connectivity is unusually generous for a machine at this level. You get Wi-Fi for a phone-free desk placement, plus Ethernet and USB for a wired shop network or a direct connection to a computer running the print utility. Paper handling is a 100-sheet capacity across Letter, Legal and A4 with custom sizes available, which is enough for a busy week of small transfers without constant refills.
Color depth is listed at 48-bit, and maximum print resolution is 4800 x 1200 dpi in black and white with 1200 x 2400 dpi in color. Those are more than sufficient numbers for a heat-transferred graphic, where the press and the paper influence the final result at least as much as the head resolution does.
What print size you actually get
Standard media tops out at 8.5×11, which covers chest logos, pocket prints, youth shirt fronts, name labels, award plaques and mugs. For a small business selling monogrammed tees or small-batch event shirts, that is genuinely enough and you will not outgrow it quickly.
It is also the hard ceiling. A full-front adult design does not fit on letter paper, and there is no tray, roll feed or software workaround that changes the physical sheet size. Plan on tiling or on a different machine if full-front work is coming in the first six months.
Where the SP-1 frustrates you
The ink is cartridge-based, and that is the recurring cost owners mention most. Four channels in black, cyan, magenta and yellow means you replace cartridges on a schedule that tightens as your order volume climbs, and cartridge ink costs more per milliliter than bottled ink does.
The warranty is listed as limited rather than a fixed multi-year term, which matters if you run this machine daily. And owners still point out the one omission that catches everybody: no heat press, no transfer paper and no tape ship in the box. Budget for those separately before your first order, because sublimation is a two-machine process and the press caps the quality of everything the printer produces.
2. Epson SureColor F170 – Best Rated Dedicated Printer for Shirts
Epson SureColor F170 Dye-Sublimation Printer – Compact 8.5″ x 11″ Format – Includes Genuine Epson Ink, User Guide & Power Cable – Original OEM Product with Full Manufacturer Support
Dye sublimation
8.5 inch wide media
5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
PrecisionCore printhead
Pros
- Highest average rating in this group at 4.5
- Genuine Epson ECO PASSPORT certified ink supplied
- 150 sheet closed auto-feed tray
- Compact footprint for small shops
Cons
- Slow throughput near 1 page per minute
- No mobile device support
- Media limited to 8.5 inches wide
The F170 carries the highest average rating in this roundup at 4.5 across 545 reviews, with 83 percent five-star. Where the SP-1 wins on owner volume, the F170 wins on satisfaction, and the reason is fairly clear from the review patterns: Epson ships genuine factory sublimation ink in the box and it is the real thing, not a refill of something similar.
The inks are certified ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX for use on textiles and hard substrates. That certification matters commercially if you ever sell to schools, sports teams or anyone who asks about chemical safety, and it removes the argument you would otherwise have about third-party ink on a garment product.
On the hardware side, the PrecisionCore printhead with Precision Droplet Control is specified at 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi in color and 5760 dpi in black and white, with 48-bit input handled through Epson’s color pipeline. The paper tray is the standout practical feature: 150 sheets in a closed, dust-resistant housing, which is the largest capacity in this roundup and keeps transfer paper cleaner while it sits loaded.
Ink comes in bottles with auto-stop technology, so refilling does not involve a syringe or a spill. For a shop doing a hundred shirts a month, bottled ink is meaningfully cheaper per milliliter than a cartridge system, and that difference compounds quietly over a year.
Setup is handled on MacOS and Windows. Connectivity covers wireless, USB and Ethernet, so you can place it away from your main workstation. The body measures 13.7 inches deep by 14.8 wide by 7.4 high and weighs 16 pounds, which is a genuinely compact footprint for a dedicated dye-sublimation machine.
What the closed 150 sheet tray changes
Most sublimation operators handle paper constantly, and every trip to the cabinet is a chance for humidity and dust to reach the transfer paper. Damp paper is the most common cause of dull, banded output. A closed 150 sheet tray means you load less often and the media stays covered, which cuts down on both problems at once.
It also means a full day of small transfers does not require a mid-job refill. For a hobbyist that sounds minor. For someone filling orders every morning it removes a real interruption from the workflow.
Where the F170 frustrates you
Throughput is the honest drawback, and reviewers say it plainly. The specification lists about 1 page per minute in both color and black and white. That is fine for a chest logo or a mug, and it becomes a bottleneck the moment you want forty full-color transfers in an afternoon.
Media is limited to 8.5 inches wide, the same letter constraint as the SP-1, and there is no mobile device support, so a phone cannot drive the printer directly. It is print-only and simplex, with a single tray, so switching between paper types means a manual change. If your shop runs mixed media through one machine all day, a two-tray unit like the SG500 handles that better.
3. Pinckney Cartridge-Free Super-Tank – Best Budget Ink Economics
Pinckney Cartridge-Free Super-Tank Printer with Sublimation Ink Bundle for Heat Transfers, Easy Fill, Built-in Scanner & Copier (White)
Converted super-tank base
8.5x11 media
5760 x 1440 dpi
Bundled 127mL black and 85mL color inks
Pros
- Cartridge-free tanks cut recurring ink cost
- Built-in scanner and copier add real function
- Auto-fill nozzle makes refilling syringe-free
- Wireless for flexible placement
Cons
- Converted base needs nozzle checks and head alignment
- One-star share sits at 15 percent among the well-reviewed models
- Output can look dull until heat transferred
This is the converted route: a super-tank all-in-one base that has been set up to run dye-sublimation ink, sold with the ink already inside. The appeal is arithmetic. You refill from bottles instead of replacing cartridges, and at print volume the difference per transfer is where a converted machine wins its argument.
The tanks included hold 127 mL of black and 85 mL each of magenta, cyan and yellow. The auto-fill nozzle matches the ink inlet directly, so there is no syringe, no squeezing and no leaked ink on the bench, which is the most common complaint we see about do-it-yourself conversions done badly.
You also get a flatbed scanner and copier in the same body, something neither of the dedicated machines above offers. That is not a sublimation feature, but it turns the box into a usable office machine instead of a single-purpose device taking up a shelf. Our roundup of all-in-one printers tested covers the trade-offs in that category more broadly.
Resolution is specified at 5760 x 1440 dpi with a fine droplet size intended to reduce clogging, and the supported paper list runs from Letter, Legal, Executive and A4 through 4×6, 5×7, 5.5×8.5 and custom sizes up to 8.5×47.2 inches. The 100 sheet capacity sits between the SP-1 and the F170.
At 4.1 across 288 reviews, this model sits mid-pack, with 70 percent five-star and 15 percent one-star. That split is itself informative. People who print regularly and refill the tanks are happy. People who print occasionally are not.
How the ink math works after conversion
Tank ink is bought by the bottle and dispensed into a refillable reservoir, so your per-transfer cost tracks bottle pricing rather than cartridge pricing. A letter sheet with light coverage uses a fraction of a tank, and gang sheets of multiple small transfers on one sheet cut both ink and press time.
The catch is the head. A super-tank base was engineered for pigment or dye ink that does not dry out in the nozzles, and sublimation dye is thinner and more prone to drying. That is why the listing includes nozzle check and head alignment guidance as a troubleshooting step rather than a user manual section.
Where a converted super-tank disappoints
Print only when you have work. Owners with long streaks of regular printing report years of reliable service, and the same owners warn that machines sitting unused between orders come back needing a deep clean. Cleaning cycles consume ink and time, and at low volume they can eat the savings that justified the conversion in the first place.
The warranty is 1 year limited, and the conversion itself takes the manufacturer warranty on the printhead out of play. If a head fails in year two, that is on you. The included troubleshooting guidance for dull or inconsistent output is thinner than what Sawgrass or Epson provide, and the 15 percent one-star share is largely people who expected dedicated-machine output from a converted box.
4. Sawgrass SG500 – Best Dedicated Printer With a Support Ecosystem
Sawgrass SG500 Sublimation Printer, 31 mL Inks and Paper Bundle
Dye sublimation
8.5 x 14 standard media
1200 x 1200 dpi
25 ppm black and white, 10 ppm color
Pros
- Owners switching from conversions report better final quality
- 31 mL SubliJet UHD inkset included
- 25 ppm black and white and 10 ppm color throughput
- Bypass tray accepts media up to 8.5 x 51 inches
- MySawgrass and Print Utility with Smart presets
Cons
- Software setup reported slow and thinly documented
- Proprietary ink only
- 31 mL set depletes quickly at regular use
The SG500 is the one to look at if your shirts need more than a letter sheet. Standard media runs to 8.5 x 14 inches, which is a meaningful jump over the 8.5×11 limit on the two dedicated entry machines, and the bypass tray behind it accepts media up to 8.5 x 51 inches for long transfer runs and signage.
It is also one of the fastest machines in this roundup, specified at 25 pages per minute in black and white and 10 pages per minute in color on its 1200 x 1200 dpi head. Owners who moved up from a converted EcoTank describe the final pressed output as visibly better, which tracks with the head and ink being designed for this job rather than adapted to it.
The 31 mL SubliJet UHD CMYK inkset in the box is formulated for both hard and soft substrates, so the same machine covers drinkware, signage and promotional products alongside garments. Print head auto-maintenance and Wi-Fi are both included, and the unit is rated for standard 110/120V US and North American outlets.
Color control goes through MySawgrass, the online design platform, and Sawgrass Print Utility with its Smart presets. Owners repeatedly single out the profiles and the software as the reason their color matches between jobs. Smart presets also remove the manual mirroring step that trips up first-time users, which is a bigger time saver than it sounds.
One detail worth checking before you commit: some owners report a 3-year, 100,000-print warranty on their unit, while the standard listed term for this configuration is 2 years. Confirm the term that applies to the specific machine you are buying rather than assuming either number.
What the SG500 does that conversions cannot
Color consistency across a run of fifty shirts. Factory profiles and preset media settings are the reason owners migrating from a converted machine report a visible jump in quality, and they are also the reason output from this machine survives a customer who sent back a slightly off-color order.
Support is the second difference. Sawgrass operates a training and education program alongside the hardware, and owner comments about responsive service, including a faulty machine being replaced, come up often enough that it is worth factoring into a business decision.
Where the ink lock-in bites
Only proprietary Sawgrass ink will run in this machine. That is a genuine operating cost, since 31 mL cartridges are expensive per milliliter and the included set depletes quickly once you are printing regularly. Budget for that before your first month of production rather than after.
Setup is the other reported weak point. Drivers and software installation are described as slow and thinly documented, and some buyers hit grid lines that required a replacement machine, plus laptop compatibility problems. With 8.5 x 14 standard media, many full-shirt panels still need tiling, so this is a step up from letter rather than a substitute for 13×19.
5. Epson SureColor F570 24-Inch – Best Wide-Format Sublimation Printer
Epson Surecolor F570 Bundle 24″ Desktop Sublimation Printer, Includes One Full Ink Set, User Guide, & Free Remote Install SCF570 (Printer & Inks)
24 inch wide rolls and sheets
One full T49M ink set included
50 sheet tray with built-in cutter
Edge Print Pro with PostScript 3
Pros
- Only unit here handling 24 inch wide rolls up to 100 feet
- Built-in cutter and 50 sheet tray simplify roll handling
- Nozzle Verification Technology for commercial reliability
- Nesting and pattern repeat software included
- Free remote installation and tech support
Cons
- A major step up in cost from every other machine here
- 151 pound chassis needs real floor space
- Throughput suits production rather than quick turnarounds
The F570 is the only machine here that changes the product mix rather than just the speed. It accepts rolls and sheets up to 24 inches wide, which means all-over jersey prints, full-front adult designs without tiling, banner work and large-format panels all become single-piece jobs instead of assembled ones.
If your plan includes anything beyond chest logos, this is the tier that stops you buying twice. Everyone else in this roundup is a letter or tabloid machine, and no amount of software changes what fits on the paper.
The commercial features are the reason this is not simply a big printer. Nozzle Verification Technology checks the head and reports problems, which is the difference between catching a blocked nozzle before a 200-shirt run and discovering it halfway through. Epson Edge Print Pro with Adobe PostScript 3 and the Adobe PDF Print Engine handles job layout, nesting and pattern repeats, so you can place several small transfers on one sheet and get consistent color across all of them.
Roll handling is covered by a 50 sheet auto-feed tray plus a built-in cutter, so you are not trimming media by hand. One full set of T49M CMYK sublimation inks is included, and free remote installation with tech support is part of the bundle, which matters on a machine this size.
The PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead uses Precision Droplet Control, and the machine is a print-only commercial desktop unit rated for rolls up to 100 feet long. It is designed for production output, not for a hobby desk.
When 24-inch media changes the product mix
All-over and full-body prints stop being a compromise. A design that would need four tiled letter sheets becomes one continuous transfer, which removes visible seams, cuts press time dramatically and lets you sell a higher-value product that a letter machine simply cannot produce at all.
The nesting and pattern repeat software also pays for itself through gang sheets. Placing multiple small designs on one wide sheet lowers ink and press time per item, and at production volume that is the difference that matters most.
Where the F570 is the wrong machine
It costs a great deal more than every other machine in this roundup, and the 151 pound, 32 by 38 inch chassis needs dedicated floor space rather than a shelf. If your realistic output is a few dozen small transfers a week, that money buys nothing you would use.
Throughput sits at roughly 1 page per minute, which suits long production runs where the machine is set up and left alone rather than quick turnarounds. And with only 49 reviews behind it, the owner base is small enough that the long-term reliability picture is less documented than it is for the letter-size models.
6. PC Universal Super-Tank Bundle – Best Starter Package for First Transfers
PC Universal Super-Tank Wireless Sublimation Printer Bundle for Custom T-Shirt/Glove/Tote Bag Design – Up to 10,000 Pages Yield/Bundle with Flat Board Press Machine & All Accessories
Converted super-tank
11 x 17 media
5760 x 1440 dpi
Flat board heat press included
Pros
- Heat press included in the same box
- Handles media up to 11 x 17 inches
- All-in-one with automatic document feeder
- Wireless and Bluetooth plus USB
- Entry-level cost of the six
Cons
- Lowest rating in the group at 3.6
- Bundled press is too small for a standard t-shirt
- Connection failures reported
- Sublimation ink is hard to source for this model
The reason this machine is on the list is straightforward: it is the only bundle here that includes a heat press. Sublimation is a two-machine process, and buying a printer first and a press second is the most common beginner mistake. The flat board press in this box removes that first hurdle.
On paper the specifications are competitive. Resolution is listed at 5760 x 1440 dpi with 24 bpp color depth, throughput at 33 pages per minute in black and white and 15 in color, and media handling up to 11 x 17 inches, which is wider than any letter-size dedicated machine in this roundup. The all-in-one body includes an automatic document feeder, and connectivity covers wireless, Bluetooth and USB with app-based control.
At 3.6 across 22 reviews, this is the weakest rating in the group, and the 26 percent one-star share is the highest. The split is sharp: some buyers report easy setup and working results that satisfied them, while others describe a very different experience.
The ink is advertised as a super-tank system with a yield rated at up to 10,000 pages. That figure is a manufacturer claim rather than a measured one, so treat it as a marketing number and plan your purchasing around the actual bottle sizes you can get.
What the bundle actually gets you
You get the printer, the heat press and a set of accessories in one delivery, which gets a complete first transfer done in a single afternoon rather than a week of waiting on a second shipment. For someone who has never pressed anything, that speed of first success matters more than the specification sheet.
The wider 11 x 17 media capability is also a genuine advantage over letter-only models. It handles a mid-size front panel in one piece, which no other machine in this roundup can do outside the 24-inch model.
Where the bundle falls short
The included press is roughly letter-sized and too small for a standard t-shirt, so larger transfers have to be done in sections. That undercuts the main reason to want a press in the box, and you may end up replacing it within a few months anyway.
Owners report frequent connection failures over Wi-Fi with phones and Mac computers, bundled setup software that was unavailable in some regions, and customer support numbers based outside the US with little troubleshooting help offered. Sublimation ink is also hard to source for this specific model, which is a serious problem for a printer whose entire purpose is running that ink. If you want a reliable first shirt printer, the Brother SP-1 or Epson F170 will serve you better for a modest step up.
How to Choose a Sublimation Printer for Shirts
Most wrong purchases come down to one question asked too late: is this a dedicated dye-sublimation machine or a converted consumer printer? Everything else follows from the answer, so it is worth being blunt about the difference rather than treating them as interchangeable options on the same list.
A dedicated machine, meaning the Brother SP-1, the Epson F170, the Sawgrass SG500 and the Epson F570, is engineered for dye-sublimation ink from the factory. It ships with the correct ink, factory color profiles, a warranty that covers the printhead for sublimation duty, and head maintenance cycles matched to how the ink behaves. A converted machine, meaning the Pinckney super-tank and the PC Universal bundle, is a consumer all-in-one that has been filled with sublimation ink and sold as a kit.
The conversion is not a scam and plenty of owners run converted machines for years without trouble. But you are buying ink you have to source yourself, installing a color profile manually, accepting a 1-year limited warranty that excludes the printhead, and handling a head that was not designed for this ink. The tanks are cheaper per milliliter, and at high print volume that is a real saving. At low volume the cleaning cycles reverse the maths, because each clean burns ink and time and you pay it whether or not you printed an order.
Print size and what you are actually printing
Work out your average design footprint before you pick a machine, because this is the constraint you cannot upgrade past. A left-chest logo, a pocket print, a name label and a mug all fit letter media. A youth shirt front fits letter media. A full-front adult print generally needs 13×19 media, which none of the letter-size machines in this roundup can produce in one piece. An all-over or full-body print needs 24-inch roll capability, which only the Epson F570 here offers.
Among the picks here, the Pinckney and the PC Universal bundle reach 11 x 17, which handles a mid-size panel but not a true full-front adult. The SG500’s 8.5 x 14 standard media with a bypass tray up to 8.5 x 51 inches covers long transfer runs. Everything else stops at letter width. If full-front adult shirts are the core of your product, the F570 is the only honest answer in this group.
Ink cost per transfer is the number that matters
Sticker price tells you almost nothing about running cost. The number that decides whether a machine is affordable is the cost of the ink that goes on one letter sheet, multiplied by your monthly volume, and the systems differ by a lot.
Cartridge systems, meaning the Brother SP-1 with its black, cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges and the Sawgrass SG500 with its 31 mL SubliJet UHD cartridges, carry the highest per-milliliter cost. On the SG500 it is the sharper problem, since the machine only runs proprietary Sawgrass ink and the included 31 mL set depletes quickly at regular use.
Bottled systems, meaning the Epson F170 with its auto-stop ink bottles and the Epson F570 with its T49M sets, sit in the middle and give you OEM ink without the cartridge price. Tank systems, meaning both converted machines, cost the least per milliliter and reward high volume. Whichever system you pick, gang sheets of multiple small designs on one page lower your per-item cost on both ink and press time, and that single habit matters more than any hardware decision.
Color management and software
Dull, banded or color-shifted prints are the most common complaint in this niche, and owners trace them far more often to profiles, paper and expired ink than to the printer. Install the manufacturer profile before your first print, keep transfer paper sealed and dry, and print a test sheet every time you change ink or paper stock.
Software support varies a lot. Sawgrass gives you MySawgrass plus Sawgrass Print Utility with Smart presets that automate mirroring and color, and owners consistently report that its color holds steady between jobs. Epson relies on its own color pipeline with MacOS and Windows setup, and the F570 adds Edge Print Pro with Adobe PostScript 3 for nesting and pattern repeats. Brother bundles Artspira, which is the friendliest starting point for a beginner. Converted machines give you whatever the base unit ships with plus a profile you install yourself, which is where most of their support complaints come from.
The rest of the kit is not optional
Every printer in this roundup requires a heat press, and only one bundle includes one. A press quality caps your print quality no matter how good the printer is, which is why owners consistently advise buying the press first if you do not have one. You will also need transfer paper rated for your ink system, heat-resistant tape, and blanks. Budget for all of it before the first order, because the printer is roughly half the cost of a working setup.
When sublimation is the wrong tool
If your product list is mostly cotton or dark garments, none of these six printers solves your problem, because it is a material limit rather than a quality issue. DTF printers, which lay down a white underbase before the image, handle cotton and dark shirts, and heat-transfer vinyl covers one-color designs on any fabric. If your blanks are 100% cotton, buy a different technology instead of a better sublimation machine. And if you need high-volume office documents alongside any of this, an office-focused machine like the ones in our best laser printer guide handles that half of the job far more cheaply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good machine for sublimation printing t-shirts?
The Brother SP-1 is the strongest all-round choice for shirts, with 574 reviews at a 4.4 average, a bundled Artspira app and output in about 45 seconds per sheet. The Epson SureColor F170 scores higher at 4.5 across 545 reviews and ships with genuine OEKO-TEX certified Epson ink. Both are limited to 8.5×11 media, so both suit chest logos, youth shirts and mugs rather than full-front adult prints.
What is the best sublimation printer for beginners?
Beginners usually do best with the Brother SP-1, because the Artspira app ships in the box with over 100 sublimation designs and handles the mirrored-image step automatically. The Epson SureColor F170 is the alternative, offering the highest rating in this group and a 150 sheet closed paper tray that keeps transfer paper cleaner. Buy the heat press before either printer, since sublimation is a two-machine process.
Can you sublimate cotton shirts?
No, not reliably. Dye sublimation ink bonds into polyester, so 100% cotton has nothing to hold the dye and a dark garment has no light surface to show it. You need a light-colored 100% polyester or high-polyester blend shirt, and a dark shirt will come out invisible or barely there. For cotton and dark garments you need a DTF printer or heat-transfer vinyl instead.
Which sublimation printer is better, the Brother SP-1 or the Epson F170?
The F170 has the higher rating at 4.5 against 4.4 and ships with genuine Epson ink certified ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX, plus a 150 sheet closed tray. The SP-1 has more owner history at 574 reviews, is faster at 12 black and white pages per minute against roughly 1 page per minute on the F170, and bundles an extra black cartridge plus the Artspira app. Choose the F170 for ink cost and rating, the SP-1 for speed and bundled software.
Is Brother or Epson better for sublimation?
Both make excellent dedicated dye-sublimation machines and the choice comes down to ink system and speed. Brother uses cartridges and the SP-1 prints noticeably faster with useful software bundled. Epson uses bottled ink, which costs less per milliliter over time, and the F170 carries the highest rating in this group. Epson also offers the 24-inch F570 for wide-format work, which Brother does not match here.
What are the downsides of sublimation printing?
The material limit is the big one: light-colored polyester or high blends only, no cotton and no dark garments. You also need a separate heat press, a computer with design software and color profile setup, and drying time between prints. Converted machines add voided printhead warranty and clogging risk when they sit unused, and proprietary ink systems like the Sawgrass SG500 lock you into costly cartridges. Dull or banded prints usually trace to profiles, damp paper or expired ink rather than the printer.
The Sublimation Printer Verdict for 2026
The Brother SP-1 is our pick among the best sublimation printers for shirts, because it pairs the largest verified owner base in this group with bundled software that removes the hardest part of a first transfer. The Epson SureColor F170 takes the pick on rating and bottled-ink economics. The Sawgrass SG500 is the step up when you need 8.5 x 14 media and factory color profiles. The Epson SureColor F570 24-inch is the only machine here that does all-over and full-front work in a single piece.
Where budget per transfer matters more than polish, the Pinckney super-tank and the PC Universal bundle fill converted routes, with the understanding that you print regularly, you accept the printhead warranty risk, and you source your own ink. Remember that the heat press, transfer paper and tape are a separate purchase on five of these six, and that everything here only works on light-colored polyester.
Whichever you choose, start with a test print on a known-good light polyester blank before you commit to a product run. Press time, pressure and paper dryness shape the finished garment as much as the printer does.