The Best Sublimation Printer Under $1000

The Epson SureColor F170 is the best sublimation printer under $1000 for most people — it is the cheapest purpose-built option, so nothing is converted and nothing is unsupported. Buy the Sawgrass SG500 instead if you want a supported system with colour management included rather than a printer you set up yourself. If you need tabloid-size prints, the wide-format EcoTank is the only route here, with real conversion caveats. The budget pick is the small EcoTank plus third-party ink: the cheapest way to start. What this bracket buys is choice.

Quick picks

#	Product	Best for	Price
1	Epson SureColor F170The lowest-priced printer sold as a dye-sublimation machine rather than converted into one — the honest ans...	Most people in this bracket	$399.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
2	Sawgrass SG500A real sublimation printer sold as one — you pay more up front and in ink, and in exchange nothing about it...	A supported system rather than a printer	$599.95 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
3	Epson EcoTank ET-15000The wide-format version of the printer everyone converts — it prints up to 13 by 19 inches through the rear...	Tabloid-size prints — the only route to them here	$555.27 · View on Amazon$699.99 21% off Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
4	Epson EcoTank ET-2800The printer most people convert — cheap, refillable, and widely documented. Read the warranty section befor...	The budget pick — the cheapest way to start sublimating	Check price on Amazon #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
5	Third-Party Sublimation InkThe ink that makes an EcoTank conversion work, and the exact thing that puts the printer outside Epson's in...	The running cost you should budget for	$22.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 12, 2026 #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify

Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Prices come from Amazon on the date stamped on each button and can change after that — check the listing before you buy.

What changes below and above this bracket

• Below $500: realistically you are converting a refillable photo printer. It works and it is how most people start, but it is unsupported. We cover that bracket in best sublimation printer under $200.
• In this bracket: purpose-built sublimation hardware becomes affordable, and so does a fully supported system.
• Above it: you are buying print width and production duty cycle. Real advantages for a business, irrelevant for a first setup.
• What never changes: sublimation only bonds to polyester and coated blanks, and you still need a press that holds a high temperature for a long dwell.

1. Best for most people in this bracket

Epson SureColor F170

Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-10-29

The top pick because it is the cheapest printer here that was built and sold as a sublimation printer, which removes the whole category of problems that come with converting a photo printer. Manufacturer ink, manufacturer profiles, nothing voided, and a sensible footprint for a spare room. For shirts, tumblers, mugs and most of what a beginner makes, small-format is enough. Honest cons: print size is the hard limit, so full back prints and large panels are out; and running cost sits in the manufacturer's ink, which is the price of the hardware being supported.

What works

• Sold and warranted as a sublimation printer, so nothing about it is a workaround
• Refillable ink bottles rather than cartridges, so ink cost per page stays low
• Epson supplies the sublimation print software and profiles itself
• Costs substantially less than the Sawgrass machines it competes with

What does not

• Epson's own published resolution is lower than a converted photo EcoTank's
• Same 8.5 in width limit as the cheap convertible route
• One year of warranty, where Sawgrass publishes three on the SG500
• Stock comes and goes — Epson's own store has shown it out of stock

Not for you if

Your budget genuinely stops at $200. This is not a sub-$200 printer, and pretending otherwise is how people end up disappointed.

Key specs

Type

Dedicated dye-sublimation printer

Max paper width

Epson states 8.5 in; printable length limited by the application and driver

Resolution

Epson states a maximum of 1200 x 600 dpi

Ink

Four-color C/M/Y/K Epson T49M dye-sublimation ink bottles into a reservoir

Connectivity

Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and 10/100 Ethernet

Warranty

Epson lists a standard one-year unit exchange with phone support

$399.00 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026

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2. Best for a supported system rather than a printer

Sawgrass SG500

Sawgrass · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27

The pick if you would rather buy a whole workflow than assemble one. Printer, ink, colour management software and support are designed together, which matters most in exactly the situation beginners find hardest: a print that comes out the wrong colour and no way to tell whether the fault is the file, the profile, the paper or the press. You are paying for the answer to that question. Honest cons: it is the most expensive option in the bracket, the ink is proprietary, and the print size is comparable to the cheaper dedicated printer rather than better.

What works

• No conversion, no warranty question, no community workaround
• Color profiles supplied and supported by the manufacturer
• Manufacturer support when something goes wrong

What does not

• Much higher purchase price than a converted EcoTank
• Cartridge ink costs considerably more per page than tank ink
• Same 8.5 in width limit as the cheap option

Not for you if

You are experimenting to see whether you like sublimation at all. That is a lot of money to spend on a maybe.

Key specs

Type

Dedicated sublimation printer

Sold as

A sublimation printer — no conversion involved

Max print size

8.5 x 14 in from the main tray; up to 8.5 x 51 in via the bypass tray

Resolution

Published at up to 4880 x 1200 dpi

Ink

Sawgrass SubliJet UHD sublimation ink cartridges (non-refillable)

Connectivity

Ethernet, USB and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi

Support

3-year or 100,000-print warranty with lifetime tech support

$599.95 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026

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3. Best for tabloid-size prints — the only route to them here

Epson EcoTank ET-15000

Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-29

In the bracket for one reason: size. It is the only printer under this ceiling that prints tabloid-width transfers, which puts full back prints and large signage within reach. If print size is your constraint, nothing else here is an alternative at any price. Honest cons: this is a conversion route, not a sublimation printer — it ships for pigment ink and filling it with third-party sublimation ink is unsupported and one-way. Read our conversion page before you commit.

What works

• Prints far wider than the letter-size printers most beginners start on
• Refillable tanks keep the running cost low once converted
• Much cheaper than a dedicated wide-format sublimation printer

What does not

• Converting it with third-party ink voids Epson's coverage for ink-related damage
• The conversion is one-way — it will not go back to regular printing
• A wide transfer needs a press big enough to use it, which is a second purchase

Not for you if

Your press tops out at 15 by 15 inches. A 13 by 19 transfer you cannot press in one pass is not much use.

Key specs

Type

Refillable-tank inkjet — sold as a regular printer

Max print size

Up to 13 x 19 in through the rear-feed tray

Borderless

Up to 11 x 17 in

Sublimation

Not a sublimation printer as sold; people convert it

Warranty note

Epson's warranty excludes damage from non-genuine ink

$555.27 · View on Amazon$699.99 21% off

Price as of November 12, 2026

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4. Best for the budget pick — the cheapest way to start sublimating

Epson EcoTank ET-2800

Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27

Named as the budget pick because it genuinely is the cheapest route into sublimation and plenty of working setups are built on it: a small refillable printer plus third-party sublimation ink. If you are not sure you will stay with sublimation, risking the least money is a reasonable strategy. Honest cons: it is a conversion, so there is no support, no supplied profile and no way back; maintenance is on you; and print size is the smallest here. The savings are real; so is everything in that sentence.

What works

• By far the cheapest way to start sublimating
• Refillable tanks mean low running cost once converted
• Very widely documented by the crafting community

What does not

• Converting it with third-party sublimation ink voids Epson's coverage for ink-related damage
• A converted printer cannot go back to regular ink
• 8.5 in width limits you to letter-size transfers

Not for you if

You want a supported, warrantied sublimation setup you can call for help on. Buy a dedicated sublimation printer instead.

Key specs

Type

Refillable-tank inkjet — sold as a regular printer

Sublimation

Not a sublimation printer as sold; people convert it

Max print width

8.5 in (letter)

Ink system

Four refillable tanks

Warranty note

Epson's warranty covers damage from genuine ink, not third-party ink

Check price on Amazon

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5. Best for the running cost you should budget for

Third-Party Sublimation Ink

MERRYWORK · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27

Worth a line because the printer price is not the cost of sublimation. Whichever route you take you will buy ink repeatedly, and on the conversion routes the ink is third-party — which is where both the savings and the variability live. Honest cons: quality between sellers varies more than any other item in this category, and colour profiles are rarely supplied with it.

What works

• Turns a cheap printer into a working sublimation printer
• Far cheaper per page than cartridge sublimation ink
• Most sellers supply an ICC profile for color accuracy

What does not

• Voids Epson's coverage for damage caused by non-genuine ink
• Color accuracy varies a lot by brand without a good profile
• There is no going back to regular printing

Not for you if

The printer is also your household document printer. Once it is converted, that is over.

Key specs

Type

Dye-sublimation ink in refill bottles

Used with

Refillable-tank inkjets, most commonly Epson EcoTank

Color profile

An ICC profile from the ink maker matters more than the ink brand

Reversible

No — a converted printer stays converted

$22.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026

#ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify

The printer is not the expensive part

A sublimation setup is a printer, ink, transfer paper, blanks and a press — and for a beginner the press is usually the component that decides output quality. If buying the best printer in this bracket means pressing with an iron, buy a cheaper printer and a real press. Our startup cost page lays out the whole figure honestly, and sublimation printer and heat press covers the pairing.

Dedicated or converted?

This is the real decision in the bracket. A dedicated printer costs more and removes a category of problems: no voided warranty, supplied profiles, and someone to ask. A converted printer costs less and makes colour management, maintenance and risk your responsibility. Neither is wrong, and we set out exactly what conversion involves in the EcoTank conversion truth and Sawgrass vs Epson EcoTank.