Sawgrass vs Epson EcoTank
One is a sublimation printer. The other becomes one, and stops being anything else.
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Convert an EcoTank if you are a hobbyist experimenting; buy a Sawgrass if you need it supported. The EcoTank route costs a fraction to buy and to run. The Sawgrass costs considerably more and comes with a warranty for the use you bought it for, supported color profiles, and a support line.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Epson EcoTank ET-2800The printer most people convert — cheap, refillable, and widely documented. Read the warranty section befor... | Lowest cost to start | Check price on Amazon #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... | Support and no workarounds | Check price on Amazon #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
| 3 | Third-Party Sublimation InkThe ink that makes an EcoTank conversion work, and the exact thing that puts the printer outside Epson's in... | The conversion's active ingredient | Check price on Amazon #ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify |
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. We do not publish prices — they move constantly, and a stale number is worse than none.
Side by side
| Converted EcoTank | Sawgrass SG500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sold as a sublimation printer | No — converted by the user | Yes |
| Purchase cost | Much lower | Considerably higher |
| Ink cost per page | Much lower — refill tanks | Higher — cartridges |
| Warranty for sublimation use | None | Covered |
| Manufacturer support | None for this use | Yes |
| Color profiles | From the ink maker — quality varies | Supplied and supported |
| Reversible to normal printing | No | N/A |
| Print width | 8.5 in | 8.5 in |
| Community documentation | Extensive | Moderate |
Both print the same width. The extra money does not buy larger transfers — it buys not having to improvise.
The warranty question, stated accurately
Epson's warranty does not cover damage caused by non-genuine ink. That is the accurate framing, and it is narrower than the common phrasing that converting "voids the warranty" outright.
In practice, though, the distinction matters less than it sounds: the failures converted printers actually experience are ink-related. Clogged print heads, ink system faults, color problems — these are precisely what the exclusion covers. So while the warranty is not technically voided in full, the coverage you would want is exactly the coverage you have lost.
Color accuracy, and why the profile matters
Sublimation colors look wrong before pressing — muted and shifted — and correct afterwards. The ICC color profile is what makes that transformation predictable, mapping what you see on screen to what comes out of the press.
Sawgrass supply and support their profiles as part of the product. With a converted printer, you use the profile supplied by your ink maker, and quality varies. A good profile makes a converted setup genuinely accurate; a poor one is why converted printers get blamed for color problems that are not the printer's fault.
Who should pick which
Convert an EcoTank if you are a hobbyist, if you are testing whether you enjoy sublimation, if cost is the binding constraint, or if you are comfortable troubleshooting with a community rather than a support line.
Buy a Sawgrass if you are building a business on it, if downtime would cost you orders, if you want color that works out of the box, or if you simply do not want to run an improvised setup. There is nothing wrong with paying for the thing to just work.
The honest middle position
Most people start with a converted EcoTank because the entry cost to find out whether you like sublimation is far lower, and that is a defensible decision. If it becomes a business, upgrading later is reasonable — and by then you will know exactly what you need.
What is not defensible is converting without knowing about the warranty position and the one-way nature of it. The full honest version, and the printer roundup.
1. Best for lowest cost to start
Epson EcoTank ET-2800
Epson · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Much cheaper to buy and much cheaper to run, because refillable tanks cost a fraction of cartridge ink per page. Very widely documented by the crafting community. What you give up is warranty coverage for ink-related damage, manufacturer support for sublimation use, and any possibility of going back.
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
#ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
2. Best for support and no workarounds
Sawgrass SG500
Sawgrass · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Sold as a sublimation printer, so nothing about it is improvised. Color profiles are supplied and supported, there is a support line when something goes wrong, and the warranty covers the use you bought it for. You pay considerably more up front and per page.
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 width
- 8.5 in (letter)
- Ink
- Sawgrass SubliJet sublimation ink cartridges
- Support
- Manufacturer support and warranty for sublimation use
#ad · affiliate link · we never show a price we cannot verify
3. Best for the conversion's active ingredient
Third-Party Sublimation Ink
Various · Currently sold · Verified 2026-09-27
Third-party sublimation ink is what makes an EcoTank work and what puts it outside Epson's ink-damage coverage. The ICC profile the ink maker supplies matters more to your color accuracy than the brand on the bottle.
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
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Common questions
Is a Sawgrass better than a converted EcoTank?
Does converting an EcoTank void the warranty?
Can you convert an EcoTank back to regular ink?
Why do my sublimation colors look wrong?
Which should I buy for a sublimation business?
Sources
- Epson product and warranty information — EcoTank specifications and warranty position on non-genuine ink, verified 27 September 2026
- Sawgrass product information — SG500 specifications, ink system, color profiles and support, verified 27 September 2026
How we picked
We verify every product is currently sold by reading the manufacturer's own catalog, compare published specifications rather than marketing copy, and rank on what a first-time buyer has to decide. We do not run lab tests and we do not claim to, and commission never affects the order.
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