A sublimation business is limited by width and by press cycles long before it is limited by print speed. That is what decides which printer you should own.
The question is not which machine is best. It is which constraint you are ready to pay to remove.
Design something to sellFree community designs, sized and ready to print.Browse designsKey Takeaways
- $1,799.95 Sawgrass SG1000 bundle suits most small businesses; $3,099.00 Epson F570 Pro is production width.
- Width is the real constraint — nesting transfers cuts paper and press cycles per item.
- Bundle prices include ink; Epson prices do not.
- Upgrade the press before the printer if the platen already caps what you sell.
What Actually Limits a Sublimation Business
Width, first. A desktop printer cannot make a full shirt front at all, so entire product lines are simply unavailable rather than slow.
Press cycles, second. Each pressing takes the same minute whether the transfer is a coaster or a shirt, so fitting several items on one sheet changes your real hourly output.
Colour consistency, third. A repeat customer expects the same red as last month. Guessing costs blanks, and blanks on a paid order cost more than blanks on a test.
Print speed, last. It is almost never the bottleneck people expect it to be.
When to Upgrade From the Epson F170
The F170 is $399.00 and it is a genuinely good starting machine. What it cannot do is get wider.
The signal to move. You are turning down orders because of size, or you are printing one transfer per sheet on runs of thirty.
Not a signal to move. The machine feels slow. Speed is rarely what is costing you; sheet count and press cycles are.
If you are still at the start of this, the beginner guide covers the entry routes and what a first setup really costs.
5 Best Sublimation Printers for a Small Business
Five machines ordered by what they remove as a constraint, from the desktop you probably start on to genuine production width. Each is introduced below with its price and what it changes.
| Printer | Price | Includes ink | Max width | Removes which limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawgrass SG1000 bundle | $1,799.95 | Yes | Wide format | Width and colour guesswork |
| Epson SureColor F570 Pro | $3,099.00 | No | 24 inches | Width, completely |
| Epson EcoTank ET-15000 | $599.99 | No, converted | 13 inches | Width, cheaply |
| Sawgrass SG500 bundle | $699.95 | Yes | Letter | Colour guesswork only |
| Epson SureColor F170 | $399.00 | No | Letter | Nothing — the baseline |
1. Sawgrass SG1000 Bundle
Best for most small businesses
Sold direct by Sawgrass.
The wide-format version of the bundle proposition: larger transfers and a colour-managed workflow in one purchase. For a business the colour part matters more than it does for a hobbyist, because a wrong colour lands on a paid order rather than a test print.
Pros
- Removes the width limit and the colour guesswork together
- One purchase, ready to run
- Ink and software included
Cons
- Locks you into Sawgrass consumables
- Not as wide as a 24-inch Epson
- Significant step up in price from desktop
Verdict: the default business answer. It removes both constraints at once and needs no assembly.
2. Epson SureColor F570 Pro
Widest of the fiveSold direct by Epson.
Twenty-four inches of width, which is what full shirt fronts, larger signage and heavy nesting need. Note the jump: this is not a slightly bigger F170, and it sits well above the SG1000 bundle with ink still separate on top.
Pros
- 24-inch width handles garment-sized transfers
- Nesting several transfers per sheet saves paper and press cycles
- Same Epson sublimation ink ecosystem
Cons
- By far the highest price here
- Ink is a separate purchase
- Needs real bench space and paper handling
Verdict: buy it when transfer size is the product, not as a general upgrade.
3. Epson EcoTank ET-15000 (converted)
Cheapest route to 13 inches
Sold direct by Epson.
A pragmatic middle step. Thirteen inches covers most full-front work at a fraction of a dedicated wide machine, and the refillable tanks keep the ink cost sane at volume.
Pros
- Wide-ish output for a small outlay
- Cheap ink per print
- Good for nesting small transfers
Cons
- Warranty voided, no support if it clogs
- No colour management
- Not a machine to build a queue on
Verdict: a sensible bridge, but treat it as a bridge rather than the business machine.
4. Sawgrass SG500 Bundle
If colour is the only problem
Sold direct by Sawgrass.
Worth listing for a business because plenty of small operations do not have a width problem at all — they sell drinkware and small apparel prints, and what actually costs them money is inconsistent colour.
Pros
- Colour managed out of the box
- Cheap enough to run as a second machine
- Ink and software included
Cons
- Letter width only
- Sawgrass consumables
- Will not clear a size-driven bottleneck
Verdict: right when the queue is drinkware and the complaint is colour, not size.
5. Epson SureColor F170
The baseline you outgrowSold direct by Epson.
Where most sublimation businesses start, and it stays useful even after you upgrade: small items keep running on it while the wide machine handles garments. The signal to move on is turning down orders because of size.
Pros
- Cheapest purpose-built machine
- Keeps earning as a second machine
- No conversion, no warranty question
Cons
- Cannot get wider, ever
- Ink separate
- One transfer per sheet on small runs
Verdict: not an upgrade, but rarely worth selling once you have one.
How to Choose a Sublimation Printer for a Small Business
Name the bottleneck first. If you are turning down orders over size, buy width. If you are reprinting because a colour came out wrong, buy colour management. They are different purchases.
Count press cycles, not print speed. Pressing takes the same minute whichever machine printed the transfer, so nesting several items per sheet changes your real hourly output more than printer speed does.
Model ink and blanks before comparing stickers. A bundle price includes ink; an Epson price does not. Over a year that gap moves.
Size the press before the printer. A 24-inch transfer you cannot press is the most expensive sequencing mistake in this category.
Sublimation Running Costs to Model
Paper. The cheap part — $8.99 to $29.99 a pack — but nesting on a wide sheet still cuts it meaningfully per item.
Ink. Where bundles and printer-only pricing genuinely diverge over a year. Model it per print, not per bottle.
Blanks. Usually the largest recurring line, and the one where quality shows in the finished product.
Rejects. Budget for them honestly. A mispressed order costs the blank, the paper, the ink and the press cycle at once.
Upgrade the Heat Press Before the Printer
A press starts at $159, and its platen size caps what you can sell just as hard as printer width does.
Printing a 24-inch transfer you have no way to press is the most expensive sequencing mistake in this category. Size the press first.
If drinkware is a real part of the business, a dedicated mug press pays for itself in consistency long before a bigger printer does.
Which Sublimation Printer Should You Buy?
Buy the SG1000 bundle if
You are turning away work over size, you want colour handled, and you would rather make one purchase than assemble a system.
Buy the F570 Pro if
24-inch transfers are the product, you nest several per sheet routinely, and you have the bench space and the press to match.
Stay where you are if
Your products are small and your press is the queue. Another printer will not clear a press bottleneck.
Printing shirts specifically? Compare the whole field first — sublimation only works on polyester, and DTG and DTF exist because of it.
Conclusion
For most small sublimation businesses the answer is the $1,799.95 SG1000 bundle: it removes the width limit and the colour guesswork together.
The $3,099.00 F570 Pro is the right call only when 24-inch transfers are what you sell, and it needs a press sized to match.
Model ink and blanks before you compare stickers, and remember that a bundle price and a printer-only price are different kinds of number.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sublimation Printers for Business
Which sublimation printer is best for a small business?
The Sawgrass SG1000 bundle at $1,799.95 for most, because it prints wide and arrives colour managed. The Epson SureColor F570 Pro at $3,099.00 makes sense once 24-inch width and nesting are what limit your output.
When should I upgrade from the Epson F170?
When width stops you taking orders, or when nesting would save real time. The F170 is desktop width, so full shirt fronts and large signage are out no matter how fast you work.
Is a Sawgrass or an Epson better for a business?
They are priced differently on purpose. Sawgrass sells bundles including ink and software; Epson sells printers with ink separate. Compare total cost, not sticker price — $1,799.95 against $3,099.00 is not the whole gap.
How many transfers can I fit on a wide-format sheet?
That is the real argument for width. On 24 inches you nest several transfers across one sheet, so paper and press cycles both drop per item. On a desktop machine each transfer is its own sheet.
Do I need a bigger heat press for a business?
Usually yes, before you need a bigger printer. A press starts at $159 but small platens cap what you can sell. Printing a 24-inch transfer you cannot press is an expensive mistake.
Is a converted EcoTank good enough for a business?
For occasional orders, sometimes. As a business machine, no: no warranty, no support and no colour management, and the failure lands on a paid order rather than on a test print.
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