Best printers for T-shirts 2023
The very best printers for T-shirts allow you to create your personal bespoke clothes with out counting on third-party companies or investing in a DTF or DTG printer.
In the event you’re been impressed to create your personal bespoke T-shirts, there are a selection of choices obtainable to make them. Many use third-party firms with heavy-duty T-shirt printers and screen-printing services. It’s an particularly in style selection once you want bulk orders or extremely correct, high-resolution photographs on T-shirts and different clothes. Alternatively, you may as well get your personal Direct to Cloth or Direct to Garment printer – though this may show costly, notably for limited-run prints.
As an alternative, most residence or small enterprise setups select a devoted inkjet or laser printer which is appropriate with switch paper particularly designed for warmth switch purposes. As soon as the design is printed onto the switch paper, it may be warmth pressed onto the T-shirt, permitting the design to switch and bond with the material.
Usually talking, all of the finest printers help warmth switch however how do you select the easiest printers for T-shirts? Effectively, we’ve put the units to the take a look at. Throughout our rigorous testing and evaluate course of, we’ve assessed the highest T-shirt printers relating to velocity, accuracy, and worth for cash.
What’s the most effective printer for T-shirts in 2023?
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Finest printer for T-shirts general
The ‘EcoTank’ vary of Epson printers has a quite simple premise : they supply lots of printer ink the field, obtainable in bottles. In our unique evaluate of this all-in-one printer we discovered that the equipped ink was sufficient to print 14,000 black and white pages, or 5,200 coloration, equal to round 70 common print cartridges.
Alternative bottles are additionally cheap to purchase. This goes a great distance in the direction of justifying the upper price ticket for this EcoTank mannequin relative to different all-in-one printers, particularly as creating T-shirts can devour giant quantities of ink.
The EcoTank is particularly designed for warmth switch printing. It incorporates an ADF (Auto Doc Feeder), which means it might deal with a number of warmth switch sheets (as much as 250 at a time). Its prime velocity is rated at 15 ppm (pages per minute) which is not very spectacular in comparison with its rivals however the picture high quality is superb, which is most essential when creating your personal T-shirt design.
From doing on-line analysis we additionally found that it is comparatively simple to transform your EcoTank right into a “sublimation” printer, by way of including specialist inks. This can lead to higher picture high quality however keep in mind sublimation solely works on polyester, while warmth switch works on all types of material.
The one actual draw back to this printer is a few corners have been minimize : the display screen is evident and straightforward to make use of however you must navigate it utilizing the printer buttons. This may make coming into WiFi passwords very impractical given there isn’t any onscreen keyboard. Fortunately you may as well use the companion app ‘Epson Sensible Panel’ to attach the EcoTank to your house wi-fi community.
Learn our full Epson EcoTank ET-3850 evaluate
Finest photograph printer for T-shirts
Canon first launched the Professional mannequin in 2012, designed particularly for printing high-quality images. It achieves this by way of an 8-ink dye based mostly system which leads to skilled high quality prints.
There are two paper trays although – one for photograph papers and a handbook feed. Most significantly on your T-shirt initiatives, it helps printing to each switch paper and printable vinyl on sheets of as much as 13 inches x 19 inches (33cm x 48.26cm).
In addition to supporting print by way of WiFi & USB the PRO-100S can also print straight from cloud-based and on-line photograph storage providers such Fb, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive by way of PIXMA Cloud Hyperlink.
As a premium printer, the Professional-100S is designed for high quality not velocity. Nonetheless, if it might produce one borderless 6″ x 4″ photograph in simply 34 seconds, that bodes nicely for operating off a number of high quality warmth transfers.
This mannequin has truly been outmoded by the Canon Pixma Professional-200, which presents larger picture high quality however availability is just not nearly as good.
The one actual disadvantage to this printer is the very excessive value you must pay with a purpose to have this sort of print high quality. Nonetheless, it may be a superb funding in case you wish to print images in addition to T-shirts.
Learn our full Canon Pixma Professional-100S evaluate
Finest for printing T-shirts quick
In the event you wish to preserve your printing easy then the HP Officejet Professional 8034e may be for you. This cheap printer can churn out pages at an astonishing charge (as much as 20 per minute for black and white). After all this velocity could differ in case you’re printing high-res T-shirt designs onto specialist paper.
You even have the choice to enroll to HP’s “Prompt Ink” service, which implies the gadget will inform HP once you’re operating low on ink and mechanically order extra cartridges for you. The associated fee contains delivery and recycling of previous cartridges.
You are mechanically given a 6 month subscription to Prompt Ink in case you purchase direct from HP – unusually the itemizing on Amazon exhibits this to be one yr, so it might be finest to test with the retailer straight earlier than shopping for.
After checking the HP web site, we have been capable of verify that the 8030 collection of OfficeJet Professional do help warmth switch printing. The official HP web site even has a useful information on how to do that.
You can even use the HP+ Sensible App to scan/print your T-shirt designs from anyplace. The printer additionally contains “self-healing” WiFi, which seemingly mechanically diagnoses and fixes connection points. In the event you favor peace of thoughts, you may as well plug into the 8034e straight by way of USB or Ethernet cable.
As handy because the Prompt Ink program is, you’ll be able to nonetheless set up cartridges your self however HP warns the printers are solely designed to be appropriate with their very own, not these manufactured by third-parties and can search to dam cartridges utilizing non-HP chips or circuitry.
The web site additionally warns that HP iron-on transfers for inkjet printers can’t be used with LaserJet printers, or with copy machines and inkjet printers which have a heating ingredient. These merchandise can soften the switch and trigger harm to the {hardware}.
Finest mono laser T-shirt printer
This small, dependable laserjet printer is ideal on your residence or small enterprise. If you may get over the actual fact there isn’t any wi-fi printing (USB 2.0 solely), you will begin to see a number of the advantages of utilizing this gadget to run off your warmth transfers.
This printer is quick. It might probably run off as much as 30 sheets a minute and even has a devoted “straight by way of paper path.” In plain English this implies a handbook feed slot and rear paper exit so you’ll be able to simply test on designs as they print. The paper tray can take as much as 250 sheets, so that is positively one for mass T-shirt manufacturing. This capability is mirrored within the “starter toner” packages which in concept incorporates sufficient for 250 pages, although chances are you’ll discover your T-shirt designs are extra thirsty.
Even considering the sharper photographs produced relative to inkjet printers, high quality continues to be glorious with a decision of as much as 2400 x 600 dpi.
For a laser printer, that is additionally glorious worth for cash. It is solely actually let down by the actual fact you’ll be able to print solely in black and white. Nonetheless, in case you do not thoughts specializing in monochromatic T-shirt designs you are able to do a lot worse.
Learn our full Brother HL-L2300D Mono Laser Printer evaluate
Finest for big codecs
Just like the P700 and P800 collection earlier than it, the P900 is designed with graphic artists in thoughts. That is most evident from its measurement, given the printer can output on pages as much as 17 inches (43.18cm) extensive.
Epson’s web site particularly states its capable of print on varied sorts of media, and it might deal with media as much as 1.5mm thick which ought to embody practically all sorts of warmth switch paper.
Departing from the same old 4 coloration cartridge CMYK setup the P900 comes with no fewer than 10 coloration cartridges. Epson describes this as: a “10-color archival pigment ink with an expanded coloration gamut”.
In plain English this implies it makes use of a particular printhead with various nozzles, every able to capturing out ink droplets of three various sizes. The printer additionally has separate channels for each photograph and matte black ink, which might make for a a lot sharper image. The “Carbon Black know-how” could make for a lot deeper shades of black, notably when utilizing warmth switch paper for T-shirt designs.
After all having 10 cartridges, every of which can be utilized for various quantities by differing print jobs means there is a price by way of velocity. Bigger images can take as much as two minutes to print totally however naturally speeds for operating off T-shirt designs could also be slower.
The one actual query stays whether or not you’ll be able to justify the hefty value for having such excessive print-quality on your T-shirts.
Finest printer for T-shirts: FAQs
Can I print T-shirts with any printer?
In concept you would attempt to insert warmth switch paper into any inkjet or laserjet printer, then hope for the most effective. In observe it is best to make use of a printer which the producer has confirmed is particularly appropriate with “warmth switch” paper. Bonus factors if the producer can suggest a particular print medium for his or her printer.
Is it costly to print T-shirts?
In the event you’re planning to run off a whole bunch of T-shirts, it is advisable to be ready to pay for ink. We propose doing a small take a look at run first to ensure you’re pleased with the T-shirt design and high quality earlier than going into mass manufacturing. Some firms like Epson and Brother additionally supply diminished priced ink/ink subscriptions. For extra heavyweight equipment and bigger print runs, search for the most effective sublimation printers – they are often dearer, however appropriate for devoted T-shirt printing.
The place can I discover warmth paper for printing?
Standard on-line retailers like Avery or Amazon inventory all types of warmth switch paper for printing. These differ by way of the type of cloth for which they’re designed, thickness and printer compatibility. At all times test along with your printer producer earlier than shopping for to verify your media is appropriate.
Which printer is finest for T-shirts?
Some printers listed right here such because the Epson SureColor P900 are finest suited to producing small numbers of high-quality designs. In the event you’re on a mission to print monochromatic T-shirt designs for everybody in your class, chances are you’ll favor to save lots of money and time with a printer mannequin designed for mass manufacturing such because the Brother HL-L2320D.
Whichever sort of printer you select, keep in mind that outcomes will differ based mostly on the capabilities of your printer, your chosen picture and the kind of media on which you wish to print.
If you aren’t getting the outcomes you want straight away, ensure that to test the appliance settings on your printer to see if there is a particular mode for warmth switch paper. This may optimize it for the duty. Do not be afraid to experiment with several types of media for printing your designs both.
How to decide on the most effective T-shirt printers
In the event you’re deciding which printer for T-shirts is finest, there are some broad classes to contemplate:
Inkjet vs. laser
This is among the most essential choices you may make. Inkjet printers often contain much less upfront price however ink can develop into costly in case you’re producing giant numbers of designs. Laser printers will be dearer however typically produce sharper trying photographs.
Cartridge array
You will get some glorious outcomes with the common 4-color CMYK setup of cartridges however the easiest printers could use additional cartridges to ship the easiest high quality photographs. You also needs to take note of the way you load extra ink : for example the Epson EcoTank includes loading bottles of ink right into a collection of reservoirs.
Picture high quality
Relating to printing onto warmth switch paper, the DPI (dots per inch) of a printer is as essential because the number of colours obtainable. Within the nature of issues because you’re utilizing warmth to switch the picture onto cloth, the upper the standard is earlier than being transferred to the T-shirt the extra doubtless you might be to be happy with the outcomes. Examine the printer producer’s web site for the complete technical specs of your chosen gadget.
Straightforward loading
In the event you’re producing a number of T-shirt designs, an auto-document feeder will help velocity issues up significantly. Your printer also needs to be capable of accommodate totally different thicknesses of paper relying on the fabric you wish to use, corresponding to extra-thick warmth switch paper or vinyl paper.
Finances
If value isn’t any object, there are some premium printers on the market which might run off designs for you with precision element utilizing all hues of the rainbow. Most individuals must be a little bit extra lifelike however keep in mind: typically talking the upper the upfront price of the printer, the much less you will must pay for ink down the road. If you are going to make plenty of T-Shirts, ensure that to test how a lot ink will price you, in any other case a finances printer could possibly be a false economic system.
How we take a look at the most effective printers for T-shirts
We have examined a whole bunch of printers for residence, workplace, and studio. This contains the most effective all-in-one printers, finest label printers, and the most effective small enterprise printers.
Whether or not we’re testing for the most effective T-shirt printers or some other activity, we assess a spread of things, from print speeds to print high quality, in addition to value-for-money throughout each the gadget itself and the ink cartridges.
Whereas we usually carry out detailed comparisons and evaluation, timing the printing speeds in single sheet and duplex mode – it is a little bit totally different when printing T-shirts versus printing paperwork. Right here, we additionally take a look at the constancy of printing onto warmth paper. We’re mainly on the lookout for high-accuracy, high-resolution prints, whether or not you are printing textual content or photographs.
When testing print high quality, we at all times print the identical take a look at paperwork for an correct overview throughout all printers. This doc contains textual content in several font sizes and colours, in addition to photographs. We additionally take a look at patterns, evaluating sharpness and coloration constancy.
Lastly, we calculate operating prices, and evaluate the interface, design, and construct high quality to others in the identical class and use-case.
Discover our extra about how we take a look at, evaluate, and charge printers on TechRadar Professional