Dye Sublimation vs Inkjet printers

July 14, 2021

Imagine having the best day of your life – a wedding, birthday, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, corporate event, etc. Now, obviously, there is a photographer to capture this precious moment for you. In many years, you will use these photos to show your family and friends how happy this specific day was for you. To relive some memories. But to do so, you need a quality picture. A picture that will be there in many years without changes. And for a photo to be of good quality, you need a good quality photographer. It’s not enough to have a good camera or to know how to use it. The most important is the post-process—the process of editing the photo and making it look as you want.

Exactly this post-process is a reason why many people are choosing a pro photographer over a nonpro.

Dye Sublimation and Inkjet printers – differences

There are several differences in using dye sublimation and inkjet printers. Whether you want to print a photo, some business material, or anything else, you need to choose a printer for this particular purpose to ensure the quality of the printed material. We will list a couple of differences for you to make a choice based on your need.

Process

The inkjet printer is using the nozzles of a cartridge to spray microscopic droplets on the paper. The printer uses four basic colors – black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and other colors you get by mixing the basic ones. Now, the problem here is that when you magnify the photo, you will be able to see these basic colors, and the picture quality will reduce.

On the other hand, a dye sublimation printer works by heating ribbon containing solid ink. The ink becomes a gas spreading on the paper, combining three basic colors to make all the others. Since this technique is more quality, once you magnify the photo, the colors remain the same.

Media

Well, here is one important difference. An inkjet can be used only on standard office equipment such as paper, envelope, label, etc. On the other hand, a dye sublimation printer can be used on all the standard materials and non-traditional materials such as T-shirts or coffee mugs. If you want to do special photography on a mug or a magnet panel, this printer is definitely your choice.

Costs

When it comes to inkjet, you can purchase ink directly from the manufacturer, and the cost is approximately the same as for dye sublimation ink. Here, you have an option to buy from so-called false manufacturers, but this is a risk. The ink is cheaper, but the quality can be lower, and then you need to buy a new ink that increases your costs instead of decreasing them.

Since the dye-sublimation printer doesn’t use ink, costs are always the same. You are buying packages of paper with a dye ribbon and printing your photos.

Long-term use

For long-term use, you should always choose dye-sublimation printers. If you do not use a printer every day and come back even after a couple of months, the dye-sublimation printer will work as well as it was on the first day you bought it. On the other side, inkjet printer heads might clog, and cartridges might be dry. Also, the ink has its expiry date, meaning it can expire before you even used it. And then, again, you have more costs for purchasing a new ink.

Conclusion

After everything being said, if you need a printer for photography, a dye-sublimation printer is most likely your choice. It has everything you need for your photography to look professional and will satisfy even the biggest photo critics.