Brother Sublimation SP-1 Inkjet Printer

This is my first sublimation printer purchase. The one that I had been using to date was an Epson inkjet printer that I converted for sublimation. It worked well, but it is old, and they have discontinued the sublimation ink for that printer. It was time to transition to something new.

I enjoy sublimating projects for home and friends, but this is not for my business. I’m using the sublimation printer as a hobbyist, not a professional. And I feel like this is a great quality sublimation printer for a reasonable price.

Let me first say, I’m not a fan of Brother’s Artspira app. When I first got the machine, I was under the impression that I had to send all of my sublimation projects through their app. Thankfully, that is not the case. After the initial setup of the printer, I really don’t have to interact with the app. I can send all of my print jobs directly from whichever app I’m using directly to the printer without issue.

The printer came with Brother branded sublimation paper and ink to start. The Brother paper is notched in one corner to help the user determine which way to load it into the printer. I was concerned that the printer would determine what type of paper I was using based upon whether or not there was a notch and reduce the quality of the prints with non-Brother paper. That does not seem to be the case. My preferred sublimation paper products work just as well as theirs.

I appreciate the inclusion of printer ink in the box. At this time, each cartridge retails for around $40, so IMO it’s an expensive refill. I’m accustomed to purchasing generic ink and refilling my cartridges. I’m hoping with time that will be an option for this machine, too, but for now, refills are pricey.

The quality of the prints is great, and they have led to some really wonderfully sublimated items. I’ve used these prints to sublimate on ceramic tumblers and slate to date, and the details on my screen come through on the finished products extremely well.

It’s sad to let my old printer go since it is capable of larger prints, but most of what I do doesn’t require over an 8.5″x11″ piece of paper. I haven’t had any issues with this printer to date, and I’m really happy that I ordered it.

Not my first experience with sublimation. However, this is the easiest and clearest results I have used to date.

The setup and usage are very simple and quick.

This new release from the Brother is a real winner.

My complaint is with the software requirements. The software is great and works well, however, one has to have an account to use the software. If one selects the free to use option, the usage is limited as is the designs. Pay a monthly fee and all options are available. Nevertheless, one must use the online service to operate the printer.

The -2 stars is for two reasons: Having be online to use the printer. As I read the terms, I cannot run any sublimation projects I have created on my own without being connected online.

If you don’t have Wifi the printer is a ‘boat anchor’, one cannot do their own work.

The second reason is that the ink is so very expensive more so than other printers.

With that said the results are really stunning.

This is my first sublimation printer and I am very happy with this printer. The photos that I have printed have been very good quality and vibrant colors and have applied really well to the sublimation blanks I have used. I like that it will self clean the heads as long as the printer power is on. It was important to me to get an actual sublimation printer in order to have the warranty on it.
The printer works with the Artspira app. This app is only available on a smart phone or tablet. It is very difficult to design on such a small screen. Brother needs to have a program that will work on a computer to make designing easier.
I did gave difficulties getting my phone to connect to the printer after I designed my work on the very small screen. I used the chat feature on the Brother site and they were able to help me get it connected in order to print.

I was saving to buy a sublimation printer, Then I saw this printer, when I saw the price I said this is the one . The size it’s perfect for my craft space, the preformance it’s very good, the quality print it’s beautiful the colors when you press it with the heat press especially the mugs and tumblers look beautiful I’m not a fan of sublimate tshirt. But for the other things for personalize mugs, tumblers, canvas ect. It’s great. The inks well for my it’s ok , if you think other inks. Like sawgrass its more expensive , this ones it’s ok the price . And the best part As long as the Brother SP1 Sublimation Printer is being kept plugged in and turned on, it purges once a week. On top of that, the printer also does “flushing” every time it prints to remove sticky ink attached to the nozzle area. The SP1 is continuously performing these two operations to prevent clogs automatically. I’m very glad and happy

you need to do is plug it in and install the software. The printer has an app that so far I can only use on my cell phone. That is something I don’t like because I mainly use my computer. However, you can still use your regular printing programs. The printer uses Brother sublimation paper, but I have used a different brand with no issues. The ink is one that must come from Brother, which isn’t bad because they aren’t too expensive. This is not a large format printer, that is my only complaint but I knew that when I purchased it. It’s quiet and doesn’t take long to print and the colors are vibrant without me having to fuss with profiles. Overall I am very satisfied with my printer

If I could I wouldn’t put any stars
Terrible printer
– smudges
– to print on a large scale you have to place one paper at a time and sometimes you have to help the printer pick up the paper
– the color you choose is not the same as the one printed

I am not a heavy user. Produce mugs and Tees for sale in our coffee shop. I’ve been using an Epson ET-2760. My early opinion: The Brother is faster, quieter, images sharper and color is excellent. Much more consistent and less hassle.

I have been wanting a sublimation printer for a long time, and I was very excited to get to try this newest offering from Brother. Having had a few of their printers in the past (and currently) that I have had excellent experiences with, I had a standard of quality that I was expecting as soon as I opened the box.

I’m happy to say that this printer has not only met my expectations, but exceeded them!

Here are some of the things I LOVE about the printer itself:

1. Setup was quick and easy. I have setup plenty of printers – some more complicated than others – but this one was truly a breeze…probably the easiest I’ve ever had. It comes with great, intuitively written instructions. The whole process took no more than 20 minutes and that includes the time it took me to unpack the box completely LOL.

2. It has a relatively small footprint, which is great because I have a laser printer in my office too so I am at a premium on space. This is slim enough to fit on a regular shelf in our home office closet system, which is exactly where we wanted this to fit in our workflow. (It is about the size of an average inkjet printer, but less heavy and tall, for reference)

3. Despite being “small” for what it does, it is well built and feels like a good quality item.

4. It comes with everything you need to get started, including a pack of sublimation paper. Awesome!

Now for the important stuff…here are some things I LOVE about the functionality:

1. Using it was just as easy as setting it up if not easier. Wow! It has a touch screen that guides you through setting up the wifi and everything else you need to get up and running. I’m fairly tech savvy but even if you aren’t, you shouldn’t have any issues getting to work with this printer!

2. It prints FAST, even in full color. I didn’t clock a time for completion but the first design I printed was colorful on purpose as a test, and it was done with the print in like…one minute. That’s pretty impressive!

3. It prints robust, bright colors that look absolutely fantastic on your personalized items. Our first print was a graphic that we put on a mug with a heatpress, and I was so impressed with how good it looked that I am going to make a few more to gift as gifts to a couple of my clients.

The level of quality in the color is definitely a testament to the ink cartridges. Any Brother printer I’ve had has never let me down on ink saturation, quality or coverage and I believe this one will definitely maintain that quality level based on what I have seen so far.

4. The Artspira app is phenomenal! Easy to use, user friendly and gives you a great head start with designs that are already made (over a 100 of them!!). Or you can use it to create your own to apply to your creations.

One thing I love about the app is that you can scale your creations to other sizes if you need to…and it’s very easy. This is an excellent tool for creating larger projects like posters etc.

5. The ink is not easily smudged, which is excellent. I TRIED to smudge just to test and nope…it held up. Excellent! (Note: You get a full size, full set of cartridges with the printer, so they should last for a while and yield you multiple projects!)

6. Speaking of ink…something that you MUST consider when buying a printer is the long term cost of it – i.e. the price of ink which you will inevitably need to buy when the starter cartridges run out.

While waiting for the printer to arrive, I did some research on this so I knew what my long term expectations should be. They are easily available right here on Amazon (and also other online or brick and mortar stores as well) and they range from around $55-58 for black and also each color. That isn’t cheap but it’s about average for ANY sublimation printer that I have seen/researched. Paper ranges broadly depending on size, but that’s actually less expensive that I thought.

7. Pricing: Besides the cost of maintenance etc for these, the entry price point on this printer is actually quite good. At $399 (as of this writing) it is around the same as other similar printers and in MANY cases, costs less. It was a good move to price this competitively, and when considering the level of quality print it produces, I actually think it’s a fantastic value and an AMAZING bang for your buck. I feel this gives this printer a bit of a leg up from the competition since the price of supplies is around the same as most others, but the initial cost of the printer itself is less so you come out a bit ahead in the long run, if that makes sense.

All in all, I am tremendously pleased with this printer…everything about it has been a good experience thus far and I expect that to continue. If you are looking for a sublimation printer that is easy to use, designed for convenience as far as space/size goes, and produces high quality designs that you will be proud to put on your creations, I highly recommend this one without reservation. It’s a solid 5 star product and a welcome addition to the Brother family of printers in my home!

This is my first attempt at sublimation, so I’m kind of an idiot about it. But here is what I know so far. Brother has created a very nice machine. It is aesthetically pleasing on the outside and doesn’t take up an entire desk. The parts feel quite durable and the machine comes with a sample pack of paper and four ink cartridges. This is important because when you go to replace those cartridges, they will cost you about $50 a piece. Yeah, that’s a lot. I followed the setup instructions in the booklet and had zero problem connecting the machine to my Wifi. From then on, the machine shows up on everyone’s list of printers just like my Dell and my HP printers do. It gives you a set of features to customize, and then prints just like every other printer. If you pay attention to which way the paper loads and make sure to mirror your design for heat pressing, absolutely everything works out great. I cannot speak to the durability of the transferred design, but it printed a vivid, crisp image on the sublimation paper. I followed the instructions for heat pressing, and it went just great. Make sure to use a fabric with at least 65% polyester or the design won’t transfer properly. I cannot say how well it transfers to tumblers, mugs, and the like. I don’t have a press for those. Aside from the expense (ink, paper, shirt, and press) I enjoyed working with this machine. I would recommend it to a friend and I hope that some cheaper after-market options appear for the ink. If I’m paying $50 per cartridge, I’m going to have to charge a lot of money for a t-shirt to cover that. However, it does give you the option of turning literally any graphic or design into a transfer, so the sky’s the limit.

I have used this new Brother SP1 now for several projects and it does a great job. I use either Photoshop Elements or Corel Paint to do my project and the print driver for the SP1 does the rest. Yes I use a “real” computer not my cell phone! Some folks doing Sublimation do not have a clue. My suggestion join the FB Group Jennifer Maker has and then buy her book here on Amazon to learn the basics. Its the Sublimation Cookbook and read it first before asking dumb questions or screwing up projects.