One of the most actively used tools when you are a crafter is a printer. But you quickly learn how confusing it can be. There are so many printers types and styles out there at a range of different prices it can be overwhelming to make a choice. A lot of it depends on what kind of printing you will be doing and what material you will be printing on. I’ve created a list of my top choices for all sorts of craft needs.
My post contains some affiliate links so if you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may receive a commission but it will not cost you anything. Read my disclosure here.
Sublimation Printers
Sublimation printers use special ink to print onto transfer paper which is then heat transfered onto fabric, mugs and many other products. Since you need special ink that means you can’t use the regular ink that comes with your printer. It also means that you will need a printer exclusively for sublimation and you can’t trade the ink back and forth between regular ink and sublimation ink, so it’s really important to buy a new printer exclusively for sublimation. You can not convert a previously used inkjet printer.
There are sublimation printers on the market but you can also use an inkjet printer that you can easily convert to use sublimation ink, you just need a reservoir system to hold the ink. A popular choice is the Sawgrass SG500 Sublimation printer. But if you are looking for a more affordable printer than an excellent choice is the Epson EcoTank, it has refillable ink chambers that you can fill with sublimation ink. The ink that can be used with the Epson Ecotank is the InkXPro.
Printing for Cricut Print than Cut
When choosing a print than cut printer to use along with your Cricut you will probably have a few requirements you want to check off your list. One would be that it is wireless since its not always convenient to have to have your computer wired to the printer. Also the printer should print on a variety of materials such as sticker paper, photo paper or vinyl and also different thicknesses. I also recommend that it has a straight feed option so that it doesn’t bend the paper too much as it moves though the machine, which is important for thicker materials.
For photo quality printing I recomend an inkjet printer because you will get finer details. Laser printers can also create great photo quality prints with vibrant color, but because of the higher price of toner and lower resolution I recommend an inkjet printer. An excellent choice is the HP Envy 7640 it also comes in an affordable price range. It will handle 110lb cardstock and also has excellent photo quality prints. And its eligible for the HP InstaInk program which will help you keep costs down.
General Crafting Laser printer
If you want a general purpose laser printer for crafting than I recommend the HP Color LaserJet PRO M255dw. I have been using this in my craft room for over 4 years. I used it so much that I broke it and bought a second one. It will handle heavy card stock as well as vinyl for stickers. It also has 2 feed trays and wirelss connection. My only complaint is that the toner is expensive and the grip on the rollers wore down for me after around 2 years. But this was with very heavy use like over 30 pages a day, because I was making paper tags and stickers for sale on etsy. So this printer is better suited for a home crafter not someone selling a lot of products on etsy.
I also strongly recommend that you buy the hp brand toner. I used compatible toner and I found they leak and caused pigment to get all over the inside of my printer which caused streaks and is impossible to clean away. Its just not worth the savings if you have to purchase a brand new printer because a cheap cartidge explodes in it.
Card making
If you like to make your own greeting cards at home than you probaly are looking for the best photo quality printer you can get. Creating greeting cards with your family photos are momentos that you can keep for years to look back on. So of course you want the sharpest crispest details to preserve your photo memories. Canon inkjet printers have a reputation as being the best photo printers you can buy. The printer I would recommend is the Canon Pixma PRO-200. It offers a wireless connection and prints up to 13″ x 19″ and prints well on glossy photo paper. This printer is unique because it doesn’t print with the normal cyan, magenta and yellow. But instead has 8 different ink cartridges which is why it will offer such magnificent print quality.
Sticker printing
If you print a lot of stickers than that means you probably go through a lot of ink, so you are probably going to like a printer with a large ink tank. The Epson Workforce ST-2000 is a great choice because it offers wireless connection, back feed tray, photo quality prints and large ink tanks. If you are printing stickers for planners than the ink included is fine. But if you print stickers for labels and the products need to be waterproof so that means you’ll need pigment inks because once dry they are waterproof. So if you are needing water proof labels than I recommend the epson workforce printer because pigment ink is easiest to find for epson printers.
Heavy Cardstock Printing
If you like to make your own paper tags than that means you will be printing with heavy weight paper. In my personal experience I found that this will put your printer through a lot of abuse. It will wear down the print pads and really make your print rollers work hard. Also I found that the print resolution wasn’t as important because, just based on my personal experience, I would work a lot with brown kraft and other colors of cardstock and the details become lost in the color. Also a thicker paper tends to absorb the ink more so its not as easy to get sharp printing. So for this reason I don’t recomend buying an expensive printer because you will be working it to death and it will probably only last 2 years. The printer I recommend an ordinary HP deskjet printer these are easy to find anywhere including Walmart. And if you want to save on ink, and are a bit fearless with hacks and don’t mind a bit of mess, than you can hack the printer with a CISS (continuous ink supply system) and easily cut down on ink cost.
Business Card Printing
Now if you are printing business cards than its a different story. For business cards the paper weight is normally just 110lb and having a nice photo print is the most desirable. So the Canon IX6820 is a great choice because it works great for office use and has excellent print quality. It is also offers wireless printing and straight feed printing which is important to not bend your cardstock.
Of course there are many other options available and most printers sold now a days offer excellent print quality. Many of the printers I recommended here can be used for many different tasks other than the one I recommened. So I recommend you make a list of the qualities you need in a printer to help you when you are shopping. I hope that my recommendations help to demystify what you may or may not need for a printer for your craft room.
