6 Best pigment ink printers for heat transfer In 2023

The best pigment ink printer for heat transfer is a printer that prints the most vibrant and vivid images on heat transfer material. The best pigment ink printers are able to print on a wide range of materials, including cloth, paper, plastic, metal, and more.

As the demand for printing on fabrics increases, so does the need for high-quality printers. This is where pigment ink printers come into use. With these heat transfer printers, you can use your favorite colors to create unique designs that will look superb on a variety of surfaces.

The best way to find the best pigment ink printer for your needs is to compare different models from different brands with similar features and specifications.

Since many inkjet printers can use this type of ink, picking the best pigment ink printer can be hard and requires knowledge. After testing the different options on the market, we’ve put together a list of the best pigment ink printers to make your job easier, since not everyone is familiar with the tools.

Reviews of the Best Pigment Ink Printers for Heat Transfer in 2023

Before we take you to our list, we would like to clarify that any manufacturer on the list does not sponsor us. All the recommendations we have listed here are based on our personal opinions considering various factors like speed, resolution, ink quality, connectivity options, duty cycle, printing costs, etc. With that said, let us get to our first recommendation on the list.

List of Top Pigment Ink Printers for 2023

1. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 – high-quality wide-format Pigment Printer

2. Canon PIXMA PRO-10 – High-end Pigment Ink Printer

3. Epson SureColor P600 – Best premium pick

4. Brother MFC-J491DW – Cheapest Option pigment ink printer

5. Canon IP8720 – best affordable option

6. Epson Stylus Photo R2000 – Professional Pigment ink printer

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#1. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 – Best Wide-format Pigment Ink Printer

Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Review –

The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is a pigment ink printer that uses a new technology called Epson Micro TFPI. With this tech, Now the printer can print 16 times faster than printers of the past.

Design and build quality

The XP-15000 has a pretty minimalistic design, with the entire body being made of hardened, high-quality plastic. For the first impressions, the device seems premium and appears very compact for a wide-format printer, with its dimensions being 18.7″ x 30.9″ x 16.2″ (476 x 785 x 412 mm) (W x D x H). It has an all-black body with a lid on top. By opening the cover, you will have access to the nozzle area and the ink cartridges.

Ease of use

Setting up this pigment ink printer and getting the first print is a cakewalk with the on-screen instructions, thanks to the 2.4-inch LCD color display. The display doesn’t come with touch functionality. However, it is relatively easy to access the menu and other functionalities of this printer using the hardware keys present by the display’s side on the control panel.

Speaking of the screen’s viewing angles, it is quite readable from any direction thanks to the tilting mechanism on the control panel. The front portion of the printer has a retractable tray that comes in automatically with stepper motors, which I would call a fancy but unnecessary feature.

Connectivity

The device excels in the connectivity area, with pretty much everything that a typical modern-day printer demands. It has a Hi-Speed USB port that lets you connect it directly to a computer to receive prints. You also get to see a USB host port that lets you print now from removable storage devices like pen drives, hard disks, etcetera. This color inkjet printer comes with Wi-Fi capabilities and supports Wi-Fi Direct when it comes to wireless power.

Print quality

This printer does exceptionally well in terms of printing. When using pigment ink, the images became crisp and vibrant, had decent color depth, and exhibited great dynamic range. It has an optimized resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi (dots per inch).

Printing speed

When it comes to printing speeds, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 isn’t the fastest that we have tested, but it averages decent printing speeds. We have tested the rates on this inkjet printer by trying out different quality settings on different paper sizes, and the results turned out to be;

• A4 print at High quality – 3 minutes 45 seconds,
• A3+ print at High quality – 6 minutes 49 seconds,
• A3 at standard quality, high speed – 2 minutes 19 seconds,
• A3 print at High quality – 5 minutes 46 seconds, and 28 x102 cm print at High quality – 10 minutes 29 seconds.

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#2. Canon PIXMA PRO-10 – High-end Pigment Ink Printer

Canon PIXMA PRO-10 – review

The Canon PIXMA PRO-10 is a pigment ink printer that produces high quality color output. It has a print speed of up to 8.5 seconds per photo and supports the latest generation of pigment inks that produce vivid and vibrant images.

The Canon PIXMA PRO-10 is an excellent printer for professionals who need high quality color output for their work. It can be used in any kind of office or home setting, with its compact design and easy to use interface.

Design and build quality

The Canon PRO 10 has a pretty impressive design, with its entire body being made of suitable quality plastic with a matte-black finish all-over. It isn’t the lightest out there. It weighs 43.9 lbs. However, it has a smaller footprint compared to most pigment ink printers with similar capabilities and measures about 27.2″ (W) x 15.2″ (D) x 8.5″ (H). The build quality is excellent, and it appears that it will last for an extended period of time.

Ease of use

Even though the device doesn’t come with a display, Canon makes it easy to use with the software tool that comes with it. It boasts a 50-sheet auto document feeder functionality that makes it handier. Besides this, the printer also shares its support with most other services, including PictBridge and AirPrint.

Connectivity

On the connectivity side, it has everything that you would typically expect from a printer of this generation-LAN, WiLAN, USB, and PictBridge support. It also has a Direct Wi-Fi feature that lets you directly connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot created by the printer to print and manage print jobs.

Print Quality

The printer can print out gorgeous 13×19 prints with impressive details. It does exceptionally well in terms of printing in monochrome. However, in our testing, we have observed mild banding and struggled to print thin colored lines. Nevertheless, this can make the best pigment ink printer that can print near to professional photographers’ grade quality.

Print speed

If it is a professional photo-quality printer, the speed shouldn’t be of more significant concern to many. However, if you plan to use this at an enterprise level, you will need your guy to run faster. In our testing, the Canon PIXMA Pro-10 averaged out at 1 minute 55 seconds for a 4X6 print and 3 minutes for an 8X10 print. These aren’t the greatest, but not the worst compared to most other photo-quality printers on the market.

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#3. Epson SureColor P600 – Best premium pick

Epson SureColor P600 – Review

The Epson SureColor P600 13 wide pigment ink printer is a top-of-the-line product. It features nine UltraChrome HD pigment inks that create vivid, long lasting images. Users can quickly set up their prints with custom settings like borderless printing.

Design and build quality

The device felt very premium for the first impression and seemed a bit larger than typical inkjets, with the dimensions being 9×24.2×14.5 inches (HWD) when the trays are closed and 16.7×24.2×32 inches with fully opened trays. The body of the Epson SureColor P600 is made in good quality plastic to ensure longevity.

Ease of use

The Epson SureColor P600 pigment ink printer has a pretty decent user interface with a self-explanatory menu. Setting up the device and getting your first print is a cakewalk with the on-screen instructions. It comes equipped with a 2.7-inch touch panel color LCD screen that can be tilted up or down to set it at a comfortable viewing angle. Assigning and managing print jobs from multiple devices is now made easy to support services like AirPrint and Google cloud print.

Connectivity

The Epson P600 pigment ink printer offers a wide range of connectivity options to choose from. It has a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port and an Ethernet port if hard wiring is what you prefer. You may also select the built-in Wi-Fi functionality to interact with the printer.

Print quality

Speaking of the print quality, the Epson SureColor P600 does exceptionally well in terms of color reproduction. The colors are accurate, and the photos turned out to be vivid, crisp, and preserved all the minute details from the original. However, the print quality majorly depends on the type of photo paper used. We have tested with the Ultra-Premium Photo Paper Luster that Epson had recommended using.

Printing speeds

As far as the printing speeds on this device are concerned, it averaged about 1 minute for a 4×6 and 1:55 for an 8×10 with the speed settings set to default. When the same image is printed with the settings put to maximum quality, we have observed 2:06 and 4:10, respectively, almost double the previous observations. Also, the printing time was turned out to be 4 minutes flat for a 13×19-inch print at speed setting.

Alternative model to Epson SureColor P600 rinter

• Epson stylus c88
• Epson SureColor P400 Wireless Color Photo Printer

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#4. Brother MFC-J491DW All-In-One – Cheapest pigment ink printer

Brother MFC-J491DW AIO – review

Brother MFC-J491DW pigment inkjet printer is a great choice for home and small office users. It offers high-quality print copies in both colour and black-and-white with very crisp visuals. The machine also comes with a 20 sheet automatic document feeder, so you can quickly scan multiple pages.

Design and build quality

The MFC-J491DW has a relatively simple design with an all-black plastic body. It has smaller footprints for an all-in-one inkjet printer. With all the trays closed, it measures about 15.7″ x 13.4″ x 6.8″. Even though the whole body is made of plastic, Brother used high-quality materials to make sure it will last. The top of the printer hosts a flatbed scanner with a resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi.

Ease of use

It didn’t take us a long time to set up the device, as everything is self-explanatory. On the device’s control panel, to the right of the 1.8-inch LCD color display, there are some hardware keys. Though the board seems a bit outdated and the screen size is small, it is still convenient to use. The panel can articulate up and down, making it more suitable for the user.

Connectivity

The printer has a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port that can be used to connect it directly to a computer. Or, you may choose to use the Wi-Fi option to get it connected to your home network and print remotely. It also supports the Wi-Fi Direct option, which lets you connect directly to the hotspot generated by your printer without the need for a home network. However, this printer misses missing an Ethernet port, which is a bummer for many.

Printing speeds

The printing speeds on the Brother MFC-J491DW AIO pigment ink printer make this device stand out. We tried printing text documents with minimal graphics and photos here and there, and the speeds averaged 4.4 ppm. When printing a more vibrant, highly detailed 4×6 image, the printer averaged 32 seconds per print, which is incredible for a photo printer.

Print quality

The Brother MFC-J491DW isn’t a professional-grade printer to print stunning graphics, but it can be a decent home printer that supports the pigment-based ink system. In our testing, the prints turned out to be proper. But the prints can’t compare to those made by professionals, and the price we pay for this device is fair for what it does. The MFC-J491DW exhibits some banding and has poor color accuracy.

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#5. Canon IP8720 – A best affordable option

Canon IP8720 – review

Canon’s IP8720 pigment ink printer is perfect for any home or office. It has a six-color system that includes four dye-based inks and two black pigment inks. It is also capable of producing perfect borderless photos up to 13 x 19 inches.

Design and build quality

The entire body of the Canon IP8720 is made of glossy black plastic except for a few panels and buttons that have a matte finish. As far as the looks go, the device feels sleek and premium for the first looks. The device measures 23.3(W) x 13.1(D) x 6.3(H) and weighs about 18.6 lbs.

Ease of use

Though you do not get to see an onboard display on the Canon IP8720, you wouldn’t still feel it missing as the included PC utility software makes it easy to manage and operate. Setting the device up and running is also a cakewalk with a few simple steps. Besides this, the printer also supports different cloud printing services that further simplify usability and add more convenience to the user enabling them to assign print jobs from technically everywhere in the world.

Connectivity

The connectivity note offers both wired and wireless solutions with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port and support for Wi-Fi connectivity. Besides this, it also supports Wireless PictBridge, AirPrint, Canon proprietary application for Android and iOS, Google print services etcetera.

Print quality

As this is a budget printer targeting amateurs, you shouldn’t expect or compare the results with costly near-professional printers in the market. However, there is not much to complain about the Canon IP8720 pigment ink printer’s output quality. The image turned out to be pretty decent with nearly accurate colors. Some banding is seen here and there but isn’t noticeable unless looked at in particular.

Print speeds

We ran print speed tests on the Canon IP8720, and it averaged about 2.7 pages per minute for a text document. In the case of high-quality 4×6 photo print, the printer clocked at 59 seconds.

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#6. Epson Stylus Photo R2000 – A Professional Pigment ink printer

Epson Stylus Photo R2000 – Review

The Epson R2000 is an impressive pigment printer that allows you to print professional grade photos. Its UltraChrome Hi-Gloss2 pigment ink produces stunning prints that can last up to may 200 years without fading. The printer also comes with a variety of software packages for Mac and Windows PCs.

Design and build quality

The device comes in a dual-tone black and white body made out of good-quality hard plastic. It has two paper feeds: the top cassette is capable of holding A3, A4, A3+, and other smaller sizes, and the rear feed can handle fine art sheets, rolls, thicker stock, or photo paper. The printer itself feels a little bulkier, with its dimensions being 24.5″ x 31.4″ x 16.5″ and weighing about 26.5 lbs.

Ease of use

It took us less than 10 minutes to completely set up the device and get the first print. The printer was detected as soon as it was plugged into our Windows computer. Installing the CD’s utility in the box is a good idea if you want to use all of its features. Once the device is up and running, assigning print jobs to the Stylus R2000 is a cakewalk.

Connectivity

Connectivity is yet another essential factor to consider in a modern printer. The more connectivity options there are, the more versatile your device can be. Speak of Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB connectivity, and the Epson Stylus Photo R2000 has it all.

Print quality

Epson uses eight individual ink cartridges, namely Photo Black, Matte Black, Magenta, Cyan, Red, Orange, Yellow, and Gloss Optimizer. This device’s print quality turned out to be stupendous, thanks to the Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 pigment ink. It showed naturalness in colors, and the tones came out okay. Black text on plain paper came out clean. Well, who would use this professional printer to print regular documents? The details came out exceptionally well, thanks to the 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution.

Print speeds

According to what Epson had claimed, the printing speeds would be 1 minute and 8 seconds for an 8″ x 10″ photo and 1 minute and 43 seconds for an 11″ x 14″ photo. But when we printed a 15 x 10 cm photo using the best setting for image quality, it took about 1 minute and 15 seconds on average. However, printing speeds shouldn’t be a concern, especially when you wish to print at maximum quality.

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Also Read: Best Printer for Home use with Cheap Ink

9 things to consider before buying a Pigment-based ink Printer in 2023

Now that you know what to choose, it is equally crucial that you understand how we determine the best in the market. We have attempted to explain the paraphernalia relating to pigment ink printers in more straightforward terms for your ease of understanding.

Support for Pigment Ink

The pigment ink is a unique ink technology aiming for that extra premium look and durability in your photo prints. Printers that support this ink are not so commonly available and are usually on the expensive side.

Brand

Printers are a costly affair. You cannot experiment with your choice. A bad decision can cause you mental and financial distress. You cannot go wrong with most reputed brands, as their products are failproof because they put a lot of research and development into them. Another big reason to choose a reputable brand is its serviceability. Pigment ink printers demand a lot of maintenance and frequent servicing. Most established brands in the market are fortunate to have a service nearby.

Budget

The budget is the biggest thing to pay attention to, above all. The term “best” is always a budget constraint. You can find the best within every possible budget. I would suggest you decide on a budget first before you hunt for the best pigment ink printers.

Print Resolution

The print resolution directly refers to the degree of detail in the printed image. The higher the resolution, the greater the details will be. The answer is measured in DPI, which stands for dots per inch. It means that the more dots printed per inch, the higher the image’s resolution will be. This will ensure excellent sharpness and details. It would be best if you chose a printer with decent resolution figures.

Connectivity

The connectivity options are one’s personal choice. Before you go out and buy a printer, decide how you want to connect to it. These days, many printers on the market come with some or all of these connectivity options: hi- USB connectivity, USB host, Wi-Fi functionality with Wi-Fi Direct support, an Ethernet port, and NFC.

Size of the printer

The size of the printer matters to many, as not everyone is fortunate to have bigger workspaces. Determine what works best on your desk or in the space where you want the device to go.

LCD Display

Most modern printers now have an LCD touch screen display, while others have a non-touch display and hardware keys to help you navigate to different printer functions. Without the onboard display, you will have to rely on the utility software to make changes to the printer.

Printing Speeds

Pigment ink printers are usually slow. However, some printers can handle prints at remarkably faster speeds. Most photo fans only print once in a while, because these printers aren’t made to print a lot. Speed doesn’t make much difference when the print job is smaller.

Wide-format support

Most people wish to print their works on wide-format printers up to 13″ x 19″ or even more. If you happen to be one of them, you will have to get yourself a good pigment ink printer with broad format capabilities.

What is Pigment Ink, and what makes it so unique?

Pigment ink is a particular type of ink used in inkjet printers to give your prints different qualities. This pigment-based ink is made by mixing solid pigment powder particles with a neutral liquid carrier. Unlike traditional dye-based inks, these pigment particles do not dissolve.

What makes the pigment ink so unique is its inertness and stability compared to its organic-based dye-ink counterparts. This makes them inherently water-proof and leaves them to form bright, vivid pictures by laying down microscopic dots on the paper. The prints obtained by the pigment ink printers will be of high resolution, have wide color and density gamuts.

How Does a Traditional Dye-Based Ink Printer Differ From a Pigment Ink Printer?

The difference between pigment ink and dye-based inks is that pigment ink uses solid particles of pigment powder suspended in ink. The dye-based inks, on the other hand, are made by mixing the dye with water and other optical compounds.

To give you a better understanding, the dye ink can be compared to sugar dissolved in water, whereas the pigment ink can be compared to sand mixed in water. In the former, the sugar is seen to have dissolved completely, whereas the sand remains unaffected. The same is true of these two inks. One dissolves completely and gives the paper its colors, while the other stays as tiny dots that make up the images on the paper.

What Are the Advantages of Pigment Ink Printers Over Dye-Based Printers?

• The pigment inks have many advantages when compared with the traditional dye-ink printers. These are a few.
• The photos printed using pigment ink printers are more smudge- and water-resistant. This is the one area where dye-based ink printers lack the most.
• Prints taken from pigment ink printers are resistant to fading when exposed to UV light over time.
• Pigment inks exhibit better color stability and last longer compared to traditional dye inks.
• They offer excellent details and resolution when printing high-quality images.

Who uses pigment ink printers?

Pigment ink printers are not everyone’s cup of tea. They are meant for professional use, where high-quality images are of greater concern. Professional photographers, graphic designers, engineers, architects, contractors, sign and banner print shops, marketing and advertising agencies, retail spaces, museums, and a lot of other places use these a lot.

Also Read: Best Portable Photo Printers 4X6

FAQ’s – Pigment Ink base printers

The following are some of the questions that we often hear from our readers about pigment ink printers & dye based prints.