Epson Artisan 1430 Sublimation Printer

Sublimation printers have become a popular tool among business owners, photographers, and artists alike, and for good reason. Instead of printing a design onto an object using ink, sublimation printers provide users with the ability to transfer a design directly onto an object using a high temperature heat press. This eliminates the mess that comes with printing as it bypasses the liquid ink process. Objects that have been sublimated, on average, last an impressive 4x longer than objects that have been printed with a standard printer. Although there are several printers with sublimation capabilities on the market, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about a top contender – the Epson Artisan 1430 Sublimation printer.

For starters, the Epson 1430 was not created for the purpose of sublimation printing. Instead, sublimation inks and conversion kits have been created to enable the printer to sublimate.

It’s important to note that there is a possibility that your Epson warranty will be voided once you’ve converted your Epson Artisan 1430 to a sublimation printer. Additionally, customer support will no longer be available to you if you are using the Epson Artisan 1430 for sublimation printing.

Nonetheless, if you choose to use the Epson 1430 as a sublimation printer, you can achieve stunning results. And, if using Cobra Ink or InkOwl for sublimation ink, they will provide you with technical support and troubleshooting.

Features of the Epson Artisan 1430

The Epson Artisan 1430 printer has a few key features that really give it a leg up on its competitors. The Artisan 1430 delivers vibrant, ultra high-definition and borderless prints up to 13″ x 19″ in size. This is large enough to print on T-Shirts and hoodies. Printing speed varies depending on the size and color saturation of the design, however, smaller designs may print in as little as 46 seconds.

Even the largest print option can deliver brilliant, borderless designs in as fast as 3 minutes. With convenient wireless networking, you can print and share your designs right from your mobile device with the tap of a button. When paired with high quality ink cartridges, the Epson Artisan 1430 prints top-notch photos and designs that are smudge, scratch, water, and fade resistant.

Warning:

Here’s the deal: The Epson Artisan 1430 printer has actually been discontinued. Fortunately, there are still several available for purchase on Amazon, Ebay, Mercari and even Facebook Marketplace. The price tag for the Epson Artisan 1430 varies depending on the condition of the printer, however, a brand new Epson Artisan 1430 for sublimation printing sells on Amazon for just under $1,500. 

Compared to other sublimation printers on the market, the Epson Artisan 1430 has proven to be reliable. The price may make the Artisan 1430 out of reach for some. But if you can swing it, purchasing a machine with sublimation capabilities like this one can prove to be an incredible investment for your business. 

Unboxing and Setting up your Epson Artisan 1430 Printer

With minimal steps, the Epson Artisan 1430 installation is simple. Your printer comes with a standard set of printer ink cartridges. However, it’s important to note that if you intend to use your Epson Artisan 1430 for sublimation printing, do not install the included cartridges. Instead, install a compatible sublimation cartridge set. These may also be called sublimation conversion kits. InkOwl and Cobra Ink are reliable vendors.

You may want to invest in some refillable cartridges and ink right off the bat, as sublimation ink cartridges can be pricey. With dozens of sublimation inks on the market, you have plenty of options. You may have to test a few brands of ink before you find one that you like, as the color saturation and vibrancy may vary. Just make sure you choose one that is compatible with the make and model of your sublimation printer. Here is a CISS sublimation ink system to complete your Epson Artisan 1430 set up.

You can check out our guide on sublimation inks to help you get started!

What materials can be sublimated with the Epson Artisan 1430?

With careful attention to detail, the printing capabilities with the Epson 1430 are immense. Before you dive in and create your first design, be sure to brush up on the best sublimation printing practices and techniques.

Choose a good sublimation paper to use with the printer, and then sublimate the printed design onto the material itself.

Sublimation dye should be used with polyester fabric or polyester-coated material. This may restrict your options as far as fabrics are concerned. However, it opens the door to create dynamic graphics on non-fabric materials. In part, sublimation printing has become popular thanks to their capabilities to print “all over” designs. This is where a pattern covers the entire canvas, usually with a repetitive pattern. Compared to printing techniques used on non-fabric materials, It’s a relatively simple process.

Aside from sublimating on fabric, sublimation printers like the Epson 1430 allow sublimation on a vast variety of other materials. In fact, it’s possible to print high-quality designs on acrylic, wood, metal and aluminum, ceramics, and even glass!

Before you pick a material:

Before choosing a material, carefully consider whether or not the material is equipped to handle the job. You’ll need to ensure the material can withstand heat up to 400°. Plus, the material must be durable and thick enough to handle the pressure of the machine. Printing on glass, ceramics, and metal is feasible but only under very specific conditions — So don’t skimp on the research!

In addition to fabric, sublimation printing is an excellent way to print designs onto hard materials. Some examples of hard materials include home decor, wood and poster signage, heavy-duty cardstock, mugs, keychains, pens, Christmas ornaments, and more!

Whether you are looking to start a small business, or just explore a new hobby, there are plenty of substrates for you to try!

What software is compatible with the Epson 1430 Inkjet sublimation printer?

If you’re using your Epson 1430 for sublimation on a regular basis, it would be wise to take advantage of the powerful tools at your disposal. The software you need is dependent on the type of graphics you’re printing.

NOTE: Read our detailed article on Sublimation design software here.

If you’re looking for a software program that can handle it all, Adobe Photoshop is a great program. It may require a bit of a learning curve due to its complexity. You may find some of the simpler programs to be more intuitive than Photoshop. However, since Photoshop is a widely popular tool for artists and designers, there are thousands of free tutorials online. If you’ve got some time to explore Photoshop and don’t mind paying the subscription fee, you very likely may never touch another design software again.

If you are looking for free software that you may only use on occasion, try GIMP. GIMP is essentially a very watered down version of Adobe Photoshop. If you like GIMP, you will love Photoshop and it may be worth it to make the switch.

CorelDraw is another great resource to use in conjunction with sublimation printing, particularly for those who intend on creating vector images. Unlike the subscription model, accessing CorelDraw is easy with a one-time flat-rate fee.

Epson Artisan 1430 vs Sawgrass SG500 and SG1000

Sawgrass offers two of the most impressive sublimation printers on the market:

• Sawgrass Virtuoso SG500
• Sawgrass Virtuoso SG1000

Unlike Epson printers, Sawgrass printers are made specifically for sublimation printing. Sawgrass has excellent technical/customer support to help you through every step in your printing process. Sawgrass printers are also known for having a very long lifespan. Plus, Sawgrass has its own software called CreativeStudio, which allows you to create designs with ease. In addition, you have the option of wide-format printing with Sawgrass, allowing you to make larger designs than the Epson 1430.

As you can see, Sawgrass printers come with an impressive set of features, and as of February, 2022, they are considerably less expensive than the Epson 1430.

Note: If you’re tech-savvy and confident in your ability to problem-solve, troubleshooting any issues with your 1430 may be no issue for you. However, if you feel you would benefit from having the extra support, you may want to consider purchasing the Sawgrass.

Using the Epson Artisan 1430 for your business

Getting your sublimation printing system set up can be a big investment of time and money. But once you’re up and running, you can create some truly amazing designs. You can use your sublimation printer to create stunning marketing materials such as posters, brochures, flyers, and more. Create custom pens, plaques, mugs, calendars to give out to your employees, customers, or to sell on an ecommerce store. With a little creativity, the possibilities are endless!

As mentioned before, the Epson Artisan 1430 can print up to 13″ x 19″ in size. If you need to print on larger materials, this will have to be a job for a different printer. Otherwise, you can print stunning, borderless, professional-quality designs in minutes. Because the price of this machine is lower than Sawgrass and competing sublimation printers, owning a couple of these can increase productivity, save you time, and elevate your business!

User reviews

All in all, users are highly satisfied with the Epson Artisan 1430 for sublimation printing. Here are a couple of positive reviews outlining some of the great features the 1430 has to offer:

What users have to say:

“This workhorse can take a licking. It prints on anything, and if you put a CISS (I use Hotzone 360.com) on it you will fall in love and never wake up. Don’t worry about reaching the end of it’s life cycle. You can reset the chip and add a waste tank to stop dumping ink onto the limited pad inside from Octoinkjet. I’ve reset my 1400 three times and did not throw it out when I upgraded my studio, I sold it to someone else. That’s how durable and reliable this class of Epson printers are. And the 1430 is even better. The heads do not clog or require half as much cleaning as its predecessor, the 1400.

The real kicker is that Epson is hush hush about this printer. I own an Epson R3000, a much more expensive unit and it’s complete garbage, literally garbage now, it didn’t last two years and its supposed to be more robust than the 1430. I print thousands of pages quarterly (yes, every three months). I prints books, packaging material, posters and everything my studio/company needs (except comic books, the paper is too expensive) to stock our inventory at conventions. It has to be better than perfect, it has to be consistent. These are my go-to printers. You can work this printer to it’s natural death, revive it, and work it to death again, live, die, repeat style.” -Amazon customer

” This printer is great! Prints supper clear. Made, designed and built with love. We used it has a normal printer for about 2 weeks and then converted it into a sublimation printer. Which has worked out great.

– The back tray does not hold 11 x 17 paper, we needed to prop up the paper on something else

– Wifi was really easy to set up

– Has not jammed on me once

– Color is vivid, bright and true” – Amazon customer

Final thoughts

When it comes to sublimation printing, you can comfortably rely on the Epson Artisan 1430 to get the job done. If you’re able to snag one of these machines at an affordable price, you won’t regret it.

Another Epson Printer to check out is the Epson WF 7720.

However, as of February 2022, it is difficult to beat the price and features of the Sawgrass Virtuoso SG500 and the Sawgrass Virtuoso SG1000.

With relatively low start up costs, adding sublimation printing to your business can be a total game-changer. Almost every business could take advantage of the wonderful benefits that accompany sublimation printing – whether that be creating gorgeous marketing material, sellable merch, or something else!

Last update on 2023-06-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API