Olympus p400There was a time when dye sublimation (DS) printers found home in textile industries and at commercial printing industries. The rise of technology and the reduction in prices of electronic articles has brought DS printers to homes. These printers are used mainly for photo printing. Many of the photo printers discussed on Cartridge Save are DS printers.

The photo quality obtained from DS printers are exceptional and studio quality. It not only provides an accurate photograph with all the colours well blended, but also provides a layer of lamination just like a commercial photograph.

Along with advantages, comes drawbacks. DS printers are expensive as it uses films which are expensive and the speed of printing is slow as it involves a complicated process which is discussed in the next section.

How it works?
Instead of using inks, DS printers use transparent films (cellophane ribbon) which transfers colours on to media (paper) using heat. In a dye-sublimation printer the printing dye is heated up until it turns into a gas, at which point it diffuses onto the printing media and solidifies. Prior to printing, the dye is stored on a cellophane ribbon. Read the detailed working of a DS printer on Wiki.

Sony, Kodak and Canon are some of the major manufacturers of DS printers. They range from £25 to a few thousand pounds depending on the capacity and quality.