If you are just getting into the world of waterslide decal printing, you might not know where to begin.
After all, how do you find the best printer for waterslide decals? It is not something that most printers would mention, but it is incredibly important for someone looking to make the decals.
With waterslide decals, you will want to be sure that the printer can handle what you are working on. Are you working on them as a fun home project or are you doing them as part of a business?
What are you going to be using the decals for? These are all questions that you will need to ask.
We have looked at all of newer printers on the market and found out which ones would be an excellent choice for waterslide decals. This is what you need to know as you set out to buy a decal printer.
9 Best Printers For Waterslide Decals (2021)
Device | Type | Color | Rating | Check Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Epson ET-2720 Editor's Choice | Inkjet | Black | 100% | |
2. Canon TS9521C High Performance | Inkjet | White | 99% | |
3. HP Envy 7855 Budget Friendly | Inkjet | Black | 95% | |
4. Canon Pixma TS5320 Design Choice | Inkjet | Pink | 98% | |
5. Epson WF-7720 | Inkjet | Black | 97% | |
6. Canon Pixma iX6820 | Inkjet | Black | 96% | |
7. HP Envy Pro 6455 | Inkjet | White | 93% | |
8. Brother MFC-J895DW | Inkjet | Black | 92% | |
9. HP OfficeJet Pro 8025 | Inkjet | Grey | 91% |
1. Epson EcoTank ET-2720 Printer
Best Printer For Waterslide Decals (Editor's Choice)
To begin with, the best printer for waterslide decals that we found is the Epson EcoTank ET-2720. This is a wonderfully powerful printer that should get your decaling done at a high quality.
Design
Starting with the design of the EcoTank, might see that it is a little bit larger than some of the other printers that are currently on the market. It is worth the extra room, however. It even has a scanner on the top of it and a touchscreen LCD to help you with your printer settings.
One of the best design features that you will get with this decal printer is that the tanks are completely refillable. That means no more throwing out ink cartridges. You can just refill the tanks, resulting in less waste.
Performance
Let’s take a look at the performance of the ET-2720. The printer only prints up to 10 pages per minute, so it is slower than a lot of the other printers.
This only matters if you are doing a lot of jobs and need it to print quicker. The printer’s resolution is 5760 x 1440 dpi and it will allow a maximum media size of 8.5 x 14 inches.
Finally, it is a Supertank printer, because it can hold a lot of ink at one time, meaning they will not need to be refilled often.
2. Canon TS9521C All-in-One Decal Printer
High Performance
If you are thinking that you might need a more high performance printer for your waterslide decals, don’t worry.
The perfect high performance decal printer is the Canon TS9521C. This is an all-in-one printer that does its job well.
Design
Taking a look at its design, the Canon TS9521C is enormous in size compared to other printers. It weighs a hefty 21.30 pounds, making it heavier than most of the other printers you will find.
But, it has Bluetooth, Ethernet, USB, and wireless connectivity to hook your devices up to it. Also, it comes with a 4.3 inch LCD Touchscreen, cutting down the learning curve in using it.
The printer has a document feeder on top that works for multi-page documents at a maximum media size of 11 x 17 inches.
Performance
As this is a high performance printer, it should not come as a surprise that it performs well. The printer can print up to 15 pages per minute in black and white. Colour printing always takes longer because it uses more ink. The decal printer does take a little while to warm up, so be patient after you turn it on.
The Canon TS9521C can also use the Canon Print App, allowing you to print from cloud-based platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.
3. HP Envy Photo 7855 Decal Printer
Budget Friendly
Do not worry if you are working within a budget. There are still some wonderful printers out there who manage to be affordable and still do the job.
Our pick for the best budget friendly decal printer is the HP Envy Photo 7855. This is one of the most popular home printers as well.
Design
Starting with the design of the Envy 7855, it is about the average size for a printer. It does come with a document feeder on the top that you can use for printing, scanning, and faxing. The feeder is also quick, which is nice.
The printer also has an auto document feeder that has a 35-sheet capacity. This might not work out for everyone, but in the world of waterslide decals, you do not need a high capacity feeder.
Performance
Moving onto its performance, the HP Envy Photo 7855 allows for 2-sided printing as well as borderless printing. Borderless printing is a great feature for waterslide decals since it will make use of all available spaces.
This is an all-in-one printer which means that this is a good choice if you do not need to have a dedicated waterslide printer. Instead, you can use it for all of your printing needs, from regular paper to address labels to waterslide decals. It is versatile for something budget friendly.
4. Canon PIXMA TS5320 Printer
Design Choice
Sometimes you need to find a device that has a nice design, especially since it is going to be sitting somewhere out in the open.
Our pick for the best waterslide printer with an awesome design is the Canon PIXMA TS5320.
Design
Since this is a design-focused decal printer we are going to start here. The TS5320 printer comes in four different colours. Instead of the standard black or white, the printer can come in pink or blue, in addition to white or black.
Unlike some of the other printers that we have looked at here, this one only uses two ink cartridges. This will make it easy when it comes time to change out the ink as you will only be managing the one or two colours.
Performance
When we look at the performance features for the TS5320, we first saw that it has Air Printing capabilities. That means that the printer can be used with devices without ever being connected to the printer. Be careful with the app, however, it does not always work the way people want it to.
The printer prints about 13 pages per minute in black and white, which is about average for a printer. It will take longer in colour or with duplex. It is an inkjet printer, however, so you should still get a really nice image off of it.
5. Epson WorkForce WF-7720 Decal Printer
Another wonderful option for printing waterslide decals is the Epson WorkForce WF-7720. This is a beast of a printer so it should be able to do the job well.
Design
When we look at the design of this decal printer, it is important to know that it has a 500 sheet capacity, keeping the printer prepared for large jobs. Unfortunately, it means that the printer itself is very large. It even has a 125 page output tray.
The printer is designed to only use Epson print cartridges, which may or may not pose a problem for you in the future. It can print up to 13” x 19” pages, however, which should be large enough for most waterslide decals.
Performance
This printer comes with a lot of great performance features, including borderless printing. This is an important feature if you are printing waterslide decals and are worried about page size.
The printer is also more economical than other printers since it uses 80 percent less power than other colour printers.
The printer has an auto 2-sided print, copy, scan, and fax capability as well, ensuring that you will be able to use this printer for all of your printing needs, not just the waterslide decals. It also can print up to 18 pages per minute in black and white, so it is decently speedy.
6. Canon Pixma iX6820 Printer
The Canon Pixma iX6820 is another printer that would work well with the waterslide decals. This is a different kind of printer than the others that we have looked at so far since it is a compact decal printer.
Design
You might be happy when you see the design for the Canon Pixma iX6820. The printer is incredibly slim and it takes up very little room. It is considered to be a compact printer.
It also does not have the LCD screen that you commonly see in modern printers, do you will need to access the settings elsewhere.
The printer can use Air Print to print or it can be hooked up directly to a device with an Ethernet port, but it is still portable
Performance
Moving to its performance, the Canon Pixma iX6820can print borderless photos quickly, so you will not be waiting around, but the results are still outstanding.
It offers a maximum colour dpi of 9600 x 2400, which is really good. You should be able to print some very clear, high-quality waterslide decals with this printer.
The printer also has an auto power on option that will allow the printer to sleep in between printing jobs, which will save you electricity. It even has a quiet mode option so that it will not disturb anything when it starts to print.
7. HP Envy Pro 6455 Printer
Another model from the HP Envy line that will work well with waterslide decals is the HP Envy Pro 6455. This is another all-in-one printer so it will be able to do more than just print out the decals for you.
Design
When you look at the design of the HP Envy Pro 6455, you will see first that the decal printer is white rather than black. This will make it blend better into your home décor, which is important if you are concerned about it looking like an eyesore.
The printer was made with 20% recycled plastic as well, so its production was better for the environment.
Performance
When we look at the performance of the 6455, it stood out that it is capable of only printing 10 sheets per minute in black and white and 7 sheets per minute in colour. That means that the printer will take its time printing, but it still does the job well.
The printer does have automatic 2-sided printing, which also takes a little more time. The automatic document feeder will also help you speed up copy or fax jobs that you need to have scanned and sent quickly. The printer’s month capacity can be up to 400 pages, so the printer is not going to die on you.
8. Brother MFC-J895DW Printer
This is a little bit different in some ways than other printers that we have looked at, but that might mean that it is the perfect choice for you.
Design
Looking at its appearance, this decal printer is pretty standard as far as basic designs go. It does have a 150 page tray capacity as well, so you will be able to do heavier printing if you wanted to.
One of the best design features that you will get from this printer is that it comes with a 1-sheet bypass tray. This is in place so that you can print on heavier materials that you would not normally try to run through the machine and should also help you with your waterslide decals as a result.
Performance
The performance for this printer is pretty decent as well. It does not require any network setup to use this printer, so anyone nearby it should be able to use it if you want them to. It also offers mobile printing that is really easy to use and to setup, making printing a breeze.
There is not a lot of options with the paper size with this printer, so if you are hoping to print something out of the norm, this is not the right printer for you.
9. HP OfficeJet Pro 8025 Printer
The last printer that we are going to look at is the HP OfficeJet Pro 8025. This is a good commercial kind of printer, but it will also work for home use if you wanted to go that way.
Design
The design of the 8025 is pretty basic for modern printers. It is a simple neutral tone with an LCD screen to help you with any of the setup of the machine. The printer is 14% smaller than many of the other printers that we have looked at
The printer also has self-healing WiFi, which means that it will make sure that you stay connected under all circumstances. It uses the HP Smart App as well.
Performance
When we look at the performance for this printer, the first thing we notice is that the printer can use Smart Tasks to organize information that has been scanned by the printer.
This is really nice for receipts since they can be automatically filed in the location that you really need them.
The printer can print an amazing 20 pages per minute, making it one of the fastest printers for waterslide decals that you can get. You might not need the speed, but having the choice there is always wonderful.
Things To Consider When Buying A Printer For Waterslide Decals
Commercial vs. Home Use
The first thing to consider when you are buying a printer for waterslide decals is whether you are using it for commercial or home use.
Typically, people who would like to use a decal printer will do it on a smaller scale at home. But others prefer to do it commercially.
If you need one for commercial use, you will want the best printer for waterslide decals possible, which includes having a multi-ink system and the ability to print high-quality images.
Resolution & Print Quality
The printer’s resolution is another consideration that you need to make when you are looking for the best waterslide decal printer.
The resolution is referring to the amount of dots per inch (dpi) that the printer is capable of. For the smaller decals, you can get away with 1200 x 1200 dpi, but if you are aiming for larger decals, you need a resolution around 4800 x 1200 dpi or higher.
Speed
Many people do not think about speed when they are looking for a printer, but it does matter. Waiting as images come out slowly can be agonizing and will definitely slowdown your production.
Your printer needs to be capable of printing at least 15 pages per minute in black and white. Most of the time, colour takes longer to print, so it is best to use the black and white speed as your guide.
Printing Waterslide Decals Step-By-Step Guide
We have broken down the process of waterslide decals into steps to help you get started.
- Gather your Supplies: Make sure you have everything first. You need a printer, the waterslide paper, the item receiving the decal, fixative spray, scissors, and warm water.
- Test it Out: Try printing the image on regular paper to have a test run before using the decal paper.
- Check the Paper Size: Depending on where you are, there are some size differences between printers and the waterslide paper. Most waterslide papers come in an A4 paper size, while the default printer size is the American letter size. Change your printer’s settings to the A4 paper if that is what you are using.
- Print out the Image: Print out the image and then spray the fixative spray. You should use at least 3 coats, waiting at least an hour in between.
- Cut it out: Once your image has had a long time to dry, you will need to cut it out. Sharp scissors are ideal and rounder images will adhere better.
- Soak it: Then, soak the decal in warm water for up to 30 seconds. If it curls, press it flat. When the edges begin to lift, it is ready to transfer.
- Put it on the Item: Now you need to remove the backing and place the decal on the item. Smooth it out with a sponge or cloth to remove bubbles. Then you can use a hair dryer to finish it up.
Final Words
There are a lot of wonderful printers out on the market, which is why it was hard for us to choose a favourite.
Nonetheless, we found that the best printer for waterslide decals is the Epson EcoTank ET-2720. This is a printer with multiple colour tanks that will give you the quality and choice of colour that you should be looking for.
Naturally, if you want something a little more high performance, the Canon TS9521C might be a better option for you. This versatile printer is capable of a lot more than simply printing decals and it will not disappoint.
When you think you have found the right printer, make sure that it covers everything that you need, including the resolution and speed.
You do not want to get stuck with a slow printer that is not able to keep up with your decal needs. Be diligent in your research and you are bound to choose the right one.
Hey, it’s James here. I’m the founder and editor here at RiverstoneNet.com. I’m a network engineer during the day and a blogger at night. Let me know if I can help you with choosing a new modem/router or troubleshooting your Internet connection.