Wide format for art starts at 13 inches wide, which is 330mm. Anything smaller is a desktop photo printer, and anything without a pigment ink system is a document machine pretending to be something else. That distinction matters more than most shoppers expect, because the search results for this query are crowded with office plotters that print maps and CAD drawings beautifully and then shift a colour three years later.
We spent weeks working through eight large-format machines across the whole width range, from a 13×19 all-in-one to a 24-inch gallery printer with twelve pigment inks. The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the fine-art pick for anyone printing to 17×22, the Canon PRO-2100 is the one for gallery work, and the Epson Workforce WF-7710 covers the widest range of affordable 13×19 use. This guide explains what each machine actually does with ink, paper and colour, and where the compromises sit.
Every printer below is discussed with its real ink count, its real maximum media size and the running complaints owners report, not the marketing line. Where a machine is genuinely wrong for art prints, we say so. Two of the eight here are office plotters, and we explain exactly why most artists should still skip them.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks: The Best Wide Format Printers for Art Prints (October 2026)
Best all-round 13×19 pick: Epson Workforce WF-7710 – a 250-sheet tray, automatic duplex and a flatbed scanner in one chassis, with the largest review base of anything on this list.
Best value per print: Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 – six-color Claria ET Premium ink in refillable tanks rated to 6200 colour pages per full set, plus a flatbed and touch screen.
Best true fine-art printer: Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 – eleven pigment inks with Chroma Optimizer, 2400×1200 dpi colour and output up to 17×22 inches on custom media.
Best gallery-grade result: Canon PRO-2100 24 Wide – twelve pigment inks including separate photo and matte black, roll feed and a 24×59 inch maximum sheet.
Best for long panoramic strips: Canon PIXMA PRO-200S – borderless 13×19 output plus custom media up to 13×39 inches, driven by eight dye-based inks.
Best low-cost office plotter: HP DesignJet T210 – 24-inch roll feed, an automatic horizontal cutter and up to 59 A1/D pages per hour, built for posters rather than fine art.
All Eight Printers Side by Side in 2026
| Product | Specs | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Epson Workforce WF-7710 |
|
Check Latest Price |
| Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Epson EcoTank ET-15000 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Canon PIXMA PRO-200S |
|
Check Latest Price |
 HP DesignJet T210 |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Canon PRO-2100 24 Wide |
|
Check Latest Price |
 HP DesignJet T630 |
|
Check Latest Price |
1. Epson Workforce WF-7710 – the widest range of use at 13×19
Epson Workforce WF-7710 Wireless Wide-Format Color Inkjet Printer with Copy, Scan, Fax, Wi-Fi Direct and Ethernet, Amazon Dash Replenishment Ready
13x19 max
1200x2400 dpi color
250-sheet tray
Print scan copy fax
WiFi and Ethernet
Pros
- Borderless prints up to 13x19 inches
- 250-sheet tray plus 20-sheet photo capacity
- Scan copy and fax in one unit
- Automatic two-sided printing
- Ethernet and Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct
Cons
- Four-colour DURABrite Ultra ink raises running cost
- Flatbed only with no document feeder
- Limited tonal range in monochrome output
This is the machine we recommend to anyone moving up from a letter-size printer, and the reason is capability per unit of desk space. It prints borderless to 13×19 inches, takes 250 sheets in the main tray, holds 20 sheets of photo paper alongside, and adds a flatbed scanner, copier and fax. Automatic duplexing runs at 8.7 pages per minute in black and 6 in colour.
Connectivity is properly thought out for a small studio. Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11n and Wi-Fi Direct are all present, so a wired desktop and a phone can share the machine without a print server. The colour resolution of 1200×2400 dpi and 4800 dpi black-only output are more than adequate for matte and glossy photo paper in the 13×19 range.
The honest limitation is ink. Four colours in DURABrite Ultra cartridges means cyan, magenta, yellow and black only, so greys and skin tones have a single dark channel to work with. That is fine for a poster or a proof, and it is the reason we would not put this machine forward for archival exhibition prints that a gallery will hold to a 100-year standard.
Owners also point out there is no document feeder, so digitising a multi-page original means lifting the flatbed each time. At 40.8 pounds and 32.2 inches wide, it needs a real surface rather than a shelf. Even so, at 4.3 stars across 2823 reviews it is the most proven machine here.
Who the WF-7710 suits and where it stops short
It suits a photographer, a teacher or a small print seller who needs 13×19 sheets, occasional duplex and a scanner in one box without a complicated ink system to service. If your prints are for display, sales samples or classroom use, the output quality holds up at arm’s length and for most viewing distances.
It stops short the moment you need smooth gradients in skin tones, a grey ink channel for black-and-white work, or the ink headroom to lay down a heavy pigment area without looking flat. It also has no roll feed, so long panoramas are not on the menu. For true fine-art colour you need to move up the range.
Running cost and paper handling
Cartridge-based ink is the running cost to plan for. Four-colour cartridges on a 13×19 borderless sheet use more ink than a borderless 8×10, so the per-sheet figure climbs quickly for anyone printing at full-bleed. If your volume is more than a few prints a month, the EcoTank route in the next two entries costs less per page for similar sheet sizes.
Paper handling is the strength. A 250-sheet tray beats the 100-sheet norm, and the photo capacity keeps glossy stock flat and out of the main pile. For heavy card, poster stock and mounted board the straight-through path handles it without manual intervention.
2. Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 – the cheapest colour on a full sheet
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Wireless Wide-Format All-in-One Tank Printer
13x19 max
5760x1440 dpi black
Six-color Claria ET Premium
EcoTank tanks
Flatbed scanner
Pros
- Six-colour ink set gives richer photo output
- Refillable tanks cut per-print cost
- Transparent tanks show ink level
- 13x19 borderless plus 4x6 photo slot
- Flatbed scanner and touch screen
Cons
- Dye inks have shorter archival life
- Auto tray selection reported unreliable
- Some users report clogged printheads
The ET-8550 is the value answer here, and the reason is the ink system. Six Claria ET Premium colours in refillable tanks change the economics of large-format colour completely, with a manufacturer rating of up to 6200 colour pages from one full set of bottles. It prints borderless 13×19 sheets and has a dedicated slot for 4×6 photo paper.
Resolution is the best in this group for monochrome: 5760×1440 dpi black-only, with 1440 dpi colour. The six-colour set gives noticeably smoother gradients than a four-colour machine, which is why this is the one we point illustrators and watercolourists toward on the entry tier.
What you give up is permanence. These are dye-based inks, so the prints are for display and short-term commercial use rather than archival resale. Artists on printing forums repeatedly single this machine out as the best printer for artists per pound spent, and the colour quality ratings back that up, but they pair it with the understanding that a dye ink set is not an archival set.
The recurring gripes are mechanical. Auto tray selection is reported as unreliable on some jobs, so a manual tray pick is sometimes needed. The output tray is described as flimsy, and a minority of users hit printhead clogs and ink spotting that need a deep clean cycle. At 4 stars across 2625 reviews, the colour enthusiasm clearly outweighs the mechanical complaints.
What the tank system really changes
Cartridge economics punish borderless printing because the ink cost scales with area covered. Tank bottles spread that cost across far more pages, which is why a full-bleed 13×19 print from this machine costs a fraction of the same sheet on a cartridge all-in-one. For anyone producing more than a handful of colour prints a month, that difference decides the purchase.
Second-order benefit: you are never blocked by a cartridge. No chip errors, no half-empty cartridge refusing to print, and the transparent tanks show the level at a glance. The touch screen and mobile apps handle ink monitoring and job selection without opening a desktop driver.
Where it falls short for serious art work
Dye inks fade faster than pigment, and this is the honest limit. If your work is sold as archival, or intended to survive a move and decades of light exposure, the pigment machines in entries four and seven are the correct answer and the ink cost difference is simply the price of that longevity.
The build is light too, at 24.5 pounds, and the plastic body is fine for a home desk but not for a shared studio where it gets moved. Print handling on very heavy cotton rag can be finicky if the auto tray picks the wrong source.
3. Epson EcoTank ET-15000 – the workhorse for a busy craft table
Epson EcoTank ET-15000 Wireless All-in-One Wide-Format Supertank Printer
13x19 max
4800x2400 dpi
250-sheet tray
Sheetfed scanner
ADF and auto duplex
Pros
- Tank system keeps per-page cost low
- Over a thousand pages per black fill
- Reliable on heavy cardstock and canvas
- 250-sheet capacity with ADF and duplex
- Wi-Fi setup straight from the panel
Cons
- Four-colour set is weak for fine art
- 11x17 media loads in the rear holder
- Some owners report recurring paper jams
This is not a fine-art machine and we will not pretend otherwise. It is a document all-in-one that happens to print to 13×19, which makes it useful in a very specific way: a craft studio, a school room or a small business that produces wide colour paperwork, banners and mounted pieces all week, and needs a scanner and fax in the same box.
The strengths are practical. A 250-sheet capacity, an automatic document feeder, automatic duplex, a 33,000-page monthly duty cycle, and a double-size black reservoir that delivers well over a thousand pages per fill at standard settings. Colour resolution reaches 4800×1200 dpi and the listed black-only figure is 4800×2400.
Owners consistently report good behaviour on heavy cardstock, canvas and 12×18 duplex runs, and setup over Wi-Fi from the control panel takes minutes. That paper handling on heavyweight stock is the reason it keeps 4.2 stars across 2519 reviews.
The catch is ink. Four colours in refillable tanks is inexpensive per page, but a single dark channel means no grey, no photo black, and visible banding in skies and skin tones on large sheets. For a poster for a school fete that is fine. For a piece you intend to sign and sell, it is not.
Where a document machine earns its place
The tank cost model means a wide-format colour page costs close to what a laser page costs, which is transformative for an office or a classroom that prints 13×19 material all term. The 17 ppm black and 9 ppm colour figures reflect a machine designed to move paper, not to linger over one image.
The scanner and ADF matter more here than in any other entry. If you are digitising originals before reproducing them, sheetfed scanning at 4800×2400 dpi with automatic duplex is a genuine advantage over the flatbed-only machines above it.
Why we would not use it for art prints
Four colours is the core issue, and no amount of resolution fixes it. A 13×19 borderless sky will show banding that a six-colour or eleven-colour set renders smoothly. The rear-holder loading for 11×17 stock also means one feed path instead of two, so you cannot keep two sizes loaded at once.
Owners report occasional paper jams and vague paper-selection prompts, and a minority of units arrive with ink lines that never prime properly. For documents and craft projects those are manageable. For a print run you intend to sell, pick a pigment machine.
4. Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 – the fine-art choice up to 17×22
Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: 17” Professional Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer
17x22 max
11 pigment inks plus Chroma Optimizer
250-sheet tray
Borderless printing
USB and WiFi
Pros
- Eleven pigment inks give wide gamut and stable gloss
- Output up to 17x22 with 17x25 custom media
- Anti-clogging FINE printhead with air feeding
- Professional print and layout software with Adobe plug-ins
- Media configuration and colour calibration tools
Cons
- Pigment ink carries a higher cost per print
- Print-only with no scanner copier or fax
- 83-pound chassis needs a sturdy surface
This is the machine we would hand to an artist who sells work. Eleven pigment inks plus a Chroma Optimizer give it a gamut and a tonal range that no four, six or eight-colour machine here can match, and the 250-sheet capacity means a limited edition run does not mean constant reloading.
The media range is where it separates itself. Beyond the standard A3+ and A2 sizes it accepts B-series paper, 16×20, 17×22, 17×25, square formats and custom sizes, all up to 17×22 inches as the headline maximum. That flexibility matters for gallery work and for panoramic crops from a larger original.
The engineering detail we like most is the air feeding system. It blows a thin sheet of air above the paper so heavy fine art stock does not lift and shift as the head crosses it, which keeps placement accurate on thick cotton rag. The anti-clogging FINE printhead addresses the other common fine-art complaint, and the L-COA PRO image processing engine handles the data volume of large files.
Software is included for print and layout with plug-in support inside Adobe applications, plus tools for media configuration, colour calibration and accounting. Owners report excellent gloss uniformity and anti-bronzing in dark areas, and deep blacks from the pigment blacks. At 4.4 stars from 80 ratings, roughly 79 percent of those are five stars.
Who should buy the PRO-1100
A photographer selling limited editions, an illustrator producing print runs for shops, or a painter reproducing work on cotton rag. Anyone who needs 17×22 output and cares about shadow detail, smooth gradients in skin tones and the difference between matte black and photo black behaviour will feel the eleven-colour set immediately.
It is also the right choice for someone moving up from a dye-based home printer and finding that colour shifts once the file is soft-proofed. The eleven inks, including the grey and photo grey channels, exist for exactly the tonal problems that appear in portraits and monochrome conversions.
What it costs you in other ways
Pigment ink at eleven colours is not cheap per print. You are paying for the two black channels, the grey family and the Chroma Optimizer on every sheet. Budget for that if you are producing a run rather than an occasional print, and it is the running cost that eventually pushes studios toward the 24-inch machines.
It prints and nothing else. No scanner, no copier, no fax, and at 83 pounds the 28.5-inch-wide chassis needs a dedicated sturdy surface. The 80ml PFI-4100 tanks are the consumable format, so plan your refill routine around your print volume.
5. Canon PIXMA PRO-200S – the affordable 13×19 with an eight-colour set
Canon PIXMA PRO-200S Professional 13″ Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer, 3″ Color LCD, 8-Color Dye Ink, Black
13x19 borderless
8-color dye ink
3.0 inch color LCD
Custom media to 13x39
WiFi and USB
Pros
- Eight dye inks give vibrant colour and clean gradients
- Borderless up to 13x19 with custom rolls to 13x39
- Canon nozzles reported to clog less often
- Very quiet running
- 3.0 inch LCD shows ink and status
Cons
- Cartridge ink costs more per print than tanks
- Print speed slow at higher quality settings
- Setup and app installation confusing
The PRO-200S does something the other 13×19 machines here do not: it prints long. Custom media runs up to 13×39 inches, and the paper list includes a 210x594mm panoramic format. That makes it the natural pick for panoramic prints, wall art strips and long banners rather than square gallery pieces.
Eight dye-based inks sit under a 3.0-inch colour LCD, and the results are strong for the money. Owners rate image quality and colour reproduction as excellent, report that ink levels barely moved through extended test printing, and single out how quiet it runs compared with competing photo printers. Borderless output spans 3.5×3.5 inches up to 13×19.
Speed is the trade. A bordered A3+ sheet takes about 90 seconds and a bordered 8×10 about 53, and quality settings slow it further. If you print occasionally for display, that is acceptable. If you print every weekend, the wait is real and the entry above is faster on paper handling.
Canon nozzles are reported to clog less often and need less maintenance, which matters if your printer sits idle between projects. The listed print speed is around 2 pages per minute in both black and colour, so treat that as a single-sheet figure rather than a throughput promise.
Best value for panoramics and wall decor
If your work is horizontal, this is the printer. A 13×39 inch custom roll turns a single wide crop into a genuine wall piece without tiling, and the eight-colour dye set handles the smooth gradients a wide sky or a soft fabric texture needs. At 32 pounds it also stays manageable on a sturdy desk.
It suits a home studio printing decorative art, poster-style reproductions and small editions where the goal is vibrant colour rather than archival pigment longevity. The two trays plus a manual rear feed cover everyday paper and specialty stock.
Where the cartridge model bites
Cartridge-based ink means a higher cost per print than any tank machine in this list, and on a full-bleed 13×19 sheet that difference compounds. The listed print media is plain paper and glossy photo paper, so matte fine art stock needs the manual feed, which is slower and needs careful handling.
Setup is the other recurring complaint, with owners describing confusing instructions and a fiddly mobile app installation. Canon’s nozzles need less maintenance, but a 4.1 rating across 213 reviews tells you this is a capable printer rather than a flawless one.
6. HP DesignJet T210 – 24-inch width built for posters, not pigments
HP DesignJet T210 Large Format 24-inch Plotter Printer, for Easy CAD & Poster Prints (8AG32D)
24-inch roll feed
2400x1200 dpi
Auto horizontal cutter
Ethernet USB and WiFi
50-sheet capacity
Pros
- Sharp line quality and crisp text
- 24-inch roll feed with auto cutter
- HP Click adds auto-nesting to cut waste
- First A1 page in about 45 seconds
- Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi
Cons
- HP OEM cartridges only
- which are hard to source
- Four-colour CMYK limits photographic tone
- Paper jams can repeat and worsen
We are including this machine because it fills the shopping results for wide format art printers, and we would rather explain its limits than let you buy it for the wrong job. The T210 is a 24-inch plotter: four HP 712 cartridges in cyan, magenta, yellow and black, a 2400×1200 dpi maximum and a roll feed with an automatic horizontal cutter.
For the work it was designed for it is excellent. Drawings, maps, site posters, signage and CAD output come out sharp with crisp text, and HP Click adds PDF error checking, alerts and auto-nesting so a 24-inch sheet is not wasted on a layout mistake. Up to 59 A1/D pages per hour with a first page in about 45 seconds is real throughput.
For art prints the four-colour CMYK set is the problem. No grey channel, no photo black, no pigment chemistry, so smooth gradients in skies and skin tones will band and the prints are not archival. Wide-format printing shops do produce acceptable photo output on hardware like this, but it is not the machine that produces the best art print.
The HP-locked cartridges are the other practical issue. Only genuine HP 712 ink is accepted, which narrows sourcing and can mean waiting on deliveries you did not choose. Owners also report that a paper jam will have the unit retry the job and make the jam worse.
When this plotter is the right purchase
Choose it when you produce signage, exhibition graphics, poster runs and technical drawings at 24 inches, or up to 13×19 sheets through the optional automatic sheet feeder. Architects, engineers and small print shops rate it highly for straightforward setup and quiet, consistent output, and the 4.4 rating from 112 reviews reflects that.
The 24-inch roll width is genuinely useful for wall graphics, and the horizontal cutter trims each print cleanly without a separate guillotine. Connectivity covers Gigabit Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi, with the HP Smart app for one-click mobile jobs.
Why artists usually move past this class
Ink chemistry and colour count, not width. Once you want smooth tonal transitions, a grey channel for monochrome work or permanence you can sell, four-colour office ink runs out of road. The 47.4-pound body and 40-inch width also need a permanent home rather than a corner of a desk.
If your budget is fixed but your work is genuinely artistic, the Canon PRO-1100 gives you eleven pigment inks in a narrower footprint, and the entry-three pigment option in this list gives you a smaller footprint still. Width without colour depth is a trade most art printers should not make.
7. Canon PRO-2100 24 Wide – the gallery-grade 24-inch option
CANON PRO 2100 24 WIDE, FORMAT FINE ART PRINTER
24x59 inch max
12 pigment inks
Photo and matte black
Roll feed and rotary cutter
93 watts
Pros
- Exceptional colour accuracy with rich deep blacks
- Handles fine art paper smoothly for gallery work
- 24-inch width suits large prints
- Improved effortless roll loading
- Prints from Photoshop without separate RIP software
- On-site Canon warranty and dealer setup
Cons
- Ink refills expensive
- Comes with small starter cartridges
- Landscape layout software has a learning curve
This is the highest-rated machine in the group at 4.8 stars, and the specification sheet explains why. Twelve pigment inks including separate photo black and matte black channels, plus photo cyan, photo magenta, grey, photo grey, red, blue and a Chroma Optimizer. That is a colour engine built for exhibition work rather than photographs alone.
The media handling is the other headline. Maximum sheet is 24×59 inches, with a multifunction roll system RU-23, a roll holder set RH2-29 and an automatic rotary cutter CT-07 included in the box. The print head PF-10 and a maintenance cartridge MC-30 ship with it, and roll loading is reported as straightforward.
Owners describe museum-quality output with rich colour and deep blacks straight out of the box, and around 89 percent of ratings are five stars. Fine art paper feeds smoothly, which is the part that usually goes wrong on a machine of this size, and the 93-watt power draw is modest for a 24-inch printer.
It also prints directly from Photoshop and other applications without a separate RIP, which removes the usual learning curve on a professional machine. Dealer setup support and a one-year on-site Canon warranty through an authorized reseller add service the desktop machines cannot match.
Who should spend on a 24-inch pigment machine
A studio producing exhibition prints, a print seller fulfilling 24×36 inch orders, or an artist who wants one machine that covers gallery formats without a second printer for large work. The dedicated matte and photo black channels mean switching media types no longer wastes ink by flushing a channel, which matters across a busy print schedule.
Panoramic and off-standard formats also benefit, because a roll machine is not limited to a fixed sheet size. If you have been cropping a composition to fit a printer, this is the machine that lets you print the frame you actually want.
What the premium tier costs you
Ink refills are expensive relative to cartridge-based competitors, and the unit ships with small starter cartridges, so a full set of inks is an additional purchase before serious work begins. That is the main reason studios buy these machines through a dealer rather than online.
It prints and does nothing else, and the layout software has a learning curve for new users. At 49 inches wide and 33 inches high, it needs a dedicated floor or table area. If your largest print is 13×19, this machine is more capability than you will use.
8. HP DesignJet T630 – 36-inch width for sheet and roll workflows
HP DesignJet T630 Large Format 36-inch Plotter Printer, with Auto Sheet Feeder, Media Bin & Stand (5HB11D)
36-inch roll feed
2400x1200 dpi
Auto sheet to roll switch
Feeder and stand included
WiFi and Ethernet
Pros
- Crisp output for blueprints signage and posters
- 36-inch rolls plus 13x19 sheet support
- Automatic sheet and roll switching
- Feeder media bin and stand bundled
- Quiet running and simple setup
- Wi-Fi from desktop and mobile
Cons
- Some owners report printhead failures needing costly replacement
- HP OEM cartridges only
- 123 pounds so it needs real floor space
- Four-colour CMYK limits photographic tone
The T630 is the widest machine here at 36 inches, and the difference from the T210 is that the workflow is complete. The automatic sheet feeder for 13×19 sheets, the media bin, the automatic sheet-to-roll switch and the horizontal cutter are all included, along with a stand, so nothing else needs buying to start work.
HP Click provides the same PDF error checking, alerts and auto-nesting, and the resolution is 2400×1200 dpi with 48 bits per pixel of colour depth. Connectivity is Gigabit Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi, with a touch screen for on-device status and ink checks. First page lands in about 30 seconds.
The caveat is identical to the T210 and worth restating. Four HP 712 colours in cyan, magenta, yellow and black is office ink, not pigment. Blueprints, signage, posters and classroom banners are what this machine does well, and at 4 stars from 31 ratings the feedback reflects a capable workhorse rather than an art printer.
Printhead reliability is the concern owners raise most. A few report printhead failures that require an expensive replacement, which is the single biggest long-term cost risk in this group. Combined with HP-locked cartridges, both parts of the ownership experience depend entirely on HP supply.
What 36 inches actually unlocks
At 36 inches you can print full-width exhibition banners, wraparound wall graphics, wide panoramic photographs and trade-show graphics in a single sheet without tiling or seaming. That is the reason to step up from a 24-inch plotter, and it is a genuine constraint rather than a marketing number.
Automatic sheet and roll switching means you can keep a small job and a large job queued back to back without a manual media change, which is where time is saved on a working deadline. The bundled stand also means the machine is usable at the right height from the first day.
Where the 123-pound footprint bites
At 123 pounds and 52 inches wide, this needs a substantial dedicated surface or a floor position with a clear path, and it is not a machine that moves between rooms easily. In a small studio the footprint alone can rule it out before the ink chemistry does.
For photographic or painterly work the four-colour set is the deciding factor. The pigment machines in entries four and seven produce colour that holds up close inspection on a gallery wall; this one produces colour that reads correctly from across a room. Choose for the job, and it is a strong job.
How to Choose a Wide Format Printer for Art Prints?
Pigment ink versus dye ink
Pigment ink is suspended in water and fixed onto the surface of the paper, so it resists fading and water and is the only sensible choice for work you sell or exhibit. Dye ink is absorbed into the coating, which gives punchier colour and glossier blacks but fades faster. For a print you intend to keep for decades, pigment is not optional.
The one honest exception is short-term decorative printing. A dye-based eight-colour set such as the one in the Canon PIXMA PRO-200S gives smoother gradients than a four-colour pigment machine and a lower entry cost, so for wall decor in a home it can be the sensible trade.
Ink count and colour gamut
More colours means smoother gradients and less visible banding in skies, skin tones and fabric texture. Four colours is document territory. Six is a decent photo set. Eight to eleven pigment inks is fine art territory, and the extra channels that matter most are grey, photo grey and the Chroma Optimizer, which exists to control gloss uniformity and bronzing in dark areas.
Also check the black channels. A machine with dedicated matte black and photo black switches ink by channel rather than flushing, so alternating between matte and glossy media does not waste a cartridge’s worth of ink on every change.
Resolution, roll feed and media thickness
Resolution numbers need context. 2400×1200 dpi is the standard for professional large-format output, while 5760×1440 dpi describes very fine droplet placement for monochrome detail. Neither figure alone tells you about perceived sharpness, which depends more on droplet size, nozzle count and ink coverage than on a headline resolution figure.
Roll feed matters more than most buyers expect. Sheets are convenient but reloading is manual, and roll media is cheaper per print at volume because there is no wasted remainder. Also check maximum media thickness, because thick cotton rag and canvas need a defined platen gap and a straight-through paper path.
Colour management decides whether you like the print
Most disappointed art prints are not printer faults. They are colour management faults. Calibrate your monitor with a hardware calibrator, embed the correct ICC profile for your exact paper, soft-proof in Photoshop or Lightroom with that profile and the printer’s own driver profile, and only then print. Black point compensation is worth enabling on matte media.
Most of the pigment machines here ship with colour calibration and media configuration tools. Use them. A printer that has been set up once for a specific paper will reproduce that paper far more consistently than one that is reconfigured between jobs.
Should You Buy a Printer or Use a Print Lab?
If you make fewer than roughly 50 prints a year, a lab will usually serve you better. Independent large-format labs quote competitive per-print pricing for high-quality inkjet output, and a lab carries a spectrophotometer, media profiles and a drying and trimming setup you would otherwise spend on yourself. The printer only wins when the per-print cost of your own machine drops below the lab quote, which takes real volume.
There is also a reliability point that printing forums raise repeatedly. An aqueous wide-format printer that sits idle for weeks is more likely to develop reliability problems than one that is moved and used regularly. Low duty cycle is not just a slow-return-on-investment calculation, it is a maintenance risk.
Buy the printer when you want control over paper, size and edition numbering, when you print often enough to know your own paper behaves well in your machine, and when the turnaround matters to your workflow. Use a lab for large one-off editions, for experimentation with a paper you have not tried, and for archival certification you do not want to own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good quality printer for art prints?
A good quality art printer needs pigment ink, at least eight colours, and a maximum media size of at least 13×19 inches. Look for dedicated matte black and photo black channels, borderless printing, and support for cotton rag or baryta fine art paper. The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the strongest all-round example at 17×22 inches with eleven pigment inks, while the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 is the affordable option with six colours.
What is the best printer for giclee prints?
The best printers for giclee prints use pigment ink with ten or more colours and enough width for your largest print. For prints up to 17×22 inches, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 combines eleven pigment inks with a Chroma Optimizer and borderless printing. For 24-inch gallery work, the Canon PRO-2100 adds twelve pigment inks, roll feed and an automatic rotary cutter. Both accept fine art cotton rag and baryta stocks.
What is the best printer for large art prints?
For large art prints, the maximum media size decides the printer. A 13×19 machine handles standard desktop and gallery small formats, a 17×22 machine covers most limited editions, and a 24-inch machine such as the Canon PRO-2100 covers full gallery prints up to 24×59 inches. Office plotters such as the HP DesignJet T210 and T630 reach 24 and 36 inches but use four-colour office ink, so they are better for signage than for art.
Which Epson printer is best for printing art prints?
For pigment-based art output the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the more capable machine, because it runs eleven pigment inks with a Chroma Optimizer, a grey channel and separate black handling. Among the Epson machines in our group, the Workforce WF-7710 is the most proven all-rounder with a 250-sheet tray and duplex printing, while the EcoTank Photo ET-8550 is the cheapest per print with six colours in refillable tanks.
Are giclee prints worth it?
A giclee print is a high-quality archival inkjet print, and the answer depends on where it is made and with what ink. Prints made on pigment machines with proper ICC profiles and archival cotton rag or baryta paper are built for long display, which is why galleries accept them. Prints made on dye ink or four-colour office plotters look excellent at first and shift over time, so the ink system matters more than the label.
Final Verdict
Pick by print width and ink type, in that order. Up to 13×19, the Epson Workforce WF-7710 covers the most ground and the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 costs the least per sheet. Up to 17×22, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the pigment machine that changes the quality of your work. Beyond that, the Canon PRO-2100 handles genuine gallery formats, while the HP DesignJet T210 and T630 serve signage and poster work rather than art.
If you are still torn, check the largest print you actually plan to make, then check the ink. That decision is faster than comparing spec sheets, and it is the one that determines whether you are happy with the results.