Sometimes, you want a physical copy of a photographic endeavor — especially if you’re shooting with a high-end camera — and while you could go to the closest convenience store and print them one by one using your smartphone or SD card, opting for a decent wide-format photo printer will allow you to do it all from home, within your specifications. The near-dedicated devices differ from model to model, but most of them can print photos on 13 x 19-inch paper or larger. Below are five of the best wide-format photo printers on the market, so you can print gallery-quality images without ever setting foot out the door.
Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000
Epson’s Expression Photo HD XP-15000 prints beautiful 13 x 19-inch photos with ease. The device measures 30.9 x 18.7 x 16.2 inches and weighs approximately 19 pounds — like the rest of the printers here, it’s neither lightweight or compact, but Epson says it’s 30-percent smaller than the previous model. It holds up to 200 sheets of regular paper or 50 sheets of fine art paper, such as canvas. It can connect to Wi-Fi, so you can send photos from your computer or smartphone (AirPrint and Google Cloud Print compatible), or use a hard-wire connection via USB or Ethernet. The printer uses six ink tanks to deliver a wider range of colors, and prints documents at 9.2 pages per minute (ppm) and 9.0 ppm when using color. A 4 x 6 inch borderless print takes just 27 seconds from beginning to end (real-use speeds will vary, of course). Other useful features: a small LCD for setup, two-sided printing, and support for printing on compatible blank optical discs.
Canon Pixma iP8720
Canon knows a thing or two about cameras, but it also knows how to make excellent photo printers. Smaller than the Pixma Pro models yet bigger than most inkjets, the iP8720 is perfect for the home photographer. It holds up to 120 sheets of regular paper and 20 sheets of heavier photo paper, and the front-panel even houses a space for a CD or DVD tray. Surprisingly, the iP8720 doesn’t have a PictBridge-compatible USB port, but it can connect to newer cameras or smartphones via Wi-Fi, or shared via a home network — the latter two being more popular, anyway.
Canon Pixma Pro-100
This reasonably-price device is known to produce photos that are nearly on par with high cost printers at a price that is far better for your budget. The device is rather slow and a bit cumbersome when it comes to size, but there’s a good deal to be said about accurate color output and its ability to generate first-rate monochrome prints with a little patience.
Canon Pixma Pro-10
While the Canon Pixma Pro-10 is extremely easy for a hobby photographer to use at home, it’s suited for professional-quality prints. The printer’s output quality is superb – particularly when handling high-resolution image files – and uses 10 ink cartridges, one of which is a clear coat (Chroma Optimizer) designed to level the printed ink surface for a smoother-looking print. The three black inks can also generate quality monochrome prints. It supports either Ethernet or Wi-Fi networks.
Epson P600
The Epson P600 is adorned with a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, allowing you to set preferences and view instructional illustrations detailing the proper way to insert paper and cartridges. You can also use the panel to pair the printer with compatible mobile devices via Wi-Fi, and given the device’s three-level ink technology, you can rest assured each colored print will showcase the utmost vibrancy and smooth transitions whether printing in color or strictly in black and white.
