The advent of modern technology has liberated the artist from the constraints of traditional media. In the modern era, many artists prefer to use computers to produce digital artwork. So, in order to provide a hard copy of their art, the need for a specialized printer becomes apparent. As a digital artist, nothing is more disheartening than seeing your printed work faded and drab.
Finding the best printer for art prints and designs is a must for any professional artist. If you’re serious about making a living as an artist, investing in a high-quality art printer to produce prints for sale on stores like Etsy, or even just keeping a hard copy of your portfolio, is crucial.
Outsourcing to a printing company isn’t always the most trustworthy alternative because you could have to wait for your prints to arrive, and printing several copies is likewise a costly endeavor.
Having your own printer is more practical and cost-effective in the long run.
If you’re just starting out, finding a good art printer can be a bit of a hassle as you can’t be sure of your exact needs and limitations. So, to assist with this, we have compiled a list of the top art printers for 2023.
In our study, we gave preference to models that could print at high resolution, with rich color detail, and on a wide range of paper sizes and types. We examined the printer’s nozzles’ accuracy, as well as the ink’s quality and level of detail, to get a sense of how ink is applied during the printing process. We’ve compiled a list of the top art print printers after giving careful thought to all of these factors.
Selection Criteria for the Best Art Printer 2023—Buying Guide
Print Quality
When delving into the world of art printing, you will deal primarily with sketches, images, and photos. High quality in printing art equates to accurate representation, high resolution, and a large range of colors.
The type of printer you buy will also make a difference in the quality of the overall finished art piece. Where inkjet printers offer higher quality, laser printers are faster, so keep this distinction in mind if you plan on using it for commercial purposes.
Ink Cartridges
Ink system maintenance should be high on the list of things to check before deciding on an art printer. Whether you decide on ink cartridges or dye-based inks, you should keep in mind that the higher the number of colors used by the printer, the more accurate the outcome will be.
Ideally, aim for a minimum of six and a maximum of nine color ink tanks for illustrations and works of art.
Print Speed
Consider your average daily print volume when making decisions about the printing speed your machine needs. You’ll need a far more powerful printer in a busy gallery than the one you’d use at home for the occasional do-it-yourself project. Check the specifications for the number of pages produced per minute, as an indication of the speed of your art printer.
Top Product Recommendations for the Best Printer for Art Prints 2023
- Best Overall Printer for Art Prints: HP DesignJet Studio T630
- Best Professional Printer for Art Prints: Epson Surecolor P900
- Best All-in-One Printer for Art Prints: Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000
- Best Wide Format Printer for Art Prints: Canon Pixma Pro-200
- Best Art Printer for Black and White Prints: Canon ProGraf 4100
- Best Budget Printer for Art Prints: HP Envy PRO 6475
1. Best Overall Printer for Art Prints—HP DesignJet Studio T630
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 10/10
- Ink Cartridges – 9/10
- Print speed – 10/10
About HP DesignJet Studio T630
When you first think of art printers, it is most common to imagine well-printed images and photographs, and to a certain level, these can be printed in most machines on the market. If you are looking for the best printer, however, it goes without saying that it should be able to handle more than that: it should be able to prove itself in areas such as engineering or architectural designs, which truly require high-quality prints.
The HP DesignJet T630 was made with large-scale work and a high degree of clarity in mind. Crisp lines, posters, and even maps can be printed on fine art paper from the automatic sheet feeder, which can accommodate media sizes up to 13 x 19 inches and media rolls as broad as 24 inches. For a seamless experience, paper can be fed in sheets or rolled out, and the machine can transition between the two automatically.
This dye-based A1 plotter has stellar environmental credentials because it is constructed using 30% recyclable materials and the least non-renewable energy sources as possible during manufacturing. Though it can print in color, it’s important to remember that it only has the four basic CMYK inks and may have trouble with smooth gradients and photographic quality. Yet, up to 31% higher line accuracy and up to 65% more gamut can be achieved with HP Bright Office Inks.
Pros:
- Fine art printer
- High-quality prints
- Print documents of many sizes, including A3, B4, A1, D, and E, without having to manually switch media.
- Eco-conscious printing
Cons:
- Four-ink system
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2. Best Professional Printer for Art Prints—Epson Surecolor P900
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 10/10
- Ink Cartridges – 9/10
- Print speed – 9/10
About Epson Surecolor P900
The Epson SureColor P900 is a fantastic piece of equipment for anyone interested in buying a professional art printer, and it’s not just because of how well it performs.
An inkjet printer like this isn’t something everyone needs, but it may be quite helpful if you ever plan on doing serious work with images or if you have a company for graphic designers. The flexibility to use the paper roll adaptor, the compact size, and the lightweight design are its primary selling points for ease while creating graphic prints.
The P900 can print on cut paper sizes of up to 1.5 millimeters in thickness. For a broader range of uses, this art printer can also print on paper rolls of up to ten feet in length, with a width of 13 or 17 inches, if you decide to opt for the extra adapter.
The SureColor P900 has a 10-channel MicroPiezo AMC Head and a wide spectrum of black ink tones to serve its excellent grayscale printing capabilities. Both the black and white and full-color canvas prints look great, even though the color spectrum expands as more colors are used.
In addition to mainstream media, this art printer holds the ability to print on digital negative film and transparencies, as well as glossy sticker paper, without worries regarding to ink smudges.
As it can be costly to go from inks that work well on matte paper to those that work well on glossy paper and back again, this model holds photo and matte black in dedicated nozzles, so no switching back and forth is needed.
This canvas printer can produce photo, art, and panorama prints on conventional paper and roll feed media for a larger range of sizes with the same quality as commercial printers.
Pros:
- Professional use to create high-quality prints
- High printing speed
- High print resolution
- Low ink cost when printing photos in glossy or matte black
Cons:
- Optional roll feeder
- High initial cost
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3. Best All in One Printer for Art Prints—Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 9/10
- Ink Cartridges – 8/10
- Print speed – 10/10
About Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000
The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is a great option if you primarily need a printer to print and scan documents but also want the ability to occasionally print photos and artwork. Standard office paper fits perfectly in its primary A4 tray, while artwork may be printed on A3+ and heavier media with ease using the rear feed.
With its drawers and trays closed, this Epson Expression premium printer measures just 6.3 by 18.7 by 14.5 inches and weighs just 18.7 pounds, making it perfectly portable and suitable for use in small workplaces or even at home.
Even though this is a compact printer, it features a 50-sheet feeder in the back for heavy art and wide-format paper, as well as a 200-sheet plain paper cassette in the front. It also has the capability to produce borderless prints on a wide range of paper sizes, from four by six inches to 13 by 19 inches.
The Epson iPrint App, Epson E-mail Print, and Epson Remote Print are just a few of the ways you can connect to the cloud from your Epson printer, in addition to the standard Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB connections.
Most inkjet printers are capable of producing impressive photo prints, though this may vary depending on whether or not the printer was created with photo printing in mind. A more extensive color gamut usually means higher print quality for photo-centric inkjets. Because of its 180 ink nozzles, the XP-15000 is the only consumer photo printer capable of printing indistinguishably high-quality black-and-white and color photos, as well as printing in grayscale, if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use solely Epson ink cartridges.
Pros:
- Ability to print on fine art papers as well as heavy canvas material
- Auto duplex feature
- Borderless prints
Cons:
- Dye-based inks
- High ink costs
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4. Best Wide Format Printer for Art Prints—Canon Pixma Pro-200
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 10/10
- Ink Cartridges – 9/10
- Print speed – 10/10
About Canon Pixma Pro-200
If you’re a photographer on a tight budget, but still want lab-quality prints, the Canon PIXMA Pro 200 is an excellent choice. This inkjet printer is great for making borderless prints up to A3 size, making it one of the best printers for art prints on wide fine art paper. Combine it with transfer paper, and you can make canvas patterns for all kinds of artistic projects.
The manual feeder can accommodate paper up to 380GSM in thickness, and its tray can hold up to 150 sheets. The addition of a third feed option, which allows for direct printing onto CDs and photo paper, is even more amazing, especially if you consider this machine’s low price. Skew Correction technology allows for precise paper loading on the PIXMA PRO-200, with paper alignment taken care of automatically by integrated sensors for consistently high-quality results.
Although it’s less expensive than the professional alternatives on our list, this printer still requires eight ink cartridges to produce art prints that appear like they were made in a photo studio.
As the lifespan of dye-based inks is much shorter than that of pigment-based inks, you may be concerned about the longevity of your artwork. However, Canon guarantees that the lifespan of its authentic inks will exceed a century.
As this printer prints high-quality black-and-white art, even in wide format, it is advisable to calibrate your printer carefully to get the best possible quality.
Pros:
- Wide printing ability, even in black-and-white format
- Digital canvas and transfer paper printing with an eight-color ink set
- High-quality art prints
- Low initial cost
Cons:
- High ink cost
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5. Best Art Printer for Black and White Prints—Canon ProGraf 410
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 10/10
- Ink Cartridges – 9/10
- Print speed – 9/10
About Canon ProGraf 410
Printing on canvas in monochrome hues is significantly more challenging because any imperfections are more readily apparent to the naked eye. So, if you are an artist focusing on this type of media, you find yourself in a position to spend a substantial amount to obtain an art printer that can handle black-and-white printing in a manner respectful to the arts.
When it comes to monochrome prints, in particular, Canon ProGraf 4100 prides itself on a level of print quality and color fidelity that is unmatched. Print quality and speed are both maximized thanks to the L-COA PRO high-speed image processing engine, the 1.28-inch wide 12-channel, integrated compact print head, the LUCIA PRO ink set plus Chroma Optimizer, and the high-precision mechanical platform.
The LUCIA PRO ink system uses 11-color pigment inks and Chroma Optimizer to meet the demands of the most discerning photographers, and it includes microencapsulated colorants that enable more subtle gradients, a wider color gamut, and more intense color expression, even in black and white and grayscale. This canvas printer allows you to print in broad formats while achieving high standards of color accuracy, clarity, and black depth.
As the first of its kind, this canvas printer can detect the paper size and type and load the paper without any assistance from the user. When you insert the roll holder into the printer, the printer will automatically determine the type of media based on surface reflection and thickness measures.
Last but not least, a color calibration tool has been integrated into this printer for precise grayscale color reproduction. For precise calibration and color matching, a new and upgraded color densitometer is built in. For exact recalibration, the sensor uses a tri-color LED and condenser lens. This allows you to maintain a minimum average color variation across prints.
Pros:
- Optimum image-generating system
- Great art printer for black and white
- Print directly on normal, fine, or heavy paper with auto-detection
- Produce high-quality prints
Cons:
- High initial cost
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6. Best Budget Printer for Art Prints—HP Envy PRO 6475
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Selection Criteria
- Print quality – 9/10
- Ink Cartridges – 8/10
- Print speed – 8/10
About HP Envy PRO 6475
The HP envy Pro 6475 is a great budget option for people who want to create fine art prints, of good quality, from their all-in-one wireless printer.
Although this is not one of the highest quality art printers, we offer it as our budget option, due to its color print speed, economical ink cartridge, and decent overall results when compared to other printers in its category.
More specifically, the HP Envy Pro 6475 is a multi-function printer, scanner, and copier that includes two years of ink for producing professional-quality prints right away. The 35-page automated document feeder frees your hands so you may tend to other matters while your prints complete.
And if you run out of ink, HP Instant Ink service delivers a new cartridge to your door, saving you a trip. The manufacturer has put some thought into the user experience of this printer, and has integrated it into the HP smart app, which allows full control remotely.
Pros:
- Low initial and maintenance cost
- Nice color prints
- All in one printer
Cons:
- One year limited warranty
- Not for professional use
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Conclusion—The Best Art Printers 2023
When creating high-quality printouts of digital artwork, printers designed specifically for that purpose are preferred, as they provide a plethora of tones and tints, lending to the authentic representation of your art to your prints.
Even though we have not included a laser printer in our list, the Epson SureColor P900 is a great option for fast yet accurate printing, especially in professional settings.
On the other hand, for black-and-white art, you can not go wrong with the CANON PRO 4100, especially if you plan on creating large and wide posters.
We hope you found our analysis of the best printers for art prints of 2023 to be helpful. Consult our associated guides for further sources of comparable items for the artistic lifestyle.
