What’s old is new, and similarly to how film photography has started to become more popular again among photography enthusiasts, the idea of printing photographs is a thing finding new life with the younger generation of photographers. This means that as a photographer you will need to consider the choice between printing on your own and sending out to a lab – the latter of which is obviously the more common approach these days.
That said, there is a really good case to be made these days for taking on the printing of your images on your own – the ability to really fine tune your prints to look perfect and choosing your own paper to name a few. But should you decide that printing your images in-house is something you want to consider, what printers should you be looking at?
We aren’t talking about multi-purpose fax/scanner/copier printers here, and the semi-professional and professional level printer industry, despite shrinking, has come a long way. So in this post we will be sharing with you our top picks for those of you looking into high quality photo printing at your home or business.
Epson P800
Epson is a name you likely know for their printers, and so it should be no surprise that one of their professional options finds its way onto this list. The P800 is not a large format printer (we wont be talking about those in this post), but it will most likely cover any standard/common print sizes you may like to offer to your clients. In our review of the Epson P800 we had the following to say about it:
“The printer makes everything really simple to do and when combined with the excellent editing features in Capture One 10, you’ve got a lot of capabilities. You indeed tend to lose a bit of information in the shadows, but it’s still not terrible. I’d be more than happy to hang the prints up in any gallery or pop-up show. Clients are also very happy with the print quality overall.”
Buy the [amazon_textlink asin=’B00Y2UCFU2′ text=’Epson P800′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3a961440-5b73-11e7-bd82-b9c43e33fd12′] on Amazon where it is currently listed at [amazon_textlink asin=’B00Y2UCFU2′ text=’Epson P800′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’33afb7f3-5b73-11e7-bf7f-4723ee69cfb0′].
Canon Prograf 1000
Canon may bring cameras to mind for you, but they are also a major player in the printer world and the Pro 1000 is their top option for a professional tabletop printer. While not as simple to use as the Epson, we feel the Canon provides a marginally better image (at least in the shadows). But really, it’s splitting hairs. In our review of the Canon Pro 1000 we had the following to say about it:
“I genuinely love this printer. It’s very well worth the money if you’re the type to print fairly large. If you’re not, then maybe go with something smaller. But there is also a big difference between seeing your image on a screen vs in a very big print of something around 17×22 inches. There’s just magic to it if you’ve already got an emotional connection to the piece–and that’s what I feel the photographers who use this printer can really capitalize on: shooting great photos that their clients love and making print sales accordingly.”
Buy the [amazon_textlink asin=’B017S2ZUPW’ text=’Canon Pro 1000′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’292b3225-5b74-11e7-8f96-85471370ce91′] on Amazon where it is currently listed at [amazon_textlink asin=’B017S2ZUPW’ text=’Canon Pro 1000′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1f570534-5b74-11e7-b507-f5fbcaf64e1b’].
Other Options
Obviously the two options we mentioned above are quite expensive, and making the choice to go with one of them is a big one. But they are not the only option for photographers looking to print. Here are some other smaller, more affordable options that still offer great – if not as great – print quality.
- Epson P600 – [amazon_textlink asin=’B00SAY8BMM’ text=’Epson P600′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f5aa92dd-5b74-11e7-bb65-5b3cb0213d36′] Also check out our review.
- Epson P400 – [amazon_textlink asin=’B016F3Q4WS’ text=’Epson P400′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’079e5e8e-5b75-11e7-8110-7bb26c65dcb8′]
- Canon Pro 10 – [amazon_textlink asin=’B0095F5BBO’ text=’Canon Pro 10′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’31f1f084-5b75-11e7-befd-894ffa4e7a63′]
- Canon Pro 100 – [amazon_textlink asin=’B00CB03U68′ text=’Canon Pro 100′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3f664e36-5b75-11e7-b3e4-87a79dce99f4′]
