The adoption of digital media has been on the rise since the start of the decade. Despite that, the demand for physical prints is forever on a bullish run.
For an artist who frequently or occasionally showcases his artwork for display or sale, it might be overwhelming to find the right printer to produce high-quality work because of the huge number of options on sale today.
To cut through the fluff, save you money and time on research, as well as help you start making high-quality physical prints of your work at home, we have compiled and reviewed the best fine art printer on the market today.
We spent over 100 hours on research, writing, and editing this review. With the bulk of the hours spent on research, identifying the selection criteria, testing and picking the best on the market today.
We also include best-based suggestions for the devices. As such, you will find the best value printer, premium pick, best all-in-one, best overall, etc. These scenario-specific recommendations are geared to helping you identify the perfect art printer for your work.
Let’s get started!
| IMAGE | NAME & Details | DETAILS | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Epson SureColor P900 Printer |
| Check The Price |
| Canon PIXMA PRO-200 Wireless Color Printer |
| Check The Price |
| HP DeskJet 4155e Photo Printer |
| Check The Price |
| Epson ET-4760 EcoTank Printer |
| Check The Price |
| Epson Expression Premium EcoTank |
| Check The Price |
| HP ENVY 7855 All in One Printer |
| Check The Price |
| Canon TS8320 Color Printer |
| Check The Price |
Top Pick
Epson SureColor P900
- Carbon Black Driver Technology
- Dedicated PK and MK Channels
- High-capacity Auto-Sheet Feed
Best fine art printer for 2022 Review: Key Features, Pros, and Cons
We have narrowed the search to the 7 best fine art printer that will effortlessly bring your art to life. We prioritized features such as resolution, speed, vivid color rendering, print versatility, weight of the devices, and many more. The table below is a brief summation of our top 7 products and their features.
1. Epson SureColor P900 Printer
Highlighted features
- Carbon Black Driver Technology
- Dedicated PK and MK Channels
- High-capacity Auto-Sheet Feed
The Epson P900 Printer hit the markets in October 20220. From the look, feel, and performance, it is a noticeable upgrade from the SureColor P800 printer. The Epson P900 is 17 inches wide, and an entry-level art printer with 10 ink cartridges called the “UltraChrome PRO10 Ink” system. It utilizes a pigment-based printing mechanism using 6 colors.
One exceptional feature about this printer is the specialized ink channels for Matte Black and Photo Black inks, as observed in the SureColor P700. This ensures zero need for ink switching. It may also interest you that pigment prints are long-lasting for many years. As such, prints can be displayed for many years under optimal conditions without damage.
The Epson SureColor P900 Printer is expensive right out of the box. The “UltraChrome PRO10 Ink” system also means it won’t be cheap to run. But if you are looking for big prints that are super-impressive up-close, this printer is worth its price. It also takes its time churning our prints, but you will be delighted at the exceptional quality when out.
Pros
- This printer comes with an “UltraChrome PRO10” system, ensuring high-quality prints.
- It is reasonably compact and will fit into small spaces.
- The printer has outstanding image color and quality that is sure to delight your viewers.
Cons
- It is expensive.
2. Canon PIXMA PRO-200 Wireless Color Printer
Highlighted features
- Dye-based ink
- Built-in 3-inch LCD display
- 1 page per minute print speed
- 8-color
The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 has superb features that stand out from many other machines that we tested. This includes but is not limited to superb color fidelity, perfect transitions, excellent shading between hues and colors, super-realism and depth in our test prints. We are impressed!
This art printer has WIFI capabilities, which are completely reliable and hassle-free to use, especially the AirPrint. It can also be used professionally because of its flexible media options, beautiful prints, consistent and dependable performance.
We find Canon’s Professional Print & Layout (PPL)2 software really helpful. It makes it easy to create great prints, eliminating the stress of adjusting the print settings and saving more time for the actual designs.
What really piqued our interest in this printer was how beautiful the print output looked. The colors pop looks accurate, natural, and vivid. In addition, we noticed a superb use of space, flow, and balance in color composition not found in other printers in its category.
Pros
- With the LCD screen, you can check the ink level at a glance.
- It has a panorama printing feature that can produce up to 13” x 39” custom sizes.
- It supports USB, WiFi, Ethernet connectivity.
Cons
- It is pricey.
3. HP DeskJet 4155e Photo Printer
Highlighted features
- Thermal printing technology
- Energy Star Certified
- Print, Scan, Copy
If you are a pro or an art enthusiast who feels the models above are a little too high for your budget, consider going for the HP DeskJet 4155e Photo Printer. This printer will do the print, scan, copy job perfectly.
This art printer will serve all your working space needs. It is an all-one printer having 8.5 x 14 inch maximum media size, producing fine prints with its unique decal printing technology. Speaking about inks, it utilizes a dye-based tri-color and black cartridges that are cheap and easy to find.
In addition, this art printer can print on papers with sizes reaching 8.5 x 14 inches. It supports both standard plain, brochure paper, and photo paper. Another feature we love about this printer is the speed; it produces our first color test page in under 20 seconds. For monochrome prints, this reduces to 18 seconds.
In terms of connectivity, this printer also stands out; we were able to wirelessly print from a mobile device using the HP Smart app. However, if wired is your preferred connectivity method, it also comes with a USB 2.0 port. And at about 16.85 x 13.07 x 7.87 inches, the printer is portable and won’t occupy plenty of space. If you want to churn out 1000 pages of art in a month, go for this printer.
Pros
- This is an all-one printer that supports printing, scanning, and copying.
- It is compact and will not occupy plenty of space.
- It utilizes a dye-based ink that is cheap and readily available.
Cons
- Installing a replacement ink cartridge can be challenging.
4. Epson ET-4760 EcoTank Printer
Highlighted features
- 250-page printing paper tray
- Built-in Scanner & Copier
- Ethernet and wireless
- 4″ color Touchscreen
This art printer is a little different from a typical art printer. While many products can be considered the best in terms of beautiful prints and prices, the Epson ET-4760 has a print, scan, and copy feature, produces excellent print quality, and comes with many useful features.
Here, we called it our little office secretary and were absolutely thrilled to have it for the period of testing. We pretty much use it every day.
We use this printer for professional art printing, making sketchpad images, cataloging collage work, and occasionally just getting a different perspective of a photo on paper. Additionally, this device seamlessly prints correspondence, announcements, invoices, and other internal paper prints we need in-house. It was convenient for making quick scans, receipts, photocopy, and lots of prints.
The Epson ET-4760 also comes with an auto paper feed, faxing capabilities, copying and printing, and an EcoTank ink mechanism for reduced printing costs. Although the quality of prints is not comparable to that of the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 or the Epson SureColor P900 Printer, it is an excellent printer for the busy graphic designer or artist who runs his own business and sells art. In all, the art prints don’t look bad at all!
Pros
- This printer comes with faxing capabilities.
- It is an inexpensive printer compared to its functionalities.
- By buying this printer, you will be contributing immensely to reducing the amount of cartridge waste that ends up in landfills.
Cons
- The scanner makes processing noise when scanning.
5. Epson Expression Premium EcoTank
Highlighted features
- 5-color inks
- Cartridge-free printing
- Versatile paper handling
Out of all the art printers we tested, the Epson Expression Premium EcoTank is another impressive product.
This art printer is perfect for artists who have a large stack of work to print because of the printer’s judicious ink consumption. Although pricey at $957, the money you will save over the years of printing usage will more than cover the cost and some more.
The Epson Expression Premium EcoTank utilizes a unique color refillable ink system that produces absolutely perfect images that you can expect from an art printer of this caliber.
What’s more? The manufacturer included ten bottles of ink as part of the package, which from our estimation, should last an average user for at least two years.
This art printer also comes with an SD card slot, two USB Ports, and an ethernet port for interconnectivity. As such, you can connect a lot of devices to this printer.
Pros
- This printer supports A3-sized papers.
- It is a highly cost-efficient printer.
- It comes with ten bottles of ink that will serve you for two years of printing.
Cons
- At 24.30 lbs, this printer is heavy.
6. HP ENVY 7855 All in One Printer
Highlighted features
- Bluetooth, USB, WiFi, Ethernet
- Auto-Duplex
- Inkjet
Coming in the second to the last position is a product packed full of many premium features. Of all the printers that we tested, this is one of the models with excellent value for money. It is suitable for artists looking to make high-quality art but can’t afford the huge outlay for a premium printer.
Slightly higher in price than our best value, this art printer also falls in the category of consumer-grade printers. The cost-effectiveness and quality of outputs will surely impress you.
If you are looking to make professional-level prints that fall just slightly below the Epson SureColor P900 Printer and the Canon PIXMA PRO-200, go for this printer.
Another exciting feature about this printer is that it supports inexpensive cartridges. Therefore, this printer is perfect for print shops, freelancers, or home offices with its cost-effective printing mechanism. However, if you plan to print on thick mediums, go for Epson SureColor P900 Printer or the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.
Pros
- It is affordable.
- It allows users to print from an SD card.
- It supports many connectivity options.
- It supports duplex printing.
Cons
- This printer supports only standard paper sizes.
7. Canon TS8320 Color Printer
Highlighted features
- Works with Alexa
- Bluetooth, WiFi, USB connectivity
- 3” LCD Touchscreen
- Inkjet printing technology
The Canon TS8320 is designed with one thing in mind – ease of use.
The LCD touch screen is super-easy to use. The Canon PRINT app and the wireless connectivity allow users to edit and print from their smartphone or tablet.
And to the most important feature, it produces high-resolution prints. You will be getting professional-looking outputs with this printer. It is calibrated to handle cardstock and heavy paper and comes with a rear and front fender.
One thing we do not like about the printer is the average print speed. But for the price and functionalities, the Canon TS8320 is one of the best fine art printers on the market today.
Pros
- It produces high-resolution art prints.
- It comes with an easy-to-use 4.3” LCD Touchscreen.
- It supports the Alexa voice command.
- It supports WiFi, USB, Bluetooth connectivity.
Cons
- This printer has an average PPM.
Best fine art printer: Buying Guide
After narrowing down and dissecting the 7 best fine art printers, the following are important features to consider either as a freelancer or you work in a team, before making a best fine art printer buying decision.
Speed
The printer’s printing speed is often stated as Pages Per Minute (PPM) by the manufacturer. As expected, a color printer will have a different PPM to a white and black printer. This is not a big issue unless you plan to print a large volume of artwork.
For white and black printers, the average PPM is about 14 – 21 pages. For a color printer, expect that to fall to within 11 -16 pages. If you are printing a large volume of work, consider the PPM of the device you are going for. The HP ENVY 7855 All in One Printer has impressive stats for PPM.
Printer Connectivity
Modern printers come with many connection ports. On average, consider going for a printer with at least WIFI capability and cloud printing features. It should also include the following:
USB port
A USB port is commonly found on printers of all types. They enable interconnectivity between devices and also allow users to plug in a hard drive for direct printing. As such, you can bypass the need for a personal computer. However, be careful; many printers only offer USB-A support and not USB type C.
SD Card slot
Another important port your art printer should come with is the SC card slot. This will help you to select and navigate photos to print using the menus on the printers. This will come in handy for photographers who save images on memory cards.
Ethernet connection
Some printers come with Ethernet ports for wired internet connection. Although this feature may not be useful if you work from home, it is important for office and studio setup.
WiFi
The products on our review list of the best fine art printer all have wireless compatibility. As such, these products can be connected to a WIFI network, allowing a seamless transfer of your art from your computer, phone, and other WIFI enabled devices to your printer via software. WIFI eliminates cables. Wires, making your workspace tidy and more convenient to work in.
Cloud printing support
Some printers support internet-based features that allow seamless transfer of videos, images with cloud services like Flickr, Dropbox, or Google Drive. However, to use a cloud feature, you need an internet connection.
Resolution
Here we will consider DPI, meaning Dots per Inch. This is the number of dots a printer can inscribe on a one-inch size photo paper. For high-res images, this feature should be seriously considered.
Although DPI is now outdated and modern printers now come with image enhancing software that produces high-resolution images without the DPI, it is still an important criterion to consider as you make your buying decision. Consider going for Epson SureColor P900 Printer or the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 Wireless Color Printer for high res printing.
Duplex functions
This is a sought-after feature in printers. It means a printer’s ability to print on either side of a paper without the need to manually flip it. This process works by printing on one side of a paper, then auto-pulling the paper back into the printing tray, flipping and printing on the opposite side.
Many all-in-one printers come with this function and an auto-document feeder. However, if you need to print art on either side of a page, go for printers like the Epson Expression Premium EcoTank with duplex features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which is better for printing art, laser or inkjet printers?
In general, laser printers print faster than inkjets. Although it doesn’t matter much if you plan to print a few pages at a time, this can be a noticeable difference for a large stack of work. In addition, laser printers are more expensive; their toner cartridges print faster than inkjets and waste less ink.
Q: What is the difference between a print and giclee?
The major difference between a giclee print and a standard inkjet print is that a giclee print uses pigment-based inks and not the dye-based inks commonly used in lower-cost inkjets. Also, pigment-based inks last longer; they can survive anywhere between 100 – 200 years with no significant fading.
Q: Which artist employed the use of printers to bring their art to life?
Andy Warhol!
He made screen-printing art popular in the 1960s. One of his popular silkscreened images was the Marilyn print, based on a 1953 film, Niagara. He published a series of these images as a series on the moviestar.
Q: What differentiates a Cricut Printer and a Laser Printer?
A Cricut Printer is for printing indoor crafts like fabrics, fondant, vinyl, cutting paper, and scrapbooks. In contrast, a laser printer prints on many paper types for non-official and official uses. In general, laser printers don’t have cutting abilities like a Cricut printer used mostly by craft artists.
Conclusion
The best fine art printer will make a whole lot of difference when bringing a digital copy of your work to life.
Irrespective of your personal preference or budget, the art printers on this list will make an excellent choice for photographers or artists looking for high-quality print solutions.
We hope that this article has helped make your buying decision easier!
