Most people never print on anything bigger than letter- and legal-size pages, so most printers only handle paper up to 8.5 inches wide. For larger stock, however, a universe of wide-format printers is out there—from desktop models to floor-standing behemoths that print to giant paper rolls. The larger models are for professionals like photographers, graphic artists, and architects. The smaller printers, like our top overall pick, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310, are for small offices or home photo enthusiasts. I’ve been PCMag’s printer expert for decades, and I’ve tested printers big and small, inkjet and laser, up and down the market. I’ve developed testing methodologies that measure print speeds and output quality, and we also assess printers on design, usability, and connectivity. Below are our top recommended wide-format printers, carefully selected based on our hands-on testing. After perusing the top picks, take a look at our buying guide to help you shop for a wide-format printer, plus a handy spec comparison.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
August 14, 2025: With this update, we removed the discontinued WorkForce Pro WF-C8690 A3. The rest of our recommended picks have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we have tested and evaluated two new printers for possible inclusion in this guide and our other printer roundups.
Best Supertabloid Single-Function Printer
Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310
- Prints on standard paper sizes up to supertabloid (13-by-19 inches)
- Fast printing
- Duplex printing
- Two 250-sheet drawers plus manual feed
- Prints from mobile devices
- Supertabloid paper handling is limited to the single-sheet rear tray
- Standard ink cartridges are rated for fewer pages than the printer can hold at once
The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 Wireless Wide-Format Printer is a single-function printer for up to tabloid-size (11 by 17 inch) paper, with the bonus of letting you print on single sheets up to 13 by 47.2 inches. So, it’s technically supertabloid-size, but just barely. Two 250-sheet drawers offer a combined 500-sheet capacity for up to tabloid size, so you can keep two different sizes or types of paper loaded. A single-sheet manual feed lets you print on other types and sizes as needed, without a lot of loading and unloading trays. The printer also supports both borderless printing and auto-duplexing (two-sided printing) for pages up to tabloid size.
Supertabloid and larger pages are limited to being fed one sheet at a time, but being able to print at the larger sizes at all is a big plus. The WF-7310 is also surprisingly light for its level of paper handing, at 29.8 pounds. Even better, its output quality was in the top tier for a business inkjet across the board.
The WF-7310 can fit nicely in any office that needs to print at up to tabloid size, whether it also needs occasional output at larger sizes or not. It’s a particularly good choice for smaller offices and even home offices that print relatively few pages. For them, the balance of a low initial price and relatively expensive ink in cartridges will still save money in the long run when compared with more-expensive tank-based printers that offer less-expensive ink.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Supertabloid
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
12 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
25 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
2,500
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
50,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250+250+1
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
3.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
11.3 cents
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 Review
Best Supertabloid AIO for Homes and Home Offices
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
- Prints borderless from 4 by 6 inches to 13 by 19 inches
- Exceptional output quality
- Relatively fast printing speeds for its class
- Low running costs
- First two years of ink are free
- Purchase price is a little steep
The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 earns the “photo” designation in its name largely thanks to its Photo Black and Gray inks added to the usual cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. This design choice makes it easier to deliver good color accuracy in color photos, and more subtle shading in black-and-white prints. More important, the extra inks pay off, with photo output in our tests that we deemed gorgeous, all the more so for the ET-8550’s ability to print borderless prints at up to supertabloid (13-by-19-inch) size. It also delivered high-quality text and graphics, making it suitable for a general-purpose home printer, including for light-duty use in a home office, and it includes a flatbed for scanning at up to legal size.
The ET-8550 is primarily a home printer for photo enthusiasts, or an inexpensive option for semi-pro photographers or small businesses who want to print small quantities of marketing material at up to supertabloid size. In any of these capacities, it can also serve as a light-duty office AIO. The emphasis here is on light, though, due to the 100-sheet paper capacity in its main tray, plus a 20-sheet insert for snapshot-size photo paper. The initial list price is high for its feature set, but for those who print enough, the savings in running cost thanks to the tank-based design and inexpensive ink can save money in the long run.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wireless, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
13″ x 19″
Number of Ink Colors
6
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
6
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
12 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
16 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
100 sheets plain paper, 20 sheets photo paper
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
less than 1 cent per page
Cost Per Page (Color)
varies with size and content
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier
Learn More
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Review
Best Supertabloid AIO for Midsize Offices/Workgroups
Epson EcoTank Pro ET-16650
- Two years of unlimited ink
- Excellent print quality
- Very low running costs
- Auto-duplexing ADF
- Thousands of pages worth of ink in the box
- Two-year warranty with registration
- Excellent mobile connectivity options
- High initial purchase price
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-16650 combines a low cost per page (CPP) with a robust level of paper handling and performance that’s often missing in tank-based inkjets. The 550-sheet capacity, split among two 250-sheet drawers and a 50-sheet tray, lets you keep up to three types or sizes of paper loaded at all times. And the 2-cent CPP for standard color pages, as well as for monochrome text, is low enough to be particularly attractive if you print many pages in color.
For printing, the ET-16650 can handle pages up to supertabloid size (13 by 19 inches) and print edge to edge (borderless, or “full bleed”) at up to tabloid size (11 by 17 inches). It also supports auto-duplexing (two-sided printing). For scanning, including copying and faxing, it offers a 50-sheet, tabloid-size auto duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF) to automatically scan both sides of each page in the stack. It also scored well in both performance and output quality in our tests, and its 46.1-pound weight is on the light side for its level of paper handling.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-16650 is a tempting choice for any office that needs to print lots of color and monochrome pages in sizes up to 13 by 19 inches as well as scan multi-page documents at sizes up to 11 by 17 inches. Its three trays will make it even more attractive to medium-size offices or workgroups with up to heavy-duty print needs and the need to continually switch back and forth between different paper types and sizes.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
1-pass color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Wireless, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Supertabloid
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
25 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
25 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
3,300
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
66,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
550
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
2 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF (Standard or Optional)
Maximum Scan Area
Tabloid
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Epson EcoTank Pro ET-16650 Review
Best Tabloid AIO for Small and Home Offices
Brother MFC-J5340DW
- Four-function AIO
- Prints on up to tabloid size paper
- Prints from and scans to mobile devices, the cloud, and USB memory keys
- ADF limited to single-sided documents only
- Scanning and auto duplex printing limited to legal size
The Brother MFC-J5340DW is the least-expensive AIO we’ve tested that can print on tabloid-size paper. It’s also smaller and lighter than most, which makes it relatively easy to find space for in a small office. It delivers good output quality, fast speed, and plenty of extras, like being able to print from and scan to mobile devices. The catch? The low price, small size, and low weight are all thanks to having only one 250-sheet drawer and a single-sheet bypass tray. Both support up to tabloid-size paper and automatic duplexing, however. That can easily be all you need if you only occasionally switch paper sizes, and if you usually need to print only one- or two-page documents in the sizes you use less often.
One potentially important issue for the MFC-J5340DW is that scanning is limited to a letter-size flatbed and a 50-page ADF that doesn’t allow duplexing and can handle only up to legal-size paper. That rules out the printer for offices that need to scan tabloid-size documents as well as print them, but lots of offices can do without that. For small and home offices where printing at tabloid size is essential but scanning at tabloid size isn’t, the low price and compact size of the MFC-J5340DW can make it exactly the right solution.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Tabloid
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
28 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
28 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
250 – 2,500
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
35000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250 + 1-sheet bypass
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
1.8 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
8.9 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with 50-sheet ADF
Maximum Scan Area
8.5″ x 11.7″
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 1,200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Brother MFC-J5340DW Review
Best Professional-Grade Photo Printer for Enthusiasts
Canon Pixma Pro-200
- Excellent print quality
- Prints borderless banners and panoramas up to 13 inches wide by 39 inches long
- Superb grayscale output
- Automatic nozzle clog detection
- Small footprint
- Improved software and control panel display
- Low running costs
The Pixma Pro-200 is Canon’s least-expensive professional-grade wide-format photo printer. Unlike more expensive models, it can’t accept roll paper for banners and panoramas, but it can print on media up to 13 by 39 inches, including supertabloid (13-by-19-inch) size. It also offers features that include automatic nozzle clog detection and a low running cost for its class. Canon says the printer’s eight ChromaLife100+ CLI-65 inks are formulated to provide a wide gamut (range of colors) in magenta and reds as well as deliver deep blacks and more accurate color reproduction in dark blues and reds. The result is clearly visible in prints that are nothing short of gorgeous. Quite simply, both color and grayscale images are better looking than you’d expect from a $600 printer.
The Pixma Pro-200 fills a gap between high-end desktop photo inkjets aimed at home use and expensive large-format photo printers aimed squarely at professionals. It’s a potentially compelling choice for anyone who wants gallery-level output quality at an affordable price. For serious photo enthusiasts, as well as photo and graphics professionals who are on a tight budget—and can do without roll support for wider banners and panoramas—it’s an easy pick.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wireless
Maximum Standard Paper Size
13″ x 39″
Number of Ink Colors
8
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
8
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
Bordered 11-by-14-inch in 1 minute 30 seconds
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
Bordered 11-by-14-inch in 1 minute
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
201
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
Not rated
Cost Per Page (Color)
varies with size and content
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Canon Pixma Pro-200 Review
Best 17-Inch Dedicated Photo Printer
Canon imagePrograf PRO-1100
- Superb print quality
- Improved scratch resistance, print longevity
- Air-feed paper handling for more uniform ink-drop accuracy
- Anti-clogging technology that swaps out nozzles
- Supports sheets up to 17 by 22 inches, and printable paper to 129 inches long
- Improved Wi-Fi connectivity
- Only a minor speed boost over its predecessor
- No roll-paper option
A big, heavy printer for big, gorgeous photos, the PRO-1100 straddles the line between advanced hobbyists and professional photographers. Its 12-cartridge ink system delivers deep blacks that are especially impressive; in color photos, those deeper tones help to create a better sense of depth and dimensionality. The PRO-1100 also has an impressive air-feed paper-advance system, employs a special anti-clogging technology (the printer automatically swaps out blocked nozzles), and delivers durable, scratch-resistant prints.
The PRO-1100 is our top pick for professional-grade photography and graphic art needs, offering amazing prints with luscious, true-to-life colors and abyss-like blacks.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
17″ x 22″
Number of Ink Colors
11
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
12
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
Not rated
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
150
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Canon imagePrograf PRO-1100 Review
Best 13-Inch Dedicated Photo Printer
Epson SureColor P700
- Excellent print quality
- Prints borderless banners and panoramas up to 13 inches wide, cut sheets to 13 by 19 inches
- Uses UltraChrome PRO10 pigment inks for increased color gamut
- Switches automatically between cut and roll media, and between photo and matte black inks
- Mechanized and manual cutters
- Running costs are too high
- Small-capacity ink cartridges, with no larger-tank options available
Although we call the Epson SureColor P700 a “dedicated photo printer,” that’s really shorthand for the fact that it’s designed for both professional photographers and graphic artists. That target market absolutely requires state-of-the-art quality, and the P700 delivers it in spades. Much of the credit goes to its 10-color ink system, which delivers a much larger gamut (range of colors) to work with than printers with fewer ink colors can offer. It also includes a light gray ink, which helps improve subtle shading in both color and grayscale prints. All that really matters, of course, is the final results, which in this case are images that offer vibrant color, dark blacks, and top-tier color accuracy.
Pros also often need banners and panoramas in custom sizes that require printing on rolls of paper, which the P700 addresses as well. In addition to offering borderless printing on cut sheets ranging from 3.5 by 5 up to 13 by 19 inches, it can hold up to 13-inch-wide rolls for printing a banner or panorama as large as 13 by 129 inches. That’s 10 feet, 9 inches long by 13 inches wide of exquisite panorama images.
If you need this printer, you know it. You’re a professional photographer, graphic artist, or graphics designer who insists on gallery-level output quality, needs to print at sizes as large as 13 inches wide, and may need the ability to print banners or panoramas using roll paper.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wireless
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Supertabloid
Number of Ink Colors
10
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
10
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
Letter-Size: 1 minute 29 seconds, Supertabloid: 2 minutes 23 seconds
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
120 sheets plain paper, 30 sheets photo paper
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
varies with size and content
Cost Per Page (Color)
varies with size and content
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Epson SureColor P700 Review
Best AIO for Printing Posters and Banners
Canon imagePrograf TC-20M
- Excellent print quality
- Prints posters up to 24 by 36 inches and banners up to 13 feet long
- Supports roll paper up to 24 inches wide and sheet paper up to 11 by 17 inches
- Can load roll and sheet paper simultaneously
- Built-in flatbed scanner
- USB port
- Expensive replacement ink
- Sheet paper can’t be used for initial setup
The Canon imagePrograf TC-20M ($995) is the first under-$1,000 24-inch wide-format printer with a built-in flatbed scanner that we’ve tested. It doesn’t quite merit an Editors’ Choice award due to its somewhat costly replacement inks, but the TC-20M doesn’t sacrifice print quality or features despite its relatively affordable price. The TC-20M can print the most common document and poster sizes up to 24 by 36 inches, and assuming your software supports it, you can print banners as large as 24 inches by 13 feet. The print quality was excellent throughout when printing on both roll and sheet paper. Colors were sometimes a little oversaturated, but that might be an advantage when printing posters, flyers, banners, and signs, where poppier colors might help to attract attention.
If you need to print posters up to 24 by 36 inches and banners up to 13 feet long, this may be your most affordable option. It’s a good fit for budget-constrained schools, retailers, restaurants, and hospitality staff, as well as freelance graphic designers.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Roll Paper: 24 inches; Sheet Paper: 11 by 17 inches
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
A1 poster (23.4” by 33.1”) on plain paper: 2 min 8 seconds; A1 poster on coated paper: 6 min 5 seconds
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
Up to 100 sheets of 8.5” by 11” plain paper; 50 sheets of 11” by 17” plain paper; 2” diameter 24” roll paper
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
Not rated
Cost Per Page (Color)
Not rated
Scanner Type
Flatbed
Maximum Scan Area
8.5″ x 11.7″
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier
Learn More
Canon imagePrograf TC-20M Review
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The Best Wide-Format Printers for 2025
Compare Specs
Buying Guide: The Best Wide-Format Printers for 2025
Buying a wide-format printer isn’t all that different from buying one strictly for letter and legal sizes—which for purposes of this discussion, we’ll call letter-size printers. Some buying issues are identical regardless of printer size. Connection options, performance, output quality, and the arguments for choosing a laser versus an inkjet, among other considerations, are all problems you’ll have to solve for any printer purchase.
But there are also some differences. To begin with, it’s a given that a wide-format printer will be bigger and heavier than an otherwise identical letter-size model, simply because it has to handle bigger sheets of paper. It will also be more expensive. Whether you’re shopping for an office or photo printer, it’s not hard to find nearly identical twins from the same manufacturer whose only differences aside from size, weight, and price is that one is limited to 8.5-inch wide paper and the other can handle 11- or 13-inch wide paper.
Beyond that, some of the considerations you’re familiar with for letter-size printers apply a little differently for tabloid- and supertabloid-size models. In particular, both paper handling and the calculation of running cost are complicated by the likelihood that you’ll be printing on letter-size pages as well as larger ones.
You can find more on the buying considerations that apply to all printers, including wide-format models, in our guide to the best printers, as well as our tips for choosing between inkjet and laser printers. Here, we’ll focus on the issues that are specific to the subset of wide-format printers that’s of interest to most people: tabloid- and supertabloid-size printers both for office needs and for home use, including for photo enthusiasts. Some of the higher-end photo printers included here deliver high-enough quality to be of interest to professional photographers as well, but we are not including floor-standing models, or any printers that are designed to produce prints at sizes larger than 13 inches on their shortest side.
Which Size: Should I Get a Tabloid or a Supertabloid Printer?
Simply talking about the printers in this roundup is complicated by the fact that most are designed to handle multiple paper size equivalents, based on varying standards followed by different countries. In the US, tabloid, or ledger-size, is 11 by 17 inches. The equivalent ISO paper size used in much of the rest of the world is A3 size, or 297 by 420 millimeters (mm), which works out to roughly 11.69 by 16.54 inches. Any printer that can print on either size paper will also print on the other, which is why you’ll see the same printer referred to as tabloid-size, ledger-size, or A3 size. A similar issue crops up with supertabloid size versus A3+ and Super B. In that case, however, all three are 13 by 19 inches.
(Credit: David English)
In addition to these variations on names, you’ll sometimes see tabloid and supertabloid models grouped together, without any obvious distinction between them, on the grounds that either can serve as a tabloid-size printer. When you’re shopping, it’s always a good idea to check for the actual maximum paper width the printer you’re looking at can use—11 inches or 13 inches. It may keep you from overlooking a supertabloid-size printer hidden in a list labeled “tabloid printers,” or save you from buying a supertabloid-size model—with its extra size, weight, and cost—when you need only tabloid-size.
What Level of Paper Handling Do You Need?
Although most paper-handling issues are the same for any size printer, they apply slightly differently for tabloid- and supertabloid-size printers than for letter-size models.
For letter-size printers, having more one than paper drawer or tray is a useful convenience, both for increasing capacity and letting you switch between different types of paper easily. But if you print almost entirely on one type and size of paper, a single tray will often be enough.
Strictly speaking, the same holds true for a tabloid- or supertabloid-size printer. But with a tabloid-size model, odds are you’ll want to use the same printer for both tabloid- and letter-size output, and will be switching back and forth between them repeatedly every day, which can make having at least two trays a necessity. For a supertabloid-size model, two trays may also be enough if you mostly use either tabloid- or supertabloid-size along with letter-size paper. Or, you may need a minimum of three trays, so you can devote one to each paper size.
(Credit: Epson)
In either case, note that some models offer extremely limited paper handling for the largest size paper they accept. We’ve seen supertabloid-size printers that offer two 250-sheet drawers for up to tabloid-size paper, but are limited to holding 20 sheets or less of supertabloid sheets. We’ve also seen printers whose supertabloid paper handling is limited to one sheet at a time, using a manual feed tray. Similarly, we’ve also seen printers that can print on paper as large as supertabloid-size, but offer duplexing (two-sided printing) only up to legal-size.
The moral of the story is that when shopping, you can’t assume that every paper handling feature works with every size paper. You need to check the maximum capacity of each tray for each paper size, and check the kind of duplexing the printer offers for each paper size in each tray. Otherwise, a printer with automatic duplexing, say, may not duplex using the paper size you need.
The same basic rule applies to paper handling for scanning (including for copying and faxing). We’ve seen AIOs that can print at up to supertabloid-size but scan only up to tabloid-size (or even only up to legal-size). Here again, make sure the flatbed, ADF, or both can handle the size of paper you need it for. And if you need to scan in duplex, make sure the ADF duplexes with the size of paper you need duplexing for, as well.
Recommended by Our Editors
The Tabloid Twist on Running Costs and Total Costs
In many ways, issues relating to running cost are the same for tabloid- and supertabloid-size printers as for letter-size models. In both cases, you shouldn’t get too carried away by a low running cost. As a general rule, printers with low ink costs are more expensive than printers with high ink costs—as is true for comparable tank-based versus cartridge-based inkjets, for example. The number you should be looking at for comparisons is the total cost of ownership—the initial price plus the total cost you’ll pay for number of pages you expect to print over the printer’s lifetime.
Keep in mind that the standard calculation for cost per page (CPP)—which we quote in our reviews and discuss in detail in our guide to saving money on your next printer—doesn’t apply to printing on photo paper. The calculation doesn’t include paper cost, because plain paper will be the same price for any printer, which means it won’t affect the relative cost from one printer to another for text and graphics output. However, photos need photo paper, which can vary significantly from one paper type to another, even for a single printer. To calculate costs for comparison, you’d have to factor in each of the available photo papers you would use for each printer you’re considering, as well as the proportion of photos you’d print on each paper—an almost impossible task.
(Credit: David English)
For printing on plain paper, computing the total cost of ownership can also take a little more arithmetic than you might like, but the basic concept is simple. Dividing the extra cost of a more-expensive-but-cheaper-to-run printer by the savings per page for that printer tells you how many pages you have to print before its total cost will be lower than for a less-expensive printer with more-expensive ink.
The added twist for a tabloid- or supertabloid-size printer is that standard CPP calculations are based on single-sided, letter-size pages. So to get the right cost for a tabloid-size page, you have to double the quoted standard CPP for each tabloid page. And because you’ll probably be printing letter-size pages, too, you’ll need estimate the number of each page size you’ll be printing, calculate the total cost for each separately, and add the two to get the total ink cost. (And don’t forget to count pages printed on both sides as two pages.) Supertabloid-size pages offer nearly a third more square inches to print on than tabloid-size pages, but how much additional ink you’ll use will depend on how large the top, bottom, and side margins are.
Still not sure whether you really need a wide-format printer? To help find the right printer for your needs, take a look at our picks for the best printers, best laser printers, and best photo printers, as well as our guide to choosing between inkjet and laser printers.
