Epson Expression Photo XP-970

£230/$300 Go large without the pounds

If twice as big is twice as good, this Epson A3/11inch photo printer beats its smaller XP-8600 A4/8.5inch sibling. It delivers double the maximum print area but remains reasonably compact and light.

Unlike the other large-format printers on test, this Epson packs a built-in scanner and a SD/HC/XC card slot, brought together by a 4.3-inch touchscreen. As with Epson’s XP-8600 A4 printer, the XP-970 runs on six Claria Photo HD dye-based inks, with a conventional ‘photo’ line-up.

Performance

Photo print quality is virtually identical to that of the smaller XP-8600. The smoothness of graduations in blue skies and the quality of skin tones are very good. Again, the ‘photo enhance’ option is best avoided if you’re after good colour accuracy.

As with any dye-based printer, the XP-970 is best suited to glossy output and, unlike the other large-format printers on test, black-and-white photo output is relatively poor.

Print speed

Print speeds are quick, taking only slightly longer than for the smaller XP-8600 printer for any directly competing size.

Ink cost

The optional XL cartridges surprisingly have a lower capacity than for the smaller XP-8600, but ink costs work out about the same.

Tech focus

Print size: A3/11-inch Resolution: 5,700 x 1,400dpi Inks: Dye cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, black

Interface: USB 2.0, Wi-Fi

Digital Camera verdict

The XP-970 is a good option if you want a multi-function, dual-purpose document and photo printer that can generate largerscale output.