It’s a victory for Canon

The Canon imagePrograf Pro-300 takes top prize

For top-quality photo output, the Canon imagePrograf Pro-300 is an outright winner. It makes excellent use of pigment-based inks to deliver spectacular quality on matte and fine-art media, for both colour and mono photos. That said, the Canon Pixma Pro-200 dye-based printer wins out for an ultra-smooth finish on glossy paper.

Going larger to an A2/17-inch printer, the pigment-based Epson SureColor P900 is excellent for both colour and mono prints, but is less convincing than the Canon Pro-300 on glossy paper. Even so, the upsized print capability is particularly impressive considering that the Epson is about the same size and weight as the two Canon A3+ printers. Going slightly smaller than A3+, the A3/11-inch Epson Expression Photo XP-970 is a versatile all-rounder that delivers good print quality from its conventional range of six dye-based inks.

In the A4/8.5-inch camp, our favourite printer is the Canon Pixma TS8350/8320, whereas the TS6350/6320 is a little less refined but unbeatable value for money. The Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 is another worthy contender, whereas the Epson EcoTank ET-7700 works out very pricey unless you make lots of prints.