Bigger can be better

Upsized printers can deliver prints that aren’t only bigger, but also better quality

An A4/8.5-inch printer is fine for regular photo prints – but if you want to create wall art that you can frame and hang up without it looking small, upsizing to A3/11x17-inch, the Epson XP-970 ‘small-in-one’ printer on test enables larger-format printing.

Larger still, there are Canon’s latest A3+/13x19-inch format PIXMA PRO-200 and IMAGEPROGRAF PRO-300 models, which use dye-based and pigment-based inks respectively. And largest of all, there’s the Epson’s pigment-based Surecolor P900 for creating A2/17x22-inch prints.

Three of the four A4/8.5-inch printers on test combine a pigment-based black ink with dye-based cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks for photo printing. This enables rich, deep black text for document printing, and a fairly good colour space or ‘gamut’ for glossy photo output. The Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 and XP-970 printers use a more conventional ‘photo printer’ line-up of CMYK inks, along with light cyan and light magenta inks, all of which are dye-based. The more pro-grade, large format Canon PIXMA PRO-200 and IMAGEPROGRAF PRO-300 use eight dye-based inks and nine pigment-based inks respectively, while the Epson Surecolour P900 runs on 10 pigment-based inks.

The extra inks in the pro-grade printers include multiple black and grey cartridges. These enable a wider ‘gamut’ or colour space for colour printing, as well as a greater tonal range for black-and-white photo printing. For the pigment-based printers, photo black and matte black inks are included for printing on glossy and matte media respectively. The molecules of dye that make up the colour in dye-based inks are tiny, fully dissolved in the ink fluid and sink beneath the outer, protective layer of glossy paper. This makes them perfect for giving a smooth, uniform finish.

Pigment-based inks have larger molecules, the pigment itself being suspended in the fluid ink rather than dissolving into it. Pigment inks are more durable and have better archival quality than dye-based ink, and are preferred for printing on matte and fine art media. However, pigment-based inks can be prone to ‘bronzing’ when used on glossy paper.