epson expression photo Xp-960 £240, $275
It’s not quite the full nine yards, but it comes pretty close
Compared with the other large-format printers on test, the XP-960 is much more compact and lightweight. The catch is that it has a maximum print size of A3 (11.69x16.54 inches) rather than A3+ (13x19 inches). That’s noticeably smaller, and a worse match for the aspect ratio of images from SLR cameras.
On the plus side, the XP-760 packs a lot into its small frame, including an A4 flatbed scanner, memory card slots, a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen, dual internal paper cassettes, a rear paper feeder and direct printing for CDS/DVDS. It’s much more like an upscale A4 multi-function printer than the other large-format models on test.
One thing that isn’t scaled up is the ink cartridges. It uses a conventional set of six dye-based inks but even its XL cartridges have a capacity of only 9ml. That’s a millilitre less than the XP-8500 A4 printer’s XL cartridges. If you create A3 photo prints in any quantity, you’ll be renewing the cartridges with alarming regularity. There’s something to be said for the A3 version of Epson’s Ecotank printer in this case, the ET-7750, although the initial purchase price is daunting at £690/$650.
performance
Based on the same range of Claria Photo HD inks, print quality from the XP-960 is virtually identical to that of the smaller XP-8500 printer. Colour prints look lively in standard mode but can appear a little overly vibrant when using the ‘photo enhance’ option. It can’t compete with the A3+ printers on test for black-and-white photo fidelity, but colour print speeds are rapid.