Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000

A WIDE FORMAT PRINTER.

FORGET ABOUT NORMAL 6 x 4-inch photos (though it can handle those, too), the Epson XP-15000 manages borderless prints of up to 13 x 44 inches. In other words, it can do both A3 and Super B sizes, but also custom extra long prints for DIY posters over a metre long. The unit is a little more pricey than its more compact brethren, but can be bought from major retailers (try Officeworks) for under $500. The XP-15000 can also print monochrome and colour documents for your presentations.

The inkjet printer connects via Wi-Fi, USB or Ethernet and has a 2.4-inch colour LCD for control. It’s not designed to print directly from your SD card happy snaps, but can connect to a smartphone or tablet. The max resolution is 5,760 x 1,440dpi, and a standard photo takes about 30 seconds to print. The printer has a rear paper feed tray, which makes it possible to easily handle specialty prints, such as cardstock.

The real strength of Epson though lies in its use of six-colour Claria Photo HD inks, for a much wider colour gamut and professional level results. Side by side with a normal three colour printer, the XP-15000 produces extremely vivid photos with excellent skin tones. It also uses grey ink to produce very accurate black and white photos.

The XP-15000 uses replaceable ink cartridges, but calculating a per-photo cost is very dependent on type and size. It’s in the ballpark of around 30 cents per photo, plus paper, which is still quite decent considering the high-end quality.