The best photo printers for home studios produce large-format prints in a matter of minutes with color and tonal reproduction that blows away what was achievable in the chemical darkroom. Though the folks who use photography for utility may not be printing like they used to, for photographers with a capital “P”-those who use the medium for the creation of art and personal expression-there’s never been a more exciting time to make a print. Like Mark Twain’s famous quip, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” printing technology has experienced a renaissance as a result of digital technology. Before websites, smartphones and apps, shoeboxes with stacks of 4×6-inch photos of the family vacation were a household staple-I still have a few in the garage myself.įor the casual photographer who uses the medium as personal documentary rather than fine art, digital photography changed the way most images are shared, and the end of printing has been repeatedly foretold. Not so long ago, the photographic print was how everyone experienced photography. If it causes something else to become damaged, your warranty will be invalid.The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 can produce cut-sheet panorama prints up to 13×39-inches. If the ink leaks, it's a nightmare to clean. Often, there's a good deal less toner in the 'cheap' versions, so you're not saving as much as you might think.

While some remanufactured cartridges might be OK, it's difficult to know which ones are and which ones aren’t. Remanufactured laser toner cartridges can be much cheaper than those from the printer maker. The great news is that even top models won't put an excessive strain on your budget. If you're looking for a laser printer right now, you have a tremendous amount of choice. If you print a high volume of documents, text, and reports, opt for a laser printer.Ī. If you print a low volume of documents and quite a few photos, go inkjet. The best printer for you depends on your individual needs: Help! I still can’t decide between an inkjet and a laser printer.Ī. One of the fastest monochrome laser printers we’ve reviewed championed a rate of 27 ppm.īuying both a low-cost monochrome laser printer and a low-cost inkjet color printer for home use may sound expensive, but the investment can be surprisingly low. Here are a few other features to consider when shopping for a laser printer: Print speedĬolor machines are slower, but good ones manage at least 15 pages per minute (ppm). It's convenient for you, and the technology allows you to share your printer with friends and colleagues if you choose. In a busy office setting, a color laser printer with copy, scan, and fax functions is likely to be the optimum choice.Įvery top laser printer today offers wireless printing and mobile device compatibility either remotely via cloud services or by using Near Field Communications (NFC).For occasional color work, it wouldn’t hurt to also keep a low-cost inkjet printer on hand.

Should you get a monochrome (black and white) or color printer? Only you know what you need, of course, but we offer the following guidelines:įor basic home printing tasks, the ideal solution could be a low-cost monochrome laser printer. However, they also produce many more pages than an inkjet refill. Laser printer toner cartridges cost more than inkjet refills.

The sheet that comes out of the printer is dry, and there’s no risk of smudging.

To ensure the toner stays on the paper, the sheet passes through heated rollers.

The drum rotates to transfer the image onto it. Once the toner is on the drum, though, it becomes negatively (-) charged.Ī second corona wire gives a strong positive (+) charge to a sheet of paper as it is fed through. The effect is known as static electricity. This negative (-) charge attracts fine, positively charged toner particles to the drum.

Where the beam hits the drum, it creates a negative (-) charge that's an exact copy of your page.

(Reason: it's easier to make the mirror move than it is the laser). The high-intensity laser beam doesn't hit the drum directly it's actually reflected off a moving mirror. At this point, the charge is positive (+) and even across the drum surface.Ī small computer inside the printer reads the page from your own computer and guides the laser as it transfers the image to the drum. A high-voltage wire (called a corona wire) charges a cylindrical drum.

Best printer for photographers 2018