5 Best Photo Printers for Professional Use

Investing a good quality consumer-grade photo printer is a good idea if you need to make physical copies of your digital photos on a regular basis. Keep in mind that all color inkjets that can print photos are not necessarily meant for professional use. Most of them are designed for a variety of print jobs. A dedicated photo printer, on the other hand, is designed for just one purpose – to print photos – and is good at it.

Here’s our selection of the five best photo printers to buy for professional use in 2020.

1. Canon PIXMA PRO-100

One of the best photo printers in its class, the Canon PIXMA PRO-100 with an 8-ink dye system offers excellent color accuracy and a wide color gamut.

The 8-ink cartridge system includes 3 monochrome inks – black, gray, and light gray - for creating high-quality black & white photo prints that truly capture the essence of grayscale photography.

Like other PIXMA PRO series printers, it utilizes the OIG (Optimal Imaging Generating) System technology that creates the optimal ink mixture to produce desired colors in your print.

This color inkjet can output borderless prints up to 13” x 19”. This is why is marketed towards professionals looking for a high-quality dedicated photo printer.

The PRO-100 is compatible with a variety of media including glossy, matte, and luster paper as well as fine art paper and Museum Etching.

With a Print Studio Pro2 software plugin built-in, you can print directly from photo editing applications such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CS.

You can also import pictures directly from a PictBridge-compatible camera phone, digital camera, or DV camcorder by connecting it via the USB port. The PictBridge cable, however, is not shipped with the printer.

With AirPrint, you can print photos directly from your iPad, iPhone, or MacBook without having to install drivers.

Connectivity options include Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB.

PRO-100’s ink-costs are considerably higher than ordinary color inkjets.

Besides following the standard tips for saving photo ink, you can buy affordable Canon PIXMA PRO-100 cartridges to minimize your printing costs.

2. Epson Expression Photo XP-970

Featuring 6-color Claria Photo HD inks, the Epson Expression Photo XP-970 can print borderless photos up to 11” x 17”. Printing costs, however, are steep! So, it is advisable to source compatible Epson cartridges from a reputable source.

A compact all-in-one photo printer with print, copy, and scan functions, it delivers superior color accuracy, amazing skin tones, and smooth gradations.

With high-resolution scans, you can produce nearly identical color copies with this inkjet.

It can churn out a 4” x 6” photo in just 11 seconds.

Compared to other photo printers in its class, the XP-970 has a slower print speed but in other important aspects, beating the XP-970 is tough.

Using this consumer-grade photo printer with a 4.3” touchscreen is fairly easy.

Besides connectivity options such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet, the XP-970 has built-in USB and memory card slots. You can also print from smart devices.

The printer supports voice-activated printing and works with the Creative Print App.

3. Epson SureColor P400

A 13” wide-format inkjet printer, the Epson SureColor P400 features an 8-color pigment ink system to produce high-quality, gallery-worthy photo prints.

With dedicated channels for both Black and Matte inks, the printer produces deep blacks on fire art, photo, and matte papers.

The SureColor P400 is known to deliver near-photo-lab quality. The printer uses high-capacity 14 mL ink cartridges. Therefore, you don’t have to replace ink cartridges too often.

Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB 2.0.

With the SureColor P400, you can print from paper rolls like its more expensive variant the Epson P600.

Weighing 27 pounds, it’s a large printer and does require significant space on a table or desk.

4. HP Envy 5055

An all-in-one photo printer with print, copy, and scan functions, the HP Envy 5055 is reasonably priced. It features a 2.2” mono touchscreen.

This inkjet supports borderless printing and can produce high-quality photos. Many professionals buy this printer for printing 4” x 6” borderless photos. The printer supports different sizes including A4, envelopes, and 8” x 10”.

The Envy 5055 supports 2-sided printing and can print from smartphones and tablets.

High-yield cartridges are optional but the printer is eligible for the HP Instant Ink program. Do keep in mind that the cost-per-print with the HP Instant Ink subscription plan comes out to be very high.

With replacement cartridges, running costs for this printer are relatively lower but you can further reduce printing costs by purchasing affordable HP Envy 5055 cartridges at InkjetsClub.

5. Canon IP8720

The Canon IP8720 is an excellent choice if you need to wide-format borderless photos (up to 13” x 19” in size).

Most consumer-grade photo printers can’t do that.

Prints made by the Canon IP8720 look gorgeous. Color reproduction looks smooth.

Final Words

Be sure to invest in a photo printer that can serve you well for at least 4 or 5 years.

Instead of buying a low-cost printer (one of the many printer buying mistakes) that cannot deliver quality, follow advice on how to save on printing costs and buy affordable yet high-quality cartridges for an HP, Canon, or Epson photo printer to keep your printing costs under control.

In the long run, it’s the cost of cartridges and not the cost of a device that should concern you. Do read our guide on how to estimate printing costs.