Professional Photo Printers

Professional photo printers differ from consumer grade photo printers in two, maybe three categories we'll list below.

First though, it's worth mentioning many professional photo printers are not actually labeled as "professional" - you'll just need to find a printer that meets your needs.

Also, the professional market is owned by two manufacturers, Epson and Canon. Yes, other's make great ones as well, but they seem to have the lions share of the market and the mind of professionals.

Some example and popular printers include the Epson R2880 Large Format Photo Printer, the Epson C635011PRO Stylus Pro 3800 Professional Edition Ink Jet Printer, and the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF6000S.

Here are some of the issues than concern professionals that are less of a concern for most consumers.

1) Professional photo printers all can print on large paper, at least 11" by 17" and often much larger. For example my photographer's printer can handle 60" wide sheets. Maximum widths are usually 24, 26, 32, 44 or 60 inches, far more than consumer grade printers.

2) Archival quality - how long the pictures will last is another issue. For professionals printing media to be published in magazines, newspapers, fliers, etc. this is not much of an issue. However for fine art photography this is a serious concern.

Although the technology is rapidly changing in this area, if archival quality is a concern look carefully at the printer specifications and also the ink and paper specifications. Archival quality may mean 300 years now, and even consumer grade printers are catching up here!

3) Connectivity options. Professionals don't care about printing direct from cameras or memory cards, so you are less likely to see these features available. They are much more likely to print from a photo editing suite like Adobe Photo Shop.

Network connectivity options are more popular however, and it's common to see a professional photo printer shared by a creative or other department.