Printers

We don’t usually review multi-function printers (MFPs) as they’re not designed for photo printing. But Epson’s Expression Photo XP-950 is in a different class from the others as it is the first six-colour MFP to support A3 printing. A special rear feed slot is designed to take A3 sheets of paper, and Epson papers supported include Premium Glossy Photo, Premium Semigloss Photo, Matte Paper Heavyweight, Double-sided Matte Paper, Ultra Glossy Photo and Glossy Paper as well as iron-on transfer and sticker papers.

The PIXMA Pro-10 sits in the middle of three A3+ printers that were initially announced by Canon at Photokina 2012. Designed primarily for photo enthusiasts, it uses the same Lucia inks as the higher-specified PIXMA Pro-1, which we reviewed in January 2012, but with one grey tank instead of the Pro-1’s three grey inks.

Canon’s latest desktop A3+ dye-ink printer features a new ink set and delivers excellent colour and monochrome prints on glossy papers at faster output speeds.

Canon’s latest A3+ pigment ink printer is more economical to run and produces better-looking prints, particularly on glossy papers.

An affordable A3+ printer for photo enthusiasts and small businesses that occasionally require large, high-quality prints.

The HP Photosmart is wider than the average A4 printer to accommodate its direct printing components, but it’s also fairly shallow, with both paper input and output trays positioned at the front.

Epson’s Stylus Photo R800 is the first and only printer to combine a long-lasting pigment ink set with high gloss paper printing. It also has a higher colour gamut than most other Epson printers, regardless of their output size. The R800’s body design is functional and it’s very well built. The ink set consists of the standard CMY inks plus red and blue, two black inks (Matte and Photo Black) and a Gloss Optimiser, containing the same high density clear resin used to encapsulate the pigment particles in the coloured ink.

Epson’s latest top-of-the-range flatbed/film scanner may be large and relatively pricey but you get plenty of bangs for your buck. The Perfection 4990 Photo combines 4800dpi resolution with a bit depth of 48, and Epson claims its high 4.0 optical density produces scans with smooth and accurate colour and subtle grey gradations. Features of the new model include a MatrixCCD scanning head with microlenses that ensure even light coverage. A blue-toned lamp compensates for the base masking in colour negatives, providing faster scans with better colour accuracy.

HP’s Photosmart 8750 inkjet printer is the most affordable A3 printer on the market that produces long-lasting, prints that are good enough to exhibit or sell. Initially, its sheer size is daunting, although its weight is similar to the Epson R2400. However, you can’t fairly compare these two printers as the Epson is twice the price of the HP model. Not surprisingly, the 8750 is slightly noisier and we had more problems with paper jams and incorrect loading.

A compact, portable printer that is easy to use and produces long-lasting snapshot-sized prints.Despite its resemblance to a pop-up toaster, HP’s Photosmart 475 printer is a surprisingly capable and versatile device. Lift the handle and you can take it anywhere. Plug it in, switch it on and it’s ready to print. Connect it to a TV set via the supplied video cable and you can watch a slideshow of images stored on the 1.5 GB internal hard disk drive or a memory card from your camera (all popular cards are supported). A remote control lets you drive the slideshow from your armchair.