Printing art can be overwhelming but, for an artist, mastering the printing process is essential. Paul Shipper is known for his iconic movie posters and has spent years creating quality, large-format prints. “Creating a print that matches the color, quality of line, and texture used in the original artwork is very important for me to capture in a fine art print,” Paul says. “I want the art print to encapsulate the vibrancy, thought, and consideration that went into the original illustration as closely as possible — so much so that whoever looks at it may find themselves wondering if it is actually the original piece.”
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Paul Shipper’s movie poster style artwork highlights the importance of printing best practices. Image source: Paul Shipper.
Fortunately, there are ways to ensure your printed art looks as close to the original as possible. Using the right creative program is essential. “I use Adobe Photoshop as part of my daily workflow and use it to send all my artwork to print,” says Paul. “It has all the necessary options and makes printing super easy work.”
Whether you’re printing from your desktop in Photoshop or a tablet in Adobe Sketch, understanding the following elements and how they impact printing will help you put your best art forward.
Pixels are definitely something you’ve heard of, and it’s likely you’re intimately familiar with them. The name pixel comes from the term “picture element” (picture + element = pixel). They’re the smallest unit on a grid depicting an image, and they can be round or square. Think of them like the atoms of pictures. Pixels are measured by the number of pixels per inch, or ppi. The more pixels per inch, the sharper your image will appear. Conversely, the fewer pixels per inch, the more likely you are to encounter pixelation — when you can see the edge of each pixel.
This is the same raster image at different zoom levels. Notice how the pixels become more visible. Image source: Renée di Cherri.
Some important things to remember about pixels: You can’t really modify the number of pixels in an image. You can attempt to resample an image, but this isn’t recommended and doesn’t always yield the best results. You can resize an image, which means changing the actual size of each pixel, but thinking of pixel needs from the beginning will yield the best results. Typically, an application will ask what size of canvas or artboard you want to create when you begin working on a project, and you can specify the size in pixels or inches.
Also keep in mind that the required ppi for digital images and printing are vastly different. Digital images found on the internet typically have around 72 ppi. This is completely insufficient for printing an enlarged image and part of the reason why those internet pictures you printed to hang on your wall in the fifth grade were either blurry or small.
When discussing printing, resolution (or image resolution) means the number of pixels per square inch of printed paper. Standard resolution for a printed image is 300 ppi. This means that when you’re printing a 4×6, you should have 1200×1800 pixels.
Resolution has great bearing on whether or not your print turns out looking professional. Again, this is something to be cognizant of when starting a new project. For example, if you know that the end result needs to be printed poster size, make sure you have allowed for enough pixels in your artboard to enlarge the image without losing quality. If you’re not certain, it’s best to err on the side of more pixels.
Dots per inch, or dpi, is similar to pixels, but indicates the number of ink dots printed per inch. This number is the printer resolution and is not directly associated with your image, but instead with the printer itself. “I send all art to the printer at 300 dpi,” Paul says. The higher the dpi, the smoother and better the image quality will be. The printer or printing service you use will usually specify the resolution they need to create quality prints, but 300 dpi is standard.
How pixels, resolution, and dpi affect your prints can vary from printer to printer. “Find yourself a good print partner,” Paul says. “Or, if you have your own print setup, a partner who understands what you want to create and can advise you.” Having a relationship with a print partner can help create prints that reflect the original intention of your art.
Raster images are bitmap images — images made up of pixels. You know them by names such as tiff, jpeg, or gif. Photographs are a prime example of a raster image. Because they are made of pixels, you have to be careful that the file you want to print is saved at a high enough resolution. They’re the high-maintenance friend of image files. You have to be more careful about specifications when printing them, but they are essential for photographs and still widely standard for web publishing.
This vector image maintains crisp edges at different zoom levels. Image source: Renée di Cherri.
Vector images originate in math. There are different types of math going on behind the scenes for all vectors — like points, shapes, and strokes. Each vector is actually made up of invisible points on a grid. The points are connected by mathematical equations. This means as you scale a vector up in size, the math behind the scenes keeps everything crisp and in the right proportions. For this reason, vectors are most commonly used for logos, type, font, clipart, etc. They’re much more flexible than their pixelated counterpart and can be easily scaled, which makes them great for any project that will be printed at a large scale.
The sizes you can print an image or artwork are endless, as long as you have the right resolution. Using Adobe Sketch or Adobe Draw, you can even create custom canvases directly from your tablet or smartphone. The Creative Cloud apps have the most common sizes — like poster, postcard, A4, and photo print — available to choose when you open a new document or canvas.
When choosing a print size, it helps to choose one similar to the original. “Most of my final work is sized at 27×40,” says Paul. “So, when I do fine art prints of my work they are usually printed at 16×24 and 24×36, which echo the original dimensions perfectly.” You can also create a custom canvas size.
To create your own custom preset in Sketch or Draw, tap on this plus button in your Project Organizer (it should look the same in both apps).
That will open a pop-up window with common presets and a “New Format” option to create a custom-sized canvas.
A dialog box, requiring the details of your new canvas size, will pop up. Give the new format a name, such as “Instagram Posts,” so you can remember what this preset is for, then choose from pixels, inches, centimeters, or millimeters to measure the width and height of the canvas.
You’ll see your chosen resolution, and the maximum layers available to you in Sketch and Draw with that canvas size. A smaller total canvas size (and/or lower ppi) will allow more layers to be created, while a larger canvas (and/or higher ppi) will allow fewer layers. These numbers scale to keep app performance in tip-top shape and prevent crashes. Once you’ve saved the format, it will be available to you as a canvas option each time you open Sketch or Draw.
Color, and how you use it when printing, is a vast and nuanced subject. Here are the basics to get you started.
One of the main concerns when printing is maintaining color integrity. In order to have precise, consistent color management, it helps to understand color profiles. A color profile is the data that defines color within a certain space (like a program or printer). Programs typically have preset color profiles, but you can adjust them if necessary. The main color profiles are RGB and CMYK.
RGB stands for red, green, and blue. It represents the colors emitted by screens, making it the optimal choice when designing digital materials. Desktop printers have internal software that converts RGB data to CYMK, so it’s best to keep an RGB profile when printing to this kind of printer.
CYMK — cyan, yellow, magenta, and key (black) — is the general standard for printing. The colors are mixed during the printing process, and CYMK has the most accuracy for projects with a lot of color. When printing artwork with more than one color for commercial production, a separate masterplate must be printed for each color. You can also customize how these plates are printed in Photoshop.
Managing these color profiles for printing and document transfer is another important step to maintaining color integrity. Paul relies heavily on Photoshop for color management. “We found that allowing Photoshop to handle color works best for print output,” he says. “Just make sure you have the specific paper preset loaded.” You can preview how what you’re printing will look for each individual device. Learn more about color management in Photoshop.
Much of getting a quality print relies on knowing how each of these elements — pixels, dpi, resolution, file type, print size, and color — will affect your art from the beginning and throughout the process. With this understanding, your prints will not only look more professional, but will also more effectively communicate the intent of your original art.
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The advent of modern technology has liberated the artist from the constraints of traditional media. In the modern era, many artists prefer to use computers to produce digital artwork. So, in order to provide a hard copy of their art, the need for a specialized printer becomes apparent. As a digital artist, nothing is more disheartening than seeing your printed work faded and drab.
Finding the best printer for art prints and designs is a must for any professional artist. If you’re serious about making a living as an artist, investing in a high-quality art printer to produce prints for sale on stores like Etsy, or even just keeping a hard copy of your portfolio, is crucial.
Outsourcing to a printing company isn’t always the most trustworthy alternative because you could have to wait for your prints to arrive, and printing several copies is likewise a costly endeavor.
Having your own printer is more practical and cost-effective in the long run.
If you’re just starting out, finding a good art printer can be a bit of a hassle as you can’t be sure of your exact needs and limitations. So, to assist with this, we have compiled a list of the top art printers for 2023.
In our study, we gave preference to models that could print at high resolution, with rich color detail, and on a wide range of paper sizes and types. We examined the printer’s nozzles’ accuracy, as well as the ink’s quality and level of detail, to get a sense of how ink is applied during the printing process. We’ve compiled a list of the top art print printers after giving careful thought to all of these factors.
When delving into the world of art printing, you will deal primarily with sketches, images, and photos. High quality in printing art equates to accurate representation, high resolution, and a large range of colors.
The type of printer you buy will also make a difference in the quality of the overall finished art piece. Where inkjet printers offer higher quality, laser printers are faster, so keep this distinction in mind if you plan on using it for commercial purposes.
Ink system maintenance should be high on the list of things to check before deciding on an art printer. Whether you decide on ink cartridges or dye-based inks, you should keep in mind that the higher the number of colors used by the printer, the more accurate the outcome will be.
Ideally, aim for a minimum of six and a maximum of nine color ink tanks for illustrations and works of art.
Consider your average daily print volume when making decisions about the printing speed your machine needs. You’ll need a far more powerful printer in a busy gallery than the one you’d use at home for the occasional do-it-yourself project. Check the specifications for the number of pages produced per minute, as an indication of the speed of your art printer.
When you first think of art printers, it is most common to imagine well-printed images and photographs, and to a certain level, these can be printed in most machines on the market. If you are looking for the best printer, however, it goes without saying that it should be able to handle more than that: it should be able to prove itself in areas such as engineering or architectural designs, which truly require high-quality prints.
The HP DesignJet T630 was made with large-scale work and a high degree of clarity in mind. Crisp lines, posters, and even maps can be printed on fine art paper from the automatic sheet feeder, which can accommodate media sizes up to 13 x 19 inches and media rolls as broad as 24 inches. For a seamless experience, paper can be fed in sheets or rolled out, and the machine can transition between the two automatically.
This dye-based A1 plotter has stellar environmental credentials because it is constructed using 30% recyclable materials and the least non-renewable energy sources as possible during manufacturing. Though it can print in color, it’s important to remember that it only has the four basic CMYK inks and may have trouble with smooth gradients and photographic quality. Yet, up to 31% higher line accuracy and up to 65% more gamut can be achieved with HP Bright Office Inks.
The Epson SureColor P900 is a fantastic piece of equipment for anyone interested in buying a professional art printer, and it’s not just because of how well it performs.
An inkjet printer like this isn’t something everyone needs, but it may be quite helpful if you ever plan on doing serious work with images or if you have a company for graphic designers. The flexibility to use the paper roll adaptor, the compact size, and the lightweight design are its primary selling points for ease while creating graphic prints.
The P900 can print on cut paper sizes of up to 1.5 millimeters in thickness. For a broader range of uses, this art printer can also print on paper rolls of up to ten feet in length, with a width of 13 or 17 inches, if you decide to opt for the extra adapter.
The SureColor P900 has a 10-channel MicroPiezo AMC Head and a wide spectrum of black ink tones to serve its excellent grayscale printing capabilities. Both the black and white and full-color canvas prints look great, even though the color spectrum expands as more colors are used.
In addition to mainstream media, this art printer holds the ability to print on digital negative film and transparencies, as well as glossy sticker paper, without worries regarding to ink smudges.
As it can be costly to go from inks that work well on matte paper to those that work well on glossy paper and back again, this model holds photo and matte black in dedicated nozzles, so no switching back and forth is needed.
This canvas printer can produce photo, art, and panorama prints on conventional paper and roll feed media for a larger range of sizes with the same quality as commercial printers.
The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is a great option if you primarily need a printer to print and scan documents but also want the ability to occasionally print photos and artwork. Standard office paper fits perfectly in its primary A4 tray, while artwork may be printed on A3+ and heavier media with ease using the rear feed.
With its drawers and trays closed, this Epson Expression premium printer measures just 6.3 by 18.7 by 14.5 inches and weighs just 18.7 pounds, making it perfectly portable and suitable for use in small workplaces or even at home.
Even though this is a compact printer, it features a 50-sheet feeder in the back for heavy art and wide-format paper, as well as a 200-sheet plain paper cassette in the front. It also has the capability to produce borderless prints on a wide range of paper sizes, from four by six inches to 13 by 19 inches.
The Epson iPrint App, Epson E-mail Print, and Epson Remote Print are just a few of the ways you can connect to the cloud from your Epson printer, in addition to the standard Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB connections.
Most inkjet printers are capable of producing impressive photo prints, though this may vary depending on whether or not the printer was created with photo printing in mind. A more extensive color gamut usually means higher print quality for photo-centric inkjets. Because of its 180 ink nozzles, the XP-15000 is the only consumer photo printer capable of printing indistinguishably high-quality black-and-white and color photos, as well as printing in grayscale, if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use solely Epson ink cartridges.
If you’re a photographer on a tight budget, but still want lab-quality prints, the Canon PIXMA Pro 200 is an excellent choice. This inkjet printer is great for making borderless prints up to A3 size, making it one of the best printers for art prints on wide fine art paper. Combine it with transfer paper, and you can make canvas patterns for all kinds of artistic projects.
The manual feeder can accommodate paper up to 380GSM in thickness, and its tray can hold up to 150 sheets. The addition of a third feed option, which allows for direct printing onto CDs and photo paper, is even more amazing, especially if you consider this machine’s low price. Skew Correction technology allows for precise paper loading on the PIXMA PRO-200, with paper alignment taken care of automatically by integrated sensors for consistently high-quality results.
Although it’s less expensive than the professional alternatives on our list, this printer still requires eight ink cartridges to produce art prints that appear like they were made in a photo studio.
As the lifespan of dye-based inks is much shorter than that of pigment-based inks, you may be concerned about the longevity of your artwork. However, Canon guarantees that the lifespan of its authentic inks will exceed a century.
As this printer prints high-quality black-and-white art, even in wide format, it is advisable to calibrate your printer carefully to get the best possible quality.
Printing on canvas in monochrome hues is significantly more challenging because any imperfections are more readily apparent to the naked eye. So, if you are an artist focusing on this type of media, you find yourself in a position to spend a substantial amount to obtain an art printer that can handle black-and-white printing in a manner respectful to the arts.
When it comes to monochrome prints, in particular, Canon ProGraf 4100 prides itself on a level of print quality and color fidelity that is unmatched. Print quality and speed are both maximized thanks to the L-COA PRO high-speed image processing engine, the 1.28-inch wide 12-channel, integrated compact print head, the LUCIA PRO ink set plus Chroma Optimizer, and the high-precision mechanical platform.
The LUCIA PRO ink system uses 11-color pigment inks and Chroma Optimizer to meet the demands of the most discerning photographers, and it includes microencapsulated colorants that enable more subtle gradients, a wider color gamut, and more intense color expression, even in black and white and grayscale. This canvas printer allows you to print in broad formats while achieving high standards of color accuracy, clarity, and black depth.
As the first of its kind, this canvas printer can detect the paper size and type and load the paper without any assistance from the user. When you insert the roll holder into the printer, the printer will automatically determine the type of media based on surface reflection and thickness measures.
Last but not least, a color calibration tool has been integrated into this printer for precise grayscale color reproduction. For precise calibration and color matching, a new and upgraded color densitometer is built in. For exact recalibration, the sensor uses a tri-color LED and condenser lens. This allows you to maintain a minimum average color variation across prints.
The HP envy Pro 6475 is a great budget option for people who want to create fine art prints, of good quality, from their all-in-one wireless printer.
Although this is not one of the highest quality art printers, we offer it as our budget option, due to its color print speed, economical ink cartridge, and decent overall results when compared to other printers in its category.
More specifically, the HP Envy Pro 6475 is a multi-function printer, scanner, and copier that includes two years of ink for producing professional-quality prints right away. The 35-page automated document feeder frees your hands so you may tend to other matters while your prints complete.
And if you run out of ink, HP Instant Ink service delivers a new cartridge to your door, saving you a trip. The manufacturer has put some thought into the user experience of this printer, and has integrated it into the HP smart app, which allows full control remotely.
When creating high-quality printouts of digital artwork, printers designed specifically for that purpose are preferred, as they provide a plethora of tones and tints, lending to the authentic representation of your art to your prints.
Even though we have not included a laser printer in our list, the Epson SureColor P900 is a great option for fast yet accurate printing, especially in professional settings.
On the other hand, for black-and-white art, you can not go wrong with the CANON PRO 4100, especially if you plan on creating large and wide posters.
We hope you found our analysis of the best printers for art prints of 2023 to be helpful. Consult our associated guides for further sources of comparable items for the artistic lifestyle.
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