Best Inkjet Printers for 12x12
The best source for inkjet photo printing advice, tips, and special offers.
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Choosing the right inkjet printer is one of the most important choices in your digital scrapbooking journey. Before getting to printer recommendations we'll cover some key principles you need to know:
Pigment vs. Dye Inks
Pigment ink printers are designed specifically to produce long lasting prints (40+ years). Pigment ink (like pigments used in ancient cave drawings) resist fade over time. If you want to insure your prints last many years then pigment ink is a must.
Dye ink is in most inkjet printers. While it reproduces great color on many different papers dye is not truly fade resistant. If you only display your prints in protected (mostly closed) albums then you can consider a dye inkjet printer. However, if you need "regular" photo prints for everyday use AND you want them to last decades then dye printers are probably not for you.
Summary - Use pigment inks when you want to be assured of archival prints in many different environments. If you do not really need multi-decade fade resistance outside an album then dye ink printers can be on your shopping list.
Paper Feed Path
Epson and Canon printers have rear feed trays. HP printers generally feed from the front only. We like Epson and Canon because those top trays can more easily accept heavy card stock.
Cost of Printing With Inkjet
Red River Paper directly addresses the concerns and arguments about the true cost of ink in desktop photo printing. Using a number of printers, we conducted a series of print tests to determine how much ink is used in different sized prints. The objective is to share a realistic cost per print vision with inkjet users. Learn more about the surprising affordability of desktop inkjet printing here.
Looking for more printer suggestions? Email us your needs and budget and we'll offer some suggestions.
Here are our top recommended inkjet printers for 12x12 and digital scrapbook work:
| Pigment Ink Printers |
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Epson P400 (top choice)
Ink - Pigment
Width - 13"
Ink Tanks - Individual tanks
Number of inks - 8 (includes two blacks and gloss optimizer)
Strength - Amazing vibrance and saturation on satin, luster, and glossy papers
A favorite - colors are vibrant and details sharp. This printer will work for your matte and satin 12x12 sheets as well as printing snapshots, greeting cards, and many other inkjet projects. |
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Epson SureColor P600
Ink - Pigment
Width - 13"
Ink Tanks - Individual tanks
Number of inks - 9
Strength - Real life colors and stunning neutral black & white prints
We recommend this printer if black & white printing is a major requirement. The P600 has a three black system on board to print stunning neutral, cool, and warm tone grayscale images. |
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Canon PRO-10
Ink - Pigment
Width - 13"
Ink Tanks - Individual tanks
Number of inks - 9
Strength - Realistic color reproduction and special multi-black B&W printing system
The Canon PRO-10 is a worth competitor to the Epson R3000. Both offer true-to-life color reproduction and the Canon PRO-10 has an excellent B&W printing system on board. As with any pigment inkjet printer, prints from the PRO-10 will resist fade for many decades displayed in the open or stored in a book. |
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| Dye Ink Printers |
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Epson 1430
Ink - Dye
Width - 13"
Ink Tanks - Individual tanks
Number of inks - 6
Strength - Low cost, vibrant colors, compatible with any coated inkjet printer.
A typically great Epson printer, the 1430 is truly an all-around machine. You can print layouts, custom paper designs, and any other application you can imagine. Because it uses dye inks, you can use many specialty inkjet papers like vellum, magnetic, tatoo material, and metallic silver. |
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Canon PRO-100
Canon printers are typically fast, reliable, and able to feed heavy card papers with ease. The PRO-100 is no exception. Like the 1400, it uses dye inks. If you demand long lasting prints (multi decades in many display environments) then consider a pigment printer like the Epson R2000. Otherwise the Canon is a great choice for many printing projects. |
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