Best Archival Printers for Art at Home: 8 Ranked (2026)

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the printer that turns a spare room into a print studio. It succeeds the PRO-1000 that defined the desktop giclee category, and it is what photographers and painters reach for when the print has to be good enough to sell or hang.

The pigment ink set is the whole story. Pigment sits on top of the paper rather than soaking in like dye, which gives you a wide color gamut, deep neutral blacks, and the archival permanence collectors expect from a giclee. That is the difference between a photo print and a giclee a collector will pay for.

The Chroma Optimizer is the under-appreciated feature: a clear coat that evens out gloss across the print so blacks don't bronze and matte and glossy areas read consistently when light hits the print at an angle.

The Epson SureColor P900 is the printer to buy if the Canon's footprint scares you. Epson built it to be a compact 17-inch pigment printer, and it fits on a normal desk in a way the Canon does not.

The 10-ink UltraChrome PRO10 set is pro-grade. Epson's pigment color is well regarded for black-and-white work; if you print monochrome fine art, the P900 is arguably the better tool. For saturated color, the Canon's extra ink gives it a slight edge.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is the most printer most artists actually need. It is the 13-inch member of the same LUCIA PRO II pigment family as the PRO-1100, at a price that is far easier to justify.

For most people selling prints online or framing their own work, 13 x 19 inches is plenty. You only pay more for the PRO-1100 or P900 if you genuinely need A2.

Desktop printing ends at 17 inches. The PRO-2100 is where a print business goes next. It feeds 24-inch rolls, runs 11 pigment inks plus a Chroma Optimizer from 160 ml tanks, and turns a statement-size edition from a lab order into a same-day print.

It only makes sense if large prints are a recurring seller. For most artists, the PRO-1100 plus a lab for the occasional oversize piece is the smarter spend; see the "when to go professional" section below.

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200S is the printer for color that pops. Where pigment printers prioritize longevity and matte fine-art papers, the PRO-200S is built around dye inks that deliver the most saturated, glossy color in this guide.

The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 is the printer that makes high-volume art printing affordable. Cartridge printers punish you on ink; the EcoTank's refillable bottles flip that, dropping your cost per print to a small fraction of cartridge printing.

For anyone selling prints at volume, the math is decisive: the ET-8550 costs more upfront and then saves money on every print. It prints A3+ wide, uses a 6-color set with red and gray, and includes a scanner. The one caveat: it is five dye inks plus a pigment black, so if your whole business is archival fine-art giclee, buy pigment.

The Epson EcoTank ET-15000 is the budget gateway to wide-format art printing. It does the one thing cheap printers can't, print 13 inches wide, and it does it from refillable ink tanks, so test runs and proofs cost very little.

It replaced the Epson Expression Photo XP-15000 in this slot after Amazon stopped showing a buyable listing for the XP-15000 in October 2026. The XP-15000 had six dye inks; the ET-15000 trades two of those inks for far cheaper running costs.

The Epson Expression Photo XP-8800 is the best first printer for art at home. It is simple, and it makes lovely letter-size photo and art prints with a 6-color dye set, plus it scans and copies.