Choosing a Large Format Canvas Printer

Canon PRO-Series Canvas Photo Printers If you are looking for a large format printer to produce your beautiful Canvas masterpieces, you have come to the right place.

HP DesignJet Z9+ printing a canvas You’re in the market for a large-format canvas printer but may be unsure of the best options. Here are a few things to consider before you make that important purchase.

What is the largest size print that you plan to do?

Think about the largest image you plan to print and work from there. Then, consider the smallest image you’ll print. You will need a canvas printer that will fulfil these requirements both now and in the future, should your business grow.

Can any Large Format Printer print on Canvas?

Wide format inkjet printers are designed in two ranges, so if you want to print onto canvas, you need to select a printer from the graphic and photographic ranges. For Canon, that is the PRO-Series, and for HP, it is the Z-Series. These printers can handle heavier media, up to 500 gsm, whereas the CAD ranges feed paper up to around 280 gsm maximum. Canvas tends to come in weights from 260 gsm up to 450 gsm, so the graphics models have media settings designed to cope with heavier media and motors capable of feeding it.

Why not a CAD printer?

Customers often ask if they can print onto canvas on their CAD model, such as the Canon TM-255, Epson SC-T3100, or the HP T650. Unfortunately, these models are not designed for this, and whilst you may get the media to feed, there will be no canvas setting on the printer, and you risk damaging the motor. Undoubtedly, you will experience issues with print quality, UV fade over time, cutter blade damage, and possibly printhead strikes. When using a graphics printer, there will be generic canvas settings to choose from; this can disable the rotary cutter to avoid blunting the blade. Your canvas print will finish with a dotted line to manually cut to remove from the machine, true of most heavy media, such as self-adhesives and vinyl.

Do I need to choose a printer with special inks to print on Canvas?

You will need to select a large-format printer that uses pigment inks. Pigment ink is used in all printers aimed at the photographic and graphic arts markets, as it offers UV stability and is water resistant. It ensures for many years that a print will look like it did when first printed. Most people apply varnish after printing on canvas to protect and extend the life even more. Most canvas is printed to display in interiors, so ensuring longevity by using pigment ink is important, especially when selling these prints to customers. You can expect the print quality from these printers to last upwards of 50 years on a canvas, longer if treated. Prints behind glass can last longer because they are protected from the atmosphere, which causes the image to break down over time. You can expect an image behind glass to last upwards of 200 years when printed on appropriate media and stored correctly.

Canon PRO-Series Printers with hotswap ink tanks

What else do I need to think about when buying a Large Format Canvas printer?

Think about the volumes of prints you will be making now and what you plan to do in the future. You will need a printer capable of handling the workload you expect to throw at it.
A great feature of the Canon PRO-Series printers is the ability to install ink cartridges of different sizes. For instance, if you know you are going to use a lot of Photo Black, you can install a 700ml ink tank; if you use Magenta quite a bit but not as often as Photo Black, you can install a 330ml ink tank; and if you use Yellow least of all, you might want to install a 160ml ink tank. The ability to choose size allows savings on the big tanks and prevents you from tying up money in inks you don’t use.

The Canon PRO-Series and the HP Z-Series have user-replaceable printheads that take just a few minutes to replace and cost a few hundred pounds.
Using a printer designed for the job you require (printing canvas for this post) is essential. It is not worth trying your luck with a cheaper printer not designed for the job. Rather than having to pay for spares, repairs, and costly engineer call-outs created by overworking your printer, it makes far more sense to invest in a printer designed to print on canvas in the first place.

Large Format Canvas Printer - PRO-Series

What Printers are on the market that I can print my Canvas on?

Canon PRO-2100 – 24″ 12 Colour Photographic Printer
Canon PRO-4100S – 44″ 8 Colour Graphics Printer
Canon PRO-4100 – 44″ 12 Colour Photographic Printer
Canon PRO-6100S – 60″ 8 Colour Graphics Printer
Canon PRO-6100 – 60″ 12 Colour Photographic Printer
HP DesignJet Z6 – 24″ and 44″ 6 Colour Printers
HP DesignJet Z9+ – 24″ and 44″ 9 Colour (with Optional Gloss Optimiser) Printers