The best A3 printers let you print lab-quality images at home or in your workplace in large scale. While most printers manage up to A4 size printouts, if you're looking for something bigger, you'll want an A3 printer.
Because these printers need to be able to handle larger paper sizes, and print at a good enough resolution so that the images still look great when blown up, you will probably find that A3 printers are more expensive than standard ones. However, our price comparison tool will help you get the best price for the A3 printer of your choice.
So, let's take a look at the best A3 printers in 2018. If you need to make large printouts, these are the very best choices you should consider.
1. Canon PIXMA iP8750
An affordable A3 printer
Print speed: 14.5 ipm | Paper sizes: A3+, A3, A4, A5, B4, B5, LTR, LGL, LDR, 25x30cm, 20x25cm, 13x18cm, 10x15cm | Weight: 8.5kg
Buying an A3 printer doesn't mean you have to break the bank, which is why the Canon PIXMA iP8750 A3+ Wi-Fi Photo Printer is our pick of the best A3 printer in 2018. It can print high quality photos and images at up to A3+ size, and while the print outs are big, the design of this printer isn't, making it an attractive addition to a home or office. There's plenty of connectivity options, including wireless ones, and print speed is excellent as well.
2. Canon Pixma Pro-100S
Another great A3 printer from Canon
Print speed: 1m 30s for A3+ prints | Paper sizes: A3+, A3, A4, A5, B4, B5, Letter, Legal, Envelope, 25x30cm (10x12"), 20x25cm (8x10"), 13x18cm (5x7"), 10x15cm (4x6") | Weight: 19.7kg
Running on eight dye-based inks, the Pro-100S adds grey and light grey inks to the usual, colour-friendly mix of CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta. Cartridge capacity is 13ml. There's a slight warmth in the balance of colour photo printing, which can be flattering for skin tones, but the Epson dye-based printers are a little cool. The Pro-100's accuracy for mono images is better, thanks to the extra grey inks. It outputs A3+ borderless prints in under four-and-a-half minutes using top-quality mode, making it the fastest A3 photo printer on test. It reigns supreme for super-smooth results on glossy paper, but prints on matte media lack the robustness of those created with pigment-based printers.
3. Brother MFC-J5330DW
A four-in-one printer
Print speed: 22 ppm | Paper sizes: A4, Letter, Executive, A3, Ledger, Legal, Mexico Legal, India Legal, Folio, A5, A6, Envelopes (C5, Com-10, DL, Monarch), Photo (10 x 15 cm), Photo L (9 x 13 cm), Photo 2L (13 x 18 cm), Index card (13 x 20 cm) | Weight: 20.6kg
This is an incredibly versatile four-in-one device that can print, scan, photocopy and fax, making it an excellent addition to any office. The fact that it can print up to A3 means it's a great choice if you require printing out large documents or photos. It's also pretty well priced, making it a good investment for growing companies.
4. Epson Expression Photo XP-960
Another affordable A3 printer
Print speed: 8.5 ppm mono, 8 ppm colour | Paper sizes: A3, A4, A5, A6, B5, C6 (Envelope), DL (Envelope), No. 10 (Envelope), Letter, 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm, 16:9, User defined, Legal | Weight: 8.7kg
Epson's large(ish)-format printer has a maximum print size of A3 rather than A3+, which equates to 16.5x11.7 inches instead of 19x13 inches. The regular A3 aspect ratio is also a worse fit for 3x2 format SLR images. A full-size, top-quality print just under six minutes. Unlike the others, this one features card readers, a touchscreen display and an A4 scanner built into the lid, adding all-in-one credentials.
5. Epson SureColor SC-P800
A great choice for huge printouts
Paper sizes: A2, A3+, A3++, A3, A4, A5, A6, B3, B4, B5, B6, C4 (Envelope), C5 (Envelope), C6 (Envelope), Letter, Letter Legal, 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm, 13 x 20 cm, 20 x 25 cm, 100 x 148 mm, 17 " (43.2 cm) | Weight: 19.5kg
If A3 printouts aren't quite big enough, then the Epson SureColor SC-P800 is the printer for you. It is capable of handling huge A2-sized prints, as well as A3, and while it is expensive, it can give you the flexibility your company needs when printing out large documents. This won't be a printer for everyone's needs, but if you're looking for something that can print large, and print well, then it definitely could be a worthy investment.
- Here's our list of the best printers of 2018