If your business is associated with professional photography or large-scale industrial printing, then you’ve most likely heard of an A3 printer. For a long time, these were the only two cases where you would come across an A3 printer.
The reasons are simply because they’re extremely large and often expensive. Smaller businesses always had the option to go with the smaller and usually less expensive A4 printers. There had been no need for the majority of the printer market to even consider an A3 printer.
But that all changed when the prices of the A3 printers began to drop in price. There wasn’t enough demand, which had originally led to higher prices to cover costs, but eventually led to lower prices so they would sell.
What really changed the fate of the A3 printer was when Canon came out with a cheap A3 printer of their own – the Canon BJC-5100. Currently unavailable at the Canon official website, but found it available used on Amazon at only $30.
While it’s not the most amazing printer in the world, its greatest asset is the ability to print large copies at record low prices. See customer reviews.
Okidata C9800HDN
Of course, there’s another end to this spectrum. If you happen to work in a large office or warehouse, or if you’re a photographer who needs amazing quality and large sizes for prints, then you’re going to want a much more advanced A3 printer.
If $5,000 – $8,000 is within your budget, then nothing can top the Okidata C9800HDN Color LED printer. It’s by far the best A3 printer on the market. This A3 photo printer can deliver full poster size. In addition to that, its stats and features are through the roof.
Update
The printer OKI C9800HDN referred to above as the top A3 printer has now been discontinued. A new and updated version is now available, the OKI C9650 SERIES, at Amazon from about $3000.
Epson Stylus Photo R2880
However, if you’re looking for something that can deliver quality across the board but costs a fraction of the price, consider the Epson Stylus Photo R2880.
This is definitely a model to look into if you’re a photographer. Compare prices from $500 at 185 stores through Google Shopping or purchase it and read user reviews at Amazon.com.
Brother MFC-6490CW
When it comes to A3 printers, Brother delivers. The Brother MFC-6490CW can handle A3-size sheets. This doesn’t just go for printing, but faxing, copying and scanning as well. It’s also very fair on ink consumption, which is very difficult to find in today’s market.
Available at the Brother website but you may find it cheaper at $295 on Amazon.com. Majority of the users rated the Brother MFC-6490CW high on ease of use and setup, print and scan quality, print speed and noise, and features.
Brother MFC-6890CDW
The MFC-6890CDW is another popular A3 model for Brother. Available new at $500 on Amazon.com, customers have said that although the print and color quality is not nearly as good as that of similar model from HP, it is easy to use and sending documents to print is a fast and easy task.
All round, it was actually rated the best all around A3 printer. Having done many printer reviews, I can say that while features and stats are important, nothing is more important than the opinions, reviews and ratings of customers.
If a specific model is getting recognized for anything, it’s a model that should be seriously considered for purchase. The Brother MFC-6890CDW is one of those models.
Also available used at $289, and refurbished at $139; also on Amazon.
HP OfficeJet 7500A Wide Format Printer
Another low-priced A3 printer is the HP OfficeJet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One printer.
Customers who have rated this printer on the HP site had all expressed exasperation on the swapping of paper etc, but of course, if you will need to print on A4, and your document is set on A3, you will encounter an error as the paper on the tray and the paper set by your document is different. So in instances like this, its user error more likely is the problem.
Others also complained about the wireless capacity, that it doesn’t work the first time, and you will have to set things up properly before you’re able to do so. Well, again, these cases indicate that customers will need to set it up properly first before trying to do something that’s not prepared for it yet, as you will definitely encounter an error.
The HP Officejet 7500A currently selling at $180 on Amazon.com was rated high by users in terms of connectivity, functionality, accessibility and documentation. The downside is bad customer service support from HP itself. Click here for more user reviews.
In a nutshell
Unlike in the past, there is now an A3 printer for everyone, regardless of your budget. Printer companies like Brother, Epson, HP, and Canon will always find a way to get you what you need. Why? Because they constantly need to stay ahead of one another. If you’re a fan of Brother, you should appreciate Canon’s existence, and vice versa.
By this type of competition being present, it makes these four front-running printer companies innovate more, and you end up being the beneficiary. Luckily for you, they have all caught onto something in recent years, which is that the large A3 printer is more profitable if made available to all.
To further their competitive edges, they have even lowered ink prices. That being the case, it would be wise to take advantage before the A3 competitive fire burns out.
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About James Wikkee