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Oct 14, 2024

Best Canvas Printer 2024: Top Picks for Small & Large Canvas Prints

Have you ever wanted to display precious memories or artworks in your home, but found that framed prints didn’t quite do the image justice? You should consider buying one of the best canvas printer

Have you ever wanted to display precious memories or artworks in your home, but found that framed prints didn’t quite do the image justice? You should consider buying one of the best canvas printer options on the market: capable of creating stunning artwork to be fitted on a canvas frame. A unique means of displaying visual media, not every printer is able to create them – though there are still plenty of print solutions on the market.

To help you find the right canvas printer for your needs, we’ve put together a list of recommendations. Spanning different budgets and niches, you’re sure to find the right canvas printer to suit your home or business.

Printing on canvas isn’t something every printer can do, so naturally our first consideration was compatibility. We also factored in the print speed and print size of the models on offer – from small decorative canvases to large-scale artworks – so that you don’t end up short, or overcompensate with too large a printer. More importantly, we highlighted the print quality of each model as a major factor: for not only detailed, but colorful canvas prints.

We settled on five products, across a range of price points so that budget artists can still create artworks. Whether you’re looking for a business-grade means of selling canvas prints or a hobbyist looking to furnish your living space, we’re sure to have the right printer to suit your needs.

This top Canon printer ticks all the right boxes and is ideal for creating stunning canvas prints.

Our top spot today goes to the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-1000, a top canvas printer offering from Canon. Capable of stunning canvas prints in huge sizes, this unit ticks all the right boxes.

Though the general maximum print size is 17″ x 22″, the Pro-1000 comes with roll-feed support – meaning you can extend the length of your input for huge panoramic prints. Utilizing a 12-color InkJet system means the printer is able to replicate stunning details and varied shades. Additionally, it has an air-feeding system that keeps your canvas paper aligned inside, making for more accurate ink placement.

There’s only one real flaw that may spoil the Pro-1000 use case: the speed. Especially for canvas prints, the Pro-1000 doesn’t have the fastest print speeds on the market. What it lacks in productivity, however, it makes up for in quality; and we still recommend the Pro-1000 as a top canvas printer.

Packing dye sublimation printing into a compact and affordable form, this Brother printer is capable of incredible canvas artworks.

We love the price-to-performance balance that Brother printers offer, and the SP-1 is no exception as a canvas print solution. Low-cost but highly worthwhile, this budget printer for canvas prints is a great investment.

A dye sublimation printer, using heat to chemically bond the ink and paper together, the SP-1 should be more expensive than it is – not that we’re complaining. Setup is quick and easy, with a streamlined driver installation. The model itself is compact, whilst still capable of 8.5″ x 11″ prints. What’s more, the SP-1 mitigates some of the more cumbersome aspects of maintaining a sublimation printer – with automated nozzle cleaning after prints to prevent clogging.

This is all well and good, however we found that the end results were somewhat lacking in the color gamut – with colors being desaturated and not true-to-life. It’s the cost of a budget model, unfortunately – if you want a budget canvas printer, then the SP-1 is your best bet.

A happy median of price and quality, the ET-8550 is a great option for versatile canvas printing.

If you’re looking at something more household-based than business-based, consider the Epson EcoTank ET-8550. A comfortable mid-range printer from Epson, we’re big fans of using this unit for all your home printing needs.

Even on the largest print formats, images still come out with crisp 5,760 x 1,440 DPI resolution. Employing Epson’s ink tank printer system, you’re able to print reams of products – including canvas prints – without needing to replenish the printer. And for more than just canvas prints, this multimedia printer can accommodate standard documents as well as other specialist media such as cardstock.

However, that multimedia tray is inconveniently located on the base of the model, making loading a cumbersome task. It’s a small inconvenience, though, and we still highly recommend the ET-8550.

Looking to print business-class canvas prints? This HP printer is the ideal solution.

For a high-end canvas printer aimed at businesses, we picked the HP DesignJet T630, a large-scale canvas printer with professional-grade quality. This HP printer is well worth the cost, offering stunning canvas prints no matter the size.

Capable of printing from media rolls up to 36″ in width, with roll-feed support, the T630 is capable of staggering-size canvas prints with incredible precision. The printer is highly productive, with large-scale prints being rendered quickly and with great color accuracy. Along with connectivity over wired and wireless connections, a color touchscreen makes configuring this printer even easier.

That said, if you’re planning on doing large volumes of printing, the T630 may be one to avoid. The machine isn’t as ink-efficient as other models, which can cost you money. It compensates with professional-quality prints, making this canvas printer well worth the extra expense.

With fast print speeds, this unit is a productivity powerhouse for rapid-fire canvas printing.

Our final pick in today’s rankings is the Epson L1800, an impressively fast canvas printer ideal for demanding work environments. Capable of 15 prints per minute, you’ll have no trouble producing quick and accurate canvas prints.

Employing a 6-color ink system, the L1800 is able to reproduce colors highly accurately – with detail even in the darkest shades. It doesn’t waste ink doing this, either, with a great cost-per-print for canvas printing. Compact and lightweight, this printer is well-suited to small spaces in the home or business. With a paper tray capable of holding 30,000 standard sized sheets (though the number is lessened for larger canvas), this printer is a great value-add for a printing business.

So why is the L1800 not the best canvas printer? The lack of wireless connectivity options unfortunately lets this printer down, with a USB connection being the only means of connection. If that isn’t an issue, then we highly recommend the L1800.

Considering a canvas printer not on our list? Here are some things to factor in before your purchase:

On top of the already-niche factor of being able to print canvas, bear in mind that there are different types of canvas paper, with different thicknesses. Be sure to check with the manufacturer if it’s capable of printing on heavier canvas. Generally, sublimation printers are more suited to thicker canvas.

If you are looking to run a cost-effective printer, the best way to measure that is via the cost-per-page statistics – the average cost of ink and paper for every sheet printed – listed with the product. This is measured in cents rather than dollars, thankfully, but make sure that you aren’t having to print constantly on an inefficient printer. Ink economy also refers to how efficiently the printer uses the ink that you provide, with minimal waste – another core consideration.

For both printing and scanning, resolution is a key factor. Determining the overall quality of your output, resolution is generally measured in dots per inch (DPI), and is especially important for crafting projects and specialist media such as canvas. Be sure to pick up a high-resolution printer for all your printing needs – they’ll be worth the extra money.

We don’t place too much stock in print speed, as it’s not an exact science: a printer listing 15 pages per minute for documents is always going to have a slower average speed for canvas prints. That said, some printers are notably slower, which can affect businesses or high-volume prints. Factor your own needs in before buying.

GSM refers to “grabs per square meter”, and is the metric for a paper’s weight and thickness. The higher the GSM, the thicker the paper.

Generally, a sublimation printer is best for canvas prints – able to chemically bond the ink to the paper – but standard InkJet printers are also capable of high-quality canvas prints.

It may not be the fastest, but the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-1000 is our top canvas printer, thanks to its incredible print quality and color output. Few printers can compete with its quality and print format – aside from the handful on this list, of course.

Looking for more affordable means of printing your artwork? Check out our guide on the best budget printers for art prints today.

Shaun is the editor of SPCR and a contributor to PCGuide. Shaun has a broad interest in technology from all things PC gaming to standard household tech.