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Gone are the days when photographers had to send their work to a lab or service bureau whenever they needed a quality print that was wider than 17 inches. Thanks to the major wide-format printer manufacturers, today’s photographers can churn out brilliantly hued, stunningly detailed, ultra-high resolution prints quicker than they can say “Piezo printhead.”

Studio Photography offers a glimpse at some of the newer models in the market that may suit your wide-format printing needs. Visit the company websites for further details on the respective printer lines.

Canon
www.usa.canon.com
Canon takes the wide view with its full arsenal of printers. The new PIXMA Pro9500 (above) boasts 100 full-time color pigment inks, advanced software, camera-direct printing of contact sheets, and support for fine-art papers up to 13x19 inches—Canon’s new standard for creating professional images.

With the PIXMA Pro9000 (below), Canon promises you’ll discover just how good a photographer you are. The eight-color ink system opens up your color palette, while advanced software fine-tunes your output. The PIXMA Pro9000’s ChromaLife100 system combines the benefits of dye-based ink, Canon photo paper, and Canon’s FINE printhead technology to produce long-lasting prints.

Canon has also set a new standard for the way digital prints are produced with the next-generation pigment-ink imagePROGRAF iPF5000 (right, top) 17-inch printer. This printer is designed to satisfy the most critical printing needs of digital artists, tying in the new LUCIA pigment ink with innovative hardware that produces eye-catching output in minutes.

The 12-color pigment ink provides superior color stability and print longevity while dramatically expanding the color gamut. Along with the printer’s unprecedented quality and speed, the iPF5000 features multiple media handling options and a software suite, making the printer an ideal solution for the pro photographer.

The imagePROGRAF iPF8000 (below), a 44-inch printer, is for the photographer looking for impressive, full-bleed color output, strength in paper handling, and speed in output.

Among its advanced features are automatic clogged-nozzle detection and compensation for reliability; 330ml and 700ml selectable ink capacity sizes for versatility; a large, backlit LCD panel for ease of use; and ink usage tracking for accountability—some of the many advantages to satisfy every color professional’s wide-format printing needs.

Finally, the imagePROGRAF iPF9000 (below) takes wide-format color production to the next level. The printer delivers 60-inch color output, strength in paper handling, and speed—everything a photographer needs to productively, efficiently create enhanced color materials.

The iPF9000 printer is designed to fulfill the needs of any digital artist looking to create captivating images from capture to output, with tools that address the needs of the graphic arts market, including the photographic, fine-art, proofing, and poster-sign markets.

Epson
www.epson.com
Designed to exceed all expectations in the area of photographic image quality, the Epson Stylus Pro 3800 (below) incorporates a new 17-inch-wide printer design, along with a new photographic screening technology. When combined with Epson’s UltraChrome K3 ink, the Stylus Pro delivers unsurpassed image quality up to 17 inches wide. The printer automatically switches photo and matte black ink, depending on the media selected.

Photographers can also tap into the Epson Portrait Edition Series that’s available for the Epson Stylus Pro 3800—as well as the 4800.

This series is a complete hardware and software solution that gives wedding, portrait, and event photographers virtually everything they need to create customized print packages that can be sold in-house or online via a customized Web storefront. The solution features Epson’s renowned UltraChrome K3 printing technology and full-featured workflow management software from ExpressDigital.

Hewlett-Packard
www.hp.com
The HP Designjet Z2100 and Z3100 (below) deliver intuitive, repeatable color accuracy for museum-quality prints. The Designjet Z Photo Printer Series’ embedded spectrophotometer enables easy, accurate color management, bringing to life vivid colors with the touch of a button. Using HP Vivera pigment inks, the eight-ink HP Designjet Z2100 and 12-ink HP Designjet Z3100 produce exquisite prints on a wide variety of HP media that last more than 200 years. Both printers come in 24- and 44-inch-wide models.