A3 Printers:  What to look for

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

A3 Printers...

If you need to print in a wide format, such as 11x17, then you will need what is called an  A3 printer.

Hi, my name is Tom and I've created this special page to explain the benefits of getting a wide carriage A3 printer and educate you on the several different types you can find.  Like with most computer printers, the choices can be confusing, so hopefully this page will clear things up about looking for an A3 printer.


 

     
 
A3 printer  

Benefits of an A3 Printer

An A3 printer, sometimes also called an 11x117 printer,is a great choice for printing documents that look best in a larger size than will print on standard letter size paper. 

While these larger format printers are usually found in offices, many home users are also finding that once they experience the advantages of being able to print in a larger format, they don't want to give up their A3 printer.  

For applications where larger sizes are necessary, an A3 printer is a necessity.  Even those who aren't graphic designers can appreciate being able to print on paper that is twice as big as A4, or letter size, paper.  Posters and notices are just a couple of the frequent uses for an A3 printer.  Also, for printing booklets or newsletters, an A3 printer is able to produce letter size booklets by folding.  This adds a nice touch of professionalism. 

Another advantage of an A3 printer is that it can print letter size pages faster than a letter size printer.  The reason for this is that the pages are printed sideways and the wider carriage on an A3 printer can print more pages in the same time as an A4 printer.

Also, while a laser A3 printer requires several times the memory of an ink jet printer, the cost of memory has become so low that a black and white A3 printer is now affordable for most small offices and are starting to even find their way into home offices.

Another benefit, especially for businesses that still use regular size printers but have regular large format printing needs, is that with an A3 printer you'll save time by not having to run to the local copy store when you need to print large documents.  Otherwise, you end up having to modify the document to shrink it down to a letter size printer.

An A3 printer also offers flexibility.  It can print the same size documents as an A4 printer, but it can also print posters, larger graphs, large maps, calendars, etc.  In the home, with your A3 printer you can print wide photo formats, very nice screenshots, reproductions of paintings, garage sale posters, the list is almost endless.  Additionally, printing wider formats for home use is much more cost effective than having to use a professional printing service.

Whether at the office or in your home, once you use a wide format A3 printer and are able to see for yourself the convenience of larger size printing, you won't want to return to your smaller printer.


 
 
 
A3 printer  

Types of A3 Printers

You'll find there are basically three choices when shopping for an A3 printer, sometimes known as an 11x17, printer.  There are laser A3 printers, ink jet A3 printers, and the far less common dye sublimation A3 printers.

These three choices for an A3 printer, when combined with all the different manufacturers, can make for quite a confusing shopping experience, so let's look as the pros and cons for each choice.

All three have advantages and disadvantages, so knowing these in advance will enable you to make the right choice for your particular needs.

First, let's look at the laser jet A3 printer.  These have the advantages of speed and very high quality text.  These are best used for text, illustrations and line art.  The main disadvantage of the laser A3 printer is cost.  Black and white laser printers are now pretty affordable, but color laser printers are much more expensive, both to buy and to maintain.  They require fairly expensive multiple toner cartridges for black and for colors.  While a large A3 printer does an excellent job on text, line art and illustrations, it is not as good as an ink jet printer when it comes to printing half tones and photos.  This is due to the coarser resolution of a laser printer compared to a good ink jet printer.

Next, we have the A3 ink jet printer.   Far and away this is your best choice for printing photographs, due to the high resolution.  Their biggest drawback is to an ink jet A3 printer is speed, as they are much slower than a laser printer.  On the plus side, they usually are far less expensive to buy than a laser printer, especially a color laser printer.  Also, an ink jet A3 printer can usually print up to 13x19 inches.  This enables them to do a "full bleed" 11x17 print, which means it can print all the way up to the edges with no white border.

Finally, there is the fairly uncommon dye sublimation A3 printer.  These are the most expensive wide format printers but they have the best print color print quality.  A dye sublimation A3 printer uses wax-based inks that are actually injected into the paper.  This results in a very vivid print out, which is also water-resistant.  The main trade-off here, in addition to a higher price, is that a dye sublimation A3 printer prints the slowest of all three types.

No matter which type of A3 printer you choose, be sure to look at the same things you should look when buying any kind of printer:  purchase price, the price of replacement ink cartridges, how many pages per ink cartridge can be printed, and the number of pages the printer can print per minute.

 
     
 
 

 

     
 
ink jet printer  

New Printer Buyer's Guide

While there can be literally dozens of technical considerations to buying a new printer, here are the more general ones to keep in mind as you shop. 

There are two main types of printers: laser printers and ink jet printers. Laser printers are generally better for high-volume printing, as they have a lower per page cost.  However, they will cost more to buy than an ink jet printer.  Ink jet printers have a lower hardware cost but a higher consumables (ink jet cartridges) cost.  This is one of the primary trade-offs.

If you print photos or graphics, you'll for sure want a color printer.  Generally, ink jets produce better color while lasers produce better text quality.  But this differential is rapidly fading and either is acceptable for most uses.  However, for photos a color ink jet still produces the highest quality color. 

You want to consider a multifunction printer, as they combine are capable of multiple functions, such as printing, scanning, copying and perhaps faxing.  These are highly convenient devices and cheaper than buying separate hardware for each function.  But that low price and convenience comes as the expense of performance, such as lower resolution and slower print speeds (measured as ppm, or pages per minute). You'll have to decide for yourself if this is an acceptable trade-off.

A common thing to consider with a new printer is resolution, which is a primary determinant of print quality.  Print images are made of small dots of ink (or toner for a laser printer) and resolution means the number of "dots per inch", or "dpi".  The higher the number of dots per inch, the higher the quality of the printing, all other things being equal. 

Most modern printers support 600.600 dpi, which gives acceptable quality for most uses. Except for printing photographs, resolution higher than 600.600 isn't really noticeable and the higher the resolution the more ink you will use, so consider your needs carefully before buying a high resolution printer.  Unless you are printing lots of photos you will be just wasting money on ink, which is the most expensive cost for any printer in the long run.

Pay attention to what the ink cartridge arrangement is on a printer.  With ink jet printers, some use separate cartridges for each color, and some have all colors contained in one cartridge.  Over time, separate tanks for each color will be less expensive, as you only have to replace the one color that runs out.  With all colors in the same cartridge, you'll have to replace the entire cartridge even though only one color is used up. 

Also look at the path the paper travels in the printer.  The more straight through the path, the less trouble you'll have.  This is especially important if you do a lot printing on photo paper stock, envelopes, thick paper, or any other unusual materials.

Finally, consider the print drivers, which provide the software interface for you printer.  This allows you to control things such as number of copies, page size, orientation, etc.  The best drivers will include more advanced features such as low ink level warnings.  Also, stick with the major brands, such as HP, Epson and Canon.


 
 
 
laser printer  

How to Cut Your Printing Costs

If you're in the market for a new printer, this is one universal truth: your long term costs are mostly comprised of the ink cartridges.

Some time ago, I found a great price on a new color printer - under $50.  So I snapped it up.  I found out later that replacement ink cartridges were almost $40, and my usage was such that I had to replace them about every four months or so.  This meant I was spending more on ink that it would cost me to buy two new printers a year!  Such was the cost of not paying attention up front to ink cartridge costs.

This means that before purchasing any new printer, you should compare the cost and page capacity of the ink cartridges.  If you plan on doing a lot of printing, especially photo printing or using an A3 printer, you may be better off buying a more expensive printer that has ink cartridges that either cost less or print substantially more pages.

When looking at the cost of ink cartridges, pay particular attention to the number of pages the cartridge can print, once again especially for an A3 printer.  What you want to do is go for the printer that has the lowest per page print cost and the features you want.

You may want to consider a laser printer instead of an inkjet printer, especially that inkjet printer that came "free" with the computer you purchased.  That "free" printer will usually cost you much more in the long run due to high ink replacement costs and low page count.

The cost of laser printers, like all printers, has fallen enough that it may be cheaper in the long run than an inkjet, taking into consideration that the cost of ink work out to be about one third as expensive.

Laser printers do not print as good in color as in inkjet, so many people have an inexpensive inkjet for color printing and a laser jet for higher volume black-and-white printing.

Can you save money on ink by buying a kit to refill your used cartridge?  While this may look attractive, it almost always results in low quality and sometimes a leaky cartridge.

Two better choices are: "generic brand" compatible ink cartridges and remanufactured ink cartridges.  

Compatible cartridges are new cartridges that are designed to meet or exceed the manufacturer's original standards but are priced much lower.  It's sort of like buying the store brand of canned peaches. 

Remanufactured ink cartridges are recycled ink cartridges that are "rebuilt" and filled with original quality ink. This is the least expensive way to go, although they are most often available for laser printers, as laser cartridges are better engineered than inkjet cartridges.  Be sure you get ones that are remanufactured and not just refilled with ink and that they offer a money back guarantee if not satisfied.

The bottom line is that you can significantly reduce your printing costs, especially for an A3 printer, by buying the right printer and using the less expensive generic brand or remanufactured ink cartridges.