What are the best budget wide format printers?

What to look for in an entry-level large format printer.

We might think of budget or entry-level wide format printers as lacking in capability, but a more accurate view would be that different market sectors simply have different needs. And although price is a defining characteristic at this level, in reality all equipment is designed to be sold at a particular price point, so the question that users should be asking of any equipment is: how well does it meet my needs?

There’s a good choice of print technologies at the budget end of the market, between eco-solvent, resin, which is also known as latex, and UV-curable. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these.

Eco-solvent probably offers the most value for money, as these inks tend to produce deep vibrant colours with a wide colour gamut. They’re usually reasonably fast, though you should consider adding any optional heaters if you plan to use the fastest print modes to ensure all the ink is fully dried before the prints are wound onto the take up roll. Solvent inks originally worked by melting the top coating of the substrate and injecting the coloured pigment so that it would bond fully with the media as it cooled. Health and safety restrictions on solvents mean that today’s eco-solvent printers work best on coated media to help bind the pigments to the material. There’s a good range of media available, and eco-solvent prints can survive exposure to sunlight without fading for a couple of years.

Latex printers, which actually use resin ink, tick the sustainability box as resin is a water-based ink and there are no issues with odour or any requirement for ventilation. In this case the pigment is encapsulated in a binder that is activated by heat to bond the pigment to the surface of the media. Again, coated media is generally recommended but there are plenty of options to choose from, both for indoor and outdoor use.

As a general rule, UV-curable printers are more expensive but there are still plenty of entry-level models to choose from. This ink is polymer-based and uses UV light to kick start a chemical reaction that binds the pigments to the surface of the media. It will work across many different substrates, giving a greater choice and therefore more flexibility on substrate costs. UV ink also offers a good degree of resistance to scratching,…