Depending on the industry you work in, or if your business requires large-scale tabloid, poster, or banner printing, you may find yourself in need of an 11×17 printer. These 11×17 wide format printers have great capacities when it comes to handling large outputs, saving you trips to the printing store, and of course, costs.
The best 11×17 printer should be designed to handle many pages but still, be cost-effective to avoid wastage. Additionally, it may come with features like duplex scanning to streamline the number of gadgets you have in your home or office.
But that’s easier than it sounds with so many options available on the market. That’s why we’ve reviewed 5 of the top ones available to help you choose the best 11×17 printer for you and your requirements.
High-quality color accuracy, borderless printing, CD/DVD printing capabilities
Table of Contents
The 5 Best 11×17 Printers in 2023
Now that you have a general overview of our top picks, let’s get into why they made it to this list and go into more detail about how they fare against each other so that you could make the perfect purchase decision.
The Brother MFC-J6545DW inkjet is an all-in-one printer that effortlessly and quickly scans, copies, prints, and faxes 11×17 prints for most medium-sized businesses. It also comes with two-sided scanning and copying features (for single sheets, not multipage), giving you cost-effective convenience and quality output.
Furthermore, Brother’s user-friendly interface makes navigating through the prominent features easy. The MFCJ6545DW comes with a business-smart pro-series control panel that connects to the embedded web server, making tasks efficient rather than performing them from your web browser.
All of that is also in tune with connections with Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print, so you can connect your business’s Google Drive or any system you prefer to your printer to print anywhere, any time.
What’s more, Brother incorporated additional helpful features in the printer, such as USB, peer-to-peer, WiFi, and mobile device connections.
Of course, this isn’t a printer designed for high-quality image printing, but laser-quality text in your documents is guaranteed, and cartridges that come with the printer hold about a year’s worth of ink.
Pros:
Good print speed
Decent print quality when it comes to text
Prints, scans, copies, and faxes tabloid-size pages
Economic to run
Compatible with cloud printing
Various connectivity options
Cons:
Won’t work well with image prints
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for the best tabloid-size inkjet printer that happens to be an all-in-one at the same time, don’t look further than the Brother MFC-J6545DW for its multifunctional abilities when it comes to scanning, copying, printing, and faxing.
The Epson ET-15000 will help you save costs in the long term and is named “Ecotank” for that precise reason. Why? Because it has a sizable ink tank that lasts you long, so you won’t have to refill for a while. In addition, it switches flawlessly between high color and black ink payoff, and when you finally run out of ink, the replacement bottles for this printer are cheap.
This Epson Ecotank ET-15000 prints perfectly on tabloid and super tabloid-size paper and has both rear and front input trays, along with adjustable sliders, so you can use whatever paper size you require.
Additionally, it comes equipped with a sheetfed scanner. Though it doesn’t support duplex scanning, you can always manually flip documents when scanning.
Pros:
Impressive page yield
Comes with a flatbed Scanner and sheetfed
Eco-color cartridges last long
Lower cost per print
Features a rear input tray
Cons:
No duplex scanning
May not be the best option for large offices
Bottom Line
With easy-to-fill mega-tanks that last a lot more than your average cartridge, the Epson ET-15000 is all about efficiency and cost savings without compromising quality!
3. HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 – Best for Small Businesses
This HP OfficeJet 7740 printer has 3 color cartridges that give an excellent yield for an affordable cost. In addition, it features a longer-than-most flatbed scanner, ideal for tabloid-size documents, and its automatic document feeder lets you get through many pages quickly.
Plus, the printer has excellent printing speed when it comes to black documents but can lag slightly on color accuracy. It also features an app to make printing more manageable; however, it only supports PDF and image files, which is fair since they’re the most common file types used.
Lastly, duplex scanning is an option with this one, making it ideal for small and upcoming businesses that require quick processing.
Pros:
Long flatbed scanner
Economic cartridge system, providing a low cost per print
Handy print speed for black and white documents
Cons:
Lacks of color accuracy
The companion app only supports PDF and image files
Bottom Line
When affordability and low footprint are mentioned, so is the HP OfficeJet 7740. This versatile, multifunction printer will serve your small business just right!
4. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840 – Highest Print Speed
This Epson Workforce Pro WF-7840 is ideal when speed and constant turnaround are required. Thanks to its easy paper jam resolution and well-built cartridge system, you won’t be faffing around sorting out these nuisances, slowing down your work turnaround.
Also, because of its three input trays, it handles overload well, and this is in combination with convenient duplex scanning and an automatic document feeder.
The printer prints black documents pretty quickly, but the page yield for black ink is sadly low, so you’ll have to replenish cartridges more often, but they’re affordable.
Pros:
Resolves paper jams instantly
Easy ink cartridge replacement process
Good printing speed for black documents
Excellent scanning features
Cons:
Poor black documents yield
Cartridges need to be replaced often
Lacks smart features, like Bluetooth
Bottom Line
If you run a fast-paced business and time is of the essence, count on the Epson Workforce Pro WF-7840 to get your prints ready just when you need them. This one is all about high performance at its finest!
This Canon PIXMA Pro-100 printer is ideal for gallery-quality prints, ideal for photographers, or if you have a photo printing business.
Thanks to its 8 dye-based ink, you’re guaranteed to have high-quality accuracy; the drawback with this is that cartridges are on the pricier side, but this is definitely negotiable – the color accuracy and excellent speed means you save costs of having your prints printed at your photo kiosk store.
This PIXMA Pro-100 comes with a rear tray that handles glossy photo papers and a front tray for thick media-based prints, perfectly balancing light and dark areas. So this printer may not be ideal for standard business graphics and document prints.
Lastly, it offers a WiFi connection and USB so you can connect your cameras directly to your printer and print with ease.
Pros:
Prints high-quality, gallery-style photos
Fairly fast
Long-term benefits of saving on photo prints
Cons:
Some color issues were only found with graphics
Not ideal for businesses that don’t deal with photos
Relatively expensive
Bottom Line
If the high-quality output is what you prioritize above anything else in your prints, the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 is your best bet for vibrant and glossy photos.
Factors to Consider When Buying an 11×17 Printer
If you’re looking for specific features or are unsure about what to look for in your ideal tabloid 11×17 printer, consider the below factors as a shopping guide, so you make the right choice for your requirements. For each of these factors, ensure you check the specifications on the manufacturer’s website for the printer of your choice.
Paper Handling
Some printers will feed the stock of a sheet one at a time through a paper-bypass slot at the back of the machine, which is ideal for single printing oversized pages once in a while. However, most of the ones we’ve reviewed come with several trays to preload your paper supply which avoids wasting time, and you can have your oversized print as and when you need it.
If you don’t require oversized tabloid prints, you could often go for a single-tray paper bypass feed printer. But chances are, if you’re in the market for tabloid 11×17 printing, you’ll want a printer with at least two trays to prevent the inconvenience of loading paper and standing around feeding the machine.
Furthermore, if your operations require high printing capacities, opt for a printer with 3 trays to handle your needs.
ADF and AIO
If scanning is a priority for you, you should look for Automatic Document Feeds printers (ADF). ADF processes a few pages at a time and then feeds the paper into the printer, which allows you to check the document and then duplicate, fax or print many pages at the same time without needing to replace pages manually.
Additionally, some of these ADF printers have auto-duplexing features that automatically scan both sides of the paper. Those ADF printers that don’t have this feature will require you to flip your paper manually to print on the other side.
Some of the printers available are all-in-one (AIO), enabling you to scan, copy, fax, and print. In addition, AIO printers sometimes come with a single pass scanning feature that allows you to scan both sides of your two-sided document, which halves the time you’d spend if done manually.
Both of these have their advantages, and an essential thing to look out for is whether they support various paper sizes. For example, some ADF printers will print tabloid sizes but only scan legal-size documents.
So if you know that scanning is a feature you use all the time, consider an ADF 11×17 printer that reduces the amount of time you spend on printing. Or, if you require multi-functions from your single printing machine, opt for an AIO type.
At the same time, if you require various media size prints, then check your printer of choice specifications to ensure it meets the different paper sizes you may need.
Printing Resolution
The resolution of your prints may be an essential consideration, especially if you’re after a tabloid printer. Ensure that you choose a printer designed for high-quality, sharp graphical photos as these printers have the inkjet and laser combo capacities to cater to this.
Printing Speed
Speed is an essential consideration if you require a quick turnaround. It’s measured in Pages Per Minute or PPM, and the higher the number, the faster the printer. Sometimes, printers with high-resolution quality will print slowly. Still, the outcome is worth it, so consider what type of prints you want and if you require a quick turnaround according to the nature of your business.
Ink Costs
Generally, 11×17 printers use a lot of ink, so when deciding how much of your budget to set aside for your printer, consider the running costs too. There’s little point in purchasing an inexpensive printer but then having to fork out money constantly to keep things up and running.
This isn’t sustainable for a business and can creep into the profit you make at the end of a year. So it’s wiser to opt for a sustainable printer that uses ink efficiently but may have the expensive initial cost of investing in it.
Connectivity Options
Some printers come with USB, Ethernet, WiFi connectivity, and even Google Drive and Cloud compatibility. Depending on your requirements and the nature of your work, these may be necessary features.
Having a variety of connectivity options definitely helps make things a touch more convenient, saving you time and giving you the ease of printing effortlessly, wherever you are.
Number of Ink Cartridges
The number of cartridges that your 11×17 printer supports directly impacts the color quality of your print. As a general rule, the more cartridges your printer holds, the higher resolution of your image will be.
So, if you require gallery-style photos for your business or individual needs, opt for a printer with 5 or more ink cartridges, but if you require your prints to be clear-cut black and white documents, opt for a 3 to a 4-cartridge printer instead.
Conclusion
To choose the best 11×17 printer for you, you’ll need to bear in mind the buying factors we discussed, such as the printing speed, ink costs, connectivity, and resolution – all of which are negotiable for some and can be significant deciding factors for others.
If saving on ink costs is vital for your business, the Epson EcoTank ET-15000 would be an ideal choice as it ensures each print consumes ink sustainably so that your cartridges last longer. On the other hand, if you’re after gallery-style prints, the Canon Pixma Pro-100 would be your go-to for high-resolution prints.
Additionally, suppose your business has a quick turnaround nature. In that case, you’ll want to prioritize printing speed as an unnegotiable factor, and in that case, opting for Epson Workforce WF-7840 would be a good choice.
And if you’re after an all-rounder, the Brother MFC-J6545DW combines fast speeds with multifunctional activities, such as scanning and faxing, while also giving you the convenience of smart connectivity, such as WiFi and cloud printing.
I am a bilingual, meticulous, and hardworking professional. As a high-energy professional, and printing specialist who offers high-quality printing services I possess excellent oral and written communication skills coupled with an ability to establish and maintain strong rapport with clients. I am able to prioritize workloads and handle multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently. My work experiences have made me accustomed to working in fast-paced environments with the ability to think quickly and successfully handle difficult situations.
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