The best Canon photo printers for pro photographers

Each model in Canon's professional photo printer range has its own set of core strengths, meaning there's a printer to suit the varying needs and budget of every pro photographer. But how do you decide which Canon pro photo printer is right for you? What features should a photographer look for in a professional photo printer for art prints, wedding photography and other commercial requirements?

"Top of the list would be colour fidelity and integrity to the original image," says Suhaib Hussain, print specialist and Senior Marketing Manager for Print at Canon Europe. "Photographers put a huge effort into capturing images and painstakingly processing them, and they want that to be represented in print. Cost is another major concern, so our aim is to make the printing process simple, quick and cost-effective. Photographers need to feel confident that they can get the results they want without adding complications to their workflow or wasting ink and paper."

Canon Ambassador Clive Booth had a long career in graphic design before becoming a professional photographer and whether he's shooting high fashion and portraiture or moody monochrome landscapes, he is passionate about printing his photos. He has not one but three Canon photo printers at home, installed in a purpose-built live-streaming studio from which he runs online print workshops to share his enthusiasm and pass on his knowledge.

Clive believes professional photographers should buy and run their own photo printers because of the control it gives them. "For very little investment, you can create a colour-managed workflow at home or in your studio," he explains. "You can then monetise your work, selling prints with complete confidence."

Here, we take a closer look at three of Canon's best pro photo printers – the A3+ Canon PIXMA PRO-200S and imagePROGRAF PRO-310, plus the A2 imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 – to see how they compare.

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There are several key factors in selecting the best printer for you. Size is important, not only in terms of the largest prints that you want to create, but also in the form of the printer itself and how much room it takes up in your office or studio.

Then there's the type of photos that you want to print, which means thinking about whether you want a printer that uses dye-based or pigment-based inks. For example, dye-based inks are more affordable and are ideal for colour vibrancy, which brings out the best in portraiture and landscapes. On the other hand, pigment-based inks are very versatile and capable of printing on to a range of media, including gallery prints. Pigment-based inks are also ideal for monochrome printing with rich blacks.

Speed is another consideration if you need to create big batches of large-format prints. Quality is obviously paramount, but if you’re not able to produce prints efficiently then it will impact your productivity and your turnaround times.

Compatibility with the type of media that you want to use for your photos is another consideration when choosing a pro printer, Zubair suggests. "Canon has its own range of papers, but a lot of photographers like to use a range of third-party papers. We have strong partnerships and collaborations with third-party paper manufacturers such as Hahnemühle and Canson. We send them our printers so that they can create specific profiles for them, which means photographers can achieve loads of different looks and feels with different media types."

To help you make the best Canon printer choice, here's how the current PIXMA and imagePROGRAF professional printers compare. (If you're new to photo printing, read our best printers and best printers for photo printing guides for home and workplace solutions.)

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200S is Canon's entry-level professional photo printer. With eight ChromaLife 100 dye-based rather than pigment-based inks, it's particularly good for printing on glossy and lustre photo papers. The relatively small molecules of ink are fully absorbed beneath the protective top layer of both of these media, giving a real shine to glossy prints. This also means photo prints are touch-dry as soon as they exit the printer.

Printing speed itself is also fast and longevity is very good for glossy prints, rated at over 100 years when stored in an album. Colour rendition is vibrant, suiting high-impact fashion and advertising photography, along with vivid colourful landscapes.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is nearly identical in size and weight to the PIXMA PRO-200S but is a more advanced printer. It uses ten LUCIA PRO II pigment-based inks, which are better suited than dye-based inks for printing on matte and fine art paper. That's because the pigments are more robust and deliver gallery-quality prints with exceptional colour and really deep blacks for superior black and white photo output on these types of papers.

The longevity and archival quality of prints is excellent, which can be very important when creating prints to sell to clients. The imagePROGRAF PRO-310 can also deliver excellent results on glossy paper, thanks to the inclusion of a Chroma Optimizer cartridge, which enhances uniformity and minimises bronzing.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 takes everything up a level. It's an A2 printer, so you get a bigger maximum print size of 43 x 64cm, and a longer panoramic length of up to 3.27m. The colour gamut is even wider, with 12 pigment-based LUCIA PRO II cartridges, again including a Chroma Optimizer but also adding photo grey and blue inks. The cartridges themselves each have a much higher capacity of 80ml, compared with 14ml for the imagePROGRAF PRO-310 printer. The imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is therefore better suited to higher-volume printing as well as simply for creating larger prints. Advanced features include a vacuum-based paper feeding system to ensure the utmost accuracy, and additional accounting management software for keeping tabs on the price of each print, based on ink and paper costs.

• Eight dye-based inks
• Extended gamut compared with conventional six-ink photo printers
• Three black and grey inks for enhanced black and white photo output
• Very fast, with A3+ bordered photo prints in as little as 90 seconds¹
• Panoramic prints of up to 99cm in length
• Sturdy build quality based on a metal chassis
• Compact footprint for an A3+ pro printer
• Wide-ranging support for Canon and third-party photo papers

Like the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310, the PIXMA PRO-200S is also equipped with WPA3 for protection against unauthorised access in wireless network environments, as well as TLS 1.3, which enables more secure data exchange.

To build confidence and streamline the workflow, pro-level software is consistent across the range. "The whole range of printers is very robust and has the same simple interface," explains Clive. "Canon Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software is like the glue that sticks everything together, which I absolutely love. When you buy a Canon photo printer, you're supported by software that works with your workflow and really simplifies the process."

• 10 pigment-based LUCIA PRO II inks for enhanced gamut, with improved magenta response
• Borderless A3+ output on both matte and glossy papers
• Chroma Optimizer cartridge to minimise bronzing on glossy photo paper
• Direct support for fine art papers from suppliers such as Canson and Hahnemühle
• Panoramic prints of up to 1.8 metres in length
• Automatic detection for blocked print head nozzles to avoid degradation of quality
• A3+ borderless prints in approximately 4 minutes 15 seconds
• Sturdy build quality based on a metal chassis

There have been some updates to Canon's PPL software that give you more control over how Chroma Optimizer is applied too. “Previously there were only two options: Automatic and Overall,” says Zubair. “But now you can choose Printed Area, which applies Chroma Optimizer only to areas of the print where pigment is laid, and None. Being able to turn Chroma Optimizer off is useful when you’re creating an in-house print or a test print."

In addition to the improved ink formulation, there are other ways that the imagePROGRAF PRO-310 improves on its predecessor, the PRO-300. "It supports three new paper sizes for regular printing and six new sizes for borderless printing," Zubair explains. "It also has security updates for WPA3 and TLS 1.3, and an improved installation process, where an animation on the screen guides you through how to install the print head and inks. Plus, the packaging has moved from expanded polystyrene to fully recyclable cardboard."

• 12 pigment-based LUCIA PRO II inks for even wider gamut
• Improved black expression and colour reproduction in blue-dark areas
• New, more robust ink formulation means improved output handling on glossy and semi-glossy papers, with greater abrasion resistance
• Borderless A2 output on both matte and glossy papers
• Chroma Optimizer cartridge to minimise bronzing on glossy photo paper
• Direct support for fine art papers from suppliers such as Canson and Hahnemühle
• Panoramic prints of up to 3,276mm in length
• Automatic detection for blocked print head nozzles to avoid degradation of quality

The 12-ink LUCIA PRO II system produces breathtaking prints, particularly on fine art papers, and print quality is improved with deeper blacks. Thanks to the new inks and improved image processing, colour reproducibility is improved in blue-dark areas, which is especially valuable for prints with a wide dynamic range, enhancing detail in deeper colours and shadows.

The imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 uses the same ink formulation and the same print head technology as Canon's latest large-format roll-fed printers, such as the imagePROGRAF PRO-2600, PRO-4600 and PRO-6600, but in a compact A2 desktop printer that is also capable of panoramic output up to 3.27 metres in length.

"For ink reliability," adds Suhaib, "every current imagePROGRAF printer features an automatic nozzle recovery mechanism. The molecules of pigment-based inks are larger than those of dye-based inks, so nozzles are more at risk of clogging. However, the thermal inkjet design of Canon's FINE technology in the print heads enables an extremely high density of nozzles."

Like other printers in the PRO line-up, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 includes direct support for Canson®, Hahnemühle and other paper brands, so you can make the most of fine art media, with quick and easy application of ICC printer profiles to ensure that prints look their absolute best.

In summary, Suhaib says that the Canon PIXMA PRO-200S is a comparatively entry-level professional photo printer that's very affordable and equally well suited to photography students and enthusiasts, as well to pro photographers on a tighter budget. It's perfect for creating glossy and lustre photo prints. The pigment-based imagePROGRAF PRO-310 and imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 are superior for printing on matte and fine art media, as well as for creating black and white photo prints.

Two of the best professional photo printers, these models are similar in size, have identical screens, enjoy PPL software support and can produce borderless A3+ prints. So why would a pro photographer choose the imagePROGRAF PRO-310 over the budget-friendly PIXMA PRO-200S?

"The main benefit is the access to LUCIA PRO II inks that you get with the PRO-310," says Zubair, "and the improvement in image quality, longevity and durability that this brings. The PRO-310 uses the same matte black ink as the imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 too, so you can achieve great black density for very high-quality black-and-white photos on fine-art media.

"If you tend to print bold, vibrant photos, then in some respects the PIXMA PRO-200S is a better option. The dye inks used in the PRO-200S deliver richer colours than the pigment-based inks in the PRO-310, which give you more naturalistic tones and smoother gradations."

Both of these models are outstanding professional photo printers for art prints. The main reason for choosing an imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 over a PRO-310 is if you need to print A2 versus A3+, Zuhair explains. "You can also create longer panoramic prints on the PRO-1100, up to 3.27 metres."

"The imagePROGRAF PRO-310 uses the same LUCIA PRO II inks, but it's a ten-ink system rather than the 12 inks on the PRO-1100. Even though there are just two additional inks in the A2 printer, photographers will notice an improvement in print quality if they step up to the PRO-1100. You get deeper blacks, so the optical density is better, plus a wider colour gamut." Its improved blue-dark colour reproduction means it is fantastic for professionals printing photography with predominantly blue tones, including sky, sea and landscape photos. Also, its high-capacity ink cartridges make it ideal for printing in higher volumes.