Architecture is a thriving field for creative professionals. In order to get their creativity out into the world, architects require to have the right tools and resources. First there are software’s which helps you in visualising and designing your ideas. Then there are wide format printers which prints them, so that you can show them to your clients. This is where you need best 11×17 printer for architects.
As an architect you often need to print blue prints, project proposals, diagrams, masterpieces, maps, designs and many documentations. A good printer can print them all in high standard quality. In fact you need to use such printer on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times in a day. That makes it a crucial component of your professional life.
Choosing the right printer for your all architectural needs is a confusing process. To assist you in this journey, we have curated a list of top 10 11×17 printers which are best in the market based on multiple benchmarks and tests we have gone through.
Best 11×17 printer for architects
WorkForce WF-7210 – Best 11×17 printer for architects For Moderate use
The Epson Workforce WF-7210 is a standalone, moderate volume, fast wide-format printer. It is an excellent choice for small offices which needs to print quality pages up to 13 by 19 inches.
This standalone printer has almost every feature you ever need or maybe even more. The printer is beast in size. It is 31.8 x 22.3 x 12.7 inches in dimension and weighs around 32.8 pounds. You will have to make space on your desk for it specifically.
When it comes to connectivity this printer supports WiFi direct, Ethernet and NFC. You can connect it with almost all of your devices including iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and smartphones, computer, laptop, chromebook, etc.
The printer can keep track of your cartridges consumption and order automatically when its low through Amazon Dash Replenishment. You can turn off and on according to your requirements.
It has 500 sheet holding capacity. That includes both trays. Each tray can hold up to 250 sheets of two different sizes. Apart from that it also has a manual rear feed for speciality paper. It’s output tray can hold up to 125 sheets.
Backed up by precisioncore technology, the printer can print high quality graphics upto 13”x19” in speed. That includes auto dual side 11”x17” printing. The 2.2” LCD display helps you in setup and navigation.
If by any chance you choose any wrong setting in the process like wrong size of paper, the printer informs you about it. When we compare the speed of printing graphics and text, texts are faster to print.
Canon Pixma PRO-100 – Best 11×17 printer for architects For Best Quality
If you are focused on print quality only, go for Canon Pixma PRO-100 without any worries. Pixma PRO-100 uses eight dye based ink tanks, and three of them are grayscale inks for high quality black and white prints. The colour print outputs are of gallery quality.
Printer is 15.2×27.2×8.5 inches in dimension and weighs 21 pounds. Auto sheet feeder has total capasity of 150 sheets of plain paper, 20 sheets of photo paper (4×6), 10 sheets (letter/8×10), 1 sheet (A3+). Manual feeder can take 1 sheet of photo paper upto 13”x19”.
The printer has an incredible 4800×2400 DPI print quality. It is capable of such high quality print with the help of 6144 nozzles. In comparison with pigment based ink used in most printers, dye based inks have better colour saturation and more durability.
When it comes to connectivity, the printer supports WiFi, Ethernet and USB. Apart from different types of paper, the printer can print on printable CD, DVD and Blue ray Discs. PictBridge connection allows you to connect directly to your digital camera and print photos.
Generally when you print high quality graphics, the speed of average printers is slow. Pixma PRO-100 does justice with both quality and speed. When you compare it with average printers, It is faster. Only problem with this printer is expensive ink. It has 8 ink cartridges. .
When you compare the cost with photolab prices, it’s still half with most and sometimes even better quality. To maintain the output quality Canon always advices you to buy original cartridges. However you can minimize that cost upto 1/10th with good quality third party ink.
Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 – Best 11×17 printer for architects Compact in size
Epson Expression XP-15000 is another gem by Epson in wide format printer section. As an architect if you are looking for the best 11×17 printer, this printer is an excellent choice. It is 30.9×18.7×16.2 inches in dimension and weighs only 18.7 pounds.
With it’s 180 nozzles per colour, the printer provides you professional HD quality borderless prints upto 13”x19”. It has 6 individual colour cartridges which includes Gray and Red inks providing ultra wide colour and enhanced black-and-white prints.
The printer has two auto-feed trays, one front and one rear. Rear tray supports 50 sheets for special papers with sizes varying from 4”x6” to 13”x19”. At the same time front tray supports 200 sheet auto 2-sided printing. When it comes to size, the printer is really compact. When you compare it with it’s predecessors, it is 30% smaller.
The printer has an excellent printing speed. It can print black and white documents at 9.2 ISO PPM and colour prints have speed of 9.0 ISO PPM. It supports both Ethernet and WiFi as mode of connectivity. You can easily print anything from your iPad, iPhone, Android Tablets and Smartphones. Apart from printing your architectural designs, projects and photos you can also use this printer to print discs and jewel case inserts. The preloaded software gives you capability to design and print on these materials.
Apart from WiFi and Ethernet, the printer also supports cloud connectivity through iOS and Android Apps. These apps have templates for calendars, greetings cards etc. You can control the printer with it’s 2.4” easy to use colour LCD. It is equipped by set of buttons for navigating menus, onscreen productivity apps and profiles. You will find the printer competitively priced for its colour printing capabilities.
Canon Pixma iX6520 – Best 11×17 printer for architects with minimal features
Canon Pixma iX6520 is a standalone printer with limited connectivity options. If you take cyber security very seriously and want to avoid any weak links in your network, this printer is the perfect choice. Unlike most printers, this printer doesn’t have any extra feature. It doesn’t have any wireless or Ethernet connectivity. It has no LCD screen, no SD card slot and no USB port for flash drives. You can only share the printer once it’s connected to your computer/Mac via USB.
The printer is 11.8×21.7×6.3 inches in dimension and weighs only 16.7 pounds. When it comes to printing speed, it is considerably faster machine. It can print a 4”x6” border less photo in 37 seconds, which is good enough for most of the printers. The printer supports various types of paper of different sizes, ranging from 4”x6” to 13”x19”. When it comes to ink, the printer has 5 colour high performance individual ink system. It consists four different dye based ink and a pigment based black ink.
When individual ink system is finished in any printer, you only have to replace the specific ink tank which runs out. So it’s a plus point from economical angle. The printer has ChromaLife 100+ system which claims that photos printed on genuine Canon photo paper with original ink will last for 300 years. You have to store it in an archival quality photo album. There is no way we can verify this claim. But if all conditions are right photos or graphics printed are indeed durable.
One major problem with this printer is the high cost of original ink used. But that can be fixed with generic cartridges. You have to be careful while choosing compatible cartridges because if it’s of low quality, it may end harming your printer.
HP Color Laserjet Enterprise M751n – Best 11×17 printer for architects as Laserjet
If you are looking for best heavy duty 11×17 printer for architects, HP color Laserjet Enterprise M751n is the perfect option. The printer can print up to 1200 dpi resolution which is pretty decent for any laser jet printer. M751n is a base model in it’s series which lacks auto duplexing. If you want auto duplexing feature, you will have to opt for M751dn model.
The printer is built for maximum productivity. It can go up to 40 ppm in colour prints without effecting quality of output. The printer has HP ImageREt 4800 print technology. It comes with a 1.2 GHz processor and 1.5 GB of memory which is expandable up to 2 GB. HP also offers an optional 500 GB hard drive which is enough for your life time storage of all pictures or documents you will ever print.
When it comes to connectivity, USB and Ethernet are standard options, but the base model only supports Ethernet. Mobile printing is supported by HP ePrint, Apple AirPrint, Google cloud print and Mopria-certified Apps. The printer comes with two trays. One is 550 sheet standard input tray and another is 100 sheet multipurpose tray. HP also offers optional paper trays which increases the total capacity up to 4450 sheets. Monthly duty cycle is 150,000 pages which is pretty high for any heavy duty printer. Although HP recommends only 40,000 pages per month.
For additional control the printer has a LCD screen with 24 numerical keypads. Apart from heavy duty, the printer is also built keeping cyber security in mind. The printer always checks it’s operating codes and repairs any malicious mods. Operating codes are digitally signed by HP and are checked during every startup.
Best 11×17 printer for Architects buyer’s guide
Once you have made up your mind that you are going to buy 11×17 printer, there are some benchmarks and terms you should be familiar with. We have followed the same in curating the list of best 11×17 printers for architects.
Media Size
Architectural drawing require wide format paper. 11X17 which is also refered as tabloid or a3 size is most used format. But that doesn’t means you have to limit yourself to one size only. In profession of architecture you need to print your designs and drawings in other sizes as well based on requirement.
So, we advise to opt for printers which supports a range of sizes. Yes they are bit higher in price but they are totally worth it.
Connectivity
Printer is an output device. It needs to take information as input to produce output. For that purpose it needs connectivity. There are two major connectivity options which are popular, wired and wireless.
Both have its own pros and cons. Wired connections are faster, more secure and reliable. At the same time their setup process is lengthy and you have to deal with wires and cords. Portability of such printers is tough.
While printers with wireless connections are very convenient to use. Sharing process of such printers is easier than wired printers. You can easily place them in one corner of the office and whole office can use it with ease.
Standalone or Multifunction
Printers have two types based on their usage. They either only print or perform other tasks as well. Here your reqiurements and economical expects plays an important role as well. And it differs from person to person. For example sometimes you only need a printer. But sometimes you need a printer, scanner, copier and a fax machine as well. You don’t need to buy everything seperately. Simply opting for a multifunction printer will solve your problem.
If you opt for multifunction printers, it’s advisable to look for Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) feature.
Also keep in mind that multifunction printers are slower than standalone printers. So, you will have to choose between cost effectivness and speed.
Resolution
Resolution of the printer is directly connected with the quality of drawing or images printed. When you are printing documents it doesn’t matters. But when you are printing diagrams, masterpieces, maps and designs, it matters a lot. And when you are printing them in wide format papers, it’s essential to have high resolution in your printer.
Any kind of image on paper is made up of tiny dots of different colour and intensities. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (DPI). More dots per inch means better the image.
Higher resolution printers are costly than average ones. If you are focused on printing quality only, go for standalone printers. They come with affordable prices.
Duty cycle
Duty cycle represents the number of total pages which can be printed per month. Before buying your printer you must figure out how many pages you are going to print in a month. Printers usually come with a limitation of duty cycle. If you start exceeding it, it starts effecting the durability of the printer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which printer is best for architects, Laser or Inkjet?
In simple words For architects Inkjet printers are always the best choice. Architects need to print blueprints, designs and many more graphical documents in their profession. Yes it’s true that both Laser and Inkjet printers can print graphics and photos. But in the end quality matters. Especially when your whole presentation of creativity and it’s impact is depending on a single piece of paper.
Inkjet printers use liquid ink to print. They do the printing by spraying lots of tiny dots of different colours through their multiple nozzles. Their output quality is pretty high and sharp. They have a higher running cost when you use original ink. Although cheaper options for compatible ink are available, but quality is slightly compromised. You can read this article to have a fair idea about refilling your cartridges. Laser printers on the other hand use toner cartridges which is dry. These printers print by melting dots of toner on paper. They have low running cost. Their print quality of photos and graphics is not as good as inkjet printers.
As an architect what matters most for you is expressing your creativity in front of your clients. You can have something very beautiful in your mind. You anyhow succeeded in transferring that imagination in your computer through different software. But if the print quality of that image is not up to standards, it’s going to impact the whole process. So we advise you to opt for Inkjet printers unless you have a lot to print.
Why 11”x17” size is most common among Architects?
11”x17” size is most common among architects due to its unique scaling capabilities. Architects need to print blueprints, architectural drawings, Designs, etc which requires somehow bigger size paper. If they print on smaller sizes, it will be hard to read or see things in details. If they print on too big papers, there will be problems in carrying them. 11”x17” is the sweet spot. It’s neither too big nor too small. 11”x17” paper can be also used in magazines to fold and complie multiple sheets. It is easy to hold them in hand and read. Bigger size papers will require a table even to read them. Due to all these reasons 11”x17” size papers are widely used by architects.
Conclusion
We looked at some best 11×17 printers for architects above. If you are looking for quality and have low duty cycle requirements, you should choose Inkjet printers. And if quality of graphics is not too much important and you have heavy duty cycle needs, opt for laser printers. Inkjet printers are cheap but have higher running cost due to costly inks. Laser printers are costly but have low running cost. Both kinds are listed and explained in details in above post. Happy shopping.