Best Printers for Black and White Photos in 2023 (Top 7 Picks)

Black and white photography and color photography require different printing approaches. Thanks to the detailed grays and expansive tonal range of black and white photos, an excellent color printer may not always be capable of high-quality B&W prints and vice versa.

So if you’re serious about your black and white work, you’ll need a printer that can handle the intricacies of B&W images.

Below, we share our top seven best printers for black and white photos, including options for every budget and experience level.

1. Epson SureColor P800

The Epson SureColor P800 is an absolute dream.

This printer can produce gallery-worthy – and gallery-sized – results, thanks to its 17” x 22” capacity. Filled to the brim with features, the SureColor P800 offers wireless capabilities (so you can print from any device), a roll feeder to print roll-based mediums, and compatibility with Epson’s UltraChrome HD Inks. 

And the Epson SureColor P800 really shines in black and white. A dedicated black and white mode offers access to three-ink technology, which helps black and white images retain their depth and tonality. This three-ink tech also helps eliminate color casts, a constant frustration for black and white photographers! 

2. Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000

This printer is so pro, Canon had to say it twice (sorry, I have to poke fun where I can)! The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 is a grand Epson SureColor P800 competitor, offering the same printing size, along with technology to prevent clogging or paper skewing (the tubular ink delivery system ensures your inks don’t start balling up in there and the air feeding system keeps your papers straight during printing). 

Of this printer’s twelve ink pots, four are specifically designated for grays, which allows black and white prints to beautifully display the color that actually matters (gray!). As a result, tonality is fantastic, and prints look near-identical to your original images.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 is also one of the faster printers on the market, so it’s perfect for the more impatient photographer.

3. Canon PIXMA iX6820

If you’re looking for something a bit more affordable than the four-digit printers above, the No products found. might just do the trick. Featuring similar anti-clogging and anti-paper-skewing technology to the more expensive Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000, this printer certainly holds its own, though it does have a smaller printing size at a maximum of 13” x 19”. Happily, the smaller size covers some of the more popular print sizes for clients (such as 11” x 17”), so it shouldn’t be too limiting. 

What makes this printer great for photographers is that it handles each ink cartridge slot separately, allowing you to replace the single empty cartridge. Although there are fewer ink cartridge slots than included by the higher-end professional printers, black and white images still come out with beautiful detail. 

4. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000

Packing the same maximum print size of 13” x 19” as the Canon featured above, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is a powerful pick for the serious black and white photographer. It does include a few benefits over the competition, though the price is higher, as well.

Priding itself on very high-quality outputs, the Epson brand as a whole created its own exclusive inks that are boasted to produce deep and brilliant colors. What does this have to do with images without color? Well, the brilliance comes from the depth of the blacks – and thanks to this depth, black and white images really come alive!

With the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000, you can go fully borderless, creating seamless prints to decorate your home or dazzle clients. Designed for work-from-home photographers and creatives, this printer is compact in size but mighty in power. The speed is also worthy of note; the XP-15000 can produce twenty black and white photo prints per minute (on average).  

The downside: The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is only compatible with its own line of ink cartridges.

5. Canon PIXMA TR4520

For the budget-conscious photographer, the Canon PIXMA TR4520 is hard to beat. It retails at around $100 USD, though it’s much more powerful than it seems (and it offers scanning and faxing, too!).

Related Post: Best Photo Printers Under $200

Although its maximum print size is 8.5” x 14”, that’s more than enough for personal prints or popular 4” x 6”, 5” x 7”, and 8” x 10” prints. And the compact form factor makes placing the printer easy wherever you need it. 

Regarding black and white photos, the quality is quite nice for its price point. The printer works wirelessly, like some others on our list, but what makes the Canon PIXMA TR4520 really special is its ability to print from cloud-based platforms. You can use your phone to turn your favorite Facebook and Instagram photographs into black and white prints! The printer also works with Alexa, allowing voice-command operation. 

6. HP OfficeJet 3830 

The nifty HP OfficeJet 3830 keeps popping up on printer lists – and for the right reasons! This all-in-one printer can handle most office and personal tasks you might throw at it, and it also happens to excel at black and white prints (for a consumer printer, of course)! 

Thanks to a versatile range of connectivity options (such as wired, wireless, Bluetooth, etc.) and an intuitive LCD screen, printing is quick and effortless. The black and white print quality is quite exceptional, especially at under $200.

What makes this option especially neat is its ability to handle a variety of printing mediums; you can print your black and white photographs as stickers, envelopes, card stock, fine art paper, glossy or matte paper, and more (all borderless, too!). 

7. HP DesignJet Studio

If your black and white prints require the largest canvas you can imagine, the HP DesignJet Studio will make it happen. This large format printer can print up to a whopping 24” x 74.7”, plus it can handle any sort of paper feed you might need.

Although this printer’s color photo printing leaves much to be desired, black and white prints come out brilliantly. If you’re a fine art black and white photographer and a lover of large prints, it may feel like the HP DesignJet Studio was made just for you. 

Which Black and White Printer Should You Buy?

Of all these fine choices, our favorite is the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000, featuring the perfect mix of cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and exceptional print quality.

However, if you’re a stickler for details, then the Epson SureColor P800 will be more up your alley, thanks in part to its dedicated black and white mode.

For the budget-conscious or those photographers that just want to dabble, the Canon PIXMA TR4520 is a great starter printer with lovely results. 

Best Black and White Printers FAQ

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