Top 10 A1 Printers, Ranked by Price (Low to High)

If you’re weighing up an A1 (24-inch, 610mm) printer for CAD drawings, maps, posters or point-of-sale graphics, price is usually the first thing that narrows the field. Here’s our pick of ten A1 printers from Canon, Epson and HP, run from the most affordable up to the more premium poster and fine art machines, so you can see roughly where your budget lands you.

The unit price is only half the story

It’s tempting to just look at the numbers below and go with whatever’s cheapest, but the price of the printer itself is only part of what it’ll actually cost you to own. Ink is where the real cost lives over the life of a machine — some printers come with full ink cartridges included as standard, others ship with small starter tanks that need replacing within weeks, and cost-per-print can vary hugely between models even at a similar purchase price. A cheaper printer paired with expensive, fast-draining ink can easily cost you more over a year or two than a pricier machine running on efficient, well-supplied ink.

This is exactly the kind of thing we help customers work through every day. Get in touch and we’ll talk you through what ink comes free with each of these printers, the realistic running costs for your print volume, and which option actually works out the best long-term, cost-effective solution — not just the cheapest one on day one.

1. Canon TC-21 A1 Printer — £475.00 +VAT

A 4-colour pigment printer that plots an A1 black & white CAD drawing in around 30 seconds. Compact and quiet, it suits small offices, architects, schools and retailers who only need occasional A1 output and don’t want a machine taking up a lot of floor space.

2. Epson SureColor SC-T2100 — £469.00 +VAT

Epson’s entry point into A1 printing, using 4-colour UltraChrome XD2 pigment ink and producing a first page in around 43 seconds. A good desktop option for freelance architects, engineers and students who print technical drawings occasionally rather than daily.

3. HP DesignJet T250 — £743.40 +VAT

Marketed as the world’s smallest A1 plotter, the T250 turns around an A1 plot in about 30 seconds (up to 60 prints an hour) using HP’s 712 Bright Office inks. Wi-Fi enabled and built for small offices or home studios where desk space is tight.

4. Canon TM-240 — £749.00 +VAT

Steps up to Canon’s 5-colour LUCIA TD pigment ink set and prints both A1 and A2. At just 39dB it’s one of the quietest machines in its class, which matters if it’s sharing a small office rather than sitting in its own print room.

5. Canon TM-250 — £998.00 +VAT

The same 5-colour LUCIA TD system as the TM-240 but noticeably faster, at around 20 seconds per A1 plot. A solid mid-volume option for architects and design teams who need drawings, maps and posters on demand without a wait.

6. HP DesignJet T630 — £1,008.00 +VAT

A Wi-Fi-enabled step up from the T250 aimed at architecture, engineering and construction teams, with the same 30-second A1 plot time but a more capable feature set for busier small offices.

7. HP DesignJet T650 — £1,113.00 +VAT

HP’s quicker sibling to the T630, turning around an A1 plot in about 26 seconds (roughly 65 an hour). Same compact footprint and Wi-Fi setup, just built for slightly higher print volumes.

8. Canon TM-255 — £1,190.00 +VAT

Compact enough to sit flush against a wall, the TM-255 uses Canon’s 5-colour LUCIA TD ink for crisp CAD line work and vivid poster colour at around 20 seconds per A1 print — a good fit for small workgroups with steady, low-to-mid volume output.

9. Canon GP-200 — £1,875.00 +VAT

A move into poster and point-of-sale territory, with 5-colour LUCIA Pro pigment ink plus a fluorescent pink for extra punch on promotional graphics. It also comes bundled with PosterArtist Lite software, handy if nobody in the team has design experience.

10. Canon GP-2600S — £2,095.00 +VAT

The most premium printer on this list, aimed at photo, fine art, proofing and professional print-for-pay work rather than CAD or plain posters — the one to consider if colour accuracy and print quality matter more than raw speed.

Our top tip

You may be wondering what would be our top tip? We’ve been selling large format printers for over 36 years! Ask us, or take a look at the Canon TM-250 A1 Bundle: Printer, Stand and Cutter — you get 2 years’ warranty, free delivery, free paper and 490ml of ink free, worth at least £200. If you do the maths, it’s a great buy. See Canon TM-240 vs Canon TM-250 vs Canon TM-255: Which A1 Printer? for how it compares.

Find your A1 printer

Prices and specs move around as models get updated, so it’s always worth checking the current range rather than relying on any list to stay accurate forever. Find out more and browse our large format printer offers here, or get in touch and we’ll help you match a machine to your workload and budget.

Still not sure which one’s best for you?

Tell us a bit about what you’ll be printing and your budget, and we’ll point you to the A1 printer that gives you the best value — not just the lowest price tag. Fill in the form below and one of the team will get back to you.