Editor
Acetate is a versatile material with many purposes: crafting, presentations and more. In papercrafts, acetate is often used to create a “window” effect for scrapbooks or greetings cards, but can also be used to create slides for projectors. Acetate is made by reacting cellulose with acetic acid in the presence of sulfuric acid, creating a thin, non-flammable transparent material. Manufacturers usually form it into sheets of 0.1mm to 0.5 mm thick; this specific thickness combined with the slippery surface means that some printers can struggle to produce reliable results. We have reviewed machines from across the market, against the criteria that matter for printing on acetate – resolution, print speed, media handling and value -. to help you find the best printer for acetate in 2022.
Product Comparison Table: Best Printer for Acetate
| Title | Price | Rating (Amazon) | Best in class | Buy | |
 | Canon iX6820 Wireless Business Printer | $$$ | 4.5 stars | Best Print Quality | Amazon |
 | HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide Format All-in-One Printer | $$$ | 4.5 stars | Most efficient | Amazon |
 | Canon TS5120 Wireless All-in-One Printer | $ | 4 stars | Best value | Amazon |
 | Brother Worksmart MFCJ895DW Wireless All-in-One Inkjet Printer | $$ | 4 stars | Best connectivity | Amazon |
 | Epson Stylus C88+ Inkjet Printer | $$$ | 4.5 stars | Best for crafting | Amazon |
Canon Pixma X6820 Wireless Business Printer
The Canon Pixma X6820 Wireless Business printer stands out for its incredible print quality, producing rich intricate results on acetate that stay true to even the most detailed designs. Working at a massive 9600 x 2400 dpi resolution with 1 picoliter droplets, the Canon promises full photolithography print head engineering and a high performance 5 individual ink tank system, for the pinnacle of print quality. Size-wise, it can handle anything from 4” x 6” mailers to 11” x 17” spreadsheets — even big 13” x 19” presentation charts, borderless. Print speeds reach a maximum of 14.5 pages per minute mono, or 10.5 in colour, handled via an ADF with a 100 acetate sheet capacity. Wi-Fi compatibility also means you can print remotely, either through your computer or on your phone, via the PIXMA solutions app. Lastly, this machine features a quiet mode and automatic power-off function when not in use, saving you money on your energy bills!
Pros
- Extremely high resolution for professional quality prints
- Auto power-off and quiet modes
- Decent print speed on acetate
Cons
- Loud without quiet mode
- No USB or bluetooth connectivity
Verdict
The Canon Pixma X6820 Wireless Business printer is our top choice for users who prioritise print quality. The incredibly high resolution and highly sophisticated cartridge and printhead technology make this the best-performing model by miles. The print speed may not be the fastest, though, and it is very loud even when quiet mode is enabled. However, if you are wanting to produce quality prints on acetate, this is the printer for you.
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HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide Format All-in-One Printer
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide Format All-in-One Printer is one of the fastest acetate printers available to buy, coming in at a swift 22 mono pages per minute, or 18ppm in colour. The resolution is very decent too: 4800 x 1200 dp, enough for clear results on images and text. Best of all, HP claims its Original HP 952 & HP 952XL ink cartridges print up to 2x as many pages as refilled cartridges, making for 50% less cost per page. The tray is enough to support even high volume office printing too, with a paper input capacity of up to 500 sheets over two 250-sheet paper trays. Sizes between 3×5 and 11.7×17 inches are supported. You can interface with the printer wirelessly via Airprint, or through its colour touchscreen; you can even print from the cloud, via iCloud, Dropbox and Google Drive.
Pros
- High resolution for good print quality
- Very low costs per page
- Large print volume
Cons
- Expensive
- Complicated setup and technical features
Verdict
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide Format All-in-One Printer is the most efficient acetate printer we could find. The costs per page are lower than any other on this list, while still maintaining the level of quality you would expect at this price. Considering the price, however, it’s probably most ideal for professionals in small businesses who need to print high-quality and borderless acetate materials in large quantities.
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Canon TS5120 Wireless All-in-One Printer
The Canon TS5120 Wireless All-in-One printer is proof that good things come in small packages. Although compact, this printer can easily produce surprising quality results on acetate, using an innovative FINE Hybrid Ink System to produce a max 4800 x 1200 dpi – the perfect balance between performance, quality and cost. This system is designed for maximum convenience, integrating the mechanical print head into the cartridge block so you can replace the inks in seconds. The print size is quite small, however, at 4 x 6 inches maximum. Connection is available via WiFi, Pixma Cloud Link, USB and Bluetooth, meaning you can print from your phone, tablet or laptop, as well as interface with the printer through a 2” front-mounted touchscreen.
Pros
- Sleek, compact design
- Very low price
- Decent resolution for solid print quality
- Range of connectivity options
Cons
- Small print size
- Less technical features
Verdict
The Canon TS5120 Wireless All-in-One printer is our best option for machines that can handle acetates. The print size is very small – the size of the average photo print – however, this should not be a problem if you’re using it for crafting, or at home. If you were making greetings cards, 4×7” could be more than enough to create beautiful window effects – at a great resolution for the price.
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Brother Worksmart MFCJ895DW Wireless All-in-One Inkjet Printer
The Brother Worksmart MFCJ895DW Wireless All-in-One Inkjet Printer is another multifunctional model that copies, scans and faxes alongside printing. It can handle up to 100 sheets per tray at a time, printing at speeds of 12 mono pages per minute and 10 colour. The resolution is really not the best: a very average 1200 x 600 dpi. However, this is more than good enough for text (such as the kind you would print on projector sheets or invitations), and the inks are incredibly economical. The Amazon Dash Replacement feature automatically senses which inks are running low, and orders them via your Amazon account to save you costs overall. Cloud connectivity lets you print from and scan to popular cloud services directly from the printer, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Evernote and more. You can also easily capture and convert documents using Brother Cloud Apps, connect with WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet, plus navigate via the 2.7” colour touchscreen display. Yet, the best feature the Brother offers is its Near Field Communications (NFC) connectivity, which allows “touch to connect” mobile device printing and scanning without any network setup.
Pros
- Large tray capacity
- Amazon Dash Replacement service
- Huge range of innovative connection options
Cons
- Very large and heavy
- Low resolution affects print quality
Verdict
The Brother Worksmart MFCJ895DW Wireless All-in-One Inkjet Printer has the best and widest range of connectivity options out of all the printers we surveyed. The resolution may be very low, but this just makes the machine more suited to text-based work; there is very little quality loss on mono and text prints. If you only want to print simple designs very easily, the lack of fiddly setup makes this machine a perfect fit for you.
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Epson Stylus C88+ Inkjet Printer
Weighing in at just 10lb, the Epson Stylus C88+ Inkjet Printer is extremely light and compact, making it a perfect fit for home use. However, this does not mean the quality is any lower: the Stylus C88+ is designed with DURABrite Ultra Pigment ink in mind, providing bright, clear prints resistant to water, smudges and fading. The technologically advanced print head produces 2 picoliter size ink droplets for a resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi. As for speed, it is capable of producing 23 pages a minute for mono and 14 in colour; the tray holds up to 90 acetate sheets, which is more than enough to produce a sizeable batch of greetings cards, for example. The main drawback to the Epson Stylus is its lack of wireless connectivity – you have to work the old-fashioned way with a USB or Ethernet cable if you want to print.
Pros
- Large tray capacity
- High print speed
- DURABrite Ultra pigment ink technology
- Very light and compact design
Cons
- No wireless connectivity
Verdict
The Epson Stylus C88+ Inkjet Printer is our best in class for crafting purposes. The resolution may not be as high as our pick for best print quality – the Canon iX6820 – but more than enough for any home crafting project you could imagine. The biggest plus is the smudge, water and fade proof inks, which could come in very useful for acetate prints that get handled a lot in the creative process.
