Epson SureColor T5170M

This is the machine for a business where drawings move in both directions. Architectural drawings, site plans, permit sets, posters and signage come off a 36 inch roll at full accuracy, and the built in 36 inch scanner sends marked up originals straight to a network folder, email or a USB stick without anyone leaving the office. The auto sheet feeder handles letter and tabloid pages without touching the roll.

The integrated scanner is what sets it apart. It scans and copies originals up to 36 inches wide at up to 600 dpi, with highlight detection that keeps site markups legible, up to 99 copies at a time with resizing from 25 to 400 percent. On the printing side it speaks the languages CAD workflows expect, HP-GL/2 and HP RTL, and UltraChrome XD2 pigment ink holds fine lines crisp and resists fading.

It is a strong fit for construction, architecture and engineering offices that live on revisions: print the set, mark it up on site, scan it back into the job file on the same machine, exactly the duty the specifications describe. Warranty service is on site repair, usually next business day, with extended plans available to five years. If your drawings only ever leave the office, the T5170 covers the printing at a lower cost, and if you need the same width for heavier daily production, the SureColor T5475 is the step up. One planning note: busy offices do well to keep a spare set of cartridges on the shelf so the printing never has to wait.