Epson SureColor T5470M

This is the machine for a business where wide format is daily work, not an occasional job. Architectural drawings, site plans, permit sets, posters and signage come off a 36 inch roll at full accuracy in 22 seconds a print, 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.

Speed and running cost are what set it apart. The scanner captures at up to 7.5 inches per second in mono and copies at full width, up to 99 copies with resizing from 25 to 400 percent, and the printer draws from 110 or 350 mL cartridges, the large sizes that bring the cost per print down for a busy office. It speaks HP-GL/2 and HP RTL, so it drops into AutoCAD and Revit environments without fuss.

It is a strong fit for construction, architecture and engineering offices that plot and scan every day: the duty the specifications describe is continuous production, with a 6.6 inch roll capacity and heavier media handling to 11.8 mil built for it. Warranty service is on site repair, usually next business day. If your volume is lighter, the T5170M covers print, scan and copy at a lower cost, and if you do not need the scanner, the T5475 is the same class of production printer without it. One planning note: busy offices do well to keep a spare set of cartridges on the shelf so the printing never has to wait.