Hmm,

Abject, I would disagree. The cropping factor is only salient really at the extreme wide-angle end, in terms of lens coverage. Using less of the lens toward the center is actually using the best portion of the optical path.

Instead, I would assert that what determines suitability for large print size is the number of pixels, not strictly how they are obtained. With the EOS 7D's resolution of 5184 x 3456 pixels, a 300 ppi uncropped print can be made up to 17.28" x 11.52" (alternatively, 438.9mm X 292.6mm) without any pixel interpolation. This camera has more resolution, hence suitability for larger prints, then my EOS 1Ds Mark II full-frame camera. In fact, with the 7D image, one could crop ~4% around the edge and still have a photo equaling the EOS 1Ds Mark II's resolution of 4992 x 3328. This professional camera I assure you allows fine large prints, I did very clean 19" x 13" prints with it (using 262 ppi).

The EOS 7D would more likely have more tonal range though, because it has 42-bit color (14-bits RGB), compared with the 1Ds Mark II's 36-bit color (12-bits RGB).

Now, you actually mean professional full-frame in terms merely of higher resolution, then a camera like the EOS 1Ds Mark III would indeed meet your criterion, and it would allow nicer large prints. With somewhat higher resolution at 5616 x 3744 pixels, the EOS 1Ds Mark III allows 300 ppi uncropped prints to 18.72" x 12.48" (or 475.4mm x 316.9mm).

This EOS 1Ds Mark III is a much pricier camera though, and it's resolution is really only (1.08)^2 = 1.17x that of the EOS 7D. Not really a lot different ... you need 4x the number of pixels to have a resolution change remarkably large like ~2x. What makes the EOS 1Ds Mark III a professonal camera is that it excels with a much stronger imaging system and build-quality. All that 1.17x more resolution with these features comes at a huge price premium.

Interestingly enough, at present, in the prosumer to professional category, in a 35mm system configuration, only the Sony A850 DSLR allows enough resolution to absolutely cover 13" x 19" (330.2mm x 482.6mm) prints. It's 6048 x 4032 resolution allows 20.16" x 13.44" (512.0mm x 341.3mm) prints. It does appear that the Canon EOS 7D and Sony A850 are fairly compatible market entries, with pricing at approximate parity. The resolution difference between these cameras is clearly favored by Sony, with (1.16)^2 = 1.36x more resolution.

Blessings and Light,
M

Wow, that is so not true. Full-frame/crop sensor makes absolutely no difference in the size of the final print.