Canon Pixma Pro1 Review

Transcript

PIXMA PRO-1 Performance Boost Canon’s latest-generation A3+ pigmented ink photo printer is upgraded in many areas, including its build quality and the printing performance for both colour and B&W. Report by Trevern Dawes. 56 life under glass”. The printer incorporates an ‘Optimum Image Generating System’ (OIM) which optimises the mixing balance of inks to produce smoother prints at high resolution. There are two paper feed systems located at the back of the printer. The ‘Rear’ loader will handle up to 20 sheets, whereas the ‘Manual’ feeder is intended for single sheet handling of papers up to 350 gsm (grams per square metre) or up to 0.6 mm in thickness. Paper is inserted approximately centre to the printing pathway and the two sliding paper guides can then be moved inwards for a snug fit and a final precise centre position. The centre position for paper is a departure from the more common right-side alignment. The manual feed requires an intermediate step prior to printing with a panel appearing on screen to indicate you must click the ‘Start Printing’ box or press the ‘Resume’ button on the printer. Setting Up Some printers arrive for review brand new and some have been already used, generally by another reviewer. The PIXMA PRO-1 was in the latter category which means I can’t comment on the set-up procedure in detail (nor the ink consumption rates), other than to accept that the instructions mention that it takes about an hour in total to complete. This involves installation of two print heads, the 12 ink tanks and the software, and the completion of a print head alignment procedure. Each tank is differently keyed in the lead-in corner and so can only fit into its designated slot. About 30 percent of the ink is taken up in the line feeds during the initial setup. This will be noticed in the ink level panel. Thereafter replacement cartridges deliver the full 36 millilitres capacity. The PIXMA PRO-1 is supplied with a substantial, 22 mm thick “Getting Started” booklet. Fear not, this doesn’t represent a weekend to absorb as it’s in a total of 29 languages so actually only requires a short read to guide you through the set-up procedure. Alternatively, an on-screen manual is provided on the software disc. In many respects the PIXMA PRO-1 is a downsized version of Canon’s larger format printers. Hence the description of ink “tanks” rather than “cartridges”… and a host of them all using a line Canon PIXMA PRO-1 ON TRIAL ON TRIAL Canon n the field of A3+ inkjet printers it would seem the bar has already been set to a remarkable height, but now along comes the Canon PIXMA PRO-1 and the bar goes up again. What’s more, it goes up by more than just a notch or two. Canon’s new flagship A3+ printer is similar in styling to the previous PIXMA 9500 Mark II model, but is slightly larger and considerably heavier. Weighing a hefty 27.4 kilograms and measuring 695x462x239 mm, the PRO-1 is a sizeable object and one that needs two people to lift and carry. The weight is the result of a lot of extra technology residing in a solid chassis. However, the broad flat top is actually ideal for placing a sheet of paper on either before or after printing. Styling wise, the PIXMA PRO-1 has rounded edges and a black and dark grey finish. The ‘On/Off’ and ‘Print Resume’ buttons are at the top left and, directly above, is the button to open the ink tank bay. There is no small LCD screen. As per large format printers, the ink is delivered to the print heads by tubular supply lines from two sets of six tanks located on either side of the printer. This arrangement places less weight on the print heads, permits faster speeds with no vibration, reduces the likelihood of clogging and ensures no ink leakages or air penetration when tanks are replaced. The Lucia pigmented inkset comprises two blacks – ‘Photo Black’ and ‘Matte Black’. These alternate according to the media selected, but because they have individual lines there is no ink wastage or time lost in the changeover. There are three grey inks called ‘Grey’, ‘Light Grey’ and ‘Dark Grey’ followed by the colours; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Cyan and Red. The 12th tank is for the ‘Chroma Optimiser’ which is a clear gloss coating for gloss and semigloss prints. All the ink tanks are 36 millilitres in capacity, making them 2.5 times greater than those in the PIXMA PRO 9500 II and the largest by far in the A3+ printer category. The 12 colours inkset, operating through a total of 12,288 nozzles, has been praised for its highly accurate colour matching, the reproduction of subtle tones and retention of detail in both shadows and highlights. Lucia inks are rated by Canon at 200 years. This refers to “book life” whereas Wilhelm Research has a 100+ year rating for “display I feed system. There is even a mist fan to provide air circulation. Printing Method You can let Photoshop assume colour management, let the printer take over via Photoshop or print through Canon’s Easy-PhotoPrint EX or the Easy-PhotoPrint Pro plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom or Photoshop Elements. I generally prefer to let the printer take over when using the ‘canned’ profiles, downloaded ICC profiles from leading paper manufacturers or via customised ICC profiles that I create. To assist in making your own ICC profiles there is a free Colour Management Tool Pro download that supports X-Rite colorimeters. Because pigments reside on the surface of paper and do not penetrate likes dyes there are minute differences in ink levels that can lead to metamerism, bronzing and gloss differential problems on gloss media. Epson overcame these occurrences with the Stylus Photo R2000 by incorporating a special gloss optimiser cartridge and now the PIXMA PRO-1 has a ‘Chroma Optimiser’ tank. The Chroma Optimiser applies a clear coating to create a more uniform surface and to help promote better colour gamut in the darker tones. Print surfaces are now more agreeable, although some For general printing the ‘Auto’ setting is the default. This sets the area to be clear-coated and whether it is to be executed (i.e. not on matte papers). In the printing process you can accept the print speed/quality defaults for each media or go into ‘Custom’ and set your own preferences. “Rich detail, less grain, smooth tonal gradations and a neutral rendition with no discernable colour casts all combine to make the PRO-1 a real specialist for black and white work.” 57 The ‘Easy-PhotoPrint EX’ panel, as the name implies, allows an easy path to print-making. Running Costs The ink levels in the tanks may be monitored by graphic representations. When the ‘Ink Out’ panel finally appears, the tank requiring replacement is nominated. The PRO-1’s ink tanks are $45 each and the Chroma Optimiser tank is $40 so a full set of inks costs nearly $535 for 432 millilitres and this works out at $1.24 per millilitre. As the ink cost for the 9500 Mark II is $2.25 per millilitre there are immediate cost benefits with the PRO-1. However, when the cost of topquality media is considered, print making still remains a relatively expensive business. There is a ‘value’ ink pack which comprises a full set of inks and represents quite a saving over buying them individually. If an average A3+ print can be rated as using 1.8 millilitres of ink, it works out that the first set of inks – allowing for even usage of the cartridges (not so in reality, but it will suffice for this exercise) and the initial 30 percent allocation to the line feed – will produce about 168 A3+ prints. The optimiser is included in this calculation. Thereafter, a full set of inks will produce about 240 prints at an ink cost of around $2.23 each. Making Prints The PRO-1’s ‘Main’ print panel. Further details on any feature can be obtained by right-clicking the mouse on the target. 58 The PIXMA PRO-1 shown with all panels closed. I started out with a 420x261 mm image on an A3+ sheet of Canon’s Paper Pro Platinum 300 gsm paper using the default settings and letting the printer manage colour in Photoshop. The printing time was 5:50 minutes. The very first thing I noticed was how quiet the printer was operating. In fact, I needed to check if the paper was actually moving. There is no vibration which probably shouldn’t be all that surprising actually considering the weight of the printer. This print was ‘right on the money’ first time! It exhibited accurate colours and a smooth surface which looked just like it was a gloss print from the dye-based Pro 9000 Mark II. This is no casual statement as it demonstrates the Chroma Optimiser works its magic very well indeed. However, the clear coating on top-quality gloss media, such as Canon’s Paper Pro Platinum, slightly ‘dulls down’ the surface compared to the perfect surface of a Pro 9000 Mark II gloss print. What does impress is the jet blackness of the shadows and the way detail is retained in these areas. The PRO-1 gloss prints just about jump off the paper with rich colours and a remarkable sense of depth. Semi-gloss or satin papers have always been popular for pigment printing because images have impact without the surface sheen that can make gloss prints awkward to view. Canon’s Photo Paper Plus semi-gloss (260 gsm) makes a happy combination with the PRO-1. Images of 420x280 mm on A3+ paper took five minutes to print at the ‘High’ quality level and 3:30 minutes at the ‘Standard’ setting. I found the prints made with the ‘canned’ profile were a shade too dark and concluded that a manual override was required. By reducing intensity by 12 (follow Main>Colour Intensity>Manual>Set>Intensity), I achieved a more accurate outcome and was then able to save the settings for future use. The difference between prints produced with ‘High’ or ‘Standard’ quality may not be obvious in which case the shorter printing time is a logical choice. Of course, it’s up to the individual to determine the optimum settings. Although faster print speeds are always welcome, usually via lower levels of print quality, I believe printers of the caliber of the PRO-1 should always be used at their maximum quality settings. If that means longish print times I don’t particularly mind because the aim is to achieve the best quality prints. Fine-Art Media Printing times on fine-art media are relatively slow compared to the usual gloss, semi-gloss and matte media. For example, a 390x230 mm image on the A3+ Museum Etching paper took nearly 15 minutes to print. Not quite akin to watching paint dry as the paper hardly seemed to progress at all, but the quality is undeniable. A 392x261 mm image on Canon’s Fine Art Paper Photo Rag (188 gsm) took 12:45 minutes with the ‘High’ quality setting. One of the characteristics carried over from the PIXMA 9000/9500 series printers is 35 mm wide margins imposed on fine-art media. Although most will begrudgingly accept these broad margins on A3+ paper, the same margins on A4 paper are rather annoying. There doesn’t appear to be any way of maneuvering around the situation, other than to use these papers with a ‘non fine-art’ media selection and then gig your way with manual overrides. The largest sheet of cut paper that the PRO-1 can accommodate is 329x676 mm. This makes for quite a long panoramic ideally suited to a one metre wide frame. My maximum sized test print (614x277 mm image) on a 280 gsm gloss paper took just 6:15 minutes using the ‘High’ quality setting. Oversized There is another hidden secret. With the previous 9000 and 9500 models, it was possible via the front fine-art paper feed to create prints on paper up to 356x584 mm. This was not officially promoted by Canon. I thought the PRO-1 might have moved away from this feature, but it is still there to take advantage of if you care to do so. The largest custom-sized paper setting that will work is 355 mm wide and 584 mm long (and not a millimetre longer either!). This isn’t all that that far short of the A2 size of 420x594 mm. Trying to establish one of the fine-art papers as the media won’t work so it is necessary to start with the basic matte, gloss or semi-gloss types and run paper – cut down from rolls or A2 sheets – through the manual, single sheet feeder. Fine-art papers may still be used, but you just don’t tell the printer. Run some small tests on the paper you’d like to use and apply corrections as required. A 286x525 mm image made on Longbottom 230 gsm matte paper took 8:50 minutes. The same image on Longbottom’s 270 gsm Ultra Gloss (using the printer’s “Photo Paper Plus Glossy II” setting) took 6:30 minutes. The gloss results were simply gorgeous. The final experiment in the ‘oversized’ department was a 509x302 mm seascape made on the Innova Fine Art Smooth Cotton (315 gsm) paper. The canned ‘matte’ profile was used and the printing time was 9:00 minutes with another excellent result achieved. Obviously the method of adopting a ‘generic’ profile isn’t the customary way of going about printmaking, but let’s just say that in this particular case, the means justified the end result. Once again, Canon is Canon PIXMA PRO-1 ON TRIAL ON TRIAL The ink details are accessed via the ink level panels with larger graphics of the ink levels. gloss differential does exist because the default ‘Auto’ setting doesn’t apply the liquid to clear white areas of the print. This isn’t an issue if the image contains no white areas, however the remedy is to switch to ‘Overall’. This will coat the entire print surface, including any wide white margins. If a flawless surface is critical (as it should be) then expect to use much more of the ‘Chroma Optimiser’. If you have tended to shy away from pigments on gloss before (myself included), this printer will change your attitude forever. not going to ‘officially’ recognise or promote this oversize print feature, but it works admirably so enjoy. Black And White Printing The PIXMA PRO-1 has five inks dedicated to the task of making monochrome prints with four in use according to the paper type (i.e. matte or gloss). Rich detail, less grain, smooth tonal gradations and a neutral rendition with no discernable colour casts all combine to make this printer a real specialist for black and white work. Existing black and white images are best set to the RGB colour space and printed as colour. When I tried converting the image to greyscale and printing as grayscale, the mid-tone and shadow details blocked up. Existing colour images can be automatically converted to monochrome via the ‘Quick Setup’ panel and by ticking the ‘Grayscale Printing’ box. Although my black and white photography tailed off in the 1970s in favour of colour work for books and magazines, I certainly took great delight in printing up some old scanned 35 mm film negatives on Canon’s Pro Platinum PT-101 paper. Alas, only a few test sheets of this paper were provided, otherwise I would have been tempted to print all my favourite black and white images! The results were reminiscent of those glossy darkroom prints I used to make. Some sparkling prints were obtained on a bright white, heavyweight media, but remember to have the ‘Chroma Optimiser’ operating on ‘Overall’ to overcome gloss differential. Installation of the software will place an icon for the PIXMA PRO-1 instruction manual on the desktop. The manual is divided into three sections – Basic Guide, Advanced Guide and Troubleshooting. “The very first thing I noticed was how quiet the printer was operating. In fact, I needed to check if the paper was actually moving.” Photoshop’s ‘Print Preview’ panel shows how the image intended for printing on the Museum Etching fine-art media is constrained by grayed-out 35 mm margins at the top and bottom of the sheet. Images will need to be re-sized/re-scaled to fit within the boundaries. ICC Profiles The third-party paper manufacturers provide ICC profiles for their papers to run accurately with different printers and the PRO-1 apparently already has over 400 available. Locking into a downloaded or custom-made ICC profile follows exactly the same routine as with Canon’s large format printers. This proceeds through the sequence of Main>Color Intensity>Manual>S et>Matching>ICM>Printer Profile and then, in Photoshop, select “Let printer manage colors”. For regular printing with a profile all these steps can be conveniently saved to a name for recall. The amount of ink in each tank will appear in a panel that opens when printing commences. The graphic representations are small, 59 The ‘Quick Set Up’ panel is the default. The Competition If the slot cover is not closed on the rear paper feed, a message will appear on screen. The most obvious competitor for the PIXMA PRO-1 is Epson’s Stylus Pro R3000. Both have the same price and both are splendid printers. The Stylus Pro R3000 has the facility for making very long prints via a paper roll feed system, has a smaller picolitre droplet size and doesn’t imposed the 35 mm wide margin restrictions on fine-art media. On its side, the PRO-1 has larger – and hence more economical – ink tanks and has the benefit of the ‘Chroma Optimiser’. It ‘s very much a case of choosing the printer with the features that best suits your requirements and, of course, the final ‘street’ price you can chase down. The Verdict 60 The slot cover is show in the open position. Printing cannot proceed until this cover is closed. Canon’s PIXMA PRO-1 is a fine-art printer that will delight those who aim for the very best. Lack of a roll feeder is not likely to upset the enthusiast. The large, 36 millilitres ink tanks and their reduced cost per millilitre are welcome. In many respects, this printer is slanted to the making of gloss and semi-gloss prints. Just remember to stock up on extra ‘Chroma Optimiser’ tanks. Special mention must be made of the black and white printing department where the neutral tones are much appreciated. B&W prints on gloss media gave immense impact and the surface is now blemish-free thanks to the ‘Chroma Optimiser’. Add the features of EasyPhotoPrint EX, Easy-PhotoPrint Pro, Canon Solution Menu EX, calendar making, borderless printing (set sizes from 150x100 mm through to A3+), PictBridge, Ethernet connection for shared usage, CD/ DVD printing and those ‘unofficial’ oversized prints and it all adds up to an easy-to-use professional-grade printer bound to collect gold in coming awards. The bar has been raised again. How much further can it go? Canon PIXMA PRO-1 $1499* ON TRIAL The ‘Set Up’ print panel. but by clicking on ‘Ink Details’ a larger representation appears on screen. A ‘Low Ink Level’ warning gives plenty of notice (it’s a very early warning system) and printing may continue for quite some time before a final replacement warning appears. With most printers the light cyan or light magenta inks usually go first and the red ink remains mostly unused, however the PRO-1 exhibits very even ink usage. The rear tray has a slot cover that needs to be closed before the printer proceeds. This does assist in keeping the leading 100 mm of paper flat and promotes an easy paper take-up path. It’s a feature I’ve not encountered in a printer before so it did take some time to get used to it. If you forget to close the cover a message will appear on screen to set you straight. I didn’t encounter any problems with paper feed on either the ‘Rear’ or ‘Manual’ systems, using a variety of paper types and sizes, both standard and custom. Nevertheless, it’s still wise to flatten down sheets cut from rolls to avoid any likelihood of head strikes Paper stacked in the rear feed for printing multiple copies or pages of a book flowed through smoothly without interruption. Printer Type: A3+ format for photo-quality prints via an 11-colour Lucia pigmentbased inkset plus a ‘Chroma Optimiser’. Maximum Resolution: 4800 dpi (horizontal) x 2400 dpi (vertical). Ink cartridges: Individual per colour, 36 millilitres capacity. Colours are photo black, matte black, grey, light grey, dark grey, cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan and red. Paper Sizes: Borderless printing on cut sheets from 100x150 mm up to 329x676 mm. No roll paper feed capacity. Interfaces: USB 2.0 Hi Speed, Ethernet and PictBridge. Acoustic Noise: Approx. 39 dB(A) in ‘High’ quality mode. Main Features: Canon FINE print head technology with four picolitres Micro-Nozzles (12,288 in total), Lucia pigments (100+ years print life for display under glass), CD/ DVD label printing, colour control adjustments, EasyPhotoPrint EX software allows convenient print organisation. Dimensions (WxHxD): 695x239x462 mm. Weight: 27.4 kilograms with print head and inks installed. Price: $1499 (inc. GST). 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