Photography News issue 28

50 First tests

Photography News Issue 28 absolutephoto.com

Specs

Prices Printer £1199, ink cartridges £41.99, maintenance cartridge £16.99 Compatibility Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 32 and 64-bit. Mac OS 10.7.5 and later Supportedmobile systems iOS, Android Interface USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, ethernet Inks Lucia Pro ink. 12 80ml cartridges: matte black, photo black, grey, photo grey, photo cyan, cyan, photo magenta, magenta, yellow, red, blue, chroma optimser. MC-20 maintenance cartridge Printer head type Canon Bubble-jet on demand Nozzles 1536 nozzles x 12 colours Droplet size 4 picolitre per colour Media feed Rear tray, manual feed slot Media width Rear tray 89-432mm, manual feed slot 203-432mm Media thickness Rear tray 0.1-0.3mm, manual feed slot 0.1-0.7mm Maximumprintable paper length 594mm Dimensions 723x433x285mm Weight 32kg with print head and inks Contact canon.co.uk

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 £1199.99 If you enjoy seeing your pictures in print form (and who doesn’t?), it is worth considering investing in a desktop A2-capable unit. Of course, it’s a greater outlay than an A3+ printer but in terms of footprint, the difference is little, given the extra potential and the lure of doing exhibition-size prints at home. Your options are limited to an Epson SureColor P-800 at £899 or this Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. Order the Canon and it would be a very good idea to have someone on hand to help when it’s delivered. It weighs in at 32kg so not something you can manoeuvre easily (if at all!) on your own. One thing is for sure, it is so substantiallymade that it should withstand heavy and frequent use. When you are organising a home for it, remember to allow extra space behind the unit to allow for the rear paper support that folds out from the printer body. no further until I sorted this. It is quite sensitive. The supplied quick-start guides and the large LCDpanel in the printer itself graphically guide you through the process of installing cartridges and the print head. The 12 Lucia Pro ink cartridges simply slide and lock into position and there is no way you should go wrong. After set-up the ink levels are a little under half full, so you’ll need to pay out for ink refills sooner than you might think. The initialisation process takes about 25 minutes. In the meantime you can load the printer software onto the computer, and then you’re ready to print. I was using a Mac (the supplied CD is Windows only so Mac users have to download the driver from canon.com/ijsetup) laptop running Yosemite OS and a range of media from Canon, Epson and PermaJet. We had an early test sample and stock of printers had not yet reached the shops, so ICC profile support at the time of writing was limited. That meant that third-party papers were used with the printer looking after colour reproduction. There’s a menu of paper finishes available on the printer accessed via the LCD – obviously not for Epson and PermaJet materials – so I selected the nearest finish and used that. For example, on Epson Traditional Photo Paper, I selected Plus Semi Gloss. However, despite this way of working I was getting brilliant results from the outset. The comparison images from files I had printed previously with various printers looked spot on. Colours looked vibrant, contrast was impressive, intricate detail was well reproduced and tonal gradation was lovely. The same high level of performance was seen on black & white prints. I like contrasty monochrome and this printer certainly delivered in this respect on gloss but it was also good with more subtle images packed with delicate midtones on fine art media. Print speed is good too, with an A3 print emerging in 4.5 minutes and an A2 in just shy of ten minutes. Switching between glossy and matt paper finishes does not require a black ink changeover which saves time and ink. After the print has emerged, the printer continues to whirr away for a minute or so and several menu items are greyed out during this period. The unit is quiet in operation and any noise it generates is low-pitched. The only mechanical problem I had was head strike on A2 sheets of a baryta-type paperwith gently curling corners. In the paper related settings menu the printer head height can be adjusted so instead of standard I set high and that sorted it. WC Verdict Set-up is simple enough, although I did get a warning message that the printer was not level and I could go

It is so substantially made that it should withstand heavy and frequent use

If you are looking for an A2 desktop photo printer, your options are limited and it is true that the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 and the Epson SureColor P-800 are exceptional units that are capable of long-lasting, excellent quality output acceptable to the most discerning photographer. Cost-wise, the Canon at £1199 is more expensive than the Epson selling at £899, but already one UK retailer has the Canon at £999 so price is possibly less of a factor. The extra cost can be justified on the grounds that the Canon’s robust build means it is built to last. Ultimately, buying a printer of this level is a decision to be made only after you have seen both in the flesh and tried printing out images of a known quantity. Visit your local photo dealer and get a demo with your own files. Whichever way you jump, you won’t be disappointed.

Right Initial set-up is a joy but takes a little while. Start by making sure the printer is level. If it isn’t, you get a warning message and you can’t go any further until it is correctly positioned. Once that is done the monitor guides you through the process including ink cartridge loading.

Pros Output quality, no black ink switch needed for gloss and matt papers, LCD and menu, build quality, quiet Cons No roll option, heavy