Choosing the right Canon printer (UPDATED: Aug 7, 2015)

There are a ton of Canon printers on Adorama, Amazon,and B&H to choose from but for this article I’m going to focus specifically on printers designed for those who wish to do professional quality photo printing typically referred to as Fine Art printing. This means I’ll skip a larger number of PIXMA printers with the “photo printing” moniker. Canon calls their pro photography printers the Professional Photo Inkjet Printers and Professional Large Format Graphics Art Inkjet Printers.

Narrowing the Selection

Canon offers a dozen printers in the aforementioned subset, but for this article I’m going to target the 4 that I believe are targeted to the high end consumer and professional photographers that read this blog. Therefore my recommended subset of Canon pro printers for photographers to consider are as follows:

Canon PRO-1 – The Best Black & White Printer Ever Made? Henry Wilhelm Thinks So!

Canon PIXMA PRO-1 Photo Printer (Adorama, Amazon, Canon Store and B&H)

This desktop printer supports a maximum of 13x19” sheet paper is very comparable to the Epson SureColor P600 and Epson Stylus® Pro 3880 and is a great choice for those doing small scale fine art prints. It does 4x6” sheet prints very well, and Canon camera users will appreciate the fantastic results they get when they do NOTHING to their in-camera JPEG images and just send them to this printer.

One thing to keep in mind about this printer is that it is surprisingly large and heavy, so do your measurements first before ordering. Definitely plan to lift it with a friend too!

Read my review here and/or order yours today at Adorama, Amazon, and B&H.

Also see my PRO-10 review if you are wanting all the goodness of a PRO-1 with wireless and AirPrint support.

imagePROGRAF iPF5100 - The pro solution for the (large) desktop

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100 Large Format Printer

This is a printer designed for those who might be considering the Epson 3880 or 4900. Size-wise it is larger and heavier than Epson’s 4900, so space planning should be done prior to taking delivery. This is not going to fit on your average desktop like a Canon PRO-1 or Epson 3880.

Feature wise the iPF5100 is a 17” wide pro printer featuring roll paper support and technology from the last generation of Canon printers so it offers Lucia inks (instead of Lucia EX) and previous generation control panel and processor technologies. This is a fine solution for those who don’t wish to go up to a 24” wide printer and who find the print quality and archival needs of this printer sufficient for the work they are doing. It’s designed for heavy duty and larger volume printing than the Pro9500, so it’s an ideal choice for the wedding or studio photographer.

Learn more here or buy one today at Amazon, B&H or Adorama.

Ink Cost: $0.58/ml (as of 9/10/2010 @ JVHTech)

Canon imagePROGRAF 6400/6450 – The 24” WOW Printer

Canon iPF6450 – Large Print Heaven!
iPF6400, iPF6450, iPF8400 and iPF9400 at B&H
iPF6400, iPF6450, iPF8400 and iPF9400 at Amazon

Let me cut to the chase and say I’m biased because I have a iPF6450 printer and love it (see my review). I also adored my iPF6300 that I had before it! This is an outstanding 24” wide format printer that is pure joy to use, but it is very big so space should definitely be a consideration before considering a printer this large. However, it is smaller and lighter than Epson’s 7900.  

This is is a true wide format printer designed for those who want to go large with fine art prints. It’s primarily designed to print from rolls. It can print cut sheets, but it’s just less enjoyable as you have to eject your roll paper and feed them one at a time. However, given the nature of fine art work, it’s common to do that even on printers that support multiple sheet feeders. It’s a fantastic choice for “wow” panoramas too (I did a 24”x51” borderless print of Seattle that still has me giggling like a school girl years later).

The 12-Color LUCIA EX ink based printers are the latest in print technology offered by Canon and feature an ink which Henry Wilhelm has declared as the greatest invention for printing since the invention of the ink jet printer (source: Randy Hufford & Canon USA).

You can read more here about some of the benefits of these new printers, but what I can tell you is that every pro who I’ve talked to who has used one of these new *300 and *400 series printers has said great things about them. Starting with the *300’s many have stated (including former Epson Stylus® Professionals – off the record) that Canon is “finally in the pro printer game” (meaning these are as good as anything else out there). Their words were less kind about the prior generations, so beware of great sales right now on outgoing models as there’s a reason for it! They may look the same, but print quality-wise they are in a league of their own in the Canon print lineup thanks to improved processors, ink, print head improvements and much more.

iPF6400 versus iPF6450

The ONLY difference between the iPF6400 and iPF6350 is that the later has a hard drive which is handy for a number of reasons – mostly doing re-prints. My recommendation is to spend the extra bucks and get the iPF6450 if you can. Everything is besides the hard drive is identical between these two printers, so if you want to save a few bucks then the iPF6400 is a great choice – just be prepared for iPF6450 envy when you see someone using one and their print job frees up their computer very quickly!

Learn more here or buy one today at B&H or Adorama.

Ink Cost: 61 cents per ml for the 130ml ink tanks versus 47 cents per ml in the new larger 300ml ink tanks (as of the time this article was written)

imagePROGRAF iPF8400

Image Courtesy of Canon USA

Like its competitor, the Epson 9900, this 44” wide printer is a beast designed for a high end print masters and print shops, but not your typical photographer. Sure, it’s just as easy to use as the other printers, but the size is closer to a smart fortwo! It’s effectively just a larger version of the fantastic iPF6450, so if you need the extra width then this is a great choice.

Learn more here or buy one today at B&H or Adorama.

Ink Cost: 61 cents per ml for the 130ml ink tanks versus 47 cents per ml in the new larger 300ml ink tanks (as of the time this article was written)

Get a FREE Print Sample

Click here to get a using LUCIA EX inks and Canon papers. In the past you’ve been able to submit your own image and choose to do prints from each of the printers provided, but I haven’t tested this offer so you’ll have to check it out for yourself.

Attention Northwest Shoppers – JVH Technical – A GREAT Place to buy local

Talk to anyone in the Northwest who is serious about printing, and odds are they’ve come across the path of John Harrington (no, not this one) and his company JVH Technical, LLC. When you do, the first words out of their mouth are always “John is a great guy”, and after meeting him myself I have to agree. John and his son Ryan are a big volume printer sales and supplies company with home grown service – literally – they run the business out of their really cool classic Northwest home!

Now, I know to some this business operated from John’s home might be a turn off, but the reality is that when John talks about printing people listen. Industry greats like Canon Explorer of Light Greg Gorman (featured on my Top Photographers list) , John Paul Caponigro, Randy Hufford, and Bambi Cantrell have been in attendance to his past open houses (sponsored by Epson and Canon). His printer sales blow away even local big shots like Glazers and Kenmore Camera, so it may seem small but it’s really quite big. Their annual digital print festival is a great treat to attend too!

This is no small mom and pop shop either, as John carries an inventory of over $400,000 in fine art papers and a huge selection of the latest printers from Epson and Canon that are available for immediate delivery. Not only that, they’ll deliver and install them for you at no charge! In fact, even if you didn’t buy your printer from John, if you have questions or are having problems odds are they’ll come out to your house and help make things right again – usually at no charge! In addition, John’s always happy to provide free samples of the papers you’ve wanted to try, but are wondering if they are worth the expense! This is the kind of customer service that simply doesn’t exist very much in the world today, but it is also why everyone loves JVH! I can’t recommend them enough as a great local resource for printers and supplies, and if you do go visit John or Ryan as a result of this article (or series) please be sure to tell them that I sent you. They may just have something special for you for doing so - wink wink

Here’s more in John’s own words as to why you should buy from JVH.

PLEASE READ

If you have any interest in printing, you must check out my Printing Series page. It has a wealth of information which you are sure to enjoy. You will probably also find my article entitled Which Printer Should I Buy? Epson or Canon? to be helpful as well.

Disclosure

Canon has provided me with a PRO-1, iPF6300, iPF6450 paper and extra ink so that I may bring you this series on printing. I do not get any monetary compensation from Canon, but I do get a commission if you use my links to Adorama, B&H, or Amazon so thanks for supporting the blog! I have no specific arrangements with JVH for a commission, but please mention this blog as a token of my appreciation to John & Ryan for their assistance in this series.

B&H Sales & Notifications

Get a printer and make $50, and use that to get Lightroom at a killer deal or order the latest lens from Canon or the best camera from Nikon. Whatever you choose, B&H has some really good deals right now.

Great Deals on Canon PIXMA printers for better than free!

Purchase the PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Printer for $449.95 and get an Instant Rebate of $100. Add to that a $200 American Express Reward® Card, and the printer costs you $149. In addition if you purchase a qualifying Canon DSLR and get an additional $200 on the American Express Reward® Card, so you actual make a profit!

Click the photo to order.

Purchase the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Inkjet Printer for $719.95 and get an Instant Rebate of $100. Add to that a $300 American Express Reward® Card, and the printer costs you $319.95. In addition, if you purchase a qualifying Canon DSLR, you’ll get an additional $200 on the American Express Reward® Card, bringing your total cost of the printer to $119.95!

Click the photo to order.

Save $100 off Lightroom ($179.95 total)

Click the photo for details

Canon 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye available for pre-order

This much anticipated lens is available to pre-order and should be shipped out in the not too distant future. In fact, I’ve pre-ordered one myself!

Click the photo to order.

Nikon D3s is in stock while supplies last

D3s (in stock – while supplies last)

Click the photo to order.

Disclosure

I may get a commission if you take advantage of these offers

Printing Series: Michel Tcherevkoff – Artist, Advertising Photographer & Canon Explorer of Light & Print Master

This is a composite of photographs, not drawings!
This series is modified to look like drawings!
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

When I set out to do my interview of Michel Tcherevkoff (pronounced che rev cough), I expected to talk printing and have a fairly short technical conversation. What I ended up with was the most delightful and entertaining interview I’ve ever done from one of the most brilliant minds I’ve had the pleasure of communicating with. This is saying a lot as in my day job I’ve worked with researchers recruited from the best universities around the world and people who have literally changed the world with their inventions. However, all of that pales in comparison to the man I met with creativity that knows no bounds. His work comes from a fantasy world that few could even dream of, let alone see that vision to its completion – in print. 

I found it amusing that one of the first things Michel said to me when our interview began is that he stumbled upon photography because he “never knew he had the seed”, but the first photographer he worked with, Pete Turner, “watered the seed”. Well, I’m here to say that that Pete must have divine powers because the flower that blossomed from that seed is unlike anything I’ve seen in this world.

Shoe created with a composite of flower photos
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

As you read this article and stare at his work (a simple glance is impossible), I’ll remind you that these are indeed photographs – multiple photographs, combined together to create these amazing images. The people are real, not pencil sketches, the flowers are real, and the bugs are not! :) The true reality here is that Michel has a creative mind that takes the reality that we see in the world and manipulates it into new objects of beauty. His creations transcend everything we know about reality, yet we accept his creations as real and become hypnotized by them. Our senses are delighted and a suspension of disbelief consumes us while we admire something our mind never expects to see.

What I bring to you in this article is Michel on the subject of printing, which pales in comparison to all that he has to offer, but I’ll save the interview I really want to do for another day. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy learning how this master of object manipulation turns his creations into amazing prints.

Michel’s French side is coming out now where he is having
a little fun with lingerie and flowers.
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Favorite Papers

Michel has a very practical approach to papers as the choice of paper is not only about the image, but how that final print will be used in the end. Once again, even in something as simple as paper Michel’s creativity comes out in ways you might never imagine. For example, his studio windows are covered with huge prints from his iPF8300 that were printed on Canon Scrim Banner Vinyl. His postcards and holiday cards are printed on Canon Fine Art Watercolor for their durability and wonderful texture. His everyday paper for the images he gives to clients or for his promo mailers, his favorite choice is Canon Premium Bright Photo Satin (replaced by the Canon Premium RC Photo Luster) because it has a great texture and firmness, yet it isn’t overly glossy either.

For his finest work which is signed, numbered and stamped he uses the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Paper 460gsm which has a beige tone and a nice substantial feel. He’s also fond of the Canon Fine Art Bright White 330, but he’s always trying the latest papers from Canon so his preferences change as better products become available. 

  
Bugs never looked so beautiful – created with a composite of flower photos
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Printing Q&A

What volume of printing do you typically do in a year?

I'll use around 4 or 5 rolls and hundreds of sheets of each of the papers. MIchel uses roughly 1 box of the satin paper every month for promos alone.

Do you do test prints?

Yes, for the large prints I'll take different pieces from the image and put them on a 7” to 12” wide strip and print in what I call a strip test. I'll use those to tweak the image and actually label my layers in Photoshop with details about what I did. In the end it usually takes 2 tp 4 test strips before I'm happy and do the final print.

What do you look for in a print before it's ready for your customer?

Color, contrast, saturation and details in the little things. It's a visceral experience where I adjust until it just feels right. Quality is a given so the image must sing to me before I feel it is done.

There should be no excuses – you should be proud of your prints, and if you are not then don’t blame the machine because you made a bad print. The print is a mirror of your work and you must ask yourself – are you happy with it?

Sometimes it is even more complex because you must know your client. Is it what your client expects or likes? What you like might not be what they want, so knowing how your client likes their prints is critical! Speak to the production department and ask “how do you like your prints and [data] files”.

Do you have any color management or paper profiling recommendations?

No, I just use whatever comes with the printer.I just usually print with the Perceptual [rendering intent] and if it doesn’t look good I’ll try Relative. I don’t do skin tones which is much harder, so calibrating is less important for the type of work that I print.

Any final tips?

The more you standardize your process, the more you will save in the long run. However, don't skimp because your work must reflect you.

Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Michel Tcherevkoff’s Strip Test

As explained above Michel does test prints with a strip of paper using fragments of the actual image to see how the most critical parts will look printed before doing his final print. Michel doesn’t do this necessarily for cost-saving reasons, but rather to reduce the amount of wasted paper and ink for environmental reasons.

In this first example, he has an image of a shoe as shown below:

Shoe Full Image
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Here’s what strip test one looked like for this print:

Strip Test #1 (Click for a larger view)
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

After examining the print Michel felt like it needed some adjustments, so he did a second strip test but with two levels of color so he could see which direction he wanted to go with for the final print as shown below:

Strip Test #2 (Click for a larger view)
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Using the final strip test above, Michel had the information he needed to make his final decision and print the final large print.

Example #2 – The Boot

Here’s another example of a more complicated photo to demonstrate how the strips are built:

Boot Full Image
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Despite the complexity of the image above, Michel broke it down to its most important parts as shown below:

Boot Strip Test #1 (Click for a larger view)
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

With those parts printed to his intent, the entire image would look great when printed at full size.

Conclusion

It was an absolute honor to work with Michel as he was an original member of my Top Photographers list and will be there for many years to come. He is the one photographer who I wish could bottle a little of his mojo and sell it as I’d pay a fortunate to have a little of that rub off on me! Since that isn’t possible, I can only dream of spending the day with Michel at his studio at some point and seeing this master at work.

A special thanks goes out to Michel’s assistant, Samantha Kramer, who helped with providing the strip test images and reviewing this article!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! To see more of Michel’s work, visit all of the following:

• tcherevkoffportfolio.com
• tcherevkoff.com
• Butterflies
• Lingerie
• Shoe Fleur
• Facebook
• Tcherevkoff Products on Amazon
• 2011 Limited Edition Shoe Fleur wall calendar

 
The creativity of this shot just makes me grin every time I see it!
Copyright (c) Michel Tcherevkoff - All Rights Reserved

Disclosure

I may get a small commission for purchases made using some of the links in this article.