Choosing the right printer can be overwhelming, especially when you’re considering a professional-grade model. This printer is designed for those who want to create gallery-quality prints, but it comes with a learning curve and a significant investment in both time and money.
Coming to you from Keith Cooper, this informative video breaks down the pros and cons of the Canon PRO-1100 printer. Cooper explains that jumping into printing with a machine like this is similar to learning to drive in a high-performance car—it’s possible, but expect a steep learning curve. The PRO-1100 uses 12 pigment inks and offers features like a vacuum paper feed for precise handling, making it an ideal choice for high-quality printing. However, its size and weight are factors to consider, as well as the need for sufficient space to accommodate the printer and handle different paper types.
One of the key points Cooper discusses is ink management. The PRO-1100 requires substantial initial setup, with ink levels dropping by 40-50% during the first usage. This is because the printer has subtanks that need to be filled from the main cartridges. While this setup ensures consistent printing, it also means that the initial cost of ink can be misleadingly high. Additionally, the printer uses a significant amount of ink for maintenance and cleaning, especially if it’s powered off and on frequently. This can impact your overall ink costs, making it more expensive in the long run if not managed correctly.
Another consideration Cooper highlights is paper choice. He advises against jumping straight into expensive fine art papers, as the learning process often results in wasted prints. Instead, starting with Canon’s own Pro Luster or Premium Matte papers is a safer option, allowing you to get accustomed to the printer’s settings and color profiles without breaking the bank. He also emphasizes the importance of testing your prints with standard images, such as color and black-and-white test images, before moving on to your own work. This step helps ensure the printer is functioning correctly and that you understand its output characteristics.
Cooper recommends using Canon’s Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software for those new to printing. It’s free, easy to use, and offers access to Canon’s printer profiles, which are essential for achieving accurate colors and tones. Using this software helps streamline the printing process, particularly for those unfamiliar with print settings and profiles. For more experienced users, integrating the printer with Photoshop or Lightroom is also an option, but starting with PPL can simplify the learning curve. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Cooper.
First of all, I don't think printing is half as complicated as Keith makes it out to be. All you really need to know is how to connect the printer to the computer which might be no more difficult than recognizing one end of a cable from the other. Printer drivers are easily installed and most people have already printed something or another and have the general idea. Whether it's this printer or a $100 printer, the steps and process of printing are not much different. The printer asks for the broad category of paper when you go to print something so it already adjusts for paper types. I don't think from my approach to printing that adding a paper profile has any additional benefits. I do maintain a consistent Adobe RGB98 workflow from Photoshop through to printing settings. Getting wrapped up in paper profiles seems to do more harm than good, in my opinion. And I can't distinguish any visible difference between "Photoshop Manages Color" and "Printer Manages Color" with my Canon printer which makes the process even simpler. For what it's worth, that was not true with my Epson P8000 printer. Either way, establishing consistent settings in your workflow helps improve your printing.
I also feel that monitor calibration is overrated. That said, I use an Apple 27 inch 5k iMac, and most people seem to agree that the monitor is well calibrated out of the box, as are other high-end monitors. The iMac is a bright monitor, but you'll get used to how that translates to print with some experience. I'm pretty sure most of the need for monitor calibration is with inexpensive PC monitors. And ultimately I don't see how you can ever hope to have your prints look exactly like what the image looks like on the monitor. Monitors emit light and paper reflects light, so there's an inherent brightness in a monitor that can never be duplicated by paper.
Glossy and luster papers look different than matte or textured watercolor papers, so naturally an image will look different on different papers. I feel like paper profiling often overcompensates for characteristics of the paper and gives me an undesirable color cast, especially with black and white prints. I do agree that it's best when starting out to stick with one type of paper such as luster which has a wide color gamut and predictable colors, and it's relatively inexpensive.
I will say one thing about Canon printers in general... I have owned the Pro100 which is a smaller printer, and currently use the Canon Pro4100 which is a 44" wide format printer, and it's really hard to ruin a print because of a clogged print head. That was certainly not the case with my Epson printers which clogged constantly. Maybe it's the dry climate here where I live that magnified the problems with Epson printers, but I just don't waste prints on Canon printers. I have yet to see any particular benefits from the additional red and blue inks, or the coating in Canon's 12 color ink set that's in both the 4100 and 1100. They say the ink is improved for deeper blacks in the 1100 vs the 1000, but after all these years waiting for an upgrade, it doesn't seem like much of an overall improvement. I was hoping they would improve the paper feed so that you could stack heavier papers such as greeting cards and feed them in quantity in the tray, but all of that is the same as the 1000.
Bottom line is that anyone new to printing would be well served by this printer and need not be intimidated. His car and driver analogy makes no sense in my opinion. The 1000/1100 are simply great quality large printers, but you don't need a license to operate them. Printing is not hard. If the size of paper in this printer is larger than you'd need, buy the smaller Canon 300 pigment printer or Canon 200 dye printer.
Just asking - how do you handle skews? head strikes? bronzing? borderless printing?
It would be helpful to know tips and tricks about these things. Thanks.
Lots of questions there... with numerous possible problems and solutions. First of all, I never print borderless. Never. While the waste of ink on the edges is supposedly minimal, it's not a style of print making that I like. My viewing preference is plenty of white space surrounding the image area on my prints. So I rarely print larger than image size of 10 x 15 on 13 x 19 paper. If I'm printing a larger wall piece, I always leave a few inches of border no matter what the print size. Picture framers appreciate having the extra border so as to not have to touch the image area. I do too when handling the print.
The other issues you raise have never been much of a problem for me. Bronzing is solved in the Canon printers with chroma optimizer. Although it was never something I noticed much in my previous Epson printers. I'd usually have to view from a sharp angle to see it. Maybe it was more noticeable on glossy papers. Don't know, I print mostly on luster or textured papers.
Head strikes and skewing are issues I can't remember having experienced. Some of the folks in our print club get head strikes but I'm pretty sure it's from curled paper. The paper might be too thick for a small printer, the paper corners might be damaged, lots of potential issues depending on the design of the printer. Better printers can adjust the platen distance. Best printers have all kinds of sensors to prevent head strikes and skewing before they happen. My 4100 printer tells me to adjust the paper feed or paper settings before it prints when something is not right. The printer is designed though to accommodate the heaviest papers, which is not the case with smaller desktop printers. Either way, make sure you store your paper properly in its original packaging.
Cool. Good info given.
I have a Epson P700. I face the issues I listed above from time to time. As you have hinted, desktop printers are low bar for paper handling. On the flip side, the actual prints are excellent.
And yes, like you, I do not printer borderless. I tried it twice, got paper skews, messed up the prints, and that was that. Lesson learned.
Paper - I keep in plastic bag it comes in, inside the cardboard box. I keep it print side face down, hopefully keep the paper from curling. When I print, I still bend the edges of the paper to avoid head strikes.