Review Canon PIXMA PRO-1 printer
| The Canon PIXMA PRO-1 is a professional A3 + printer and is the successor to the Canon 9500 MK2. Canon tries to rival the Epson 3000 with this. Since HP has pulled back from the market for A3 + printers using pigmented inks, Epson and Canon are the only ones left. Canon, Epson and HP also make A3+ printers using dye inks. These printers are much cheaper but the used ink fades more than pigmented ink caused by exposure to UV light. The Canon PIXMA PRO-1 is a totally different printer than its predecessor; you can see this, for example, by looking at the ink set and the sled. |  |
What is new compared to the Canon 9500 MK2?
• The ink set is extended and the color range is slightly increased. • In a separate cartridge, Chrome Optimizer is placed. This adds an additional layer over the image, using RC paper, to obtain an even gleam. • The ink cartridges are increased resulting in fewer cartridges to be changed. • The recommended retail price has risen by € 100. |
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What are the differences with the Epson 3000?
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Canon PIXMA PRO-1 |
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type of printer: A3+ |
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Ink and ink costs |
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| Canon has improved the Lucia ink set and consists of no less than 12 cartridges. The gamut is greater than that of the Canon 9500 MK2, the predecessor. The number of 12 is somewhat flattered though. After all, there are two black ones, one for RC paper and one for fine art paper. In addition, we find three gray inks in the printer. These are intended to get a neutral gray. Also, a cartridge is used for the Chrome Optimizer. The content of the ink cartridges is 31 grams. Yet, the ink costs disappoint somewhat; these amount to € 1.13 per A4 print including Chrome Optimizer. This is reduced by 21 cents if you do not use Chrome Optimizer. Printing costs are high, despite the large cartridges. |  |
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The printer software |
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| Installing the printer is easy. You must be careful that the cover for the head is closed after you have placed it, otherwise an error message pops up. After installation, the head automatically aligns. When printing, you see that the Canon software is different than the Epson software. With the Epson printer, you have an overview on one screen on the PC, which Canon does not offer. If you print under color management, common for this type of printer, you must open a lot of screens to select or tick the right things. This way, you have to select or tick something up to 15 times, if you switch from one paper to the other with corresponding ICC profile. If you change the paper format, this number even increases! Printing is a lot easier if you use the special Canon plug in and you het a overview on one screen. |  |
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The practice |
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The printer feels solid and prints almost silently, but not quickly. Printing a picture on A4 size, highest quality level, lasts 4 minutes and 15 seconds. If you choose standard quality, I see no difference; the print time is exactly one minute less. About as fast as the Epson 3000. If you use very thick paper, like most fine art paper, the printer itself tells you to enter the paper, sheet to sheet, manually at the back. In fine art paper, the margin is at least 35 mm, very annoying! And with some fine art papers, you can not even choose A4 size. Printing from film is not possible. A film is useful for printing panoramic photos. Besides, the costs of paper decrease with the use of film. And while I am still grumbling. With many Epson printers, you can define the paper size yourself, that too is a possibility that you will use much when printing a lot of panoramic pictures and this is not possible with the Canon. For the test of the Canon PIXMA PRO-1, we use the professional Canon Platinum gloss photo paper. Canon delivers besides this photo paper also a number of other RC photo papers such as the Satin photo paper. For professional users, Canon has a few fine art papers in the program, these come from Hahnemuehle. |
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Test result color on Canon Platinum 300 grams photo paper |
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| The display of the different colors is nearly perfect. The blue is blue without a color cast, and brown has not become light brown. Important for the portraitists among us: the skin tones are shown true to nature. Also thanks to the high gloss, black shows the remarkable depth. |  |
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Test result black white on Canon Platinum 300 grams photo paper |
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| The different shades of gray are practically neutral gray and black is powerful. Also, positive is that on the pictures, a difference between very dark gray and black is still visible. The hue tends to be a little cool. With the Epson printers, you can adjust the hue very precisely by means of the Advanced Black and White mode, from very cool to sepia. That is not possible with the Canon software. But, if you use the plug in you can make a print with 49 small picturers on it, each corrrected in a different way. You can chose the one which suits you. |  |
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Gloss and surface of Canon Platinum 300 grams photo paper |
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The Canon Platinum Paper is 300 grams and thus feels stronger than many other types of photo paper. The gleam is high gloss and almost reaches the high gloss that you can get with dye inks. The color of this paper is almost white. Thanks to the special coating that is sprayed on the prints, there is no bronzing and gloss differential, see FAQ. In this area, Canon distinguishes itself from Epson, which does not offer this possibility. You see remnants of bronzing and gloss differential with the Epson gloss prints when you look at the prints from an oblique angle. |
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Conclusion |
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Canon has set the bar very high for A3 + printers. The color range is wide, and by using the Chroma Optimizer, it is possible to get a high shine without the hassle of bronzing and gloss differential. The colors are displayed very true to nature and black is unprecedentedly deep. The ink cost per page is high and are even more increased with the Chroma Optimizer with € 0.21 per A4 print. The printing software is not very handy; on many screens you have check something somewhere and there is no possibility as that which Epson provides: to adjust the hue of black and white prints. Printing becomes a lot easier if you use the plug. All in all, particularly because of the excellent print quality on RC paper, the Canon PIXMA PRO-1 is hoghly recommended.
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