Looking at the Canon PRO-1

[keith_cooper]

Thanks to Canon UK, I've had a Canon Pixma PRO-1 to try out for a while.

Unfortunately it's gone back, but I have written up a longish review of how I found it to use.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/printer/canon_pro-1.html

Hope it's of some interest.

As someone with an iPF8300, it's interesting to see some of Canon's printer developments, although aspects of the PRO-1 perhaps belie its origins in the consumer electronics division.

Print quality is absolutely excellent, but 35mm top/bottom margins on 'art papers' and a 26" maximum print length...

[kers]

Keith,
Thank you for the very detailed review
At the moment i am trying to bring a HP b9180 back to life but also look at the alternatives...
Mayor problem i find is the cost of Ink with these small printers and the fact they are just not developed professional enough to get rid off all the quirks.
(example :The HP machine is a one of its kind i believe- there is no successor...and even the firmware is not working on macs making it impossible to run on a new OSX...)

Pieter Kers

[Deepsouth]

Thanks for an excellent review. I have the 9500 MK I and this review has convinced me that buying the PRO-1 would be a waste of time and money. The excellence of the output is not in doubt. The deal-breaker is that Canon is so half-hearted about putting pro features in such a costly device, and so market-deaf as not to listen to the many users who told them that the 9500 MK II should ditch the 35 mm margin fiasco and provide at least an optional roll feed. Not to mention that I had to buy a "European" CD printing adapter because Canon deemed it unnecessary for the US market.

As I understand it, Canon USA (for printers at least) has no real input on design decisions; their job is market what Canon Japan sends them. So complaining to our regional Canon reps is useless; unless we can get an audience with the Mother Ship, we're talking to ourselves.

So here's my strategy: I keep the 9500 and use it for output that it will render well. I'll outsource larger prints-unless Canon or somebody suddenly comes out with a world-beater in this format without silly restrictions and consumables that are not incredibly expensive.

[keith_cooper]

Glad it was of interest!

I've asked about numerous printer related 'features' with people from Canon in the UK and get the same mutterings about where the design decisions are made.

My own pet gripe (that extends to my iPF8300) is the huge steps that the ink level indicators make - it's a bit like getting in a car that shows a quarter of a tank, and after a half mile reads empty. Was it because you've a fuel leak, or was it that just over an eighth reads a quarter and just under an eighth reads empty?