iPF6100 Paper & Settings?

[EldorGemst]

I finally got my iPF6100 yesterday, and I'm somewhat frustrated with the results I'm getting. It's probably (hopefully!) just some setting somewhere that needs changing.

My vendor gave me one roll of genuine Canon media... the Premium Matte paper (24" roll) and a couple of other rolls of his own media. The first print tests went on the Canon Premium Matte because it's a a paper that SHOULD be properly supported by the printer.

The results were horrible! Not only were the colors drastically wrong, but detail was lost with the skin tones "filling in" (the only way I can describe it). I could sure use some help and my vendor doesn't seem to be able to supply that.

The first print was made through Photoshop CS2, with PS handling the color management using the CORRECT .icc profile for the paper. Terrible results. Second print was with "Let printer determine colors" instead of PS, (with the printer of course being set to the correct media). The results were better but far from acceptable. The vendor told me that this is to be expected because 1) the Canon media wasn't very good (his was much better), and 2) that no matte paper would give acceptable results for photographs (but that his matte paper would be better). SHEECH!!!

Third print was made on a semi-gloss NON-Canon media that the vendor supplies. That was with PS not doing any color management and "Let printer determine colors". Better, as I said, but the colors were not accurate.

Forth print was with the Vendor's matte paper and the printer handling colors and it was extremely bad and had different colors than either print on Canon's matte paper.

(By way of background, my monitor is calibrated regularly and using my Epson 2200 with custom profile and "Enhanced Matte" paper, I get outstanding results.)

Is the Canon Premium Matte paper really crap? Shouldn't I be able to get very acceptable results with it?

The Vendor wants to sell me several different gloss and semi-gloss papers of his own brand but cannot tell me which built-in profiles (if any) they would work best with. I don't mind trying other brands of media, but first I'd like to get really great results (colors) using some Canon paper and their own profiles. Only after that would I want to start experimenting and perhaps invest in custom profiles for different brands of paper.

Is anyone here using this printer yet (the vendor told me mine is the first one in Quebec)? If so, what paper/settings combos are working for you?

Thanks for any help...

Eldor in Montreal

[Jerry Skrocki]

I bought the Canon iPF5000 when it was first released and was disappointed with the lack of documentation and support by Canon. I soon discovered this Wiki site that was totally dedicated to the Canon Image Prograf printer:

canonipf5000 » FAQ

I think you will find most of your answers there. I ended up buying the Colorvision PrintFix Pro Suite to create my own paper profiles. The trick was to get the printer media setting to correspond to the paper you are using.

[EldorGemst]

Thanks for that link, Jerry.

I don't know what differences there are between the iPF5000 and the newer iPF5100 but I think they might be considerable. Did the 5000 have the built-in recalibration that the 5100 has?

Anyway, using the Canon Premium Matte paper and the built in support for that paper, the results are terrible. I'm perfectly willing to invest in custom profiles (or buy what I need to produce my own) but everyone I spoke with PRE-PURCHASE said that this wouldn't be necessary IF I stayed with Canon papers and the built-in support for them.

It's frustrating!

I've got a third-party paper (satin finish) that is giving me quite nice results but the colors are not quite right because none of the built in papers supported quite match it. I know that if I'm going to want to keep using this paper I'll have to get custom profiles for it.

But shouldn't the Canon Premium Matte paper with the built-in support give pretty darned near perfect results? I'm hesitant to buy another Canon paper without knowing for sure that the results will be acceptable.

I went to a Canon show a couple of months ago here in Montreal. The Canon reps gave me the name of two local suppliers of this printer and I ended up buying from one of the two. But both of them told me that they don't supply Canon paper! And neither do they supply .icc profiles for the papers they do supply or know which Canon media most closely matches their papers. This is what's so frustrating.

I called the distributor and he told me both these dealers buy from him and that they have access to all the papers, but both of them told me they don't sell Canon papers, instead offering their own brands. SIGH

[Jerry Skrocki]

I am wondering if you are using the correct media setting for the paper in question.

I get excellent results with Canon Premium Bright Photo Satin (260 GSM).

I use a custom icc profile (from the Colorvision PrintFix Pro) and the closest media setting on the printer seems to be SatinPhoto 240.

[EldorGemst]

Hi again, Jerry,

Yes, I was using the correct setting for the Canon Premium Matte paper. (And I've tried several times, and with several settings.)

That is the ONLY genuine Canon media I have and I was quite disappointed with the results.

Another media I have is a third-party (and rebranded too) paper that's a heavy-weight satin photo paper and the results I get with that are really very good. The colors are just a little bit off (because I don't have a custom profile for that paper and it doesn't quite match any of the directly supported papers).

Before I purchase any genuine Canon paper (and I'll have to find a source for that as the two printer suppliers here in Montreal say they don't carry Canon paper) I guess I really want to be certain that the results will be better than what I got with the Premium Matte.

I guess my question really should be to find out if anyone here with this printer (or the iPF5100) is getting acceptable photo printing on the Canon Premium Matte paper. If no one is getting good results with that, and they are with other Canon papers, well, I'll conclude that this is simply a lousy paper to use. Certainly the other brand papers (other than the matte I tried) are giving me better results and with the right profile I'm sure they'll be terrific.

What is frustrating is that at the Canon presentation I attended here in Montreal, the Canon reps gave me the name of two local dealers for the printer. I bought from one of them and only afterwards did I find out they don't carry the Canon papers.

And when I got such lousy results with the Canon Premium Matte, I was told "What do you expect? That's lousy paper!" The rep said that NO matte paper would give good results for photos but that his would indeed be better. Well his matte paper was pretty lousy also (using the Canon paper profile). The other dealer who I didn't buy from told me he'd put me in touch with his paper supplier (Mediatech in Montreal) who I did contact. They told me they get all their paper from Intelicoat in the States. I met with them, bought a selection of papers (which I'm still testing) and found they rebrand and re-label all the papers so I can't even cross-reference the paper they sold me with InteliCoat. SIGH

I'm going to try to reach someone at Canon Canada tomorrow to see if I can get any advice.

I'll post anything I find out.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by Jerry Skrocki

I am wondering if you are using the correct media setting for the paper in question.

I get excellent results with Canon Premium Bright Photo Satin (260 GSM).

I use a custom icc profile (from the Colorvision PrintFix Pro) and the closest media setting on the printer seems to be SatinPhoto 240.

[EldorGemst]

Originally Posted by Jerry Skrocki

I get excellent results with Canon Premium Bright Photo Satin (260 GSM).

I use a custom icc profile (from the Colorvision PrintFix Pro) and the closest media setting on the printer seems to be SatinPhoto 240.

Oh, one more thing...

Please help me understand this. If you've got a Custom .icc profile, how do you set the printer? Doesn't the custom profile override whatever the printer wants to do? And if you're using a Canon paper, did you find the built-in support for it wasn't as good as with the custom profile?

Thanks...

Eldor

[Jerry Skrocki]

Originally Posted by EldorGemst

Oh, one more thing...

Please help me understand this. If you've got a Custom .icc profile, how do you set the printer? Doesn't the custom profile override whatever the printer wants to do? And if you're using a Canon paper, did you find the built-in support for it wasn't as good as with the custom profile?

Thanks...

Eldor

Eldor,
The point I was trying to make is that the paper's icc profile is different from the printer's media setting. The media setting for the paper is built into the printer and accessible (for the iPF5000) via the printer LCD display and the software driver (they must match). This setting tells the printer which ink to use (photo vs matte) and how much ink to lay on the paper type. It also controls print head height, drying time and cutting speed. The icc profile controls which colors are used and in what amounts based on measured readings of a color chart.

While the media setting may match the paper in a general way, for the most part it is not paper specific even for Canon papers. Icc profiles are available for most Canon papers, but not for the specialty papers that I like to use. The icc profiles that I create are based on the built in media settings that most closely match the paper I am profiling.