Canon iPF Pro-4000 Review

Canon has taken a great leap forward creating a whole new generation of their aqueous printers that have some exceptional features. Now that the Canon Pro-4000 has just started shipping, I thought I would highlight a few features that I found significant.

Roll Feed Unit and Paper Handling
The optional roll feed unit can be used as a take up real as we have seen in printers before. But this roll feed unit can also act as a second roll feeder with its own unique paper path to the printing area. With this unit we essentially have double roll support that allows users to keep two different rolls installed simultaneously. What is even more surprising is that the printer can quickly switch between these rolls automatically without user intervention. The leading edge of one roll is kept at the printing area while the leading edge of the unused roll is kept a few inches back in a holding area, ready for use. When a roll is loaded you specify which media it is and the printer keeps track. When you want to print, just select the media in the driver accordingly and the printer knows which roll to print to. Select “Luster” as your media in the driver and it prints to the luster roll, or select”Matte” as your media in the driver and it prints to the matte roll – there is no need to specify roll 1 or 2. Since Canon printers do not have the awkward photo and matte black ink switching that Epsons surprisingly still have, this means you can make prints to a matte roll, prints to the luster roll and back to matte extremely quickly without any user intervention (paper loading) at all.

The Pro-4000 has a similar cut sheet loading process that the previous Canon iPF printers had, along with the same curved paper path. While this makes the use of rigid materials impossible, I have been able to use large sheets of heavy papers without a problem.

Touch screen color display
Gone are the days of the dinky little screen with dedicated buttons around it. This printer has a phone sized, touch sensitive color screen with beautiful graphics and illustrations. There is also a long skinny light above it that changes color indicating the printers status. This light is white when printing normally and turns red when the printer needs attentio which you can easily see this from across a large room.

Compact
While Canon’s previous 44″ printer was 74.5 wide, and Epso’s 44″ printers are 74″ wide, the Pro-4000 is surprisingly compact with a width of just less than 63 inches wide – almost a full foot narrower. This is due in part to a clever layout and in part to its new simplified, single print head design and smaller carriage.

Single Print head
The new PF-10 print head has 1.28 inch wide nozzle strips for all 12 inks. The PF-10 is expected to last longer than previous print heads and despite being larger, is far more affordable (MSRP$675 – estimated street price US$525) than two of the previous heads ($1200). The threat of failing print heads has always loomed over Canon printer users so the lower costs and expected increase in longevity are welcome changes.

Wifi
Todays wifi networks are super fast and the large format Pro-x000 printers include built in wifi network connectivity. USB and ethernet ports are also available. An extra USB port in the front allows you to print from a USB memory stick and printing from a tablet or phone is supported over wifi.

Basket
Large format printers have always had flimsy baskets with limited functionality but the basket on the Pro-4000 supports 7 positions including several at paper feed height. I like the positions that function not as a basket but as a ramp to gently guide prints to a work table.

Spindles and core adapters
Canon has always had funny, unintuitive 3 inch core adapters for its spindles that were difficult to get on or off. The new spindles and adapters are smart and easy to use, and the locking mechanism now works perfectly.

Print Quality
The print quality has been is improved. While some of these improvements can be quantified, many of them cannot. The chroma optimizer, dense screening and thinner pigment encapsulation produce a number of visual improvements that are difficult to describe. The sheen on glossy papers, appearance at a variety of angles and under different lights, appearance of depth and saturation are all improved in ways that one needs to see for themselves to fully understand. A few points that I find meaningful:

To the naked eye, prints with any content now appear completely continuous tone without a visible printer dot. When viewed under a loupe, the screening is considerably smoother with a lot more dots that are placed closer to each other, blending with others. I have long felt that the appearance of a subtle “grainy” printer dot was a weakness to the Canon brand but that has been eliminated.

When the color gamut and Dmax values are compared to the previous printers in applications like Colorthink the results are very similar to the previous generation printers. The gamut is a little smaller in the greens but larger in some other areas. Visually however, prints of the same image appear to have richer blacks, more shadow detail, a little more color saturation overall. For the first time in my career I feel like color gamut rendering comparisons don't tell the full, objective story like they used to.

Prints on non-matte papers have a more consistent, more desirable sheen on them thanks to the new clear Chroma Optimizer. Less gloss differential translates into better looking prints with less of that 'inkjet' look to them. As with the previous Canon inkset, the new inks are surprisingly durable and resistant to scratching, relative to other brands.

Printer Driver and Photoshop Plug-in
The new printer driver is excellent and incorporates a lot of advanced functionality that iPF users originally only had in the printing plug-in. Options like “No Space on Top and Bottom”, “Print after reception is complete”, rear end margin and cut speeds controls are all available in the new driver (note: the x400 printers also had these options in the driver, but previous printers did not. The driver now supports custom page sizes to to 65 feet (780 inches) and full 16 bit printing. The driver includes the option to save an image to the hard drive on the printer itself so that additional prints can be made from the printer without the aid of a workstation. My favorite feature in the plug-in was the print visualization that illustrated the roll of paper and how your image would be positioned on it. The new drivers “Print Preview” function, allows for the same visualization with the addition of visualizing the paper cut positioning. The driver now supports ICC profile target printing from the Adobe Color Printing Utility on both macOS and Windows, which will be the preferred method for Canon printers moving forward as it is with Epson printers. Savvy macOS iPF users will note that the “special casing” that caused so many users to apply Doyles XML hack is no longer needed with this new driver.

While macOS users will enjoy an entirely new, written from the ground up driver, Windows users have two drivers to choose from corresponding with Microsofts transition from the GDI to XPS printing architectures. The Windows GDI driver is feature complete but lacks support for 16 printing (a GDI limitation). The newer modern XPS driver supports 16 bit printing but lacks some of the smaller functionality of the GDI driver (like Free Layout). Thus are the tradeoffs to deal with while developing driver for Windows during this transition.

Fifteen years ago the driver APIs were so primitive that printer manufacturers were limited with what features they could implement. When Canon created the PS plug-in, they overcame these limitations and were the first to introduce 16 bit image delivery to a printer, with up-sampling and sharpening controls, long print lengths, and lots of additional printer controls that the printer driver APIs could not handle at the time.

Canon has been able to incorporate this advanced functionality in this new generation of printer drivers and has decided to retire the Photoshop printing plug-in. Killing the plug-in was a controversial decision that users will undoubtedly complain loudly about, but I support their decision. The new driver is fantastic and solid, and there is value to a consistent interface to use with any application. There is nothing from the old plug-in that I am missing in my own workflow today with this new driver. Essentially, everything we used to rely on the Photoshop Print Plug-in to do, we can now do with the driver. The driver is the future, it’s great and I will encourage my clients to embrace it.

Print Studio Pro
Canons Print Studio Pro is promoted as a replacement for the older printing plug-in. I think this is a bad analogy in part because the old Plug-in communicated directly to the printer without the driver and its limitations. Print Studio Pro prints through the driver and honestly, I struggle to see where PSP could fit elegantly into my clients workflows. PSP offers some novel color adjustments, limited layout capabilities and gives Photoshop users a way of printing multiple images simultaneously. Despite this, the interface is clunky and I fail to see this being the right fit for todays professionals. Those that need to manage, layout and print lots of images simultaneously have already migrated away from Photoshop and towards apps like Lightroom, Capture One, ImageNest, Qimage and various RIPs. Looking at the bigger picture, I think it is important to find the best app for your workflow and printing from that app (and probably through the driver) makes sense.

Cutting Mechanism
Canon printers have always utilized a rotary blade, and in recent models, a dual rotary blade where two opposing disks rotate at the cut point. The new Pro-x000 printers have a separate carriage mechanism just for the cutter which is strong and capable of printing the thickest canvas and cotton papers papers. This keeps cutting dust away from the print heads, places the cut closer to the paper exit point, and separates cutting resistance from the print head carriage where extreme head placement accuracy is so critical.

Processing
With 3 separate processors and 3 gigs of RAM, these new printers have a lot of processing power that comes in handy for all sorts of things. Lots of the rendering that was previously being done on your computer at the driver level is now being done on the fly on the printer which speeds up spooling times. Postscript, JPEG and other file formats are natively supported on the printer now which in part, allows people to print straight from phones, tablet, or a USB flash drive. Full 16 bit image processing ensures the smoothest possible tonality and color transitions. This processing power and RAM also allows Canon the potential to roll out substantial changes/updates/capabilities to the printer via firmware now and into the future.

Reliability
Several years ago Canons facilities suffered damage from a tsunami which forced them to shift manufacturing temporarily to partners in China. This caused reliability issues especially with print heads (a particularly challenging part to manufacture with extreme precision and consistency). Canon has built new, state-of-the-art facilities in Japan and Thailand that are fully operational now. Inks and print heads are manufactured in Japan while the rest of the hardware comes out of Thailand. Because of this and improved designs, materials and manufacturing processes, reliability is expected to be higher than what we have seen in the past.

Little Annoyances
Like every printer on the planet, there are little things that can delight or annoy. The Pro-4000 takes 32 seconds to wake up, which can feel like a long time when you are excited to print. After completing printing to a cut sheet, the printer forces you to wait 36+ seconds before it releases the print. After completing printing to a cut sheet, the printer cuts immediately but forces you to wait 36+ seconds before it is ready to print again. The new MCT tool only updates the media on the printer itself, requiring a second step using another app to pull the updates from the printer to the driver.

While the chroma optimizer reduces gloss differential on ~98% of images, it can actually cause problems on a small percentage of images with pure whites. The Chroma optimizer currently places itself over inked areas but not on un-inked image areas. So if an image has areas that are pure white there is some unwanted gloss differential. In this situation one can choose to use the “Overall” setting that applies the gloss optimizer everywhere on the page within the margins. One can also create a custom media type that excludes the use of chroma optimizer altogether. I find these workarounds a little clunky and hope they implement the ability or set the optimizer to the entire image area, or turn it off in a future version of the driver.

Conclusion
The more I use this printer the more I like it. The hardware and software represent a whole new generation of technology from Canon and the results look and feel impressive. A Canon 8400 looks and feels 10 years old next to this printer. I am impressed that Canon has been able to leap forward so far with this generation and overcome limitations that have lingered for years. I am in awe of the paper handling and ability to seamlessly switch between rolls without user intervention. The speed and print quality are fantastic and I am seeing more shadow detail on baryta papers than I have seen from any printer in the past. This printer is quiet, fast, compact and smart.

Update – January 2017
The more I use this printer the more I struggle with gloss differential. Despite the fact that chroma optimizer is advertised as helping reduce gloss differential, I am finding it often does the opposite on all photo black papers except a full glossy. Let me be clear, there is no gloss differential on matte papers nor on full glossy papers like Canon’s Pro Platinum Paper. But on everything in between, like Luster, Satin and Pearl surfaces, I am seeing substantial amounts of gloss differential on prints containing highlights and/or paper white areas. Even if we use the workaround to turn off the CO altogether we still see the same amount of gloss differential because the inks themselves have a glossy appearance, plus significant saturation loss. Wither the CO is used or not, most have a significant amount of gloss differential and, I have to say, a little bit of bronzing (this is best seen with B&W images). I am afraid Canon may have gone from having the best inkset on the market to, in some ways, the worst – at least if you using papers like Luster, Satin and Pearl. This is bad news for people that love fiber base papers like Hahnumuhle Photo Rag Pearl, Epson Exhibiton Fiber, Museo Silver rag, and Canon’s Premium Polished Rag. If you prefer these papers I’d suggest using an older Canon iPF printer or Epson’s latest printers. Here are a few quick photos showing gloss differential on Canon’s Pro Luster paper:

You can see that the chroma optimizer “Overall” option reduces gloss differential but doesn’t eliminate it altogether. I consider this option unacceptable for several reasons. This option puts CO everywhere within the margins, so when printing a portfolio there is tons of CO usage and gloss differential towards the edges. We really need an “Image Area” option that puts CO throughout the image area and no where else on the page. With such an option we could print portfolios with a small image on a large sheet for example.

This printer has a problem loading rolls of thick, stiff papers, especially from the 2nd roll unit. Papers like Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl and Epson Hot Press do not load well or won’t load at all in roll mode. They do load fine as cut sheets.

I have yet to test the Ethernet connection but I will suggest people try to use it when possible as sending large print jobs over USB 2 is incredibly slow and the printer doesn’t start printing immediately as we have seen with other printers. I wish they had implemented a USB 3.1 connection for the USB port.

Canon’s 10+ year sheet loading prices, complete with its orange lines and triangle platen cutouts is more frustrating than ever with the new door that does not open as far. With the Pro-4000 we see shadows along the top orange line making it hard to align the sheet. I have installed a strip of LEDs in my printer which helps tremendously.

After 6+ months of usage, print speeds, reliability and ink usage are all fantastic and impressive. I think this is a great printer for those printing on relatively average thickness glossy and matte papers, but not as much for those printing on thick, stiff, fine art papers. And the lack of a straight through paper path eliminates to possibility of using rigid media like Breathing Color’s new Aqueous Allure metal material. This is a fantastic ‘photo’ printer, but doesn’t quite have the versatility needed to be a great ‘fine art’ printer.

Update – July 2017
Certain people at the Luminous Landscape still refuse to admit the Pro-x000 printers have a significant issue with bronzing but now Canon is admitting to it. From Canon:

When choosing CO “Auto” setting, CO ink is essentially not laid down in areas where there is no ink, and only laid down in inked areas. Furthermore in Auto mode, the amount of CO ink used varies according to how much ink is laid down (brighter parts of the image will use different amount of CO ink relative to dark areas of the image for example). Therefore some bronzing could be seen on brighter or lighter inked areas such as skin tones as you mentioned, as less (or very little in some cases) CO is used in these areas.

However, in Auto mode, there are certain media types where the amount of CO channel does not use the logic above. If choosing Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum and Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster media setting the CO “Auto” setting consumes CO ink even on the less inked areas as well as high duty inked areas of the image, compared to the rest of Canon glossy/semi glossy settings such as Canon Premium Semi Gloss setting.

So there it is. The CO Auto setting is “diseased” with a bronzing problem on all photo black media types except for the Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum and Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster media settings. So if you use photo black papers be sure to use (or create custom media types with) either the “Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum” or “Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster” media settings.

I have been working with Canon on this issue and discovered this in my own testing a few months ago and have been getting much better prints ever since. Really excited to regain confidence printing to non-matte papers.

I still think they need a “CO Image Area” setting that puts full CO coverage throughout the image area, including highlight lights and non inked areas, without covering the rest of the sheet. Maybe we will see this at a later date. Maybe they will update all the other photo black media types with different CO logic and avoid bronzing across the board.

To summarize, use the “Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum” or “Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster” media settings to avoid bronzing.

I hope this helps! – Scott

Update – October 2017
Canon USA tells me that physical modifications to the 2nd roll feed unit have been made to help improve media feeding. A client of mine had his early model roll feed unit replaced for free by Canon and now reports that he can feed thicker papers (like Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl) without a problem. With this and the bronzing issues now resolved I think we can say this is a fantastic printer for both photo and fine art work.

Update – March 2019
I’ve had my Pro-4000 for 3 years now and it’s been a flawless performer. I’ve changed lots of inks but not the print head yet.  My clients are reporting the same – perfect reliability with some print head replacements in demanding 24/7 print environments. My Epson P9000 has also been trouble free. I have a P5000 that has been giving me trouble since day one and Epson has been out twice to fix it but has twice failed. Not only will they not replace it they are changing me for the visits that didn’t fix anything. I have heard of two other Px000 printers from clients that they had to trash in less than 2 years. Universally, everyone reports incredible support from Canon and less than such from Epson.

I’m also seeing lots of clients holding onto their iPFx400 printers and waiting for the next round of Pro printers. If Canon could increase the DMax, restore the Green saturation, use a faster USB3 port, add a CO “image area” option, eliminate the annoying “please wait a while” messages, and a handful of other things they’d have a killer printer worth waiting for.

Update – August 2021
This Pro-4000 is over 5.5 years now and I haven’t had a single issue it yet. I’ve gone through countless sets of inks and the original print head shows no signs of slowing down. I keep two rolls installed in it constantly and have been hammering it a lot lately. My newer Epson P9000 that sits next to it had has its carriage assembly and motherboard replaced at great expense during this time.

I’ve worked on a number of Pro-4100 printers and am impressed with he new display, physical buttons and most importantly, the improved DMax, saturation and overall improved print quality on matte surface printers. Print quality on matte surface papers is finally on par with what it was on the iPFx400 printers, but with a finer, less noticable dot pattern.