I just ordered my first printer. Got advise?

shaylou

shaylou

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This sounds obvious but I know people that have had hassles by not doing it so here goes......
Follow the instructions in the box as it'll make things easier. Install the software and leave plugging the printer into the usb port until prompted by the installer.
 
its proper nice printer i have one......but its huge and very heavy
 
I have had my Pixma 100 for about 3 weeks and am very pleased with my purchase.

Other than following instructions it is also crucial that you use a calibrated monitor otherwise you could end up very disappointed with the resulting prints.

Printing is a very in depth procedure if you want to do it correctly so use YouTube and watch the video's on your printer but also type "fine art printing" in the search box and watch some of those video's too. It will also be worth reading up on printing paper and profiles, all of which can be found on YouTube.

I have found it to be very interesting but with a very steep learning curve. This doesn't bother me because I enjoy this sort of thing.

Please don't be put off by my comments. With winter fast approaching this will give you something to do when its cold, wet and dark outside! :)

Andy
 
I am not very good at these kind of things but know the importance of it so have no choice but to learn it .

Right now I seem to be completely lost. I did the monitor set up where you put that thing on the monitor and it reads the colors and the ambient set up as well. But when I go to print something it still comes out the same as it did before which is not accurate. I don't know if I have the paper picked correctly either. I picked some paper that seem to match what I was using. I don't know but I do know that it doesn't seem to be calibrated because my screen doesn't look anything like my pictures when I print them. I'm lost....
 
Calibrating the monitor will not have a direct impact on the printed output. If you have a colormunki, you can calibrate one to the other though.

Printing is very much about experimentation. I used to have a curve preset that I would add to a finihsed image in Photoshop to account for the difference in printing, but now I make the odd tweak in the printer settings box (I use Epson).

Before I commit to printing A3, I also print a small test print on 6x4 (using the same type of paper), then make adjustments, and do another test to see if that's better. I find that an iterative process like this works quite well (and save me ink and paper) but I've got a reasonable idea in my head now as to what the printed output will come out like.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
Calibrating the monitor will not have a direct impact on the printed output. If you have a colormunki, you can calibrate one to the other though.

Printing is very much about experimentation. I used to have a curve preset that I would add to a finihsed image in Photoshop to account for the difference in printing, but now I make the odd tweak in the printer settings box (I use Epson).

Before I commit to printing A3, I also print a small test print on 6x4 (using the same type of paper), then make adjustments, and do another test to see if that's better. I find that an iterative process like this works quite well (and save me ink and paper) but I've got a reasonable idea in my head now as to what the printed output will come out like.
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I have been doing the same thing and got ok prints. But that is not what I am after. I was told that I need to calibrate the monitor and the printer so they are on the same page, if you will.Problem is that software is 450 dollars. I just spent 160 on the colormunki display version so not looking forward to spending the another 450. I just want good prints and so far all I got were ok. I didn't buy this software to guess at adjustments either.
 
Kind of re-iterates what I said before. Calibrating your screen is not a one shot panacea to the issue, it's just a starting point.

If your printed output does not match the screen then you are going to have to experiment I'm afraid, or swap your calibrator for one that will scan both and create a profile for you.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
Kind of re-iterates what I said before. Calibrating your screen is not a one shot panacea to the issue, it's just a starting point.

If your printed output does not match the screen then you are going to have to experiment I'm afraid, or swap your calibrator for one that will scan both and create a profile for you.
Click to expand...

That's kind of what I figured. Let me ask you. If I swap my software will the end result be a matching print and display. Also is this something that is very technical because I'm not.
 
I think it's more likely different hardware you need. I bought my colormunki second hand as they are somewhat pricy. Can't remember the model I have but you do the screen then you print out a test strip that you scan with the colormunki and it creates a printer profile that you print with. Not hugely technical, it's just not very cheap.

I don't know if there are any other options for you, maybe someone else on here can advise?
 
I found that before I got my screen calibration jobby whixh came free with my pro 100 that just turning the screen brightness down went a long way to dialling in my prints
 
Congrats. on the new printer. I have been using a Pro-100 for over twelve months now and I am very pleased with its output. However, I have two issues which I felt I needed Canon's assistance with. One was the issue of WiFi connectivity (or lack of!) and a more irritating one of the group 2 inks repeatedly blocking the nozzles after leaving the machine dormant for only two days.

The first issue I (not Canon) finally traced to a duff router. The second issue still remains. The point is is that Canon's support was lacking in both instances. Their staff appeared to have poor experience of either problem (one of their so-called "experts" did not know what I meant by "group 2 inks" for heavens sake!) and had few suggestions other than sending the machine to their approved repairers. This is not an option as I need the printer and the cost of sending it to the repairer, the repair itself and returning to me would make it uneconomical.

The next printer I buy will not be a Canon.
 
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Yellowbelly said:
Congrats. on the new printer. I have been using a Pro-100 for over twelve months now and I am very pleased with its output. However, I have two issues which I felt I needed Canon's assistance with. One was the issue of WiFi connectivity (or lack of!) and a more irritating one of the group 2 inks repeatedly blocking the nozzles after leaving the machine dormant for only two days.

The first issue I (not Canon) finally traced to a duff router. The second issue still remains. The point is is that Canon's support was lacking in both instances. Their staff appeared to have poor experience of either problem (one of their so-called "experts" did not know what I meant by "group 2 inks" for heavens sake!) and had few suggestions other than sending the machine to their approved repairers. This is not an option as I need the printer and the cost of sending it to the repairer, the repair itself and returning to me would make it uneconomical.

The next printer I buy will not be a Canon.
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Sorry you had problems. I am having issues trying to get my Bluetooth working. I assume that's what you are talking about when you say wifi? I get to the part where it says to hold one button and press another but I'm unclear if I am suppose to hold it and wait or what. The instructions don't say and what I have tried has yet to prompt me to the next step. Any suggestions?
 
A little update. I calibrated the monitor with the color monkey display that I bought. I was still having a lot of issues with the color matching and the exposure was off as well. Me Hoppy told me to get some good paper and do a profile of the paper. That turned out to be some really good advice. Once I got the good paper and the profile for it the color ended up being perfect. I still have to adjust your exposure but it's a lot less adjustment to do.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
I think it's more likely different hardware you need. I bought my colormunki second hand as they are somewhat pricy. Can't remember the model I have but you do the screen then you print out a test strip that you scan with the colormunki and it creates a printer profile that you print with. Not hugely technical, it's just not very cheap.

I don't know if there are any other options for you, maybe someone else on here can advise?
Click to expand...

I haven't done the test strip thing yet. Where do I go to print it. Once I have done the print do I use the colormunki software to do a printer profile?
 
shaylou said:
Sorry you had problems. I am having issues trying to get my Bluetooth working. I assume that's what you are talking about when you say wifi? I get to the part where it says to hold one button and press another but I'm unclear if I am suppose to hold it and wait or what. The instructions don't say and what I have tried has yet to prompt me to the next step. Any suggestions?
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You don't need to hold the button but I found you need a good strong signal from the router. Once I replaced my router with another with a more powerful signal, the set up was a first time job. If you need to find your signal strength at the place you have your printer, there is an excellent app for Android called "Wi-Fi Analyser". There may be one for i-phones.
 
Yellowbelly said:
You don't need to hold the button but I found you need a good strong signal from the router. Once I replaced my router with another with a more powerful signal, the set up was a first time job. If you need to find your signal strength at the place you have your printer, there is an excellent app for Android called "Wi-Fi Analyser". There may be one for i-phones.
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Thanks for your reply. I have a very strong signal and the router is about 5 feet from the printer so that is not an issue.

When I initially set it up I didn't use wifi so I'm going back and changing it. I press the button but nothing happens at that point.

I am going to try it again. If I can't figure it out from y'all's suggestions I will have to call Canon.
 
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