Printer News

Every year member magazines from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) gather to consider and vote on the top products of the year in 40 categories, ranging from cameras to tripods to software and printers. This year’s selections represent technological sophistication along with features and functionality that make them leaders in their respective categories.

I had just about given up on ideal black and white inkjet printing and settled for the printer company compromised solution, which first appeared with the Epson R2400. Like other photographers who do both color and black and white, I'd tried and failed using a converted, dedicated black and white printer using "independent" inks. That solution proved too...

Xpozer is a fascinating new way to create exhibition-quality photo prints from Bay Photo Lab. How good do they look? If Leonardo da Vinci had seen these…

Use your inkjet printer to create 3D toys, stunning calendars, scrapbook pages, holiday cards, hanging decorations, reproductions of famous artwork and much, much more. Canon’s Creative Park offers an outstanding collection of templates and activities—complete with detailed instructions—and no, you don’t have to own a Canon brand printer. With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Proms and Graduations rapidly approaching, here’s your chance to create personalized cards and gifts using your shareable digital images.

There’s no question that digital printmaking equipment, ink, and paper has undergone steady improvement over the years. Gone are the days of excessive dry-down effects and color shifts, poor paper feed mechanisms, and complicated setups. The debate over silver vs. inkjet image resonance and quality is seldom heard anymore, and we’re at the point now where the precision and ease of use of printers, the amazing selection of papers and “substrates” (things you can print on), and the fact that getting WYSIWYG results does not need an advanced degree in color science all make producing really good prints accessible to all.

Canon’s new PIXMA MX492 is a compact wireless inkjet office all-in-one printer designed to produce high-quality documents and photos. The Canon PIXMA MX492's features include advanced wireless connectivity, an automatic document feeder, borderless printing, fax function and fast print speeds (approximately 8.8 images per minute for B&W prints and 4.4 for color). It offers high-quality printing with a four-color hybrid ink system that combines dye ink for vivid colors and black pigment ink for sharp text. 

The new Canon PIXMA PRO-1 is a 13x19” pigment-ink printer that makes fine quality prints in a price range that could be considered quite fair for what you get ($999). Aimed at avid photographers and enthusiast printmakers, as well as pros choosing to do their own mid-size prints, the PIXMA PRO-1 fills a void left by HP’s abandonment of the category and directly challenges Epson. The printer offers ease of use, solid performance, 12 ink cartridges, and all in all seems to improve upon 13” printers of the past. Our tests were aimed at determining if the PIXMA PRO-1 could be a solid contender in its class and if there were upgrades or new workflow techniques that would differentiate it from the competition.