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Archive 2014 · Canon IPF 8400 44" Jan 2014 report.

  
 
SoundHound
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Canon IPF 8400 44" Jan 2014 report.


Working with my friend who has spectacular 1Gig+ landscape files I have these musings for the large format home enthusiast. Once you have a large carriage (44" for me) roll paper printer stop with the bleed edge prints because this throws ink all around. Print with a mimimum border and trim your prints for bleed edge presentations.. On my printer ink accumulates in the left most ink depression at the roll edge by the blue vacumn switch. Use a baby wipe to clean this area so you don't spot your primts. This problem is more severe with bleed edge primts. Let the area dry before printing.

Check, recheck and check again all your settings. The 8400 is capable of very fast printing at less than higest quality settings ( i know because I did medium quality prints for a year)..This results in a very fine print but may be problematic for certain delicate light skies. Most papers are instant dry but let the print hang in the printer for awhile for curing anyway before cutting.

Be patient! Handoff from the computer to the printer can take 5-13' for large files. So flatten your print file snd reduce the DPI to no more than 300. Take extreme care with the new print use white gloves. Roll it on a 3" or larger core for transport. Use bond paper to cover the rolled print. Take every chance to use your big roll printer. Take the time to make 8x10" and 5x7" composite files to primt several small prints on a narrow full width strip. Prints from my trusty Canon 9000 dye printer show severe deterioration after only 5 years (stored in good conditions). Canon's 8400 prints will last 10-20X longer.

Buy several spindles if you like to change paper often. Realize that NO inkjet printer can print real red (only some form of orange) so deal with this creatively before printing. The 8400 has a dedicated blue ink tank and has gorgeous blues. I havn't done much B&W but there are 4 tanks given up to monochrome (lt gray, dark gray, black for glossy paper and black for matt) so expect no compromise B&W.

When you have exotic non Canon paper import a color profile for your color managed Photo Shop plug-in but also select an accurate paper type on the printer for thickness and texture.The result can be stunning ptints of never before seen images. Civilians will comment on your "Posters." never having seen a 12 tank inkjet print of such a size (rather than a 4 color litho).

Economics: With various promotions, rebates and trade-ins at certain times of the year you can buy a 44" 8400 for only a few $100s more than a premium 13" machine when you consider the value of the 330ml ink tanks supplied with the 44" carriage (700ml tanks available too). Truly a no brainer if you have room for a 6' 4" long printer. I know this is simple stuff for the pros but they are busy making print after print on a daily basis not lurking on this forum.



Jan 03, 2014 at 07:13 AM
Alan321
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Canon IPF 8400 44" Jan 2014 report.


I was quite pleased with my little 24" iPF6100

Some things I would add to your musings...

1. These printers are not just long but deep too. They don't just need some wall space but a big chunk of floor space too. And they are heavy, so it's best to get them in the correct location the first time.

2. My printer, and I presume the newer models, has 16bit/channel drivers for use with Ps and DPP so that we don't need to dumb our images down to 8bit/channel just for printing. This might help with those "delicate skies" while still not drowning the paper in ink.

3. If you don't want to use your printer for while be sure to leave it in standby mode rather than disconnecting the power because in standby mode the printer monitors ambient temperature and humidity and agitates the ink tanks occasionally to prevent clogging.

4. These printers are far more expensive her in Australia than in the US and so are the inks. However, I found that if treat the printer as a gift to myself then actually using it is cheaper than getting prints done by a commercial print shop and much cheaper per square inch than using small printers. Even so, replacing a dozen large ink cartridges and/or a roll of paper can be a shock to the wallet.

5. Big prints are not for everyone but they can look very impressive on your wall.

6. It's worth doing some printer profiling with a colormunki or other system in order to get the best from it. You'll need at least one profile for each paper brand/type that you use.

- Alan



Jan 03, 2014 at 09:50 AM
SoundHound
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Canon IPF 8400 44" Jan 2014 report.


Yes the 44" IPF8400 is a huge heavy machine (the palitized hulk is 500-600#. I hope that I covered this in previous posts. I believe that if you have a powerful image it just gets better when it gets larger because the size makes it a different, and unusual, experience.


Jan 04, 2014 at 11:36 PM
FLSTCSAM
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Canon IPF 8400 44" Jan 2014 report.


Along with the large printers and roll paper I have found a de-roller very useful.

Here is a video for making a DIY de-roller.

Video quality is suspect, but you will get the idea.

http://www.samlinvillephotography.com/Website/Test-Gallery/20992916_8KPX42#!i=2466245377&k=Nw7THP8

Sam



Jan 05, 2014 at 12:43 PM





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