Canon is expanding its large-format imagePROGRAF printer line with the addition of three new 11-color plus chroma optimizer inkjet models: the imagePROGRAF 60-inch PRO-6600, 44-inch PRO-4600, and 24-inch PRO-2600.
These massive printers are designed for photography and fine art and feature what Canon calls its newly developed Lucia Pro II pigment ink. It says that this new ink is designed to help improve the image quality compared to previous models and sports improved black density on art paper (which it says it achieved by changing the formulation and material of matte black ink).
“The new ink set can also work to help produce and preserve prints as a crystalline wax has been added to the ink, giving the printed surface better resistance to abrasion-caused scratches on glossy and semi-glossy media,” Canon elaborates. “The reformulated Chroma Optimizer is designed to give the surface a clear coat of transparent ink that helps suppress bronze phenomena and helps reduce uneven glossiness.”
In addition to making better-looking prints, the new pigment ink is also able to better resist degradation caused by light.
Support for new ink isn’t the only trick these new printers bring to the table. All three of Canon’s new imagePROGRAF large-format printers use a new ink sensing system that periodically monitors ink ejection condition and optimizing the “ink landing position” by “detecting deterioration of ejecting condition and automatically performing alignment adjustment.”
Canon also added an LED interior light to allow operators to preview prints and made the ink tank covers semi-translucent to make it easier to monitor how much is remaining in them.
The printers also have what Canon characterizes as an “intelligent” media handling feature that is able to detect the type of paper installed, estimate the width and remaining amount of paper, plus it is able to complete the paper feeding process faster than previous models. All of this is automated and therefore reduces the skill necessary to operate the printers.
To go along with the printers, Canon also launched two new fine art papers: Fine Art Etching 315 gsm and Fine Art Baryta 310 gsm. The former is meant to work best with prints that feature deep blacks while the latter includes a 100% barium sulfate layer “with elegant smooth finishes that are ideal for images with deep black and rich colors, dark room prints, and fine photographic reproductions.”
Canon did not include information about pricing for any of the three printers (and did not respond to a request for that information ahead of publication), but don’t expect these to be cheap. For example, the imagePROGRAF Pro-6100 costs $11,541, the Pro-4100 costs $4,516, and the Pro-2100 costs $3,053.