The Canon Pixma Pro 9000 printer has been fully setup and all the applications have been installed, all that remains to be done now is to produce some prints. For the first print I am going to use some A4 media - Canon Photo Paper Pro PR - 101 (Super High Gloss). This is a real favourite with photographers due to the high gloss appearance. I have also been supplied with a selection of Canon's own A3+ Fine Art media - Fine Art Paper "Premium Matte" (210 gsm), Fine Art Paper "Museum Etching" (350 gsm) and Fine Art Paper " Photo Rag" (188 gsm). I will try these out later in the review. As per usual, you can download our test file by simply clicking on the first image. Please note the image is for personal use only and may not be reproduced without permission.
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Original file |
first print |
second print |
Using the Print with Preview command from within Photoshop the print took 1 min 03 seconds to complete. I just accepted the default settings and let the printer get on with it. Now there is a certain deja Vu with this first print, it looks just like the first print I created with the Pixma iP8500, or to get to the point Sophie has a well tanned look. At this stage I would start to see red with the printer, but the Canon Pro 9000 has an Ace card to play. This is in the form of a Photoshop plugin called Easy Print Pro. From within the plugin you can select a variety of Colour Management options including Photo Colour - this is the default settings for Canon printers, the driver will adjust your images to produce a colourful looking print - perhaps a bit to much emphasis on the reds for my taste. The other option is Linear Tone, this reproduces your files the way you see them on your screen and it did just that for my second test picture.
Besides the usual software applications bundled with Canon printers, there is a useful Photoshop plugin called Easy Print Pro, but I will cover this plugin in greater detail later in the review. I have just added this section because it is relevant to the colour tests which compares the Pro 9000 to other printers. Easy Print Pro has a the ability to generate a colour ring-a-round chart, this is rather like Photoshop's own Variations filter on steroids. Select the option to produce a Pattern Print and load up a sheet of the same media type that you intend using to produce your final print on. A print is generated using your current image and applying small adjustments, the values are printed under each thumbnail image, all you have to do is enter the values into the Colour Balance sliders. You can create a second print if needed, just select the various colour options Magenta, Cyan, Yellow, Green, Red or Blue, or indeed the brightness and contrast. This generates a print with a set of adjustments based around the colour you have selected. You should let the print dry for at least 10 minutes before making any colour correction decision, this allows the print to settle. This concept is such a simple idea and it works extremely well - I am glad I suggested it to Canon two years ago (Thursday 2nd December 2004), but am surprised it has taken this long to implement.
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The Easy Print Pro interface |
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Colour correction and Colour management in one location |
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Perfect colour is a breeze with the Pattern colour chart or create
a second print for extra precision |
