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by Justin C on Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:18 pm
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Hi,

Could anyone tell me please if it's possible to add additional media types to those which are automatically there after installation of printer and driver?

The reason I ask is, I have a Canon Pixma iP4950 printer, I would like to start using fine art papers but I don't have the corresponding media types listed in the print driver. I've tried selecting those which I do have, such as Matte Photo Paper, Photo Paper Plus Semi-gloss, etc. etc. but after printing various density charts, prior to having custom icc profiles created, I feel they're not ideal for the paper types I would like to start using, i.e. the charts appear to be less than perfect, i.e. blotchiness from too much ink being laid down, slightly blocked up shadows, reduced colour gamut, etc.

I know the A3+ printers and wide format models have a much greater selection of media types, including various fine art ones. Is there any way I can get these added to my printer?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Justin
 

by Royce Howland on Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:04 pm
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Normally, you can only define new media types with higher-end printers. With lower-end printers, the media types are hardwired into the printer and the driver. As you surmise, the media types influence the physical print process -- the platen gap for thinner vs. thicker media, how much ink is laid down, drying time in between print head passes, etc. For "non-pro" printers, you're typically stuck with the media types that come out of the box. It becomes a matter of finding a media type that is as close as possible to your chosen paper. If none of them end up being suitable for a given paper, then that paper is not suitable for that printer.

If you check the paper manufacturer's web site for the paper you're trying to custom-profile, usually the company will list handling instructions including details like the most appropriate media type, for the types of printers they have tested & support. If you don't see this info for your printer model on the manufacturer's site, then you're stuck with some trial & error.

From checking the specs on the Canon iP4950, this is an entry-level printer with a limited inkset (photo black, matte black, cyan, magenta & yellow) plus limited media support, as you've found. For that reason the iP4950 is unlikely to appear on paper manufacturer web sites, so no generic profiles or specific handling instructions will be available. Perhaps you found this out already which has triggered you to go the custom profiling route. :)

From what I can tell, the "ChromaLife 100" inks used in the printer are dye based (except for the photo black which is pigment); this adds another layer of consideration. Dye inks generally are far less lightfast than pigment inks, except in some cases when paired with certain papers (usually made by the printer manufacturer). Dye inks generally look more saturated and are cheaper, which is why they're typically found on consumer-oriented printers while pigment inks completely dominate the "pro" printers. The simpler dye inksets also don't always work well on matte stocks in my experience. Often dye inksets work best with what are called "swellable media" papers, and this is not the type found with the vast majority of fine art papers.

The bottom line is this printer simply was designed for a limited range of printing work. You may be able to find some interesting papers to use with it, but it's going to take a fair amount of experimentation. Watch out especially if trying to print on heavy fine art media that's much thicker than the Canon-made examples. The printer may not have an adjustable platen gap, leading to the risk of head jams or at least head strikes on the paper during printing.

My gut says it's not going to prove suitable for the majority of fine art papers, especially matte stock, and will work best with the specifically supported range of papers made by Canon...
Royce Howland
 

by Justin C on Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:54 pm
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Perhaps you found this out already which has triggered you to go the custom profiling route. :)
Spot on :)



I've been experimenting all afternoon with the limited media settings I have and have found exactly the issues you've described.
I guess, as you say, it's just going to be a matter of experimenting further and trying to make the best of what's available.
Thankfully, I haven't invested a huge amount in media, so it's not the end of the world if the paper does prove to be totally unsuitable.
I can always store it for my eventual printer upgrade and put it down to experience.

The printer was just going to be a temporary stop-gap after the purchase of an Epson 3880 fell though but I was so impressed with the quality from this little machine that I thought I'd stick with it for a while and just enjoy experimenting with it.

I wrongly assumed that because the machine accepted the extra thickness of the fine art papers and because they're often marketed as dye and pigment compatible, then I would be fine with them. I now know different.
All part of the learning curve I guess :)

Many thanks Royce for such a detailed and helpful reply :)
Justin
 

by ChrisRoss on Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:09 pm
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Here's a media selection image, you print it without profiles with various media types selected:

http://www.on-sight.com/2008/04/04/how- ... r/#more-25

This link is for the iPf5100, but it will give you a starting point in that some of the media types for your Canon printer are also common to the iPf5100. So lookup your paper to see what media type is recommended and use that as the basis for your tests.

http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/Creating ... mendations
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http://www.aus-natural.com   Instagram: @ausnaturalimages  Now offering Fine Art printing Services
 

by nash30 on Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:01 am
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http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/Creating ... mendations this link is awesome! I did a test print using the settings for Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II. Surprisingly, it worked quite well.
someday you will find me,caught beneath the landslide......
[url=http://www.inkjetsuperstore.com/][size=50]http://www.inkjetsuperstore.com/[/size][/url]
 

by Justin C on Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:20 pm
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Chris

Apologies for the delayed reply.

Thanks for the links Chris. I've seen that test image before, but I've been running the same media settings test on a different image which I had handy. Same thing, just a different image.

Royce summed it perfectly by pointing out that the printer isn't really designed for printing on the fine art range of media.

I had already bought a couple of packs of Innova Smooth High White Cotton and some Innova FibaPrint White Semi-Matte so there was nothing to be lost by experimenting with various settings.
After running the media selection tests mentioned, I came to the conclusion that a semi-gloss setting would be the best choice for the FibaPrint Matte, which seems to agree with the settings on the link you posted.
The Smooth High White Cotton was a little more tricky because I only had the option of Matte paper or plain paper. The matte paper setting caused a little too much ink bleeding, so I settled on the plain paper setting, which was much better, but probably not ideal.

I've run a few prints off so far and the Fibaprint Matte is very nice and seems to work just fine. The Smooth High White Cotton is a lovely paper but I need to do some further testing with soft proof adjustments to see if it's going to give ok results.




Nash30
The link you've posted is actually the same one as Chris mentioned, but thanks anyway.
Justin
 

by dbostedo on Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:13 pm
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"Nash30" seems to be a particularly clever bot, or a person actually taking the time to spam.
David Bostedo
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