PUBLICATION CENTER

LexJet has started shipping Canon three new models of imagePROGRAF printers: the 44-in.imagePROGRAF iPF8300 and the 24-in.imagePROGRAF iPF6350 and iPF6300.  All three new models include numerous enhancements to further improve the print quality, versatility, and productivity of the iPF printers in the photographic, fine-art, graphic-arts, and proofing markets.

More Colorful, Durable Prints : The most noteworthy change is the all-new, 12-color LUCIA EX pigment inkset that increases the achievable color gamut by approximately 20% compared to x100 series models. This gamut increase will enable users in the graphic arts and proofing markets to reproduce more of the spot colors specified by graphic designers and brand marketers. The wider gamut, which is most evident in the deep blues and darker colors, reproduces finer details in the shadow areas of photographic prints and produces crisper, more expressive blacks.

An innovative polymer structure in the inks results in greater scratch resistance and protection from color fading while also reducing bronzing and metamerism. The LUCIA EX inks have achieved Wilhelm Imaging Research’s highest rating for resistance to damage from atmospheric ozone, which can be a concern in urban environments where prints might be displayed unframed. Henry Wilhelm also notes that Canon’s LUCIA EX inks exhibit excellent short-term color drift (“dry-down”) behavior, which is critically important for color-managed workflows and proofing.

New Media Configuration Tool: Photographers and fine-art printmakers who use LexJet Sunset photo and fine-art papers and canvas will particularly like the printers’ new Media Configuration Tool.  With this tool, Canon becomes the first wide-format pro-photo printer manufacturer to allow users to store custom and third-party media profiles where they can easily be seen and selected in the print driver.  

“Starting in May, you will be able to download profiles for LexJet media from our website and upload them into the printer,” explains LexJet Technical Director Adam Hannig. “Printing on LexJet materials will be a lot more straightforward, because there will be no question about which comparable Canon media setting you should select when it’s time to print.”

What’s more, the LexJet profiles you load into the Media Configuration Tool will not only include color data, but also media-feed adjustments that can ensure that the selected media feeds through the printer at the proper rate.

“This is particularly important when printing on canvas,” says Hannig, “because if you will be wrapping the print on stretcher bars the dimensions of the final print have to be perfect.”  This new automated capability will save considerable time compared to making the media-feed adjustments manually to ensure that big canvas prints don’t end up being even ¼-in. larger than they should be.

More Precise Ink Placement: To deliver higher levels of sharpness and fine detail in images, the new printers have a reinforced mechanical structure that improves the precision and accuracy of how the ink is placed. Other image-quality enhancements include a new High-Precision Printing Mode designed to produce less graininess, enhanced glossiness, sharper blacks, and deeper darker tones. And, the Print Plug-in for Photoshop now supports the Adobe Color Management Module. This means you can use features such as Black Point Compensation to gain greater control over how much black ink is laid down and improve the amount of details you can see in shadow areas of an image. 

Award-winning nature photographer Brian Hampton has tested the Canon iPF8300 and notes that, “The quality of the print is amazing.”

 Built-In Hard Drive: If you frequently reprint some of your best images or if the printer receives files from multiple users, the built-in 80 GB hard drive on the iPF8300 and iPF6350 can be useful. It saves the print settings along with each stored job, which means you don’t have to go into your computer and resend the file every time you need to reprint a job.

Accounting Manager: Canon’s new iPF6300/6350/8300 printers also feature an Accounting Manager utility that lets you track you ink and media costs for each job you produce. Costs can be assigned to ink and paper to determine expenses based on “cost of goods.” You can also input a variable cost that will be added to the total of the print cost. The data is exportable to a .csv format for Microsoft Excel so the data can be used for billing purposes.  

The new printers have an MSRP of $5,995 for the iPF8300, $3,995 for the iPF6350and $3,695 for the iPF6300.  The iPF6350 and iPF8300 include the built-in 80 GB hard drive. The 24-in. 6300/6350 models include a free version of Canon’s PosterArtist software which enables you to create professional posters, signs, and banners in four easy steps.

Click here to download a brochure with all of the details.

For more information about the new printers (and special financing opportunities and discount that are currently available), contact your LexJet account specialist at 800- 453-9538.

Ask for a Print Sample: If you would like to compare output from the new Canon printers to your current pigment-ink photo printer, ask your LexJet account rep to make a test print from one of your images.