Best Settings for Canon Pro-1000?

[RichPate]

Just unboxed a new Pro-1000 and now in the process of setting up.

I have read posts and reviews about the Pro-1000 using a lot of ink due to the auto-maintenance routines it runs. Some settings are user adjustable, but then there is the risk of nozzle clogging if not routinely cleaned.

Anyone have experience with running a Pro-1000 w. settings to conserve ink, yet w/o being plagued w. ink clogs? Any suggestions for "best practices"? Thanks.

[jrhoffman75]

If you are only printing once a month and can be satisfied with 13x19 maximum print size my recommendation would be to return the Pro-1000 and get a Pro-100.

I don’t have a pigment printer(I have a Pro-100) but there are many posts here and elsewhere about nozzle clogging with infrequently used pigment printers.

You could look at jtoolman site on YouTube. He covers the Pro-1000.

[Storyteller7]

Kind thanks! I just subscribed to jtoolman today and actually where I found out about the issue. He’s recommending a utility that will print something automatically every 50 hours but I’ll research further. Thanks again.

[RichPate]

Hi Terry,

Six months after purchase I have reservations about recommending the PRO-1000, but I admit that I'm not the typical user. My previous printer was an Epson 3880, which required constant switching between matte black and photo black, thus wasting a lot of black ink. Ergo my decission to try the Canon, which keeps both blacks online.

The PRO-1000 is quiet, well made and produces excellent quality enlargements, possibly a bit better than the EPSON equivalent, the P800. The Canon is a bit more finicky to operate w. a plethora of error messages unless everything is exactly right w. both settings at the printer and in the computer printer driver. At first, its challenging to determine what the error messages mean, requiring a call to tech support. Once you get used to this, not much of an annoyance, especially when you consider that the Epson will just let you go ahead and make a bad print because settings were not just right.

My biggest surprise: The Canon uses lots of Chroma Optimizer, even on matte paper. No setting to turn it off -- only Auto and ON. My understanding is that set to AUTO, it uses slightly less C.O. on matte paper than glossy, or it may be to use C.O. only on inked areas or accross the entire print. I complained when I got a warning that my C.O. cart was low after only printing my first 40 prints, mostly greeting cards and a few 8x10's. Canon tech support said sorry about that, here's a free cart of C.O. on us. Nice, but doesn't solve the problem. Also, the Canon uses about 60 percent of its ink to initiallize first time out of the box. Don't recall the Epson being that bad.

My biggest complaint: I can not print  fine-art (thick paper) greeting cards. Unfolded, the card paper is 7x10. Minimum size for the back tray (for thick paper) is 8x10. This may not be important to you, but it is for me as I use greeting cards as promotional samples of my gallery size versions. Must use thin greeting card stock.

My second biggest complaint: High ink usage for small prints. In addition to using ink when you turn the printer on, a set amount of ink for maintenence is used for EVERY print, whether that print is a 4x5 or 17x25. So ink costs are relatively higher for small prints vs. the larger sizes. Again, this may not be an issue, if you mostly do large prints.

Finally, if you take over a week or so between printing jobs, the Canon will take about FIVE minutes after turning on to be ready to print, as it sits there making a variety noises. Know that I have gone a month between printing jobs w. no ink clog problems, but I keep a custom cover over my printer w. a tiny tray of water inside the edge of the cover. I live in New Mexico where it is very dry.

So know that the worst-case usage scenario for a PRO-1000 is doing lots of small matte prints on an occassional basis. If you primarily do large glossy/satin prints often, like in a studio production environment, the PRO-1000 should make you very happy with its stellar print quality relative to production cost. And since is appears so well made (heavy & replaceable head), it will probably last you longer than the non-replaceable head in the Epson.

[Storyteller7]

Great stuff, Rich. I appreciate it. My plan has been to print larger prints on Canon and order smaller prints. Of course, this means printing less frequently and, therefore, more ink might be used just to power up each time. I’ll have to keep pondering. Thanks again. I am grateful.

[Newsman]

Is there a way to change the agitation settings?

[RichPate]

Agitation seems to be pre-set and automatic. I say "seems" because there is so little information available on exactly what the PRO-1000 does when it's prepping to print. It makes all kinds of strange noises over several minutes. Much about the PRO-1000 is still a mystery, even though it's been well over a year since introduction.

You may have better luck than I did in calling Canon Tech support and asking them. Their responses are usually about as vague as the the user's manual. Good luck.

[Dlob]

Hey Terry: I have a work/home environment where I shut my printer off. I print a batch of prints every 2-4 weeks. I print a test print weekly. I have had the pro-1000 since 2/2018, moving from an epson 3880 (many of us have).
My assessment is that I love the printer. With initiaizling the printer, you will loose a lot of ink, as it runs through the start up, but it is solid after that. It will tell you that you need ink many prints before you REALLY need ink. And customer support is way better than Epson. In all, if you prefer to print your own work, this is a great printer... (I had a number of epson printers before I made this jump, and couldn't be happier).

[Newsman]

I also made the jump from Epson. My 3880 failed black switch valve had me looking elsewhere. When you say “initializing the printer” are you referring to when you first setup the printer of when you turn it on each time before use? I’ve just got my Pro-1000 and still trying to decide which is better - leave it on or shut it off at the end of the day for better ink management.

[Denchamber]

I love my Pro-1000.  I've had it since it was first introduced and in my dry climate (New Mexico) it is world's better than an Epson.   A couple of comments:

First, I leave it on all the time.  

Second, I do on occasion have dry nozzles but the routine for cleaning works every time.   For my Epsons, I had to do a manual procedure using alcohol, paper towels, etc. and eventually even that stopped working.

Third, the printer does at times take forever to start the print.   On occasions like this I just turn it off and on, delete the print from the computer's print queue, and then all is fine.

Fourth, the ink level readings are pretty worthless.    I recently printed about 25 sheets (13x19) while having six inks showing "empty".   I just try to have extra ink on hand since I can't rely on the gauges.  

Bottom line - I love this printer.    It has brought back to me the joy of printing which I lost with the Epsons. 

[Dlob]

yes, first set up...after that, there is as you know some loss of ink with start up, but that seems to keep those jets clean!. I called and spoke to a second level tech guy, and he said it doesnt matter, off, or on...as a test, shut your printer off, and once completely off, turn it back on a minute or two later. You will see that there is no agitation, etc. It only happens if the printer has been off for some time.
Back to the ANNOYING matte/photo black ink switching that many of us endured with epson: I learned that one culprit for all ink jets is dust. I keep my printer covered now in hopes to avoid future spotching/streaking.