Magenta Cast on New Pixma Pro 100

[lwlandy]

I noticed a strong Magenta cast to my prints that have any sort of magenta content.  Most noticeably on Sunsets which all come out red rather than Orange.  I started looking for solutions and cannot believe how prevalent this issue is with Padma Pro Printers??

Surely there is something fundamentally wrong here?  Either many hundreds of people don’t know how to follow instructions or there are driver/SW issues that needs to be addressed.  I can find hundreds of reports of this across various models, with no resolution posted and Canon apparently unable to offer anything other than workarounds.  (I will be calling them soon to confirm). It’s always Magenta too..

I scoured the web for a solution and have tried all combination of suggestions, even the ones that quite frankly seem ridiculous, like do not preview the print first as this will screw it up?? If that is the case then that is a bug, surely.

If anyone can offer any suggestions for a way to resolve that does not include all previously tried remedies:  Using Canon paper, Inks and ICC Profiles.  Turn off all Printer color management (Ironically, the only way I can get the printer to print anything like it should color wise, is to turn the Printer color management on.)

From tests I can see that the printer is being told to print Magenta, See below Print preview of a sunset.  So I am sure the printer is fine, I just need to get the SW to drive it correctly.

Canon Pixma Pro 100, Canon Ink, Canon Photo Paper Plus Semi Gloss,

Windows 8.1, LR 5.7 PS CS5.

Any help, much appreciated.

Thanks

Lee

[Stephen]

I've never been officially trained on printers, but printer techs have told me that the PRO printers skew warm, just like our cameras do. It's part of the Canon Color Science. If that's not your cup of tea, you can always adjust it however you like, but the defaults are warmer than neutral. 

[ebiggs1]

"Telling you that it is embedded in the printer that way effectively ends any further discussion about problem resolution."

Absolutely not John. That is just the default setting out of the box. I have had four Canon Pixma Pro printers over the last decade or two, I still have one right nest to this computer and they all exhibit the same magenta cast. Actually for portrait work I do it is pleasing if not accurate so i am good with it. I rarely do facsimile color printing but when I do I adjust it in PS.

They are fantastic printers. I use them heavily for a time and sometimes they sit for a long while but come right back into service when I need them. I never had a single hitch with any of them but they do have the magenta cast. The Canon techs were all as helpful as possible until we decided that is how they are. If you do portraits leave them alone. But a snow white wedding dress does present a problem.

[ebiggs1]

"... have used many different papers ..."

I agree, paper makes a huge difference. That is why there are specific profiles. The ICCC profile changes the base settings in the printer. That is probably why you have been successful or at least satisfied with your Pixma Pro printer.

I prefer Canon paper because they should know their printers. My second choice and the one I use most for weddings is Red River. They have good and working profiles on all their papers. Their faux canvas is super popular around here.

[jrhoffman75]

---

@ebiggs1 wrote:

"Telling you that it is embedded in the printer that way effectively ends any further discussion about problem resolution."

Absolutely not John. That is just the default setting out of the box. I have had four Canon Pixma Pro printers over the last decade or two, I still have one right nest to this computer and they all exhibit the same magenta cast. Actually for portrait work I do it is pleasing if not accurate so i am good with it. I rarely do facsimile color printing but when I do I adjust it in PS.

They are fantastic printers. I use them heavily for a time and sometimes they sit for a long while but come right back into service when I need them. I never had a single hitch with any of them but they do have the magenta cast. The Canon techs were all as helpful as possible until we decided that is how they are. If you do portraits leave them alone. But a snow white wedding dress does present a problem.

---

Hi Ernie and Stephen.

I am not a printer expert, but when this issue arose about 10 years ago I did not experience that condition so I wanted to experiment.

I printed several different printer test images and never noticed a color cast

It is also my understanding that the purpose of ICC profiles is to "zero out" the printer effect, so if the printer was deliberately adding a tint to the calibration sheet the ICC profile process would compensate for that.

I agree with Stephen that folks like the Canon color science as produced by Canon cameras.

I am surprised that Canon would produce professional level printers that alter that color science by shifting the color balance. I could understand hobbyist printers doing that, but I would like pro level gear to be neutral.

I agree it's a great printer. There are likely factory calibration variations, like all products. I'm glad mine wound up where it did.

[Stephen]

Like I said - I've never been trained officially, but what you're saying makes sense, and must be true, otherwise, no pro would ever use our printers! 😁

[ebiggs1]

"...  no pro would ever use our printers!"

It is a common printer around here. Pros or lets say folks that make money, always hated being called a "pro", with their cameras mostly do people or pets. For that the Pixma Pro is an excellent choice. Most "customers" will prefer a warmer photo over a neutral or cooler one. Been there done that. That can be changed but perhaps not as easily as one might think as it does take some effort and it will mess up the ICC profile which are expecting the default configuration.  I am not a printer expert either although I worked for Hallmark Cards in KC for 40 years in the Graphic Arts department so I hope some of it rubbed off.

I must admit it has become almost a moot point because most people don't want prints any longer. The last couple dozen or so weddings, yes I'm retired but can't let it go, I have shot all wanted their photos on a thumb drive. I printed none!

[ebiggs1]

While on this topic my latest Pixma Pro printer tends to print darker than what I see on my monitor which was calibrated several years ago. I also know it has the magenta cast. I make adjustments in Photoshop and all is well with the world.