PRO-100 True B&W Prints

[blumb]

Hello,

I just received my PRO-100 printer and I am trying to print a "true" black and white print. The two test prints I have created have a color cast to them and I cannot get rid of it.

I received a test print from Canon of the same image printed using the Canon PRO-1. It is a truly stunning print. The PRO-1 is currently out of my price range, hopefully that will change in the future, but for now I have the PRO-100. I understand the differences between DYE and Pigment but the issue isn't there. The issue seems to be that I just cannot turn off color from being introduced onto the final print.

The image was multiple color raw files combined into an HDR image, then converted to B&W. I have tried using LR4 to print the image with color correction set to none on the printer driver, and have also tried using the "Black and white" button within the Canon PRO-100 print dialog.

Questions are:

Is the PRO-100 Capable of utilizing just the black, grey, and light grey inks to produce a "Black and White" Print?

If it is, how is this accomplished?

My older Pixma Pro9000 printed just using the black cartridge; it at least printed a black and white print without any color cast.

Thank you.

[blumb]

Within Photoshop:

Select printer Settings:

Select Main Tab,

set the Color/Intensity to manual, then click the set button.

Then Select Matching Tab.

Select None then OK.

OK

Do not select the "Black and White Photo Print" box, see my post above.

Color Management (Photoshop side)

Color Handling - Select  "Photoshop Manages Colors

Select the Parper Profile (the medium you intend to print on)

Select the Intent, and other options, etc...

I'm going to test PS options this weekend to see if there is a difference with LR4

[blumb]

Hi All,

I finally heard back from Canon Support. Here is what they say on the issues:

Dear B Lumb:

Thank you for writing to us regarding printing monochrome with your PIXMA PRO-100. We value you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you.  We understand that you are experiencing difficulties setting the desired printer settings for your PIXMA PRO-100.

Unfortunately, "2" is the highest setting that can be set when the PIXMA PRO-100's printer driver is set to Black and White Photo Print.  When printing a monochrome image, the colors ink tanks may still be used in order to achieve the color that is being attempted to print.  There isn't a ICC profile that would override this. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your PIXMA PRO-100.

Thank you for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Looks like I may be looking for a different printer just so I may print monochrome. I will probably which to Epson as I can also get some QuadToneRip software to create even finer monochrome images.

CANON, you have really dropped the ball here.

[grapegeek]

I saw this over at the Red River paper website, they did a quite nice review of the Pro-100. I'm not a professional so it's not that big a deal for me. The couple of prints I've made so far are better than those from my old Epson 2200.

Our conclusion is that Level 2 High print quality is the best setting for most photo projects. The Level 1 setting does not result in appreciably better print quality and takes 38% longer to complete.

http://www.redrivercatalog.com/infocenter/articles/canon-pro-100-review-introduction-first-look-gett...

[Tinman]

Blumb:

Thanks for the post. I will stop trying to print b&w with this pro-100 and move on to Epson.

[ebiggs1]

"'i'm going to test PS options this weekend to see if there is a difference with LR4"

The two will print the same photo differently on my system. Using CS6 and LR5. 

[ebiggs1]

Anyways am I letting Photoshop control the printing or letting the Canon software do it? I'm a little confused about the settings on the Photoshop side of things...

The two photos I posted above, of the little boy, are done with all the settings at "default". They are as they come from the printer.

You may want to experiment on which setting is best fro you. Also it may need to be changed when you change papers.

Don't give up on the defaults. Try everything.

As to B&W printing, it looks like the paper choice has a good deal to do with the results. And it looks like sRGB and Adobe RGB has a great deal to do with the printing, too. Try everything as what works for some may not work for you or vice versa.

[ebiggs1]

"Thanks for the post. I will stop trying to print b&w with this pro-100 and move on to Epson."

No matter the issues that some may have, this is a fantastic printer (Pixma Pro-100). No printer is going to be 100% but a certain printer may have features that appeal to your needs.

The skin tones it produces are truly outstanding which is my main most important thing.

[Tinman]

Ebiggs1:

The Pro-100 makes outstanding color prints but for B&W it has limitations. Considering the cost of this printer with rebate, I can fund an additional printer to handle my B&W prints. Thanks for all of the info that you provided in this post.

[grapegeek]

I just ran off a print on some of the semi-Gloss paper that came with the printer just using Photoshop and not Canon Print Studio Pro and it came out pretty darn neutral. My couple of prints on the Luster than came in the printer box came out green. I'm quite pleased with the Semi Gloss for now. There could be issues between different papers from Canon and this is always an issue when trying to BW prints unless you are using a Black Only ink option, which Canon does not supply us with unfortunately.

[grapegeek]

Oh and I'm willing to work a little with it for a printer of this caliber for $99!!!