UNLEASH Professional Photo Printing Potential with the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 Review
Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: A High-Quality, Wide-Format Photo Printer for Professionals and Enthusiasts Alike
The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is a 17-inch inkjet printer designed for professionals and enthusiastic photographers who demand high-quality wide-format prints. With a price tag of $1,300 in the US and £1,500 in the UK, it’s a significant investment, but one that promises to deliver outstanding results.
Design and Build
The lozenge-shaped printer may look compact with its flaps folded, but it’s a little larger than its closest competitor, the Epson SureColor P900, in all dimensions and weight. The twelve individual inks take up some room, while the replaceable printhead is also quite a handful. With the front and rear flaps extended, the depth increases from 43cm to 115cm, so it’ll require some room while in use. There are two paper paths, with the top tray taking anything from A5 to A2 sheets and the fatter rear tray able to take thicker paper from A4 to A2 size.
The textured black plastic bodywork gives the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 a rugged look, while the various plastic flaps also feel less flimsy than your average printer. And unlike most inkjets, the printhead is readily replaceable, suggesting a machine that’s built to last. The large power and cancel buttons are easy to find, and the controls are responsive, but it’s a pity there’s no touchscreen interface. The old-school three-inch LCD looks under-spec on a machine costing over a grand. There’s no memory card slot or USB Host port either. Just the usual USB Type-B and Ethernet ports at the rear. The wireless connectivity, however, has been improved from the single-band Wi-Fi of the old model to auto-switching dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz).
Features and Specifications
The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 uses twelve pigment-based inks, including black and chroma optimizers, to produce vibrant, long-lasting prints. The improved pigment inks claim to have deeper blacks, richer blues, and the ability to withstand light damage for 200 years. The results are indeed impressive, with images looking rich and detailed, and the black and white performance is particularly strong.
Maintenance
As an inkjet, there’s a risk of the printhead clogging or drying out when left unused for extended periods. Built-in sensors detect blockages, but you may need to run one or more cleaning cycles if necessary. This could be as simple as ordering a maintenance routine via the Canon app on your smartphone. The chroma optimizer cartridge is likely to need replacing before the pigment inks, so keep an eye out for that. You can also replace the whole PF-10 printhead easily, but at a cost of $414 or £550, you might rather not.
Final Verdict
If you need studio-quality prints on large paper formats, the uncompromising Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 won’t disappoint. It’s a solid and evolved design that puts image quality first. The absence of a touchscreen interface or an input tray capable of holding a stack of blank paper are minor inconveniences compared to the advantage of having twelve separate ink cartridges or an air feed system for holding the paper steady while printing. The print speed is rather slow, but the results are worth waiting for. Photos look realistic thanks to a very wide color gamut and superb detail resolution, while black and white photos really benefit from the inclusion of two types of black ink. It handles large sheets of paper effortlessly, including banners up to 129 inches long. Of course, the consumables cost has to be considered, especially when there are twelve cartridges to replace, but the excellent LUCIA PRO II inks are no more expensive than other inks in this category.
