So how do we like the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mk II printer?

i'm seriously considering getting the printer + camera combo with MIR for the wifey for her b'day...

i've been an avid fan of epson 1400 series and the hp printers... so how do we like this canon printer?

it seems like a great printer... love that it can handle tabloid size papers too!

thanks in advance.

I am having a blast with mine. Cannot believe how good the prints are from my 1d Classic. Stocked up on Red River Paper and love printing at 13x19.

thanks for the input...

just placed an order and should be home friday...

can't wait.

Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mk II printer: a marvel

kinghong1970 wrote in post #11223910
... so how do we like this canon printer?

I worked as an electronics engineer, designing microcontroller circuits for small printers. I mostly did impact, but the shop did laser and inkjet as well. So, I had detailed knowledge of printer controller implementation technology, as well as a passing grasp of the mechanics and optics involved. I can tell you, as a design engineer, that the Canon pro9000 Mk II is a marvel of industrial design. Registration, paper handling, ink storage and delivery, device communication, all are first-rate. Doing all these things well is a respectable achievement. To do it in a competitive market, at a reasonable consumer-level price point, and still maintain quality, is just remarkable. Bravo Canon.

A decent software package is included, too.

Bottom line: you can enjoy this computer peripheral for years to come. You have lots of learning ahead, but that's part of the fun of having this at home. I just got mine a few weeks ago, still exploring its capabilities. As for papers, it is making great prints no matter what I throw at it. I am using one of the many printer test pics that are out there, and printing test sheets using Easy PhotoPrint's Pattern Print feature. I find I am adding a bit of Y, and subtracting some C, to balance out skin tones. But prints are very nice untweaked, out of the box.

HTH

We like!!

Strong first post, tcubed.

Kirk

tcubed wrote in post #11247185
I worked as an electronics engineer, designing microcontroller circuits for small printers. I mostly did impact, but the shop did laser and inkjet as well. So, I had detailed knowledge of printer controller implementation technology, as well as a passing grasp of the mechanics and optics involved. I can tell you, as a design engineer, that the Canon pro9000 Mk II is a marvel of industrial design. Registration, paper handling, ink storage and delivery, device communication, all are first-rate. Doing all these things well is a respectable achievement. To do it in a competitive market, at a reasonable consumer-level price point, and still maintain quality, is just remarkable. Bravo Canon.

A decent software package is included, too.

Bottom line: you can enjoy this computer peripheral for years to come. You have lots of learning ahead, but that's part of the fun of having this at home. I just got mine a few weeks ago, still exploring its capabilities. As for papers, it is making great prints no matter what I throw at it. I am using one of the many printer test pics that are out there, and printing test sheets using Easy PhotoPrint's Pattern Print feature. I find I am adding a bit of Y, and subtracting some C, to balance out skin tones. But prints are very nice untweaked, out of the box.

HTH

Yeah...what he said!!

I love mine! Great prints, even on cheap paper. I was surprised at how long the ink has lasted. The biggest complaint I've heard is that the ink doesn't last, but I've printed about 150 4x6's, 10 5x7's and two 8x10's and only one tank is getting noticeably low.

I had a S900 for about 8 years. I put two new print heads in it over that time. It was an awesome printer and I never had any reason to move up. Until I switched up to the Pro9000 MKII. I love the big print size and the fact that the software, especially the photoshop plug in, is so easy to use. Great prints.

To all you happy, trouble free 9000 mkII users... What advice would you offer to the many users who are struggling to get good results from their 9000 mkII printer?

I'd make the following suggestions.
1)Your monitor needs to be color calibrated.
2) To make it ultra simple, purchase Canon paper and then use the Canon printer profiles for the type of paper you have purchased. You should get results that match what you are seeing on your printer.
3) Print from Canon's DPP software and use the PLUG IN PRINTING area under the File tab. Easy Print PRO is what you have to use if you are printing directly from RAW files.

I bought one back in May. The output is wonderful and prints fast. Though I should mention that I have a feeding issue with less than 100 prints under it's belt. It takes the paper half way then the paper gets stuck. But the printer thinks the paper is fed and starts printing. So the ink starts going but theres no paper to print on. It's still under warranty so I'm taking it in this week.

Despite this setback, I'm still pleased with it overall.

kraaazymike wrote in post #11260254
I bought one back in May. The output is wonderful and prints fast. Though I should mention that I have a feeding issue with less than 100 prints under it's belt. It takes the paper half way then the paper gets stuck. But the printer thinks the paper is fed and starts printing. So the ink starts going but theres no paper to print on. It's still under warranty so I'm taking it in this week.

Despite this setback, I'm still pleased with it overall.

This is an important sentiment. The Pro9000 is an impressive device; but it's just a machine, after all. It has its flaws. For instance:

1. The terminology used to describe the paper feed mechanisms is nonstandard and ambiguous. "Front" vs "Rear" is not only confusing, it's not even true. The top automatic paper feeder and the straight-through paper feeder are traditionally called "ADF" and "straight-through", not Rear and Front. Canon even calls the button in the rear of the printer, that unlatches the rear paper support platform, the "Front Feed Support button". Odd use of language here.
   
2. The whole of the Front Feed switchover process has an offbeat, haphazard, feel to it. For instance, why does not the action of raising the front tray to the straight-through paper feed position accomplish the entire mechanical reconfiguration to straight-through mode? Why is the user forced to push the Front Feed pushbutton, wait a bit, and then push it again, before the whole straight-through drama is complete? And why feed from the front, anyway? Seems easier to feed from the rear.
   
3. The choice to keep the peripheral "dumb" (no web server, no print server, no LAN port) has some wisdom to it, in that it extends the potential lifetime of the device. But the Pro9000's overall usability suffers from a minimalistic human interface. I'm sure the younger members of the design team lobbied to include at least a 40 character display on the thing, to give the user a fighting chance at guessing its status at any given time. Instead, we get das blinkenlights, a user interface style which was out of favor even in the mid-1990's.