Canon iP4000 or iP5000? For graphic output

[measekite]

At the risk of repeating what has already been posted, Taliesyn uses the
IP5000 for a large variety of projects and also uses the I series printer
that shares the same printhead and inks with the IP4000. I have read
reviews that indicate that the IP4000 and its previous incarnation in the I
series prints essentially the same quality photos and other prints. He
actually uses these two printers side-by-side and would be the source I
would use for comparative information. Measekite certainly knows and enjoys
using his IP4000 printer and has quoted the comparative reviews from PC mag,
but Taliesyn has the experience of side-by-side use to help you with. If
there is anything in the IP5000 driver settings that differs from the IP4000
he, again, would be the best resource for guidance on settings.

I do not think he is a resource for the Mac Driver. You are also
misinformed about his i series and his IP5000 having the same print
engine. The 1picoliter print engine on the IP5000 never existed in the i
series.

 

[Burt]

Sarah - You've had some replies the suggest various glossy papers, etc.
While the Costco Kirkland photo glossy paper is excellent with OEM or
selected non- inks, that isn't what you seem to be looking for. Last year I
did get some samples of fine arts papers that are specially prepared for
inkjet printers. I never followed up as I wasn't doing primarily graphic
and fine art printing. After looking through your posts and responses I
googled 'fine art inkjet paper" (without the quotes) and up came lots of
vendors with a whole range of papers you should investigate. There are
specially coated watercolor papers, japanese art papers, etc. They will
either have an online catalog with descriptions of the papers or will send
you a printed catalog. Some may either send small free samples or sell a
sample kit of papers. They may also give you tips on settings for your
printer, but I'm afraid that you will have to spend a few dollars (these
papers are generally expensive, just like their counterparts in an art
supply) and do a little trial and error until you get a satisfactory result.
There may also be a newsgroup dedicated to fine art printing that you should
look for. Good luck!

 

[Burt]

I do not think he is a resource for the Mac Driver. You are also
misinformed about his i series and his IP5000 having the same print
engine. The 1picoliter print engine on the IP5000 never existed in the i
series.

I have the definite feeling that you have declared war on me and you
continually work at criticizing everything I post. Please read my message
again. I said that the IP4000 has the same printhead and inks as the "I"
series printer Taliesyn uses in addition to his IP5000. He had researched
and purchased a new print head for his "I" series printer (if you wish to
check his older posts you can see which "I" series printer he uses) and he
mentioned that the print head is the one listed as a replacement for the
IP4000 as well. If you wish to do some fact checking and post a response I
would be interested. I did NOT say that the IP5000 had the same printhead
as the IP4000 or his other printer. Although the PC driver and Mac driver
may be different, I suggested that since Taliesyn uses the IP5000, he may
still be a better source for the settings than a person who uses the IP4000
and applies his knowledge of that printer to the IP5000 driver he has never
used.

 

[Sarah Feliz]

Thanks a lot! I will follow up on these sources.

Sarah

 

[Sarah Feliz]

I just checked on some of these sites: the selection of papers is
astounding, I look forward to studying all this in greater detail. But they
all seem geared to work on Epson printers. The question for me is: will
these papers work with the Canon IP5000, which is not a "professional"
printer?

Sarah

 

[Burt]

Although I use a Canon I960 and there is another person who is convinced
that the Canon IP4000 is the answer to most people's printing problems, most
graphic artists and many professional photographers use the high end Epsons.
That is why you see what you are describing. Short of finding someone on a
NG that has used them with canon printer, the only way you can find out if
these papers work with your canon printer is by trying a few of them. You
might email the paper vendors or, better yet, call them and ask. Usually a
phone call gets a better response, in my experience.

 

[Burt]

sorry for the extra post but I should tell you one more thing - I use Epson
papers in my canon printer and they work just fine. Epson double sided
Matte paper and glossy photo paper with either OEM ink or MIS bulk inks
produce excellent results, depending on what you want to do with the prints.
I don't know if this info would imply that some of the fine arts papers
geared to epson printing would work as well. If they are prepared for the
Epson Dye based printers then I would expect decent results with the Canon
printers. It is certainly worth a try. Consider the cost of experimenting
an investment in your graphic arts professional future!

 

[Sarah Feliz]

The Mac driver leaves out a number of steps. There is no Standard, High,
Draft, Custom setting. There is an option called "Printing a Top Quality
Photo" -- would that be the same as High? And for Custom, there is a setting
called "Detailed Setting" which seems equivalent but it does not allow Plain
Paper to be set on Fine. The slider in fact cannot move at all, it stays
frozen in the middle. Only with Photo Paper Pro can the slider move all the
way up to Fine.

I'm feeling a bit cheated here. I cannot set Plain Paper to High. Isn't that
ridiculous?

Sarah

 

[Taliesyn]

The Mac driver leaves out a number of steps. There is no Standard, High,
Draft, Custom setting. There is an option called "Printing a Top Quality
Photo" -- would that be the same as High? And for Custom, there is a setting
called "Detailed Setting" which seems equivalent but it does not allow Plain
Paper to be set on Fine. The slider in fact cannot move at all, it stays
frozen in the middle. Only with Photo Paper Pro can the slider move all the
way up to Fine.

I'm feeling a bit cheated here. I cannot set Plain Paper to High. Isn't that
ridiculous?

Don't panic you're not being cheated. It's the same for the Windows
driver, I can only go to High. It's probably to do with that fact that
plain paper cannot handle very high resolutions, the ink will be too
absorbed, looking runny. But you can still achieve the Fine (1) setting
by simply telling the driver you're using Photo Paper Pro instead of
Plain. That's what I do when needed. Try it to see how it works. You can
reduce (or increase) the ink output by adjusting the Intensity slider in
Properties. And also, individual colors can be increased or decreased as
needed, like if your image is too pink, reduce the magenta.

Yes, in Mac the Detailed Setting is equivalent to Custom in Windows.

-Taliesyn

 

[Taliesyn]

Thanks a lot! I will follow up on these sources.

Seeing you're the "Artsy" type (I don't mean anything bad by that, so am
I to a degree), you must check out Red River Paper. They seem to be the
ultimate source for paper in this newsgroup. They've got more paper of
all types (yes, art) than you can imagine. I've only used them once a
few years ago for coated greeting card paper - and it was excellent, I
still have some.

http://www.redriverpaper.com/

-Taliesyn

 

[measekite]

The i860 and the IP4000 do share the same printhead and BCI6 inks but
the print engine is slightly different as is the print engine on the
IP5000 is somewhat different as well. This was pointed out to me by the
Canon Rep at Frys when they were closing out the i860 and i960 printers.

The driver for the MAC externally is somewhat different and I do not
think anyone besides Canon knows what the internal difference is.
Probably only the programmer who wrote it unless he documented these
differences for Canon Tech Staff.

 

[measekite]

I just checked on some of these sites: the selection of papers is
astounding, I look forward to studying all this in greater detail. But they
all seem geared to work on Epson printers. The question for me is: will
these papers work with the Canon IP5000, which is not a "professional"
printer?

Sarah

That is hard to say. Canon Tech Support said that Epson Photo Paper
does work well in a Canon Printer. I do have some Epson double sided
matte but have not used it yet. I think they were referring to Epson
Glossy. But it may be worth it to buy a small amount and try. It will
not damange your printer and there is no risk like there may be with
aftermarket inks.

 

[measekite]

The Mac driver leaves out a number of steps. There is no Standard, High,
Draft, Custom setting. There is an option called "Printing a Top Quality
Photo" -- would that be the same as High? And for Custom, there is a setting
called "Detailed Setting" which seems equivalent but it does not allow Plain
Paper to be set on Fine. The slider in fact cannot move at all, it stays
frozen in the middle. Only with Photo Paper Pro can the slider move all the
way up to Fine.

I'm feeling a bit cheated here. I cannot set Plain Paper to High. Isn't that
ridiculous?

Sarah

I think you figured it out. Go with your gut feeling. You ask good
questions and I think you can determine the best course of action to get
the answers you want.

 

[Burt]

The i860 and the IP4000 do share the same printhead and BCI6 inks but the
print engine is slightly different as is the print engine on the IP5000 is
somewhat different as well. This was pointed out to me by the Canon Rep
at Frys when they were closing out the i860 and i960 printers.

So what you are saying is that the statement I made was correct? I will
gladly accept your apology for unjustly and incorrectly criticizing my post.

The driver for the MAC externally is somewhat different and I do not think
anyone besides Canon knows what the internal difference is. Probably only
the programmer who wrote it unless he documented these differences for
Canon Tech Staff.

Nonetheless, Someone who uses the IP5000 on a PC might be able to
extrapolate from his experience what the Mac driver settings might be as
opposed to trying to guess based on experience with the IP4000 PC driver.
Only conjecture.
I do see that Taliesyn responded and they worked out the difference in terms
used in the PC and MAC drivers. He was able to help her based on his
experience with the IP5000.