At PMA, Canon introduced its new 12-color imagePROGRAF iPF5000 pigment ink printer, a desktop unit that is designed for professional photographers and digital artists. Set to go on sale in April, the iPF5000 and can produce output up to 17-in. wide.
The imagePROGRAF iPF5000's features are especially focused around color gamut, speed, and software:
“? Color gamut: The iPF5000 printer's new Lucia pigmented inkset features CMY + regular Black and matte black + photo Cyan and photo Magenta + Gray and photo Gray + Red, Green, and Blue. The use of additional ink colors such as gray, blue, red, and green, says Canon, allows the printer to more accurately reproduce tones within these color ranges, using significantly less ink, and to reduce metamerism. In addition, the use of gray tones allows the printer to render smooth gradation for high-quality monotone output. Note: The iPF5000 loads all 12 ink tanks at once and automatically switches between regular Black and matte Black, helping eliminate wasted ink and swap time.
“? Speed and throughput: The iPF5000 uses Canon's new dual printhead design as well as a new L-COA (for Large format printer Common Architecture) high-speed controller. The printhead design has a total of 30,720 ink nozzles; the printer employs 2560 nozzles per color for rapid print speeds, a maximum resolution of 2400 x 1200 dpi, and a 4-picoliter droplet size. The increased number of nozzles and automatic clogged-nozzle detection feature helps reduce wear-and-tear on the printhead. The printer can achieve print speeds of less than 3 minutes for 16.5 x 23.4-in. (A2 size) prints at 1200 x 1200 dpi on glossy photo paper, Canon reports.
The iPF5000 also offers three standard media-feed scenarios”?a front-loading cassette for pre-cut sheet, a rear manual feed for sheet, and a front straight path manual feed for thicker media (up to 1.5mm). An optional roll feed for longer paper lengths also is available. The printer features automatic media switching between the cassette and the roll feed so users can keep two media types loaded and ready to print. A built-in rotary media cutter is standard.
“? Software: The iPF5000 provides a suite of workflow software, including: Print Plug-in for Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software, which allows users to directly process and print RAW image file from their DPP software and allows for the processing of 16-bit RGB images; an imagePROGRAF Printer Driver 2006 that provides advanced color-control capability, including ICC color matching and a Monochrome Photo mode; Digital Photo Print Pro, an image-editing and management program; and PosterArtist 2006, for creating signs and posters.
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MSRP: $1945, available in April 2006.
CANON USA
www.usa.canon.com