Review: Canon imageProGraf W8400 Printer

Canon rolled out its 44-in. imagePROGRAF
W8400 pigment inkjet printer on a
global basis in the spring of this year. It
and a 24-in. counterpart (the W6400)
join two older, dye-based inkjet models”?
the 36-in. W7200 and the 44-in.
W8200″?to comprise Canon's current
wide-format lineup. (although the W8200
is available only while supplies last).

The W8400, which I'll review here, is
a 6-color inkjet printer (CMYK, plus
photo cyan and photo magenta), with an
optional matte black cartridge available
for a greater black density on matte and
fine-art papers. Its maximum resolution
is 2400 x 1200 dpi, and Canon reports a
maximum speed of 307 sq ft/hr at 1200
x 1200 dpi (52 sq ft/hr at 2400 x 1200
dpi). The printer sells for $5995.

The new printer is compatible with
Windows 2000, XP, and Macs through
system 10.3. If you are a 10.4xx/Tiger
user, as I am, you will have to install the
printer via TCP/IP as a workaround”?
although by the time you read this
review, the new Mac drivers from Canon
should be forthcoming. Most testing for
this review was done on my Compaq
TC1100 tablet PC with 2 GB of RAM and a
300-GB Maxtor SATA external drive for
additional scratch-disk space.

From crate to printhead
Even though the W8400 has quite a few
plastic parts, shipping weight is still
about 300 lbs, and the printer comes via
freight in a very large box/palette assembly.
Be sure to have at least one person at
the ready to assist you with assembly”?
and, if possible, another. Setup is straightforward.
Canon provides very concise
instructions, although a few close-up photos
would be helpful. Because of the
aforementioned plastic par ts, use
extreme care when assembling.

The printer has indents where it
attaches to the stand, so you'll know
when it's properly seated (this is where
that third person really comes in handy).
Included with the printer is an Allen
wrench and screwdriver to help with the
assembly, which is a nice touch. The
stand is fairly rigid, with the correct left
and right sides marked in the stand”?a
helpful addition for the crowd that doesn't
like reading directions. Oddly enough, no
USB cable is included with the printer, a
trend that I find alarming these days (after
shelling out the money for a printer, I don't
believe I should have to go to Radio Shack
to buy a $40 cable).

Once the printer is on the stand and
all the packing tape removed, the printhead
and the ink cartridges need to be
installed. Initial fill of the lines takes
only a few minutes. The ink cartridges
are a huge 330 ml (by comparison, the
Epson Stylus Pro 7600/9600 printers
use 220-ml cartridges, as do the Roland
Hi-Fi JET printers).

Offering up flexibility
The ProGraf W8400 can be used in quite
a few different printing environments,
and Canon has supplied software that
will allow different levels of users to take
advantage of different levels of tools:

• Its PosterArtist is very similar to a light
  version of Onyx's PosterShop, allowing the
  user to perform basic page-creation operations
  and then print right from within the
  application. It's bundled with 175 ready-to
  use-templates and 2000 clip-art images to
  aid in the creative process.
• The Digital Photo Print Pro software is
  the next step up, for more-seasoned
  users as well as novices. It simplifies
  advanced functions like red-eye correction,
  dust-removal, etc. It's also capable of
  two-way communication with Photoshop,
  enabling the quick exchange of image
  files between the two programs.
• PhotoPrint Select, however, is my
  favorite. Made by Scanvec Amiable, it's a
  PostScript 3 software RIP that has a similar
  look and feel to the ColorChoice 2 Pro
  software (also a Scanvec product), which
  I use with my Roland Hi-Fi Jet printers. It
  allowed me complete control over image
  size, orientation, paper type, and final resolution;
  I could even print multiple copies
  with ease. It also includes a Pantone color
  library. If you have used other Scanvec
  Amiable products, you will feel right at
  home with this. Of course you can also do
  without the RIP and easily print with the
  standard driver right out of Photoshop,
  but you'll have less control.

With the software installed, I could get
down to printing. The generous folks at
Canon provided me with a number of different
media samples to put the W8400
through its paces. I made test prints on
matte and glossy photo papers, in addition
to canvas and a fine-art rag paper
that was supplied by Hahnemuhle.

Print times were very zippy, even at the
highest resolution. A 30 x 40-in. print, for
instance, only took about 10 minutes to
produce at the highest quality setting. The
W8400 will also print borderless, which is a
very nice feature, although doing so will
slow down print times by about 15%.
As I indicated earlier, the W8400 features
a 6-color inkset in the basic CMYK+
light cyan/light magenta mode (what
Canon refers to as “photo cyan” and
“photo magenta”). It also comes with an
extra black ink cartridge. Depending on
what media you spend more time printing,
you can switch out the standard black,
(which will do an acceptable job with any
media) with a matte black ink. The matte
black will print a richer black on matte
paper, fine-art paper, and surprisingly
enough, inexpensive bond paper. If you
choose the matte black option, however,
you cannot print on glossy media (the ink
will just streak and smear off the page).

Canon also reports that its ink has a
new formulation, offering bright colors,
including a new, high-intensity yellow. I
found this to be true, with bright vivid
prints produced under all conditions. I
was able to get very accurate color just
using the default settings with the RIP. The
PosterArtist software produced pleasing
color as did simply going straight out of
Photoshop, but I was able to get the most
accurate and consistent color with the RIP
in moving from one type of media to
another. This can really come in handy if
you have to print a comp on one type of
media, but the final must be printed on a
higher-quality media.

Because of the W8400's limited 6-
color inkset, I could not make black-andwhite
prints that were as neutral as, say,
the new offerings from Epson. Nor could I
hit some of the brightest colors produced
by the CMYKOG (orange, green)
inkset from the Roland Hi-Fi Jet. But for
most everyday print jobs, the W8400 did
quite well”?especially with flesh tones”?
and went about its business with no difficulty.
I should also point out that prints
produced through Photoshop, using the
standard print driver, are limited to 59 ft
in length, which should be enough for
most users; you can print beyond 100 ft
by using the PhotoPrint Select RIP.

Minor concerns
I only have a few concerns about this
printer:

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• Unlike some printers, the W8400
  loads paper from underneath its housing.
  While this makes for a bit more attractive
  machine and a somewhat smaller footprint,
  it does not necessarily provide for
  the straightest paper path. Although I didn't
  have any problems with this in my test, if
  you plan on using heavyweight (i.e.: thick)
  watercolor or other fine-art media, I would
  suggest a test at your Canon dealer before
  you plunk down the corporate MasterCard.
  According to Canon's specifications, the
  W8400 will print on media up to 0.8-mm
  thick, which will be just fine for most photo
  applications.
• While the ProGraf W8400 is a very
  stylish printer, it's not terribly quiet. The
  culprit here is not so much the printing
  engine itself, but the fans inside the
  machine that are almost always on. This
  could be a factor if noise is a concern.
• The print longevity is rated at 70 years
  with Canon Heavy Weight Coated Paper. For
  most projects, this is probably fine, but if
  you're looking at a fine-art project, the
  trend is toward longer print life and 70
  years is somewhat at the back of the pack.
• Finally, as I indicated earlier, I'm a bit
  nervous about the liberal use of plastic,
  but that seems to be the trend these days.

A Solid Value
Judged on its own merits, Canon's new
imageProGraf W8400 is a very good
printer and a solid value. If it fits your
shop space, budget, and workflow
requirements, the W8400 may be your
cup of tea. And, if you don't need a 44-in.
printer, you may want to take a look at the
smaller, 24-in. imageProGraf W6400.

The Canon imageProGraf W8400 has a
street price of $5995, including the
stand, media catcher tray, RIP, and software.
It will connect to a Mac, PC, or network
via the built-in 10/100bt Ethernet
card and a USB 2.0 port; a FireWire card is
optional. Price on the 24-in. W6400 is
$3495.

CANON
www.usa.canon.com

Photographer and freelance writer Jeff
Dorgay lives in Washington and operates
WallWerks (www.wallwerks.com), a digital
fine-art studio.