Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of office imaging systems, ink-jet technology and digital photography equipment, today unveiled the new 12-color imagePROGRAF iPF5000 pigment ink large format printer, designed to produce professional-style prints at unparalleled speeds with outstanding archival image quality.
This next evolution in Canon’s large format portfolio provides one of the industry’s largest color gamuts with Canon’s 12-color inkset featuring new Lucia pigmented inks. Engineered for speed and advanced image quality, the iPF5000 model uses Canon’s new L-COA controller and dual print heads to lay down ink quickly and accurately using the most nozzles per color in the industry. Coupled with a suite of innovative image processing software, the iPF5000 device is ideal for professional photographers and digital artists looking to have their images stand out in a crowd.
“The imagePROGRAF iPF5000 printer provides a range of newly developed technological features above and beyond previous Canon products including a large new inkset to position Canon as the premier digital imaging solution provider from capture through output. The iPF5000 model is truly the next generation in large format printing,” said Tod Pike, senior vice president, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Canon has capitalized on its heritage and reputation in the digital imaging market to bring about this outstanding print solution for the high-end digital artist and photographer.”
Radiant Color
The iPF5000 printer’s new Lucia inkset features Red, Blue, Green, Gray, Photo Gray, Cyan, Photo Cyan, Magenta, Photo Magenta, Yellow, Regular Black, and Matte Black pigmented inks. The large color gamut provided by 12 ink colors allows the iPF5000 printer to reproduce brilliant hues and tones. The use of gray tones allows the printer to render smooth gradation for crisp monotone output. The iPF5000 printer loads all 12 ink tanks at once and utilizes automatic switching between Regular Black and Matte Black, helping to eliminate wasted ink and time swapping out ink tanks.
The use of ink colors such as gray, blue, red, and green allows the printer to more accurately reproduce tones within these color ranges using significantly less ink. This new device experiences less metamerism in its output by reducing the number of inks needed to match colors. This is especially evident through the use of gray inks.
“Wilhelm Imaging Research is currently testing the Lucia pigment-based inks,” said Henry Wilhelm, president of Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. “A review of preliminary test data indicates that prints made with the Lucia pigmented inks and select Canon photo and fine art papers will have WIR Display Permanence Ratings in excess of 100 years for color images and significantly beyond that for monochrome. The pigmented inks also provide excellent short term color drift behavior which is critically important for color managed workflows and for proofing applications.”
Blazing Print Speed
A technological triumph, the imagePROGRAF iPF5000 model uses Canon’s new dual print head design that has a total of 30,720 ink nozzles. The iPF5000 printer employs 2,560 nozzles per color for rapid print speeds, a maximum resolution of 2400 x 1200 dpi, and a four picoliter droplet size. The increased number of nozzles and automatic clogged nozzle detection helps reduce wear-and-tear on the printhead.
Canon’s newly developed L-COA controller enables the iPF5000 printer to operate at fast print speeds and accurately lay ink for optimal image quality. As the last link in the image processing chain, the L-COA controller intelligently processes the data directing the rapid printing process. Combined with Canon’s dual print head design and the most ink nozzles per color in the industry, the L-COA controller helps achieve print speeds of under three minutes for 16.5″ x 23.4″ (A2) size prints with 1200x1200dpi resolution on a glossy photo paper.
With more than 30 types of Canon-branded media available and the introduction of seven new fine art papers, the new iPF5000 printer provides users with a wide array of print options ranging from glossy to canvas. The variety of media available for the new iPF5000 provides the versatility and flexibility to complete any number of industry applications.
For the high-speed high-production professional, the iPF5000 printer offers four media feed options–a front-loading cassette for pre-cut sheet, a rear manual feed, a front straight path manual feed for thicker media up to 1.5mm, or an optional roll feed for longer paper lengths. The device features automatic media switching between the cassette and the roll feed so users can keep two media types loaded and ready to print, making their selection from the print driver. The printer also comes with a built-in rotary media cutter standard. The optional roll feed comes with two and three-inch core adapters to accommodate all 17-inch Canon roll-stock media. The optional roll feed and standard rotary media cutter help the iPF5000 printer to provide true-borderless prints.
Workflow Software That Enhances Productivity and Image Quality
Along with exceptional printing speeds and enhanced image quality the iPF5000 model also provides a suite of workflow software.
Print Plug-in for Digital Photo Professional* (DPP) software allows users to directly process and print RAW image file from their DPP software. This plug-in is an export module that bypasses the operating-system-dependent print driver–allowing processing of 16-bit RGB images, which dramatically increases gradations and as a result, overall image quality. The users will be able to save color profile and print settings to apply to future jobs with the print history function. For those with Adobe Photoshop workflow, the Print Plug-in is also available for Adobe Photoshop for Windows and Macintosh with the same functionality. These two Print Plug-in export modules combine an easy-to-use operation with advanced image processing to produce extremely high quality prints.
The imagePROGRAF Printer Driver 2006 for the iPF5000 has host of features that enable even the novice users to start printing like pros. Features such as Easy Settings enables a user to print optimal quality simply by selecting a pre-configured print setting from a list of popular poster types. For more advanced users, the printer driver has advanced color control capability, including ICC Color Matching to enable the use of custom output ICC profiles and Monochrome Photo mode to produce superb monochrome output with a capability to fine-tune gray balance and tonality of highlights and shadows. The driver is compatible both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. For Windows driver, the driver has extra productivity enhancing features such as Free Layout tool that allows for the nesting of separate documents into a single document, and also an imageRUNNER enlargement copy hot folder function, built right into the printer driver.
Digital Photo Print Pro (DPPP), an image editing and management program provides any level of user the means to create high quality large format output from their digital images. DPPP includes tools to correct red-eye, remove dust, and fix back light problems along with options for designing image layouts. This software also has the capability of two-way communication with Photoshop to give the advanced user more flexibility in their image editing process. PosterArtist 2006 is also bundled with the printer, providing an easy way to create signs and posters.
The imagePROGRAF iPF5000 printer will be available through authorized Canon U.S.A. dealers in April 2006 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1,945.
Canon will debut the imagePROGRAF iPF5000 larege format printer in its booth (#3509) during the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) exhibit in Orlando, Fla., from February 26-March 1, 2006.
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune‘s Most Admired Companies in America and is rated #35 on the BusinessWeek list of “Top 100 Brands.” Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2005, with global revenues of $31.8 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.
*Digital Photo Professional version 2.1 or later
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