Confused as to how to print to a Canon PIXMA Pro9000

Questions on certain printers and applications
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dglen
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:25 am

Confused as to how to print to a Canon PIXMA Pro9000

Post by dglen »

I want to print to my Canon PIXMA Pro9000. I never had to worry too much about colors until now as I usually print graphics and not photos. I want to print some photos going forward.

What is the proper manner in which to both take advantage of the, more than four colors, printing options available with this printer? By that, I mean, do I print CMYK and assume that PrintFab will use the light cyan, light mag, etc. inks automatically?

Regards,

dglen
zedonet
Site Admin
Posts: 2156
Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:02 am

Post by zedonet »

Hello dglen,

of course PrintFab uses all inks available in the printer if suitable. The CMYK print mode refers to the color space of the document.
Normally, photos are in RGB color space, so just select "perception" as "intent" (e.g. "perception photo") and "RGB Color" as color mode. The color space menu should be set to "Apple RGB" or "sRGB".
If you are printing on a paper that is listed under "Media Type", you should select this entry - PrintFab uses the corresponding ínternal color profile for achieving the best colors possible on that paper. Should you use third party paper or compatible inks, we recommend to create an individual color profile for your printer + paper + ink combination (using our profile measurement service).
dglen
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:25 am

Post by dglen »

Thanks.

A clarification please. I'm a print Art Director who's used to printing on paper (ink on press). All of my professional work is prepped as CMYK.

When it comes to printing to my Canon PIXMA Pro9000 (and my HP Designjet 110plus) I get confused. I usually convert to CMYK before printing, as per my professional experience. Is this correct? Should I leave the photos in RGB and print through PrintFab as RGB rather than printing CMYK files?

Best,

dglen
zedonet
Site Admin
Posts: 2156
Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:02 am

Post by zedonet »

Hello,

both is possible.

As RGB is the "native" color space of your photos, it makes sense to leave your photos in RGB color space so you don't lose color precision or parts of the color space. Converstion to printer inks will be done during printing, using the deepest black and the most intense colors the printer can reproduce.

However, if you need consistent color on both the Canon and the HP printer - or if you want to print your photos / documents later in a print house, it may make sense to convert everything to CMYK.
The black level and color intensity will be reduced a bit during conversion - as specified by the ICC profile that you use as your CMYK working color space.
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