I had a similar experience shipping a canon pro 10s from Australia back to Ireland, it was about 5 months between leaving Sydney and finally setting it up again when we eventually moved into a new house. I was resigned to having some issues, but it ran the normal maintenance shuffle and shakes and first print was perfect!
My Canon pro 10s was unused for near 8 month and I confess I have some worries about letting the printer off for so long. And when I put this thing on one week ago it worked perfectly. And the print that wen off was just perfect.
A very reassuring test of the Pro-300. I've had mine for a couple of months now, and have made over 70 letter and A3+ prints with zero issues. I am now pretty much caught up on all the photos I want to print, so it may sit unused for awhile. Thanks Keith.
Keith, well I've taken the plunge, purchased a Pro-300 directly from Canon this morning. I tried to unclog the printhead on my 2008 Epson R1900 but after two weeks I could not unjam nor revive it. I left it unused for too long, so after spending big $$ I don't want to make that mistake again. Thanks much for all your videos and experienced words of wisdom.
Thanks If you've not seen it, all my PRO-300 info/videos are linked from the main [written] review at www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-pro-300-printer-review/
Exactly the same thing happened to me today. Grey ran out, replaced, then the CO ran out! Glad I had a few spares in my draw. I was impressed how you opened to plastic packaging from the new ink tank...something I always struggle with some how! lol Anyway, I think your video demonstrates how good modern printers are....especially when used occasionally.
As I understand when you replace a cartridge and the printer goes through a recharging process a little of each color, meaning each cartridge is used. In your presentation after replacing the gray you then had to replace the chromo optimizer, resulting in depleting the other carts twice. Wouldn't it be more economical to replace all carts that are quite low at the same time to avoid the situation you presented. I realize deciding which ones are low enough to be removed even though not depleted may be an "art" in its self, but in the long run I believe it would be a net positive practice.
That might well be true, but it's not something I'd personally be concerned about. I'd need to be much more attentive to how long elapsed between initial ink warnings and a solid need to replace a cart. Fine in theory, but I'd simply never get round to noting it ;-)
I left my Pro100s on its own for 1 year: no problem. The second time I think there was a little problem at the beginning (more the intake not the ink) but eventually it worked again.
Thanks Keith, The 300 (which I own), has a strange system of linkage to a network. It will automatically link to a wireless network (the default connection) but require some furtling and fiddling (for which I had to contact Canon support) to change the settings to see and connect to the wired network - which I prefer because pretty much all my equipment (less iDevices and one MacBookPro) are wire connected. One other thing, I would not recommend updating firmware on a dodgy wireless network. Other than that, the 300 works flawlessly - Very happy with the output. I also make sure to run the printer once a week... just to be safe.
Yes - a rock solid connection to the AirPort box a few feet away, so no problems there. For wired I usually set a manual IP address, which is probably more than many would do. It will work fine with DHCP
Hi Keith, as always an excellent and informative video. I recently moved house so have been unable to use my Pro 300 for probably more than six months. I was expecting a few issues and my start up was not quite as straightforward as your experience. On restarting I tried a nozzle alignment print test but got an error message less than halfway through. I then tried the nozzle clean option in the Maintenance section and again received an error message. I then decided to try the Deep Nozzle Clean option, noting the warning that the process used a lot of ink. After a lot of whirring and clicking the Home Page display came up saying that four of my cartridges were now empty!! I still wasn't sure if everything was now working ok but I always keep at least one spare cartridge for each colour. I replaced the empty cartridges and noted no error messages so tried the Nozzle Alignment print out. Success! Everything seemed to be ok so I tried your colour and black test pages. All good and this fine little printer is up and running again. All the best
Glad it's OK again I think six months is pushing things, so I was surprised when the one I tried fired up so easily. I guess it's partly about the climate the printer has been kept in and also the amount of use before the 6 months...
With this printer I found out through online forums that after 60 hours from your last print, it goes through agitating process which also uses up inks. I barely passed 50 total prints mostly 4x6 since new and already replaced GY. CO. Y. and PBK. All other colors has replace ink warning except MBK. When I replaced first GY cart the CO needed to be replaced just like this video presented. I know there's a software that allows auto print within 60hrs but I wish there was something in the driver that allows us to stop this 60 hour cleaning nonsense that wastes so much ink.
The agitation process itself does not specifically use up inks. Initial carts don't last as long because the heads need charging. It's the PRO-1000 which is much heavier on cleanings - that said few on forums have ever looked at this in any real detail, so much of what is said is just repetition of apocryphal 'forum wisdom'. They are small carts in the PRO-300 - larger ones would be harder to sweep back and forth over the paper
Hi Keith, if the pro 1000 and the pro 300 use the same ink and have the same 4 picoliter nozzle size (albeit widely different number of nozzles) why do so many vlogs make a point of saying the P1000 must be 'used constantly' to prevent clogs but report the P300 can withstand mistreatment for weeks or months? I'm down to the wire deciding between the two. Logically the P300 will cover my needs perfectly but... I live in northern Canada and shipping costs from the south is a major consideration (3 or 4 PFI 300 carts could cost $30 or more per ship). If a Pro 1000 can be safely powered down for a couple weeks, the ink lost to start-up would probably be about the same as freight for the others and still leave me with a significant reserve of ink on hand even with consideration to weekly nozzle checks. Thank you for your consideration.
It's what the ink goes through - the print head. The 1000 has a much more complex ink system too. The 1000 carts will last a lot longer - firing up every two weeks will up the proportion of ink used in cleanings. Not something I was able to test when I reviewed it though
I have a Canon iX6520 printer and have always had a paper feed problem. I should have returned it immediately. But I do like the quality of the prints when it does accept the paper.
My friend and I both own have Epson Surecolor P800, I make sure that I use mine at least once a month and I constantly warned my friend that he was heading for trouble by not using his, after eighteen months he got round to using it, and guess what i worked perfectly. There is not justice, this would never have happened to me.
I have the pro 100 and I've gone many months between prints. One time it was 1.5 years. And it printed beautifully . I've gone through multiple Epson, all ruined by clogged print heads.
I find scheduling a weekly diary reminder helps remind me to switch on printers in the office - it's particularly important for larger printers - even if all they do is an auto nozzle check or need a sheet of plain paper for a printed one. The better the printer, the more important this becomes.
I’m very intrigued by the b&w photo on the wall behind your printer. Is is a cathedral? I’d love to see the entire image. From what I can tell it looks beautiful.
With a self maintaining model kept plugged in, no problems, of course. However for some reason some printers still lack this feature. My Canon G540 for example, of which i've been forewarned it is going to be an ink hog for automated flushings and stuff, nope, it doesn't do any of that, it is just happily sitting away waiting for a dried nozzle. Fortunately i've been able to unclog it with a couple rounds of a medium clean cycle. It was a bit alarming as for a while it kept becoming worse before it all just suddenly cleared out. I was really pushing it, i believe i was well into the 8th month mark of not touching it the slightest.
There's actually very little I'd actually describe as self maintaining. I'd like to see a programmed nozzle check available for a much wider range of printers.
@@KeithCooper It's a silly situation that the cheap home stuff are built for this and the pro stuff is just sitting on their bums waiting for full manual intervention, but i get where that's coming from, pro stuff is supposed to churn out enough prints to effectively act as nozzle maintenance.
Hi Keith, as a new Pro-300 owner the video was good background info. One question I have is whether you would recommend leaving the printer turned on. I have currently configured the printer to sleep after 60 mins with auto-wake. Is that sensible?
Hi Keith, I've really enjoyed learning about the world of printing from your videos....and am seriously thinking of getting a mid range printer like the canon pro 1000. However, I'll probably only use it 1-2 times per week and am worried about the costs of ink that it uses each time it starts up again or does a head cleaning, I read it needs to be used every 72h or it starts it's head cleaning protocol. Is there a pro level printer that doesn't require as much maintenance and therefore cost as much, for those of us that aren't printing daily? Thanks in advance.
Ah - define 'pro level' in non marketing terms... ;-) The ink use is a cost of having a larger printer [well, any inkjet really] The only other 17" printers [at the moment] are the Epson P900 and new P5300 The P900 would be the closest to the PRO-1000 I have detailed written reviews for the 900 and 1000. If you are that bothered about ink costs though, look at the ET-8550 [13"] - especially if you are new to printing. Cheaper ink can make experimenting a much more rewarding process... Links to all reviews [the proper written ones as well as the videos ;-) ] at: www.northlight-images.co.uk/photography-articles-and-reviews/printing-paper-reviews-articles/
Hello Keith. I think this is the video I'm looking for. Unfortunately, it has only a tiny, tiny garbled sound. (Other YT videos work fine). Perhaps you have a moment to answer a question. I have an almost new Canon ImagePro300 with, perhaps, 20 pages printed on it. Like you, it sat turned off for six months with my neighbour running a nozzle check once a month. Last month that failed and when I got home it says that the yellow ink cartridge needs replacing. I'm guessing the print head needs cleaning but I cannot figure out how to get past the error message (1699) to run the print head check (or anything else). Would you know if there is a way around the error message to run a print head cleaning? And does this printer simply not work if one of the cartridges fails or runs out of ink? Thank you!
Sorry - I had reports of issues with the sound on a few viewing platforms - I just viewed it on my Mac in a browser and turned up the volume - unfortunately nothing can be done about it for those it fails on... [YT does not allow replacement/editing of soundtracks] However... You cannot run a printhead check if any cart is flagged as 'empty'. This is to protect the print head - Thermal printheads do not last long if the ink is missing.
That the problem with having too much stuff. I know because I have collected lenses and not sold old lenses when getting a better camera. I just add a new lens that I need to the camera. So currently I have tree analogue MF cameras with lenses as HB. Fuji GX690III and Mamiya 7II.I have Fuji X-Pro 1 and X-T1 with two zooms and a prime 35mm. My main gear is Nikon D700 and D800E with Zeiss 18mmF3.5, Zeiss 35mmF2.0, 50mmF1.4, 100mmF2.0 Macro and Nikkor 24mmF3.5 PC, 45mmF2.8PC, 85mmF2.8 PC, AFS 28mmF1.4 E, AFS 60mmF2.8 G macro, AF 85mmF1.8 Screw drive, AFS200mmF2.0 VR and AF 300mm F2.8 IF ED Screw drive. I will get AFS24-70mmF2.8 E VR and 70-200mmF2.8 E VR and replace the 300mm with a 400mm/500mm when I can afford it.
@@KeithCooper You need to charge batteries every 6 month. I stopped using A4 Ink jet printers because I used it too seldom and I had to get new cartridges each time I had to use it. Today I have a BW laser printer-scanner but I will get a P900 soon after I got the two Zoom lenses. Just 3 years left before retirement and I will then have more time to take good photographs if I'm alive then and the electrcal bill have not destroid my economy.
Great video as usual, Keith! A related question I've yet to find an answer to: Do you happen to know the shelf life of unopened PFI-300 ink cartridges? I bought a complete set a couple years ago, and am a little nervous about whether they would still be good or not.
Just to let you know, most firmware updates are designed to prevent you from using third party ink cartridges. As the third party guys get smarter, Canon tries to keep up. If you only use OEM, it's not an issue.
Not entirely so - there are also significant changes covering reliability issues However, if you want to use 3rd party cartridges then yes a degree of caution is required if the printer is working
Audio issue on Android UA-cam app (up to date), the "stats for nerds" shows it is streaming "251 opus" audio format. I know you already know about this but just a bit more info if it is of any help!
Thanks - I guessed it might be a specific phone related thing - it came about through an odd audio mixing issue. I've not been able to duplicate the issue on any device we've got. Unfortunately, it seems watching this particular video is not for a particular phone type. It's not possible to update/correct/edit a published YT videos's audio track AFAIK
Keith, I have recently purchased a second-hand Pro300, printed the Nozzle Check Pattern and the PC Y and R pattern is not printing yet the printer doesn't say it needs replacing... any ideas please?
Do the ink carts for those colours actually have ink in them? Have you ever seen it working? I've not tried this with the PRO-300 - there's one place I'd go first to ask for specific ideas for that printer. It's: www.printerknowledge.com/forums/canon-inkjet-printers.8/
Hi Keith - Thanks for another interesting and helpful video. Something I’ve always wondered is how long will unopened ink cartridges last? Do they have a ‘use by’ date so they don’t start to deteriorate in storage?
Well thre is a nominal use by date, but I've never taken much notice of it. Pigment inks shoud get a good shake if not used for months, but dyes... well. I suppose the could go 'off' but I've never seen it.
Have you tried similar ‘storage’ time on a PRO-200 (dye inks), or in your opinion would it survive such a lack of use? I’m curious too whether the 200/300 run regular cleaning cycles like the PRO-1000, which receives a lot of commentary. I don’t recall any observations in the specific reviews.
I'm told the 200/300 are quite different from the 1000 in this respect Left a 200 for a couple of months - it started up and worked like I'd used it yesterday...
Well, the Epson 900 is also of the non-professional category, which can be left unused for a longish while, according to the target group and your words? But then, it has 1.5 pl minimum droplets... and shares print head with 5300? So, does this mean that 5300 is also much more resilient than one could usually expect from a professional machine?
Keith, have you ever had a situation where a printer firmware upgrade invalidates printer profiles made earlier? i.e. the upgrade changes the amount(s) of inks used?
Sorry, it seems there is a sound channel fault for a few mobile platforms It's worked on absolutely everything I've been able to test it on, including my iPhone and even our home TV. I have identified the problem, so hopefully this is won't happen in the future. Unfortunately you can't change sound on a YT video after it is uploaded
@@KeithCooper Thanks for replying. Such a shame, it would have been great, i have exacly that problem with a canon pro1000. I wonder, wouldn't be better to repost the video, i suppose future watchers can not hear it as well. Great work, i watch all your videos 👏
Thanks - it seems this is affecting _very few_ players on mobile. I can't even duplicate the problem - it works on absolutely everything I've tried it on - even our big Panasonic TV
It's generally about the printhead in use, so yes to some extent. The PRO-1000 is the same printhead as used in the PRO-2100/4100 etc so designed for regular and heavy duty use. It's one reason the Canon designs with this head use quite a bit of ink for cleaning if not used much. The pro-300 was designed from ground up for consumer use, so is more forgiving of periods of disuse.
@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith, is this also true for the Epson SC-P700 and P900? Or are both printheads the same on those printers? Are they resilient to periods of inactivity?
@@KeithCooper That's really good to know for future reference. Happy with my Canon ip8750 for now though! I do print with it regularly but hopefully it won't suffer too much if I don't print for a week or two even if it is an older design.
Hi Keith, quick question if that was an Epson I.e. a P700/900 would in your experience think that the Epson would not print and would need unclogging? Thank you in advance.
Mine after ~6 months won't print anything after several rounds of noozle check and head clean and deep clean. Any suggestions on what to do next? (replaced all ink cartridges already.)
Hello Keith I have a question with no yet answer found : "how do I have to batch my prints over the year to minimize ink dumping" ? When I use my Espon P800 2 following days it doesn't do any cleaning and ink dumping, when I use it perhaps once all 2 weeks it make some cleaning and dumps a bit ink, when I use it 2 times a year it make a massive cleaning and I have sometimes to do an additional manuel cleaning after the nozzle check and it dumps massive amounts of ink. So if I have to do say 100 prints in a year, do I have to do 100 prints once the year, or 2times 50 all 6 months, or ....., or 2 prints each week to minimize ink consumption ?
I've genuinely no idea - I don't print to any schedule, or know how many I'll do in a year ;-) The place I'd ask is on the printing forum at dprview.com
@@KeithCooper Thank you Keith for the tip. I print for in advance known exhibitions/projects or gift photo cards for friends and so I am able to print in batches months before the real need. My observation is that only starting the P800 2 or 3 times a year dumps a huge amount of ink. My habits also come from the dark room period as I developed films all year long but printed only 2 times a year during perhaps 3 days each time.
Hi, just acquired Canon Pro-300. Need to know if i must leave Always power on ? I print only 1+ photo every weekend or month. Its not by daily basis. I configured the printer with wifi connection. Wanted to know what its the good pratices for about the « power management » to be able minimizes the issues with inks and print head for a long term. What happend ifi power on/off manually when needed to print every 1-2 weeks ? Thanks
Whilst it does depend on environmental conditions a bit, I'd not worry about few weeks. I've left printers for a month or two - I prefer not to, but they were OK.
Hi Keith, I have just tried to watch this video but he sound track is very different to hear. Is there any chance that you can sort out the problem. I have been given a printer to evaluate before purchasing it and it has not been used for a while and I thought that his video would be helpful to me.
Sorry - this one has an issue on some browsers [fixed on subsequent videos] Works fine [but quiet] on any desktop browser I've tried or even our big TV. Seems mainly to be an issue for people on some phones. There is no way of actually fixing sound on YT videos I'm afraid.
@@KeithCooper hi keith i figured it out. I think in transport something between the cartridges and print head may have been loosened. The print head was covered in ink and the yellow was not fully seated. I cleaned the print head with a cotton swab per canon customer service and it fixed the issue. Thank you so much for all of your help and sharing your knowledge! I love my printer!
Leave it overnight before trying again. If a clean doesn't work second time repeatedly cleaning just wastes ink If it's not getting better after a week, a new print head may be called for but I'd check somewhere like: www.printerknowledge.com for what's the current best practice for a particular printer model
@@KeithCooper great. I’m asking just for future reference. I just bought a pixma 200 but I’m planning on doing the nozzle check every 2 weeks. How much does it usually cost to change a printer head?
with this printer, when one ink runs out, it's a good idea to change the whole set of cartridges... because you quickly fall into a domino effect and you can only change cartridges... because for every time you change a cartridge, it draws new ink from all of them . seting paper tipe and size on printer lcd is just a waist of time.. forget it... the only main is driver setings
Sorry about this - This one has a coding issue which means that on some video players it tries to play a dead audio channel. Plays fine on various TVs and computers - just not some players. Unfortunately, YT doesn't let you 'fix' things like this
Thanks - I did identify the sound recording problem later - it may have affected several videos. It's OK on my Mac - but that's all I have to test it. It seem that some playback systems handle the audio channels slightly differently. I don't use a mobile phone for anything, so can't test this aspect. Video on a phone is a complete non-starter with my close-up vision ;-)
@@KeithCooper thanks, I will watch the video on my laptop. (I tried to watch on my mobile - as you guessed) Edit: To be clear, there is some audio trying to get out on my mobile. However the volume and clarity is so low that it is virtually non existent. I hope this is helpful.
Yes - don't do tictok or other phone type stuff ;-) It did end up longer than I'd thought at the start - partly because I shoot most of them all in one take without any script :-)
How are you watching this? It seems that a small subset of viewers are getting this problem. I did later identify a recording problem connected with the audio channels (L+R) but the sound works fine on browsers I've checked - it's at a lower level than I'd like but it's there.
Problem is I review printers for photo use and there isn't a copier I've seen I'd ever want to use for photos But... If you know of one, please do let me know (either here or via the Northlight site) and I'll see if I can get one to review...
Really? That's a pro technician advice? Would you ever print artwork with a laser printer? Actual advice: if you want to print photos that look like photos but can't afford an inkjet printer, just don't buy anything until you can. Otherwise, you'd spend money on something useless. Just saying.
Your idea of a "short video" in many of your videos is very unique 😄
Yes - no 'UA-cam Shorts' here.
Hahaha but it's good stuff so it doesn't matter 😂👍
I had a similar experience shipping a canon pro 10s from Australia back to Ireland, it was about 5 months between leaving Sydney and finally setting it up again when we eventually moved into a new house. I was resigned to having some issues, but it ran the normal maintenance shuffle and shakes and first print was perfect!
Thanks - I didn't expect problems, but I know this does worry people...
My Canon pro 10s was unused for near 8 month and I confess I have some worries about letting the printer off for so long. And when I put this thing on one week ago it worked perfectly. And the print that wen off was just perfect.
Good to hear!
A very reassuring test of the Pro-300. I've had mine for a couple of months now, and have made over 70 letter and A3+ prints with zero issues. I am now pretty much caught up on all the photos I want to print, so it may sit unused for awhile.
Thanks Keith.
Thanks - it's not a recommendation, but I though it might help some people! ;-)
Keith, well I've taken the plunge, purchased a Pro-300 directly from Canon this morning. I tried to unclog the printhead on my 2008 Epson R1900 but after two weeks I could not unjam nor revive it.
I left it unused for too long, so after spending big $$ I don't want to make that mistake again. Thanks much for all your videos and experienced words of wisdom.
Thanks
If you've not seen it, all my PRO-300 info/videos are linked from the main [written] review at
www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-pro-300-printer-review/
4:45 - What they mean is that you will need to start waiting "momentarily," but you don't need to start waiting yet. 😊
Yes - sort of 'get ready to wait'...
Keith, I have also found this to be the case on my Pro-300 which I sometimes leave for a few weeks without use and have no problems
Yes, I still prefer to give it some use every couple of weeks, but was pleased at how well it started up...
Exactly the same thing happened to me today. Grey ran out, replaced, then the CO ran out! Glad I had a few spares in my draw. I was impressed how you opened to plastic packaging from the new ink tank...something I always struggle with some how! lol Anyway, I think your video demonstrates how good modern printers are....especially when used occasionally.
Yes - those two go down fastest.
Reviewing Canon printers give me practice with their packaging ;-)
As I understand when you replace a cartridge and the printer goes through a recharging process a little of each color, meaning each cartridge is used.
In your presentation after replacing the gray you then had to replace the chromo optimizer, resulting in depleting the other carts twice. Wouldn't it be more economical to replace all carts that are quite low at the same time to avoid the situation you presented. I realize deciding which ones are low enough to be removed even though not depleted may be an "art" in its self, but in the long run I believe it would be a net positive practice.
That might well be true, but it's not something I'd personally be concerned about. I'd need to be much more attentive to how long elapsed between initial ink warnings and a solid need to replace a cart.
Fine in theory, but I'd simply never get round to noting it ;-)
I left my Pro100s on its own for 1 year: no problem. The second time I think there was a little problem at the beginning (more the intake not the ink) but eventually it worked again.
Yes - they can last well, but I do prefer not to chance it that much ;-)
Thanks Keith, The 300 (which I own), has a strange system of linkage to a network. It will automatically link to a wireless network (the default connection) but require some furtling and fiddling (for which I had to contact Canon support) to change the settings to see and connect to the wired network - which I prefer because pretty much all my equipment (less iDevices and one MacBookPro) are wire connected. One other thing, I would not recommend updating firmware on a dodgy wireless network. Other than that, the 300 works flawlessly - Very happy with the output. I also make sure to run the printer once a week... just to be safe.
Yes - a rock solid connection to the AirPort box a few feet away, so no problems there. For wired I usually set a manual IP address, which is probably more than many would do. It will work fine with DHCP
Hi Keith, as always an excellent and informative video. I recently moved house so have been unable to use my Pro 300 for probably more than six months. I was expecting a few issues and my start up was not quite as straightforward as your experience. On restarting I tried a nozzle alignment print test but got an error message less than halfway through. I then tried the nozzle clean option in the Maintenance section and again received an error message. I then decided to try the Deep Nozzle Clean option, noting the warning that the process used a lot of ink. After a lot of whirring and clicking the Home Page display came up saying that four of my cartridges were now empty!! I still wasn't sure if everything was now working ok but I always keep at least one spare cartridge for each colour. I replaced the empty cartridges and noted no error messages so tried the Nozzle Alignment print out. Success! Everything seemed to be ok so I tried your colour and black test pages. All good and this fine little printer is up and running again. All the best
Glad it's OK again
I think six months is pushing things, so I was surprised when the one I tried fired up so easily. I guess it's partly about the climate the printer has been kept in and also the amount of use before the 6 months...
With this printer I found out through online forums that after 60 hours from your last print, it goes through agitating process which also uses up inks. I barely passed 50 total prints mostly 4x6 since new and already replaced GY. CO. Y. and PBK. All other colors has replace ink warning except MBK. When I replaced first GY cart the CO needed to be replaced just like this video presented. I know there's a software that allows auto print within 60hrs but I wish there was something in the driver that allows us to stop this 60 hour cleaning nonsense that wastes so much ink.
The agitation process itself does not specifically use up inks. Initial carts don't last as long because the heads need charging.
It's the PRO-1000 which is much heavier on cleanings - that said few on forums have ever looked at this in any real detail, so much of what is said is just repetition of apocryphal 'forum wisdom'.
They are small carts in the PRO-300 - larger ones would be harder to sweep back and forth over the paper
Hi Keith, if the pro 1000 and the pro 300 use the same ink and have the same 4 picoliter nozzle size (albeit widely different number of nozzles) why do so many vlogs make a point of saying the P1000 must be 'used constantly' to prevent clogs but report the P300 can withstand mistreatment for weeks or months?
I'm down to the wire deciding between the two. Logically the P300 will cover my needs perfectly but... I live in northern Canada and shipping costs from the south is a major consideration (3 or 4 PFI 300 carts could cost $30 or more per ship). If a Pro 1000 can be safely powered down for a couple weeks, the ink lost to start-up would probably be about the same as freight for the others and still leave me with a significant reserve of ink on hand even with consideration to weekly nozzle checks.
Thank you for your consideration.
It's what the ink goes through - the print head.
The 1000 has a much more complex ink system too.
The 1000 carts will last a lot longer - firing up every two weeks will up the proportion of ink used in cleanings. Not something I was able to test when I reviewed it though
I have a Canon iX6520 printer and have always had a paper feed problem. I should have returned it immediately. But I do like the quality of the prints when it does accept the paper.
As long as it works often enough... ;-)
Thanks Keith, Very helpful.Subscribed. Cheers from Australia.
Thanks!
My friend and I both own have Epson Surecolor P800, I make sure that I use mine at least once a month and I constantly warned my friend that he was heading for trouble by not using his, after eighteen months he got round to using it, and guess what i worked perfectly. There is not justice, this would never have happened to me.
Yes - not a time gap I'd want for one of my printers! ;-)
I have the pro 100 and I've gone many months between prints. One time it was 1.5 years. And it printed beautifully . I've gone through multiple Epson, all ruined by clogged print heads.
Then consider yourself lucky with the 100 - no printer benefits from lack of use
@@KeithCooper no, I print in big batches. I just don't print regularly
I find scheduling a weekly diary reminder helps remind me to switch on printers in the office - it's particularly important for larger printers - even if all they do is an auto nozzle check or need a sheet of plain paper for a printed one.
The better the printer, the more important this becomes.
@@KeithCooper that's something you don't worry about with Canon printers. Though on the higher end ones they do have an auto purge to prevent clogging
It's of concern with any make of printer beyond the cheap ones. I would not leave a PRO-200 for months for example.
I’m very intrigued by the b&w photo on the wall behind your printer. Is is a cathedral? I’d love to see the entire image. From what I can tell it looks beautiful.
It's Wells Cathedral
There are a couple of videos from when I printed this during my testing of the P7500
ua-cam.com/video/MUIRw5brRVo/v-deo.html
Thank you for sharing. I love it@@KeithCooper
With a self maintaining model kept plugged in, no problems, of course. However for some reason some printers still lack this feature. My Canon G540 for example, of which i've been forewarned it is going to be an ink hog for automated flushings and stuff, nope, it doesn't do any of that, it is just happily sitting away waiting for a dried nozzle. Fortunately i've been able to unclog it with a couple rounds of a medium clean cycle. It was a bit alarming as for a while it kept becoming worse before it all just suddenly cleared out. I was really pushing it, i believe i was well into the 8th month mark of not touching it the slightest.
There's actually very little I'd actually describe as self maintaining. I'd like to see a programmed nozzle check available for a much wider range of printers.
@@KeithCooper It's a silly situation that the cheap home stuff are built for this and the pro stuff is just sitting on their bums waiting for full manual intervention, but i get where that's coming from, pro stuff is supposed to churn out enough prints to effectively act as nozzle maintenance.
I use a Pro 200 and use it every 2/3 weeks to print a small 6x4 photo just to keep it good and it's always OK.
Yes - that will do - I'm told that even the basic nozzle check on plain paper will suffice.
Hi Keith, as a new Pro-300 owner the video was good background info. One question I have is whether you would recommend leaving the printer turned on. I have currently configured the printer to sleep after 60 mins with auto-wake. Is that sensible?
Thanks - I just left it at the defaults. From what I've heard from Canon it doesn't make a lot of difference.
Hi Keith, I've really enjoyed learning about the world of printing from your videos....and am seriously thinking of getting a mid range printer like the canon pro 1000. However, I'll probably only use it 1-2 times per week and am worried about the costs of ink that it uses each time it starts up again or does a head cleaning, I read it needs to be used every 72h or it starts it's head cleaning protocol. Is there a pro level printer that doesn't require as much maintenance and therefore cost as much, for those of us that aren't printing daily? Thanks in advance.
Ah - define 'pro level' in non marketing terms... ;-)
The ink use is a cost of having a larger printer [well, any inkjet really]
The only other 17" printers [at the moment] are the Epson P900 and new P5300
The P900 would be the closest to the PRO-1000
I have detailed written reviews for the 900 and 1000.
If you are that bothered about ink costs though, look at the ET-8550 [13"] - especially if you are new to printing. Cheaper ink can make experimenting a much more rewarding process...
Links to all reviews [the proper written ones as well as the videos ;-) ] at:
www.northlight-images.co.uk/photography-articles-and-reviews/printing-paper-reviews-articles/
Hello Keith. I think this is the video I'm looking for. Unfortunately, it has only a tiny, tiny garbled sound. (Other YT videos work fine). Perhaps you have a moment to answer a question. I have an almost new Canon ImagePro300 with, perhaps, 20 pages printed on it. Like you, it sat turned off for six months with my neighbour running a nozzle check once a month. Last month that failed and when I got home it says that the yellow ink cartridge needs replacing. I'm guessing the print head needs cleaning but I cannot figure out how to get past the error message (1699) to run the print head check (or anything else). Would you know if there is a way around the error message to run a print head cleaning? And does this printer simply not work if one of the cartridges fails or runs out of ink? Thank you!
Sorry - I had reports of issues with the sound on a few viewing platforms - I just viewed it on my Mac in a browser and turned up the volume - unfortunately nothing can be done about it for those it fails on... [YT does not allow replacement/editing of soundtracks]
However...
You cannot run a printhead check if any cart is flagged as 'empty'.
This is to protect the print head - Thermal printheads do not last long if the ink is missing.
That the problem with having too much stuff. I know because I have collected lenses and not sold old lenses when getting a better camera. I just add a new lens that I need to the camera. So currently I have tree analogue MF cameras with lenses as HB. Fuji GX690III and Mamiya 7II.I have Fuji X-Pro 1 and X-T1 with two zooms and a prime 35mm. My main gear is Nikon D700 and D800E with Zeiss 18mmF3.5, Zeiss 35mmF2.0, 50mmF1.4, 100mmF2.0 Macro and Nikkor 24mmF3.5 PC, 45mmF2.8PC, 85mmF2.8 PC, AFS 28mmF1.4 E, AFS 60mmF2.8 G macro, AF 85mmF1.8 Screw drive, AFS200mmF2.0 VR and AF 300mm F2.8 IF ED Screw drive. I will get AFS24-70mmF2.8 E VR and 70-200mmF2.8 E VR and replace the 300mm with a 400mm/500mm when I can afford it.
There is no problem with stuff, just the place to keep it... ;-)
@@KeithCooper You need to charge batteries every 6 month. I stopped using A4 Ink jet printers because I used it too seldom and I had to get new cartridges each time I had to use it. Today I have a BW laser printer-scanner but I will get a P900 soon after I got the two Zoom lenses. Just 3 years left before retirement and I will then have more time to take good photographs if I'm alive then and the electrcal bill have not destroid my economy.
Two pair of glasses at the same time??? Anyway great video
Yes... I'd mislaid my strongest reading glasses... :-)
Great video as usual, Keith! A related question I've yet to find an answer to: Do you happen to know the shelf life of unopened PFI-300 ink cartridges? I bought a complete set a couple years ago, and am a little nervous about whether they would still be good or not.
Sealed they should be OK, but they need shaking to prevent settiling
Just to let you know, most firmware updates are designed to prevent you from using third party ink cartridges. As the third party guys get smarter, Canon tries to keep up. If you only use OEM, it's not an issue.
Not entirely so - there are also significant changes covering reliability issues
However, if you want to use 3rd party cartridges then yes a degree of caution is required if the printer is working
Audio issue on Android UA-cam app (up to date), the "stats for nerds" shows it is streaming "251 opus" audio format.
I know you already know about this but just a bit more info if it is of any help!
Thanks - I guessed it might be a specific phone related thing - it came about through an odd audio mixing issue. I've not been able to duplicate the issue on any device we've got.
Unfortunately, it seems watching this particular video is not for a particular phone type. It's not possible to update/correct/edit a published YT videos's audio track AFAIK
Subscribed. Thanks for the video.
Thanks - glad it was of interest
Keith, I have recently purchased a second-hand Pro300, printed the Nozzle Check Pattern and the PC Y and R pattern is not printing yet the printer doesn't say it needs replacing... any ideas please?
Do the ink carts for those colours actually have ink in them? Have you ever seen it working?
I've not tried this with the PRO-300 - there's one place I'd go first to ask for specific ideas for that printer.
It's: www.printerknowledge.com/forums/canon-inkjet-printers.8/
Hi Keith - Thanks for another interesting and helpful video. Something I’ve always wondered is how long will unopened ink cartridges last? Do they have a ‘use by’ date so they don’t start to deteriorate in storage?
Well thre is a nominal use by date, but I've never taken much notice of it.
Pigment inks shoud get a good shake if not used for months, but dyes... well. I suppose the could go 'off' but I've never seen it.
I've had some inks for at least 18 months before use which worked flawlessly.
Have you tried similar ‘storage’ time on a PRO-200 (dye inks), or in your opinion would it survive such a lack of use? I’m curious too whether the 200/300 run regular cleaning cycles like the PRO-1000, which receives a lot of commentary. I don’t recall any observations in the specific reviews.
I'm told the 200/300 are quite different from the 1000 in this respect
Left a 200 for a couple of months - it started up and worked like I'd used it yesterday...
@@KeithCooper Thanks for the info Keith, much appreciated!
How do you deal with the software always saying memory issue. It waste my entire day trying to get a simple print
Not a problem I've ever heard of I'm afraid. Worked fine on every system I've ever used it.
I'd suggest asking on the printing forum at dpreview.com
Well, the Epson 900 is also of the non-professional category, which can be left unused for a longish while, according to the target group and your words? But then, it has 1.5 pl minimum droplets... and shares print head with 5300? So, does this mean that 5300 is also much more resilient than one could usually expect from a professional machine?
Yes, that is what I am led to believe
@@KeithCooper Good news. I' ll buy it 😁
Yes, a very nice printer. Just had a roll of Hahnemuhle Bamboo Gloss turn up to test with it... :-)
Keith, have you ever had a situation where a printer firmware upgrade invalidates printer profiles made earlier? i.e. the upgrade changes the amount(s) of inks used?
I've been told by the manufacturers that this won't happen.
I've never seen it - it would take quite a major change in the printer to do this.
@@KeithCooper Thanks, Keith. Much appreciated.
There is no sound😔 i've checked other videos and they work... does anybody know what's happening?
Sorry, it seems there is a sound channel fault for a few mobile platforms
It's worked on absolutely everything I've been able to test it on, including my iPhone and even our home TV.
I have identified the problem, so hopefully this is won't happen in the future. Unfortunately you can't change sound on a YT video after it is uploaded
@@KeithCooper Thanks for replying. Such a shame, it would have been great, i have exacly that problem with a canon pro1000. I wonder, wouldn't be better to repost the video, i suppose future watchers can not hear it as well. Great work, i watch all your videos 👏
Thanks - it seems this is affecting _very few_ players on mobile.
I can't even duplicate the problem - it works on absolutely everything I've tried it on - even our big Panasonic TV
@@KeithCooper i'll try on other devices. I'll keep you posted 😀
So with bigger printers like the Canon Pro-1000 do they just have more finely tuned parts that need more constant use?
It's generally about the printhead in use, so yes to some extent.
The PRO-1000 is the same printhead as used in the PRO-2100/4100 etc so designed for regular and heavy duty use. It's one reason the Canon designs with this head use quite a bit of ink for cleaning if not used much.
The pro-300 was designed from ground up for consumer use, so is more forgiving of periods of disuse.
@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith, is this also true for the Epson SC-P700 and P900? Or are both printheads the same on those printers? Are they resilient to periods of inactivity?
Same head on the P700, P900 and now P5300.
Definitely aimed at 'consumer' levels of use, not the 'commercial' of the P5000
@@KeithCooper That's really good to know for future reference. Happy with my Canon ip8750 for now though! I do print with it regularly but hopefully it won't suffer too much if I don't print for a week or two even if it is an older design.
Hi Keith, quick question if that was an Epson I.e. a P700/900 would in your experience think that the Epson would not print and would need unclogging? Thank you in advance.
Not a question I can answer - every printer is different - the brand makes little difference in my experience
Mine after ~6 months won't print anything after several rounds of noozle check and head clean and deep clean. Any suggestions on what to do next? (replaced all ink cartridges already.)
I'd ask on this forum, where people do a lot more of this stuff
www.printerknowledge.com/forums/canon-inkjet-printers.8/
Hello Keith
I have a question with no yet answer found : "how do I have to batch my prints over the year to minimize ink dumping" ?
When I use my Espon P800 2 following days it doesn't do any cleaning and ink dumping, when I use it perhaps once all 2 weeks it make some cleaning and dumps a bit ink, when I use it 2 times a year it make a massive cleaning and I have sometimes to do an additional manuel cleaning after the nozzle check and it dumps massive amounts of ink.
So if I have to do say 100 prints in a year, do I have to do 100 prints once the year, or 2times 50 all 6 months, or ....., or 2 prints each week to minimize ink consumption ?
I've genuinely no idea - I don't print to any schedule, or know how many I'll do in a year ;-)
The place I'd ask is on the printing forum at dprview.com
@@KeithCooper Thank you Keith for the tip. I print for in advance known exhibitions/projects or gift photo cards for friends and so I am able to print in batches months before the real need. My observation is that only starting the P800 2 or 3 times a year dumps a huge amount of ink. My habits also come from the dark room period as I developed films all year long but printed only 2 times a year during perhaps 3 days each time.
Hi, just acquired Canon Pro-300.
Need to know if i must leave Always power on ?
I print only 1+ photo every weekend or month. Its not by daily basis. I configured the printer with wifi connection.
Wanted to know what its the good pratices for about the « power management » to be able minimizes the issues with inks and print head for a long term.
What happend ifi power on/off manually when needed to print every 1-2 weeks ?
Thanks
No problem at all - I don't leave the one here switched on...
thank you. I have Epsom EcoTank 8550. What's the max I can leave without printing and not stressing over it, please? ;) thank you again.
Whilst it does depend on environmental conditions a bit, I'd not worry about few weeks.
I've left printers for a month or two - I prefer not to, but they were OK.
@@KeithCooper thank you very much
Hi Keith, I have just tried to watch this video but he sound track is very different to hear. Is there any chance that you can sort out the problem. I have been given a printer to evaluate before purchasing it and it has not been used for a while and I thought that his video would be helpful to me.
Sorry - this one has an issue on some browsers [fixed on subsequent videos]
Works fine [but quiet] on any desktop browser I've tried or even our big TV. Seems mainly to be an issue for people on some phones.
There is no way of actually fixing sound on YT videos I'm afraid.
@@KeithCooper thank for your reply, I will try to watch it on a different platform. I’m finding your videos very informative and helpful.
I bought one last night and the color prints with a red overtone and i have no idea what to do
New or old?
Does the nozzle check print OK?
@@KeithCooper hi keith i figured it out. I think in transport something between the cartridges and print head may have been loosened. The print head was covered in ink and the yellow was not fully seated. I cleaned the print head with a cotton swab per canon customer service and it fixed the issue. Thank you so much for all of your help and sharing your knowledge! I love my printer!
Glad it's OK again! @@lifeoflemus
So, if it were clogged, what would be the next step to fix it?
Leave it overnight before trying again.
If a clean doesn't work second time repeatedly cleaning just wastes ink
If it's not getting better after a week, a new print head may be called for but I'd check somewhere like:
www.printerknowledge.com
for what's the current best practice for a particular printer model
@@KeithCooper great. I’m asking just for future reference. I just bought a pixma 200 but I’m planning on doing the nozzle check every 2 weeks. How much does it usually cost to change a printer head?
No idea I'm afraid - should not normally ever be needed [see the site above for info]
Hi all,so I want to get printer but would like to have the possibility to print A2,A3+ but also to use an roll.
Any sugestion?
Read my P900 and P5000 reviews...
Or look at my recent P900/P5000 comparison video [~45mins!]
Hi Keith are you from Leicester? I am after some canon printers, do let me know if you have dealership
I am, but I'm an architectural and industrial photographer in my 'day job'
What about leaving a pro 1000 for 6 months !?
Send me one and I'll let you know in June... ;-)
Not generally advised, but it might well be OK
with this printer, when one ink runs out, it's a good idea to change the whole set of cartridges... because you quickly fall into a domino effect and you can only change cartridges... because for every time you change a cartridge, it draws new ink from all of them . seting paper tipe and size on printer lcd is just a waist of time.. forget it... the only main is driver setings
It is not a waste of time if like me you change papers a lot - as a reminder it has saved me wasting a air bit of ink/paper ;-) YMMV
@@KeithCooper oh so you make paper setings on printer not on driver? Oh i jsut say that for myself..
No, I do both :-)
It's just part of my double checking before I hit print. Comes from making big prints where mistakes can be costly...
Is a nozzle weekly check sufficient use?
More than enough for a 300
Every 2-3 weeks is likely OK
Seems as though your audio has become corrupted, I can't understand a word of the video.
Sorry about this - This one has a coding issue which means that on some video players it tries to play a dead audio channel.
Plays fine on various TVs and computers - just not some players.
Unfortunately, YT doesn't let you 'fix' things like this
I can't seem to get any sound from this video!
Not sure how you are watching it - lots of others seem OK with it?
To be fare,, the volume is very low compared to your usual standard,, I’m having to watch it in a quiet bedroom,, 😉
Thanks - I did identify the sound recording problem later - it may have affected several videos. It's OK on my Mac - but that's all I have to test it.
It seem that some playback systems handle the audio channels slightly differently.
I don't use a mobile phone for anything, so can't test this aspect. Video on a phone is a complete non-starter with my close-up vision ;-)
@@KeithCooper thanks, I will watch the video on my laptop. (I tried to watch on my mobile - as you guessed)
Edit: To be clear, there is some audio trying to get out on my mobile. However the volume and clarity is so low that it is virtually non existent. I hope this is helpful.
I can't hear anything either on my tablet (mono speaker). No problems experienced with the other videos. I will try again with desktop (stereo).
19 minutes is a short video?
Yes - don't do tictok or other phone type stuff ;-)
It did end up longer than I'd thought at the start - partly because I shoot most of them all in one take without any script :-)
Keith - No audio !
How are you watching this?
It seems that a small subset of viewers are getting this problem.
I did later identify a recording problem connected with the audio channels (L+R) but the sound works fine on browsers I've checked - it's at a lower level than I'd like but it's there.
I also watched it on our smart TV - also worked fine
Audio looks corrupted 🤷🏻♂️
Nope - seems fine playing it here on my Mac
Copier technician here.
If you can afford it, (or even if you think you can't)
Buy a laser printer.
(Much cheaper to run)
Just saying.
Problem is I review printers for photo use and there isn't a copier I've seen I'd ever want to use for photos
But... If you know of one, please do let me know (either here or via the Northlight site) and I'll see if I can get one to review...
They don't print photos as well as inkjet. That's what these videos are for. Laser is for office printing
Really? That's a pro technician advice?
Would you ever print artwork with a laser printer?
Actual advice: if you want to print photos that look like photos but can't afford an inkjet printer, just don't buy anything until you can. Otherwise, you'd spend money on something useless.
Just saying.
Momentarily is not English, but it is American.
Yes, a minor quibble...
Move your mic to within a handspan from your mouth.
It is now ;-)
Had a few issues when I first moved to this location for the videos