Canon Pixma Pro-100 for Digital Negative - Anyone using it?

[Tin Can]

I asked these same questions, several years ago, both here and at Jim Cone's site about my unloved Pixma PRO1, and got very little response here, except from Sandy. Mr Cone said there just wasn't the demand, and very little reason to expand his system to Canon printers.

My Canon printed B&W prints very well, but I never used it enough to keep the head wet. My digital negatives were dismal.

However, I now know to make digital negatives and custom curves in PS. So I did learn something.

[Adamphotoman]

True Black and White Rip, From BowHaus, is primarily Canon iPF series of printers and Mac.
It can control each channel, use only the 4 blacks or incorporate colour as well.
You can also make profiles, edit profiles etc.

[sanking]

True Black and White Rip, From BowHaus, is primarily Canon iPF series of printers and Mac.
It can control each channel, use only the 4 blacks or incorporate colour as well.
You can also make profiles, edit profiles etc.

Even if you are able to control each ink with True Black And White, the question is how many of the inks in the Canon iPF set are good UV blockers? Visual density does not correlate with UV density, which is what we need for most alternative printing. And this kind of information will not be available from sales representatives, or far that matter, even from the companies that make the inks. The issue, to put it simply, is that the requirements of an ink set for making monochrome or color prints are very different from the requirements for making digital negatives. For digital negatives visual evaluation is irrelevant, what counts is UV blocking, and how many (more is better) inks you can use to create a negative with the right density range for your process.

Sandy

[Adamphotoman]

Then use the right inks designed to block UV
UV Blocking Inks for Screen Printing and for digital film negative units

[sanking]

My goodness yes. Install a custom ink set of black inks with good UV blocking and drive the printer with a RIP. That will definitely work.

Is it possible to use the Canon Pixma Pro-100 with a RIP?

Sandy

[Adamphotoman]

It is actually quite easy to make your own ink. I used to make my own with Pizography and Quad Tone Rip in the past. Building ink sets is relatively easy. Black ink is available commercially. With glycerine, photo flow and UV blockers you should be able to formulate an effective solution.

[sanking]

I currently have several Epson printers with custom all gray ink sets installed that I run with QTR, two for making digital negatives for carbon transfer printing, so I am fairly informed on mixing inks, building inks and creating QTR profiles to make optimum digital negatives for my process.

But perhaps this discussion has gotten off point. My guess is that the OP just wanted to know if it were possible to make digital negatives with the Canon Pixma-100 with the installed ink set and Canon driver. If so, Koraks already gave about the best answer in the thread, which as I read it was, it is probably possible to make digital negatives with this printer, but the ink set will impose limitations.

Sandy

[Cyanidecoma]

Holy crud why do you people go so far off topic to answer a simple question. Canon does offer uv blocking inks, therefore the answer is yes , it is possible to make a great digital negative with a canon. Some of you need to go back to traditional printing to clear the technical bs from your digital induced pea brains

[koraks]

Instead of accusing us of having pea brains, could you tell us a bit about the specifics of Canon's blocking inks? How well do they work for you and with which processes have you used them? That would actually add something useful to the discussion. I'd be glad to stand corrected on anything I say if a credible argument is offered.
Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[Will S]

I emailed Precision Inks who makes the inks that I'm using in my pixma-pro 100 right now, but he said he had no information about their UV blocking abilities :-( I hope to do some step wedges with it soon, maybe tonight. Been busy learning bromoil, so haven't had time, but if someone knows of a refill ink that has UV blocking please do post it. Thanks, Will