Canon Pixma Pro-100 review
Cheaper to buy and run than other A3+ inkjets, with great print quality to boot
The Canon Pixma Pro-100 is the entry-level model in Canon’s Pro range of A3+ printers, aimed at semi-professional and professional photographers and printers. It uses the same ChromaLife 100 inks as many of Canon’s smaller A4 inkjet printers and MFPs, which have always done well in our photo quality assessments. The Pro-100 uses eight ink cartridges, including Grey, Light Grey, Photo Cyan and Photo Magenta in addition to the usual cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. The ‘Photo’ colours are paler versions of the standard inks, allowing for more subtle shading, accurate tones and a wider colour gamut.
ChromaLife inks are dye-based, as opposed to the pigment inks used by most serious A3+ printers such as Canon’s Pro-10 and Pro-1 or Epson’s R2000. Although dye-based ink, for a long time the default option for inkjet photo printing, lacks the longevity and anti-bleeding properties of pigment, it has its benefits. Dye-based ink, which soaks into the paper rather than leaving solid particles of pigment on top of it, tends to look brighter, smoother and glossier than pigment. This is definitely the case here, with the Pro-100’s photos immediately popping with vibrant colour at even default print settings.
While the level of fine detail and subtle shading isn’t quite as accurate as that produced by high-end pigment ink printers, our photos looked fantastic, with a glossy finish that highlighted delicate areas of contrast and really grabbed the eye. Skin tones look great and dark areas in particular appear rich and intense. The reflectiveness of the gloss finish won’t be to everyone’s taste, but our sample panel preferred it to the semi-lustre effect of the pigment-based Canon Pro-10 on the same glossy Canon Platinum Pro paper. Fine art photos, particularly in black and white, often benefit from the semi-gloss finish that goes hand in hand with pigmented ink, but if you’re looking to print bright and exciting personal snaps and posters, this printer does a brilliant job without requiring any editing or tweaking to optimise your image’s colour.
Basic Specifications | |
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Rating | ***** |
Maximum native print resolution | 4,800×2,400dpi |
Quoted Speeds | |
Quoted speed, mono A4 | N/A |
Quoted speed, colour A4 | N/A |
Tested Speeds | |
Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 3m 48s |
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 7m 23s |
Print Quality | |
Number of ink colours | 8 |
Number of ink cartridges | 8 |
Maximum number of ink colours | 8 |
Maximum number of cartridges | 8 |
Quoted photo durability | 30 years |
Quoted photo durability source | Canon |
Physical and Environmental | |
Standard printer interfaces | USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 801.11n wireless |
Optional printer interfaces | none |
Size | 215x689x385mm |
Weight | 19.7kg |
Noise (in normal use) | 38.5dB(A) |
Paper Handling | |
Maximum paper size | A3+ |
Maximum paper weight | 350gsm |
Standard paper inputs | 1 |
Standard paper input capacity | 150 |
Maximum paper inputs | 1 |
Maximum paper input capacity | 150 |
Duplex (code, cost if option) | No |
Photo Features | |
PictBridge support | Yes |
Borderless printing | A3+ |
Direct (PC-less) printing | Yes |
Supported memory cards | none |
CD printing | Yes |
General | |
Printer technology | thermal inkjet |
Supported operating systems | Windows XP/Vista/7/8, MacOS X 10.5.8 – 10.8 |
Other inkjet features | automatic print head alignment, print via Android/iOS app |
Other inkjet options | none |
Buying Information | |
Price | £374 |
Consumable parts and prices | £13 each |
Quoted life of supplied photo cartridge(s) | Black: 900 photos, Grey: 492 photos, Light Grey: 835 photos, Cyan: 600 photos, Magenta: 416 photos, Yellow: 284 photos, Photo Cyan: 292 photos, Photo Magenta: 169 photos |
Price per colour A4 page | N/A |
Price per mono A4 page | N/A |
Warranty | one year RTB |
Supplier | http://www.printerbase.co.uk |
Details | www.canon.co.uk |
Tested Print Speeds | |
Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 3m 48s |
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 7m 23s |