Canon iPF6300 Review

Introduction

With updates from Epson and HP in the large format printer lines, it's not surprising that Canon has come out with updates to their ImagePROGRAF line of printers in the 24" and 44" sizes. The 44" 8300, and 24" 6300 and 6350 (the later includes a hard drive) are identical in functionality, differing in paper and ink capacities - the 8300 also includes a hard drive, more on that later.

I've been lucky enough to use all three printers now - the new Canon iPF6300, the Epson 7900, and the HP Z3200, as well as the older Canon 6100 model that is replaced with the new 6300. While outwardly the printer looks like the 6100 it replaces, there are a number of changes under the covers that make this a solid upgrade.

The Canon line uses a 12 color pigment ink set that has been completely revamped for the x300 series. The Lucia EX as it's known, uses much small pigment particles along with better polymer encapsulation. The end result of this is a gamut increase of approximately 20% over the previous Lucia inkset. The smaller particles reduces reflective scattering increases saturation while the improvements to encapsulation improves ink adhesion that lowers bleed, especially on fine art papers, and improves scratch resistance, something that has been a problem with inkjet prints in general. Along with these improvements, Canon has also reduced bronzing and gloss differential to the point of being virtually unnoticeable on any of the media I printed to.

Along with new inks, Canon has added new printheads to the x300 line. I experienced no clogging or quality issues with the new heads (although I should note that I had no problems with the previous heads found in the 6100). Like HP, Canon uses replaceable printheads. The new heads, of which there are two, cost $450 each should they need to be replaced, a reduction in price from the previous model.

Setup of the Canon iPF6300 is straightforward, and relatively quick. While the outward appearance of the printer is the same, the stand is more rigid than the previous model, making the printer more stable when printing.

Canon provides a set of 90ml ink cartridges to start with (the standard cartridges for the 6300 are 130ml) and a small roll of paper to be used with calibration. Like the previous model, the iPF6300 sips ink, so these starter cartridges will give you quite a bit of printing before you need to worry about replacements.

While large prints are an obvious reason to buy one of these printers, the learning curve compared to a desktop printer can be intimidating. In the past Canon has been tailing the other makers when it comes to ease of use. Paper types aren't always obvious, and the control panel on the printer is the least intuitive of the three brands. With the x300 line, Canon has made great strides in the user interface with a much better button layout and improved help screens on the LCD display. Epson has a beautiful color display on the x900, and provides more info in an easier layout, and the HP dialog and screen is larger with more intuitive navigation, but the Canon interface is now very useable and should cause no issues for first time users.

One area that Canon does excel in is their printing interface. With the imagePROGRAF Print Plug-in for Photoshop you can handle all the printing settings from within one dialog box.  This plug-in, although not listed for CS5, worked fine with that version of Photoshop. There is also a version of the plug-in for use with Canon's Digital Photo Pro software. Windows users will also get PosterArtist Light and plug-ins for Microsoft Office applications.

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Canon also includes a layout utility, accessed from the Printer Setup dialog that makes it easy to print multiple copies of images on a single sheet, as well as resizing and auto placement of the images.

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Entry tags

Canon iPF6300 Review, Canon iPF6300, iPF6300, iPF 6300, canon, imagePROGRAF, printer, large format, 24 inch, pigment ink

Your Comments

9 Comments so far | Newest Oldest first | Post a comment

#1 CA Model and Talent

Just unpacked and set up the 6300.  Took about an hour. Canon makes it easy. Very little if zero calibration required - plug and play basically -pro results. Been printing all morning.  Awesome printer -easy to use and very sophisticated.

9:43 pm - Sunday, March 20, 2011

#2 Arnold

Is this printer good for a starting printing company. How many sheets of paper can it produce for a good business solution

2:52 pm - Wednesday, August 17, 2011

#3 Sam

Arnold, have you ever heard of Google? It’s an awesome SEARCH engine.

10:56 pm - Saturday, September 10, 2011

#4 harun

fıyatını baskıkalıtesını cıktısını gormek ıstıyorum eger mumsunse

2:27 pm - Monday, November 14, 2011

#5 Sherry

I’ve just recently purchased the 6300 and I’m impressed with the images I am printing. I’m using a Mac and Photoshop. The problem I am having though is setting a border for my image. I find I am wasting a lot of paper. I am doing gallery wraps so I always have a canvas size. I thought I had fixed my problem when I ticked off the no space between top and bottom but that cut off my canvas and printed right from the image…
Sherry

1:24 pm - Thursday, November 17, 2011

#6 Sandy

Sherry - It crops it because the program just sees the white. If you have a thin border around the other white border (wrap) it will be fine.

I’ve had my printer for over a year and a few months ago I started getting this strange continuous thin ink line on the reverse of the paper, about 1cm form the side. I presume its from the vacuum, but i cant stop it.  Anyone know anything about this.

2:52 pm - Friday, December 2, 2011

#7 Sherry Hensley / Frames Adrift

Thank you so much Sandy..!!!

3:49 pm - Friday, December 2, 2011

#8 Andrew Dickinson

For anyone who has bought or is looking to purchase the Canon iPF6300 we offer free technical support and advise on profiling for this large format printer. visit us at http://www.ipfstore.co.uk

4:03 pm - Wednesday, December 14, 2011

#9 Sherry Hensley / Frames Adrift

I have a question for someone…Sandy are you out there? So my question is this. When I’m setting up to print my canvas on my Canon 6300 I set it to print with no room at top or bottom so I’m not wasting canvas on my roll. Then I to to color management and I set that up and I save. It seems when I go from one setting to another the printer doesn’t retain the information because when I print it hasn’t retained the setting for no room at top or bottom. Any advice?
Thanks Sherry

6:08 pm - Tuesday, March 6, 2012