Printing with the Canon iPF6450

If you’re looking at a large format printer, the odds are that you’re pretty familiar with inkjet prints, so I won’t go into the basics here of color management.

Printing from Windows and Mac OS X is very similar. I use Mac systems, so all of my screen shots are based on this system. You’ll see a few visual differences if you’re on Windows, but the options are the same.

I do all my printing from Lightroom or Photoshop. Generally, I print from Photoshop though in order to apply adjustment layers that would not be possible within Lightroom.

If you do print from Photoshop, the plug-in greatly simplifies the process, assuming you have profiles installed and the correct media settings (using the Media Configuration Tool).

On the Main tab you have most of the options you’ll need - media type and quality along with rendering intent.

On the Page Setup tab, you can choose paper size, and source (sheet or roll), as well as orientation and position of print on the page. The iPF6450 will print as small as 8 inches, and as long as 59 feet, giving you a wide range of options for size.

If the page size you need isn’t one of the provided options, the Size Options dialog will allow you to create a custom page size

From Photoshop there is also a layout plug-in that is designed to help with printing gallery wrap canvas. Along with setting the size of the print, you can specify the thickness of the stretcher bars, and what type of wrap you want to use.

Print quality is excellent, as has been the case with Canon’s printers in the past, particularly with their large format line. Comparing color gamut with the Epson 7900, each printer has strengths over the other. In the first chart, using luster paper (I generally print on Moab media. This chart uses Lasal Exhibition Luster as the media). The Canon printer is shown in the color area, the Epson is using all red. Epson gives a wider range of oranges and some greens while Canon shows more depth in blues and magentas. In practice, I’ve found that Epson has a very slight edge in skin tones, Canon is stronger with landscapes, particularly in sky and foliage areas.

With a fine art rag (Moab Entrada Natural), Canon shows more of an advantage in greens and a wider range of blues, but loses a bit in the oranges and yellows.

These differences are very subtle in real life prints - most of the prints I do don’t come close to pushing the boundaries of gamut.

Printing black & white gives you a few additional options in the plug-in. While the printer defaults do a good job of producing neutral prints, you can fine tune tint if needed - I found that papers with optical brighteners tend to be slightly on the cool side. I also generally lighten the image slightly, with a brightness adjustment of 3-6 being effective for many of my monochrome prints.

Paper handling on the iPF6450 is excellent. Both sheet and roll media loading is easy, I had no issues with paper skew. Print speed is exceptional, the iPF6450 is the fastest printer I’ve used, running about 15-20% faster than the Epson at the highest print quality settings. At the fastest setting, Canon edged the Epson, but the differences were minor.

Ink use is significantly better with Canon.There is no need for switching between matte and photo black inks, both saving time and ink. I don’t have the need to organize my print jobs now by what type of ink will be used. Depending on the print, Canon uses 15%-30% less ink than the Epson, saving you a significant amount of money if you’re a large volume printer.

During the time I used the iPF6450, I didn’t experience any issues with clogs. Due to some unforeseen issues, there was a break of about a month in my testing. Starting the printer up and printing, it just worked - the prints were perfect. No head cleaning or nozzle checks needed.

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