Hi Keith,
Thank you for the highly detailed review of the Pro-1000 printer!
I wonder if you are seeing any advantages to the new higher pigment density inks. On the Epson P Surecolor series they do increase the dmax by quite a bit. It is not just a measurement difference, it makes a real world visible difference in the prints. One may have to force higher ink loads than the default standard inking. I see Canon has taken to calling "largest" instead of "high" in the MCT. Perhaps you can try this with the Pro-2000 coming your way, on a paper that can take a huge inkload, like the Canson offerings, Baryta Photographique, Platine, and Rag Photogaphique if you happen to have them in stock.
I'm seeing an L* of 16.4 in your QTR measurement of a grayscale stepwedge on matte paper, with FAPR. What paper did you print on? The first measurement screenshot in the B&W section. I also see the Pinnacle Silk Baryta is showing 3.45 to 3.68 L*, which all things considered, is not bad but still not on par with the better glossy papers on the LUCIA EX inks, which can hit L* 1-2. It's an appreciable difference under good gallery illumination.
I was very excited to see the highly magnified microscope pictures of the dot pattern. It looks like Canon has changed it's ink start curves. Maybe the screening algorithm. I don't see the old peppering in the highlights, where the gray and black ink gets introduced way too early. I still see a sufficiently large advantage to the "Highest" print quality mode. Did you count how many passes it is now for the new printers? It was reduced from 32 pass to 16 passes from the X3XX to X4XX printers. Maybe it is even faster now, not that it matters too much anyway. I also wonder how it compares to the P800 dot pattern. Which looks smoother?
The loss of the green ink should be inconsequential to real world naturally lit (sunlight) images of foliage, since most of those greens are yellow-greens, not extreme greens and cyan-greens. I do not miss the green ink. However, I do wonder if we have gained any more gamut in the upper highlight range of the warm colors with the new high pigment density inks, where traditionally the Epson HDR inksets reign supreme. Do you mind sending me the measurements? I'll PM you my email.
