Pro-1000 -- B&W Tips?

[Mousecop]

Hi folks, I just picked up a Canon Pro-1000. Hopefully, I haven't thrown out my back in the process. 

I do lots of B&W, and initial results with the Canon Pro Luster paper (letter size, so far) and default ICC are looking good. At the moment, I work exclusively in Lightroom. So...

• Any tips and tricks on getting the best B&W performance out of the Pro-1000? I'm open to trying different software, though I'd prefer to use LR as a primary raw developer.

• What's the optimal ppi setting? Currently using 600ppi, which I believe is the max hardware resolution.

• How often should I need to align the print heads?

• Anything in particular to watch for, when scaling up to larger papers?

Thanks!

[Mark D Segal]

The printer does an automatic linearization of the printhead when you first set-up the printer. As long as it doesn't get bounced around, that should do for a long time. The deepest blacks will be obtained printing from the driver in Black and White Mode, which is accessible through Lightroom, but you will not be using ICC profiles and softproofing - it is much like Epson's ABW mode. Of course use a gloss/luster paper capable of reproducing very deep blacks. As a general, reasonably safe proposition, there is nothing particular about scaling up as long as your photo has enough pixels for you to retain no less than about 240~300 PPI at print dimensions, preferably without having to resample, or with moderate resampling. You can print at lower PPI (I wouldn't go below 180) and get away with it, depending on the photo.

[Mousecop]

Thanks for the tips!

Do you recommend using LR's Soft Proofing, if you use B&W mode in the driver?

[Mark D Segal]

No, it won't do anything for you. Softproof works through the ICC profile that you would use with Application colour management, but with the printer managing you have no profile to load that would provide a reliable softproof. Simply adjust the photos as you like without softproofing and send them to print in the Black and White mode, where if I remember correctly (I no longer have that printer at home) there are some optional settings you can experiment with, to see what they do and how closely they reproduce the effect you are expecting.Various places in the Pro-1000 manuyal cover how to manage the Black and White Mode. Open the PDF version of the manual and do a search for "Black and White" - it isn't all gathered in one place, but by going through the several places where there are instructions you'll get useful guidance.

[GrahamBy]

Of course the usual suggestions apply: your life will be much easier if you get your screen brightness set so that the image on screen looks like the finished print viewed under appropriate lighting.

[Mousecop]

Just got the reminder to recalibrate this morning

The print is fairly close to the screen, I expect it'll take a little work to precisely nail it down.

[Sbarroso]

I don't know with the Pro-1000, but with the Pixma Pro-1, in windows environment, Lightroom is not able to print in 16 bits, even using the XPS driver. The result is some subtle banding in smooth gradations (e.g. skies), especially in BW pictures (select BW mode in the driver!).

Exporting to Canon Studio Pro through the plug-in is the solution. In that case, there is no banding. The software incorporates the options seen in the driver, with quicker access. An example is the toning in BW mode. But composition and print several pictures in one is not straightforward or possible as with Lightroom. If I don't need 16 bits, I stay with Lightroom (again, adjusting BW mode in the driver, plus toning if desired). As people mention, no ICC profile, just "printer manages colors".

Best,
Santiago

[GrahamBy]

Does exporting to PSP give different results to using PSP as a LR plug-in? That seems to work perfectly for me with the pro-100.