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Author Topic: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?  (Read 9107 times)

darinb

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Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« on: March 10, 2013, 04:13:03 am »

I'm thinking about buying a Canon IPF8400. One question I'm still not clear on is how well does it work for printing sheets--even small, 8x10s, especially if that means going back and forth between rolls and (a batch of) sheets. Ease to do? Paper waste?

Thanks,

--Darin
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David Sutton

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2013, 05:05:54 am »

If it's like the 6300 then it works well. Someone here may be able to confirm.
If you have "manage remaining roll" turned on then you lose 2 1/2 inches of paper while it prints a bar code for the paper type and remaining length. But the printer reads the information when re-loading and that saves going through the loading dialogue. I leave the roll in the printer when printing sheets. It's easy to damage some papers when lifting them off the spindle and putting them in storage.
I've used the straight through paper path for board, but the regular paper path has been fine for heavyweight A4 or smaller paper. Note it's one sheet at a time, and you go through the load dialogue each time.
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hugowolf

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2013, 01:36:42 pm »

I'm thinking about buying a Canon IPF8400. One question I'm still not clear on is how well does it work for printing sheets--even small, 8x10s, especially if that means going back and forth between rolls and (a batch of) sheets. Ease to do? Paper waste?
Recent thread: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=73005.0

There is no sheet feeder on the 8400, so batch means hand loading sheet by sheet. Unlike the 6300/6400, there is no straight path, but this apparently not a problem for paper, but you can't use stiff media like pop board.

Brian A
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darinb

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2013, 11:00:08 pm »

Great--thanks. Sorry for the confusion--by "batch" i meant that when I changed to 8x10 sheets I would print a bunch of different images, one at a time, i.e. I wouldn't switch back and forth between roll and sheet every other print.

Thanks,

--Darin
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Luca Ragogna

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2013, 05:49:39 pm »

It's not great. My Epson 9890 was ok at it, you could print a small stack of sheets loading 1 at a time. It was a PITA but doable. With the 8400 you'll be checking LetJet's site for deals on tray fed printers by the third sheet. It's also more finicky about how you line the sheets up and there's a slight learning curve to getting the sheets loaded properly. For the odd single sheet it's fine, but this is a roll fed printer for sure.

... how well does it work for printing sheets...
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I.T. Supplies

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2013, 06:09:43 pm »

The IPF8400 does have a sheet feeder in the front, above the area where you load the roll.  We had an 8300 in our office and printed on papers, banner media and canvas without a problem.  Unlike the Epson printers where you can feed the media straight thru a top feed.

If you're interested in the Canon, there are a few discounts that end March 15.

Feel free to contact us for questions on the media and/or printer.  We would be happy to assist you if there are some concerns on how the papers would feed.

Atlex.com
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artobest

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2013, 09:51:39 am »

Not a Canon user, but ...

Everyone's experience varies. I have a Z3200ps which is renowned for its awful sheet-feeding. Is it really that bad? YES! But you do get a feel for it after a while. Nowadays, depending on the paper type, I get it right about nine-tenths of the time. It's actually a lot easier for larger sheets, and I expect the Canon will be too.
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I.T. Supplies

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2013, 10:00:39 am »

I will have to agree with that.  Larger sheets are a bit easier to feed through a front feeder as opposed to Epson's top feeder.

Though, it doesn't mean that you can't print on thicker media like fine art paper, vinyl, banners, canvas, etc.  Canon doesn't have a problem with these.  Something like Epsons PosterBoard maybe a small problem as it won't really bend as it's pretty thick.
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mstevensphoto

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2013, 04:59:54 pm »

if it's anything like the 8300 I would not choose an 8400 for single sheet printing. the 8300 is a beautiful printer that I love but it is beyond cumbersome to print on loose sheets of any size (and smaller sizes require a heafty margin that eliminates a lot of usable space). I try to avoid loose sheets at all costs. nothing ever seems to go in straight, I have to get my hands all over it to get it fed and it is a slow and laborious process.

Mark
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Jeff Magidson

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2013, 11:18:13 am »

if it's anything like the 8300 I would not choose an 8400 for single sheet printing. the 8300 is a beautiful printer that I love but it is beyond cumbersome to print on loose sheets of any size (and smaller sizes require a heafty margin that eliminates a lot of usable space). I try to avoid loose sheets at all costs. nothing ever seems to go in straight, I have to get my hands all over it to get it fed and it is a slow and laborious process.

Mark

This proves that your mileage may vary. I have a 8300 and print on sheets all the time, no problem. Sure, its not nearly as fast as a stacked sheet loader on a desktop printer but it works just fine (for me). I wish mstvensphoto was close by so I could have him over to compare techniques.

~ Jeff

http://artslidesboston.com
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~ Jeff Magidson
Custom Archival Printing
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Darron Chadwick

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2013, 07:18:26 pm »

Jeff I would be interested in your experiences in sheet feeding of the 8400
I am a fine artist and recently lost my beloved Epson 10000 printer which
had no problems printing on a single sheet. My current work incorporates vintage postcards grouped
together via dry-mount tissue ( see photo) I am curious on your thoughts on if this would be doable with the
Canon 8400. I am in the market and just trying to nail which way to go Epson or Canon 
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BarbaraArmstrong

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2013, 03:16:58 pm »

Darron, I really liked the artwork you posted with your last message, but don't understand how that relates to how the Canon would handle cut sheets.  Aren't you just printing a digital file?  I have the 8300, and just printed a portfolio of 50 prints on letter-size Canson Platine on it.  I have smaller Epson printers, but they have been giving me trouble with ink smears in the margins on this heavier paper, and the 8300 printed these without any problems at all.  You feed the sheet from the front, at a very comfortable height on the printer, and line the right hand edge of the sheet against two red lines on the printer.  You need to be precise about getting that alignment right.  Out of 50 sheets, I think I had only one that was a little off, which I re-printed.  You need to baby-sit the printing process.  I had the printer set for the highest quality options (except I didn't use one-directional printing), and each sheet for a 7.5 x 10 inch print took about 7 minutes.  For that size print, I think it clipped a little bit from the long dimension because of the larger trailing margin that is a minimum on the Canon.  So you want to be there when one print is finished to feed in the next sheet, if you are trying to get the job done in any limited time frame.  Nicely, however, the printer did not eject the print when it was done, but held it by the tiniest amount on the trailing edge, so it didn't fall into the bin at the bottom of the printer.  I wouldn't want to do this all day every day, but for the occasional project I found it not at all bad.  Helps to have a TV nearby. --Barbara
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MHMG

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Re: Sheet paper on the Canon ipf8400?
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2013, 05:02:54 pm »

This proves that your mileage may vary. I have a 8300 and print on sheets all the time, no problem. Sure, its not nearly as fast as a stacked sheet loader on a desktop printer but it works just fine (for me). I wish mstvensphoto was close by so I could have him over to compare techniques.

~ Jeff

http://artslidesboston.com

+1 for what Jeff and Barbara said.  When I first got my ipf8300 I was getting quite a few skew errors trying to load cut sheet, but I was relying on the red (orange) vertical guideline not realizing there's another orange horizontal guideline tucked under the rollers as well. Once I became aware that I should use both guidelines to square up the cut sheet and then lower the hold-down lever, feeding cut sheet became pretty straight-forward and reliable. In fact, I now routinely backprint with my iPF8300, often feeding a matched size interleaving sheet to protect the first printed side right along with it. The 8300 doesn't seem to mind at all. :)

cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
« Last Edit: March 23, 2013, 05:06:51 pm by MHMG »
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