Canon announced the imagePROGRAF Pro-1100 printer this week, the long-awaited replacement for the imagePROGRAF Pro-1000, which was first released in 2016. The Pro-1100, which, like its predecessor, can print up to 17 inches wide.
Priced at $1300, the new printer shares the same chassis and printhead as the Pro-1000, but includes a slightly updated vacuum-feed mechanism that Canon says helps prevent skewing and increases the accuracy of the dot placement. The feed mechanism in the previous model was the best in the industry at the desktop level, and I expect that the Pro-1100 will be the same. (It’s worth noting that Canon still doesn’t support roll-feed with their top-tier 17″ printers.)
The Pro-1100 has a new ink set (Lucia Pro II) that Canon says improves print longevity and black density, especially on fine-art (matte) papers. It has 11 inks (10 printing), plus a Chroma Optimizer designed to minimize bronzing on glossy paper types. The ink cartridges have a hefty 80ml capacity, similar to Epson’s SureColor P900.
The printer has started shipping in small quantities, and should be available more widely this fall. It will go head to head with the P900, which is currently at the same price point. Epson’s model boasts an excellent ink set and decent paper handling, and, while it’s only four years old, it is solidly entrenched in the desktop photo printer space. The Pro-1000, while a bit long in the tooth for some, was an excellent printer, and it will be interesting to test this new printer to see how the print quality matches up (to both the Pro-1000 and the P700/P900). If it does, the Pro-1100 might actually pull a bit more market share from Epson.
Mark Segal has a review of Epson’s Surecolor P5370 over on PhotoPXL. Segal’s review is exhaustive (95 figures!), and covers everything from the new chassis to the utilities supplied with the printer to gamut profiles and more.
Segal also speaks to the “which printer should I buy” question—P5370 or P900.
So first things first – if I’m in the market for a 17” professional printer from Epson, which of these two should I buy, or put otherwise, is it worthwhile spending the extra USD 750 for the P5370 versus the P900? It depends on (i) how much you print and (ii) whether you make many photos requiring the use of roll paper. If the answer to (i) were “not much” and to (ii) “no or hardly”, then you want a P900. Conversely, you would want a P5370.
Over the past two months, Keith Cooper has been posting a number of videos on his YouTube channel about Epson’s new SureColor 5370 (known as the 5300 outside the US). They’re all worth looking at, but this week he posted his final review.
The 5370s are finally starting to arrive here in the US. I’m still waiting for a unit, but I hope to have one in hand by the time our spring workshop series ends in early May. Based on Keith’s work, the 5370 looks like it will be a workhorse for print studios and pro photographers.
I was intrigued when Epson announced the EcoTank Photo ET-8500 and ET-8550 in mid-2021. These were the latest iteration of their “supertank,” high-capacity inkjet printers, but aimed at photographers and graphic artists. These were the first EcoTank printers to offer a six-color print engine tuned for printing photos, while also offering high-quality document printing and scan/copy support. Reading through Epson’s lofty marketing language, which talked about “lab-quality color photos and graphics at an incredible value,” it was clear that, if the company followed through on its promise, the ET-8500/ET-8550 could very well usher in a new era of high-quality photo prints, at significantly lower costs than classic, cartridge-based, photo printers.
Epson today announced the SureColor P5370 professional photo printer, a 10-ink, high-volume printer with a maximum print width of 17 inches. When it ships early next year, the P5370 will replace the SureColor P5000, which has been the keystone of Epson’s 17-inch pro printer line for years.
The P5370 uses the same UltraChrome PRO10 inkset found in the SureColor P900 and P700 models (see review): 10 inks (9 printing), with separate channels for Matte and Photo Black inks. The ink cartridges are a whopping 200ml in size.
The printer has a 100-sheet front-feed paper cassette; a built-in roll feeder (for 2- and 3-inch roll cores) with an automatic cutter; a top-loading, single-sheet manual feed path; and a front-loading, straight-through paper path for media up to 1.5mm thick. It has a 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi.
Yes, the P5370 shares the excellent, long-lasting P700/P900 inkset, and offers similar — but slightly better — connectivity options and a (bigger) touchscreen LCD, but make no mistake: this is a tool for professionals looking to create finished gallery work, portfolios, and short-run photo projects. For those groups, the P5370 should be a revelatory workhorse.
To say that this printer has been overdue is an understatement. The P5000 was a fantastic high-volume printer, serving both the photo community and publishers in the print industry (with slightly different inksets for each group), but it suffered slightly as a photographer’s tool, with the single black ink channel that necessitated switching when you wished to change between Matte and Photo Black inks. We’ve also been waiting for the release of the PRO10 inkset at this level in the market. As good as the SureColor P900 is as a fine-art photo printer, it lacks the durability and sturdiness of the SureColor 4800/4900/5000 line, and the we expect that the P5370 will be similarly constructed.
Epson expects to ship the SureColor P5370 in January, 2024. The printer will be $2,095; pricing for the ink cartridges wasn’t available at press time. I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on one.
Press release reproduced below. Epson also has a very handy Sales Reference Guide (PDF) to the SureColor P5370, which includes more detail and comparison with the P5000 and the P900.
Epson Introduces SureColor P5370 17-Inch Professional Photographic Printer
Replacing SureColor P5000, New Printer Delivers Creativity Without Compromise
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — Empowering photographers to produce the finest exhibition quality prints, Epson has introduced the new 17-inch SureColor P5370 professional printer designed to meet the demanding needs of professional and production photographic markets. Incorporating technological breakthroughs and enhanced reliability to produce prints as the artist intended, the new printer has an improved printhead, new ink set with an extended color gamut in dark blue hues, plus an advanced print engine for productivity, including sheet and roll capability. The SureColor P5370 is being debuted and shown at the Palm Springs Photo Festival.
Vincent Versace, a recognized pioneer in the art and science of digital photography noted, “When I have a large volume of prints to make and time and reliability is of the essence, the SureColor P5370 is my go-to printer for meeting deadlines while maintaining the highest photographic print quality.”
Touting a refined design, the SureColor P5370 combines an improved advanced MicroPiezo AMC printhead with Epson Precision Dot Screening Technology to consistently produce prints with smooth tonal renditions and capability to reproduce the details captured with today’s high-resolution cameras. Featuring a new 10-color UltraChrome PRO10 ink set in high-capacity 200 mL cartridges, including Violet Ink, the printer delivers an extended range of blue hues and a wider color gamut. With dedicated channels for Photo and Matte Black inks, there’s no ink switching, helping to save time and reduce ink waste. The printer’s built-in Carbon Black Mode increases Dmax, allowing for rich blacks and exceptional contrast on glossy paper.
Offering flexibility and increased productivity, the printer includes a built-in roll feeder, auto cutter and a high-capacity cassette that accommodates up to 100 cut sheets from 8.5″ x 11″ to 17″ x 22.” In addition, to further support today’s workflows that leverage both Epson and third-party media, the SureColor P5370 includes Epson Media Installer, a software application designed to help control parameters for successful printing with a variety of media, including thick fine art papers.
“Listening to market needs and incorporating customer feedback, we integrated the latest printhead and ink technologies that are optimized for photography into this new printer so professional photographers can maximize productivity, reliability and consistently produce the finest exhibition-quality prints,” said Marc Aguilera, product manager, Epson America, Inc. “Designed to meet demanding needs, the SureColor P5370 is an evolution to the beloved SureColor P5000, adding improved reliability, deeper black density and wider color gamut in blue hues.
Additional SureColor P5370 features include:
Intuitive operation — a new large 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen and interface allows for easy setup, control and maintenance
Expanded connectivity — Ethernet, USB and, now included, WiFi connectivity
Advanced software support for enhanced productivity — includes Epson Cloud Solution PORT2 for fleet management and Epson Print Layout software for simple print production
Availability
The SureColor P5370 will be available in Q1 2024 through Epson Authorized Professional Imaging Resellers for an estimated MSRP of $2,095. For additional information, visit http://www.epson.com/p5370.
Over the past year, I had been hearing reports that Epson had quietly fixed some of the paper handling issues I (and others) had run into with early production models of the SureColor P900 and P700 photo printers, and I wanted to see if the rumors were correct. So, in late 2022, I ordered a new P700 and a P900, one from B&H, the other from Amazon. Epson also loaned me a P700 to test as part of this project, so I felt that I had a good sample from multiple sources.
After months of printing hundreds of photos, ranging from 4×6 to 16×20–and through two recent printing workshops where the three printers were in constant use–it is clear that appears to have fixed the paper feed issues, and I have updated my review of the P900 and P700 to account for the fixes. Epson won’t go on the record to say that something in the feed assembly has been fixed, but they have told us in the past that they are “always looking at ways to improve” their products.
With the updates, it is clear that the P900 (17-inch) and the P700 (13-inch) printers provide the best combination of print quality, paper handling and usability found in the dedicated photo printer market today. Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO-300 (13-inch) and PRO-1000 (17-inch) are each quite good printers, but they feel like last-generation machines compared with the P700/P900 series.
I’m finishing up a more detailed overview of the current photo printer market, but if you’re looking for the best combination of photo print quality and cost today, the P900 is it. Yes, you’ll pay more for it than the P700, but the more-efficient ink costs will pay for the upgrade in a couple of years. The review has all the gory details, of course.
Kevin Raber and his crew at PhotoPXL do a great job of covering printers; I’ve found their reviews and related posts quite good over the years. They just announced a new Print It video series, which will cover a range of topics surrounding printing:
“In our first video, we sit down together to discuss where making prints is as far as today’s photographers. We are is a digital age and while it great we can share our images on many types of devices, we all feel that in the end you really don’t have a photograph until you have a print. We may be a little old school, but there is something to be said about having a tangible and tactile print in your hands. You can enjoy detail, a feel, and enjoy exploring the image itself.”
The initial three videos are quite good; for me, the most interesting video so far to is a 23-minute video discussion about printing with Dan Steinhardt, Epson’s Pro Marketing Manager (famously known as “Dano”). Joined by our old friend Jeff Schewe, Dan answers a slew of questions on topics that are not necessarily specific to Epson printers, including:
David duChemin is a wonderful photographer who has written a number of books about the creative aspects of the practice of photography, and I regularly look forward to his his bimonthly newsletter, which is also posted on his blog1David’s approach to photography instruction is much more creativity-focused than gear-focused, and he is a very good writer. At times, his newsletters can diverge into a bit of a soft-sell for his courses, but he’s worth reading if you’re interested in a more thoughtful, artistic approach to improving your work.. This past week’s post, “Print Your Work Without Printing Your Work?“, was quite provocative, especially when I read his comment near the top of the piece:
I hate printing, and it’s high time I admitted that.
David goes on to talk at length about his dissatisfaction with the process of printing by himself, despite the fact that he (like many of us) loves the look and feel of a finished print. His solution: utilize the services and talents of a friend who is a fine-art printer, which I think is a great idea.
I took around 10 files, some of them actual printer color test files, and sent them through EPL to the ET-8550 and the Epson P700. I marked the back of each print with the printer used. I then started sharing them with friends who would come to the studio and see the printed images on the table.
First, there was little difference, if any, visible between the prints (Note: they were all made on Epson Premium Lustre paper). Also, when push came to shove, more people choose the ET-8550 prints than the P700 prints, which was quite astounding. Keep in mind finding any differences was very difficult.
I’ve been hard at work finishing up our latest book by Ben Long, The Practicing Photographer, and haven’t been able to get to the stack of printers for review in my office (and on order), but the dye-based EcoTank printers are near the top of my list. I think that these new printers could be ideal for a lot of amateur photographers looking to create decent prints at lower costs, and it was good to see Kevin’s early take on them.
Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO-300 is a $900, 13-inch desktop photo printer with nine pigment inks. Introduced in mid-2020, not long after Epson’s announcement of the 13-inch SureColor P700 (and the 17-inch P900), the PRO-300 replaces the Pixma PRO-10 at the top of the Canon’s 13-inch photo printer lineup. It boasts a comparable feature set to Epson’s P700, including flexible paper handling, black-and-white and borderless printing, extensive connectivity options and more. After a few months of testing, I can say that it’s a solid printer with excellent print quality for its class. Like most photo printers at this level, there are a few rough edges in places, but overall it’s a good value, and quite competitive with Epson’s offerings.
