Every designer needs a reliable, accurate, capable printer to show off their design in an accessible and tangible manner. The problem is trying to weed out the lemons in a market that is constantly flooded with new models and distracting aesthetic additions that may compromise capability. When you need a printer with a proven track record of real capability, reliability, and affordability, look no further than the Canon PIXMA Pro-100. The Canon PIXMA Pro 100 wireless color Professional inkjet printer is a wide-format designer-quality printer with excellent color accuracy and printing capabilities. We have included affiliate links in our Canon PIXMA Pro-100 review to make it easy to buy this industry favorite.
Canon PIXMA Pro 100-Overview
The Canon PIXMA Pro 100 is a wide-format inkjet printer with wireless capabilities and superb photo-printing chops. This makes the PIXMA Pro 100 a particularly well-suited choice for graphic designers, as accurate color and line printing are especially crucial when creating prints from designs like flyers, business cards, and posters. Inkjet printers are typically not well suited for graphic design printing, but the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 is no simple Deskjet printer.
Specs and Features
At a top price of $900 directly from Canon, this may seem like a steep investment for a singular-function piece of equipment. However, you’ll find that most comparable wide-format printers are at least equal in price if not considerably more expensive than the Canon PIXMA Pro-100. The large maximum print size of 13″x26″ means that this printer can handle virtually anything you could possibly need to print as a graphic designer without the frustrating need for tiling and assembly that accompanies small-format printing of large-format designs.
The eight-tank ink system ensures the utmost color accuracy and design fidelity, whether you’re printing simple documents or grand designs. The print quality creates gorgeous, eye-catching, gallery-worthy images that your clients will love to show off to their friends, colleagues, and customers. In addition, the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 can print directly on CDs, rather than needing to print on cut labels, and it includes a plugin for the highly-regarded and industry-standard Adobe Lightroom software as well as ICC profiles in Photoshop to ensure the highest degree of color fidelity possible no matter what finish you’re looking to achieve. Wi-Fi compatibility for air printing and mobile printing round out the useful and impressive features packed into a fairly inexpensive professional printer.
Canon Pro Printer Setup
To begin setup, install the Canon Pro 100 driver on your computer. Canon PIXMA Pro-100 driver installation won’t take very long, but the total time will depend on your internet connection speed and your computer’s processing capabilities. Once the Canon PIXMA Pro 100 drivers are installed, you can begin the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 wireless setup. Consult your Canon PIXMA Pro-100 manual for specifics about the type of network that is compatible with your printer and the process for connecting your Canon 100 printer to your Wi-Fi network. The Canon Pro 100 manual also details the necessary Canon PIXMA Pro-100 software needed to get the most out of your new printer. Finally, you’ll need to complete the ink calibration process. This helps ensure accuracy and reduces fuzziness in prints, but it doesn’t take very long.
Canon PIXMA Pro-100 Maintenance
Replacing a Canon Pro 100 print head is fairly simple. Just expose and remove the old Canon PIXMA Pro 100 print head and slot the new print head in its place. Canon PIXMA Pro-100 print head maintenance, along with Canon PIXMA Pro-100 ink replacement is the most frequent maintenance procedure necessary for this printer beyond simply ensuring there is paper in the tray.
Canon Pro 100 ink cartridges are fairly affordable, and they last for quite a while. When the time comes for replacement, Canon PIXMA Pro 100 ink can be purchased from Amazon and other Canon PIXMA Pro-100 stores, including ordering directly from Canon. You will need both black and color Canon PIXMA 100 ink to take advantage of the full-color printing capabilities of your Canon PIXMA Pro 100 Professional photo inkjet printer.
Canon PIXMA Pro-100 Comparisons
Since the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 came on the market a decade ago at the time of writing, some people have expressed concern that the printer has been discontinued in favor of newer, fresher models with fancy bells and whistles and the latest technology. So, was the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 discontinued? Absolutely not! This industry mainstay is still available for purchase and holds its own in the face of newer competition. Let’s take a look at just how well the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 stands up to the competition in our comparison section!
Canon PIXMA Pro-100 vs 200
The PIXMA Pro 100 held the line for a decade, but there must eventually be a successor to the throne. Enter the Canon PIXMA Pro-200: the newer model in the PIXMA Pro line, intended as an upgrade and replacement for the aging but popular 100 models. The new version features an LCD screen to make troubleshooting easier, clog detection technology and new inks, and increased support for Canon software and borderless printing. Otherwise, the specs are pretty much the same because you can’t improve on perfection. The newer model comes with a hefty price hike for not very much difference in performance, so we’d still recommend the ten-year-old mainstay over its successor.
Canon PIXMA Pro-100 vs Canon PIXMA Pro-1000
The Canon PIXMA Pro-1000 doesn’t actually exist, but there is a Canon printer called the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 that is similar to the PIXMA Pro line. As such, this comparison will actually examine the PIXMA-100 and the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. First things first, both are Canon inkjet printers that are designed for professionals such as photographers, artists, and graphic and print designers. The PRO-1000 is a bit larger and heavier, but it does have a screen to make printing and troubleshooting easier. It has a larger maximum print size than the PIXMA, but it has a lower print resolution, which is far more important to print fidelity and quality. The PIXMA Pro-100 prints with 8 tanks to the imagePROGRAF’s 12, but it can’t print in legal document size making it less versatile overall.
Canon PIXMA Pro-100 vs Epson SureColor P400
Since our first two comparisons stuck with the Canon brand, it’s only fair to round them out with a direct competitor. The Epson SureColor P400 is also a wide-format printer with an eight-tank system, a similarly screenless design, and a maximum print width of 13′. Their price tags are fairly similar as well. However, the SureColor just can’t compete with the PIXMA’s resolution, and speed—and both of these are critical to a busy graphic designer such as yourself. As such, the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 comes out on top in this (and each previous) battle and is a worthy addition to your desk or office landscape.
The Verdict
If you are in the market for a new professional-grade printer that gives you the most bang for your buck, the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 is the reliable workhorse you need. With wide-format capabilities at a fraction of the cost and print fidelity and quality that its competitors just can’t touch, this industry favorite is the perfect addition to any budget-conscious graphic designer’s office. We hope you enjoyed this Canon PIXMA review and that it has helped you decide on a new graphic design printer to purchase. If not, be sure to check out our HP Envy 5055 review for another excellent option to explore!
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