Late August has been scheduled as the release date for Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO-300, a compact A3+ printer, which uses 10 professional-quality LUCIA PRO pigment inks.
Angled view of the imagePROGRAF PRO-300 in a studio environment, showing its relatively compact size. (Source: Canon.)
Designed to appeal to professional and enthusiast photographers, small studios and photo labs, the imagePROGRAF PRO-300 will replace the PIXMA PRO-10S and become a new entry model to Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO series. The PRO-300 features a 3-inch colour LCD menu screen and comes with easy to use software plus several important cost-saving features. These include built-in nozzle recovery and skew correction functions for reducing ink and media waste. Separate ink nozzles are provided for photo and matte black inks and the printer automatically chooses the correct ink based on the paper loaded – saving time and reducing ink consumption. It can also detect whether any nozzle is not firing correctly and will switch to backup nozzles to ensure there is no banding in the image while it is being printed. The Auto Skew Correction function will detect when paper is not aligned correctly in the input chute and will automatically make the adjustments needed to ensure a perfectly straight print.
The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 will also check the density levels of ink tanks and shake the cartridges periodically to maintain constant ink density levels from each tank to ensure colours are always consistent. Canon’s L-COA PRO processor easily handles large image data and calculates the optimal ink droplet layout at fast speeds. The PRO-300 is capable of producing an A3 print in less than five minutes The 10 LUCIA PRO pigment inks feature microencapsulated colorants that encompass an expanded gamut. New inks in both photo and matte black will produce deeper and more vivid blacks on glossy and fine art media. When glossy or semi-gloss paper is used, a layer of Chroma Optimizer resin is applied to minimise surface irregularities and reduce bronzing.
Improving on the borderless printing in the PIXMA PRO-10S, the PRO-300 supports borderless printing in all print modes at the highest quality on a wide variety of media, including fine art paper. Custom paper sizes can be set with lengths up to 990.60mm for printing panoramic images. Profile support is provided for Canon and third-party papers.
Canon’s Professional Print & Layout software comes free with imagePROGRAF PRO-300. It’s usable as standalone software, or as a plugin through Canon’s Digital Photo Professional imaging software or Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. This application covers settings like colour management, profiling selection and layout settings that include split gallery wrap printing and panoramic printing. Using this software, photographers can access the soft proofing and hard proofing functions to ensure precise colour matching from screen to print. The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 can connect with PC or Mac operating systems via a Wi-Fi, ethernet or USB connection to support multiple workflows. It can also work seamlessly with Canon’s EOS camera technology and supports functions such as DPRAW Prini and HDR Print, which can read the RAW image data from EOS cameras and accurately render sharp areas in an image, as well as recover highlights from single exposures.
The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 will be available from the Canon Australia Store and authorised local dealers from late August 2020. Full specifications have not been provided and, as per Canon’s usual practice, the only indication of the RRP for this printer is the statement: Pricing will be set at dealer discretion. (We’ve found one dealer listing it at AU$999.) Click here for product details.
