Best Settings for Canon Pro-1000?

*Rich said:

Just unboxed a new Pro-1000 and now in the process of setting up.

I have read posts and reviews about the Pro-1000 using a lot of ink due to the auto-maintenance routines it runs. Some settings are user adjustable, but then there is the risk of nozzle clogging if not routinely cleaned.

Anyone have experience with running a Pro-1000 w. settings to conserve ink, yet w/o being plagued w. ink clogs? Any suggestions for "best practices"? Thanks.

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I have had my Pro - 1000 for nearly a year now without any problems. My best advice is use it frequently and that means every 2-3 days and a nozzle check counts as usuage.

jgperry said:

I have had my Pro - 1000 for nearly a year now without any problems. My best advice is use it frequently and that means every 2-3 days and a nozzle check counts as usuage.

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Thanks. Experience is worth a thousand opinions.

Do you have the maintenance routines on your Pro-1000 set to their defaults? Do you leave your printer on and then allow it go to sleep? Do you have automatic nozzle check turned ON?

The Hat said:

@Inkboy, In my opinion, there’s no point in owning a great printer and then switching it to 3rd party ink, it’s truly a commercial printer for the professional photographers intending to sell their work, so no extra value can be had by using cheaper inks.

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It's interesting Hat, because you were messing around with your Pro-1 at the time when it was at the top of the desktop food chain that the Pro-1000 now sits. You even went so far to take it apart.
Now again I remind you that the results that you are getting from your Pro-1 does not come close to the current inkset that PC has for it and similarly for the 1000 and 10. There is a reason why PC has recommended retaining difficult colors for the Pro-1000 and offers near equivalent for others and that situation is going to improve even further with zero loss in Color Fidelity and ALL aspects except saving money. 100% identical results will be had while saving close to half of ink costs. Zero difference! Guaranteed. This will be later in the year. But now 95-98% of the OEM for a fraction of the cost? This is not like your refilling results you had with the Pro-1. There will be a time when refilling the Pro-1000 will save you serious money and it will be IDENTICAL to the OEM. Guaranteed ..later in the year.
PC Signature Inksets has completely changed what a user expects by refilling. That bar has been raised so high that comparisons to a year ago are completely invalid.

@mikling, I’ve no idea why you brought up my Pro 1 usage, this has nothing to do with what I was using my printer for, @*Rich is using his Pro 1000 for commercial photography purposes, so the cost of ink will not be a major factor to his business, his customers are getting the best quality prints and are willing to pay for that quality.

I was perfectly satisfied with the quality of the inks that I mixed myself for use in the Pro 1, so I dough that your current ink set would have been any better for the type of work that I did.

But if I ever needed to print quality photos, I would be sure to call upon your ink set to do the perfect job, I could never afford OEM ink...
P.S. It’s still “The Hat”

Just wanted to update everyone on my quest to find out "Best Practices" for my particular workflow w. the Pro-1000.

I decided to write Canon Tech Support w. the questions I have (numbered below) concerning best settings for my workflow. I received a quick response with the following answers (in italic below ea. question):

First came the disclaimer:
I always hesitate when asked for advice on workflow, as it can be highly personal and idiosyncratic. I can offer some opinions, but "best" will necessarily be a bit subjective.

1. Is it best to make one print at a time, as needed, or to wait and run a batch of prints at the end of the week? Are certain cleaning routines run per print or per printing session?
Ans: Based on your usage, I would group my printing as much as possible. This should maintain consistent quality across all prints. Automatic cleanings are typically run after a period of disuse, rather than per printing.

2. Is it best to set "Auto Power" ON or OFF; and if ON, is 240 minutes OK?
Ans: The Auto Power option is designed to conserve electricity, and you can avoid the whole question by turning the printer on when you need it and off when you're done. The self-test performed on power-up should eliminate the need for an automatic cleaning cycle.

3. Is it best to set "Ink Maintenance (tank installed)" to ON, that apparently shakes the ink tanks on a regular basis? Does this process use ink? And what does "(tank installed)" mean? Ink tank, maintenance tank?
Ans: Turning the printer on only when necessary will also agitate the ink cartridges. If you're printing once a week or so, not much settling will occur.

4. Is it best to Enable/Disable "Auto Nozzle Check"? If set ON, how often is a nozzle check done?
Ans: I would only enable the Auto Nozzle check if you start seeing variations in print quality, ...

5. What is "Nozzle Check Error Display"? Displayed how and where?
Ans: ...and the check results appear on the printer display.

6. What is the best frequency for "System Cleaning Frequency"? The manual describes this as "To maintain print quality, we recommend you select 'Short' if you use the printer at a higher place." I'm at an elevation of 6500' so is this considered high?
Ans: Like cooking, "high altitude" starts around 3000' of elevation, although that can vary by location. New Mexico tends to be pretty dry, so I would keep the System Cleaning interval at "Short."

Looks like the suggestions I got may differ from what others are receiving elsewhere. It's difficult to determine if different steps actually end up having the same results -- like maybe leaving the printer ON and auto shut-off to "NEVER" results in a "stand-by mode" that is actually like turning the printer off and only ON when needed.

Unlike w. the Epson 3880 where I knew what was going on mechanically in the printer when it was turned off or left on, I don't know what the Pro-1000 is doing mechanically. That would help in figuring out a "best practice" for a particular printing workflow.

And since the ink usage readout on the Pro-1000 printer driver is surprisingly sporadic, it is impossible for a user to test certain settings and printer usage against readouts of ink usage. I say surprisingly, because Canon's included software to measure ink usage of specific print jobs is very useful and apparently accurate. It just doesn't include maintenance task usage, just usage while printing.

So, I'm still not sure what settings are best. Anyone else? Thanks.

Quite the post, *Rich! Thank you for sharing the information.

*Rich said:

So, I'm still not sure what settings are best. Anyone else? Thanks.

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@*Rich, nice post, but I reckon it answers all the question for me, it’s like this, your worrying or anticipating all sorts of difficulties and scenarios when you use your printer, and I would simply say stop.

Just enjoy the printer for what it is, you couldn’t have gotten a better printer, its a world beater, the cost of running any printer is the same, they all use ink for maintenance no matter which printer you own.

Just use common sense and set the printer up the way you want it yourself, waste ink happens and there is nothing you can do about it, so stop worrying, its going to happen either way, whether you like it or not.

P.S. The Canon Tech support was giving you their way they would run the printer, and not necessary the best or most economical way, and your printer does not agitate the cartridges either, so not all his advice given was accurately...