How much a Canon Printer can print? (pro 9000 and 9500 mk II)

[user5800]

Until now I just used them for few print and always handled well.

However now I started using them lot more.

How are expected to last? Are they able to do 1000 full borderless A3 per month?

Could them waste pad become full easily? It is possible to replace it with brand new tissue? Could them be used as production machine for how long?

Do you think I could be able to service them indefinitely without canon? And what kind of wearing can I expect from them?

I remember them being sold to professional photographers for studio usage so I could expect at least say 100.000 full prints before any severe wear off.

Sorry for all this questions

Definitely I would understand how they could behave in serious shop usage to sell prints.

 

[The Hat]

Definitely I would understand how they could behave in serious shop usage to sell prints.

The Pro 9000 and Pro 9500 are true tuff printers and can easily handle 1000 prints a month, but with that amount of usage I suspect you’re going to sell your prints, and for that you’re going to need OEM inks.

You may get away with using 3rd party inks on the Pro 9500 because they are pigment inks, but the Pro 9000 prints will fade in weeks rather than years and the waste ink can easily be dealt with in both machines, your also going to need at least two sets of cartridges if you intend to refill one of them..

 

[user5800]

Thanks for the reply, the waste ink could be difficult for me to service? There's a guide I can refer at for doing it properly?

I'm pretty sure that canon decided to abandon the support for these printers but my goal is use them for various more years given the fact they could be "old" but used so few that are practically "new" for now.

For the 9000 I'm using InkTec inks, are they so bad compared to the original ones?

I'm planning to print on coated glossy paper and laminate the prints with professional equipment however, even in this condition the prints would last so few? (considering that them would not be hanged on walls but kept in a shady environment, I would like them to last at least 10+ years)

 

[stratman]

For the 9000 I'm using InkTec inks, are they so bad compared to the original ones?

As @The Hat just explained, all aftermarket Dye-based inks fade in weeks unlike OEM Canon Dye-based inks that may be stable for years depending on environmental conditions. Your Canon Pro 9000 uses Dye-based inks. Therefore, if you want fade resistance, particularly if you are selling prints and the customer expects longevity, then use only OEM Canon inks.

The story can be different if you are using a printer that uses Pigment inks. A good quality aftermarket Pigment ink - and there are many that are not - will have fade resistance. Whether the archival quality is as good as OEM pigment ink is a good question, but given a good aftermarket pigment ink then your prints may last years (unknown number) given proper storage or display conditions. Of course, YMMV.

The best way to have confidence in a print lasting "10+ years" is to use only OEM inks and papers designed for that ink. Educating your buyer on storage or display conditions also matters on longevity of the print. Sealing the print in a frame with appropriate non-reactive materials as well as using UV-blocking museum grade glass may also help.

If laminating, the plastic may react with the environment and/or the print. Additionally, the laminating process - heat vs cold - may affect the print.

It all depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go and whether long term customer satisfaction is critical.

 

[palombian]

From the PRO-9500 Service Manual:
(1) Printer
Specified print volume (I) or the years of use (II), whichever comes first.
(I) Print volume: 21,000 pages
(II) Years of use: 5 years of use
(2) Print head
Print volume: 21,000 pages

Disregard the 5 years, but from what I've seen in EEPROM prints not many arrive at 21.000

If you still could find new printheads and if you reset the waste ink counter and derives the purge tubes to an external "printer potty", in principle those printers should be able to print more.

But they are slow. A3+ borderless will be not far from 15 minutes, so for 1000 you would print 8 hours every day.

The longest batches I do is 100 A4, and only once or twice a year.

 

[user5800]

Thanks Palombian, the same amount goes for the 9000 mk II ?

15 minutes for an A3+ seems too much for me, I did some A3+ borderless recently and it took just few minutes. Didn't use a stopwatch but for sure less than 15, maybe 3-4 min

With a count of 21k prints it could last 21 months at 1000 pages per month or even more if the amount is smaller, now I have a comparison value. Them are still nice machines, I will continue use them as much I can and in the meanwhile I will have the time to consider switching to a new model, maybe an iprograph1000

 

[Artur5]

Although I never measured exactly the time, I'm quite sure that my current Pro10 is considerably slower than the Pro9000 I had years ago, specially if printing in highest quality mode. Maybe it's because it uses chroma optimizer, but I doubt it.
In fact, the slow speed is one of the factors that makes the Pro10 unsuited for intensive use. Imagine if you had to print 200 A4 high quality photos for your customers every day.. impossible with the Pro10.

 

[user5800]

No problem for that, as far my business goes my aim is always get better equipment that's why I would aim the for the plotter ones