need a new printer with very good colour reproduction

[anwenk]

Hi,
My canon ip3000 has just broken- I have concluded- something to do with the magenta print head- have cleanded it numerous times on both cycles and the images are all coming out a saturated green hue. I figure its probably cheaper to buy a new one than get it fixed....

I am an artist and work from my photographs so I need a printer that gives me as close to the screen colours as possible- I know its impossible to get exact as the screen is like a transperancy- but I just dont want to stuff around with colour balance all the time. I am considering the ip8500 - altho a couple of reviews have said it has a pinkish hue to its prints... has any one experienced this? Any suggestions on a really good colour printer that will be economic on ink as I probably print about 25 A4 colour prints on the highest setting every week.
Thanks

 

[Osage]

To Anwenk,

First, if you want exact color reproduction, you need to read up on printer profiles on these forums which you can purchase for a fairly low cost. But basically these depend on the printer, the ink you use, and the photopaper.---change any variables and the color shifts.--and various software gives you better color control than just relying on Canon printer software.---but many on these forums are far more expert in this area so I will let them advise you on what they use.

But if you have been happy with the ip3000, do consider either unclogging the printhead you have or ordering a new one---as the ip3000 does have a fairly inexpensive printhead.---which by the way interchanges with quite a few earlier generation Canon printers.

And I may be wrong on this but it seems to me that when you get into six or more colors printers, getting an exact color match becomes harder---the ip3000 is a mere four color and lacks the BCI-6 photoblack---not much of a handicap unless your photos involve areas of a deep black.

My last question is do you refill or just use Canon OEM cartridges?-----ink is a major variable for color match and few refill inks are a good match to Canon OEM. But at your printing volume you could save a bundle by refilling. But refilling is easier with a non-chipped canon and those are getting hard to find. Which could tip the balance towards fixing the one you have.

There is no ip3000 replacement in a chipped Canon---but plenty of five color equivalents to the ip4000 or 5000 exist that may do even better than your ip3000
in terms of exact color match.

 

[erick13]

I have the ip8500 and haven't noticed any pinkish hues with my prints.