Pixma Pro 100 or Pro 10?

[MarienPhotography]

Hi,

I'm new here and introduced myself in the appropriate section

I'm a hobby photographer and I'm very interested by printing and the printing process.
I was looking at the Pro 100. Living for now in the US it's quite interesting.
I discover through the forum that I could get the Pro 10 for maybe like $80 more so now I'm hesitant...

My usage will be most probably like intermittent print maybe once every 2/3 weeks... I know that most of you will say just print online! But I love the idea of printing myself.

Between the 2 models, what will be the less expensive in ink and maintenance? The most reliable with intermittent use?

Thanks for your help

 

[Artur5]

Considering your needs, probably a Pro100 would be better. Dye inks are more forgiving to being “neglected” by the user for two or three weeks. Also, self cleaning cycles are less frequent, meaning that less ink would be wasted.
Cost of maintenance depends, of course, on whether you intend to stick to Camon OEM or to refill with third party inks. In the first case, I’d think that OEM cartridges for the Pro10 and Pro100 cost about the same. Instead, good compatible dye inks are considerably cheaper than good compatible pigment inks.
In short, a Pro100 wastes less ink, it’s cheaper to buy and maintain and a bit more friendly to intermittent use.
Only caveat is that if you intend to refill your OEM carts with compatible products, third party dye inks are much less resistant to fading than pigments. I own a Pro10 because of that. I’ don’t sell prints but I give them sometimes to family and friends, Believe me, it’s very embarrassing when you’re told by your brother or nephew that the nice pictures you gave me three months ago are now badly discolored. It happened to me more than once with my former Pro9000 and compatible dye inks, when the picture was hanged on the wall with a glassless frame.

 

[The Hat]

Ah yes but the Pro 10 cartridges are a dream to refill compared to the Pro 100, and contrary to belief I found my pigment ink printers more forgiving and easier to maintain when used occasionally since 2009..

 

[stratman]

what will be the less expensive in ink and maintenance?

I posted the link for Precision Colors in your other thread. There you will find costs for refilling both of these printers and the custom ICC printer profiles available to help you use different papers better.

The Pro 100 is dye-based ink which some think makes more vibrant looking prints. Unfortunately, fade resistance with any aftermarket ink is significantly inferior to OEM Canon ink. The Pro 10 uses pigment inks which have excellent fade resistance, even with the PC aftermarket inks. If you are selling prints, then consider a pigment ink printer or use OEM Canon ink with the Pro 100

There are other reasons to choose one over the other. The more you tell us what you want to do with the printer, the types of prints you want to make, paper types used, how the prints will be displayed, etc, then we can help you make a more informed decision.

No matter which printer you choose, you should start with default settings and let the printer do its thing. As you get to know the printer better then you can begin to alter settings. Each of these printers love to be used often, daily if possible, and more likely will remain trouble free with frequent use. Moderator The Hat and others have commented that the Pro 10 is more forgiving of clogging if you print infrequently. A nozzle check, or printing some other image that uses all the cartridges, once a week or so will decrease risk of clogging with the Pro 100.

The Pro 100 is deeply discounted monthly, sometimes greatly so (under $100 after discount and rebate). The Pro 10 is not often deeply discounted, so take advantage while the price is low.

 

[MarienPhotography]

Thanks guys for all your answers.

To give more precision around my usage :
- 95% of print of my photos in color
- Purpose is to giveaway/sell my prints as well as store them. So I want to secure that it will not fade 3 months after printing.
- I tend to like better matte print but I learned also to adapt my paper to the photo I print.
- My infrequent use will really be infrequent. I would of course do my best to print regularly but I also know myself being able to "forget" the printer for 1 month...
- From paper point of view I love to experiment so I don't want to limit myself to CANON papers.
- I would like to test refill ink but I'm quite sure at the beginning I will stay on OEM for at least 1 or 2 sets (before I run out of money )

 

[The Hat]

No matter which printer you choose, you should start with default settings and let the printer do its thing. As you get to know the printer better then you can begin to alter settings. Each of these printers love to be used often, daily if possible...

This is the best advised I’ve heard in a long time on this forum and one that most new users tend to get swayed away from easily, because they listen to the experts telling them otherwise...
Good on you @stratman...

 

[stratman]

This is the best advised I’ve heard in a long time on this forum

It should be because I learned it from you!

 

[Cinevit]

I'm new to printing myself and I was facing the same decision. Went with Pro-10 for the print longevity reasons. But I do like how the dye inks look (more like a real photographs on glossy papers). And 3rd party dye inks are more expensive. Anyway, I got to say, either-way these will be somewhat costly to maintain. Can't just leave it and forget it. From my research I have found out - they need to be constantly used to save headaches with the printhead.

 

[stratman]

Went with Pro-10... will be somewhat costly to maintain.

Bulk ink from Precision Colors for the Pro10 printer costs about $2 per refill. The PGI-72 cartridge capacity is ~14 ml. 2 oz of PGI-72 Signature Edition ink costs $8. At 28 ml per ounce this would mean 4 refills per 2 oz bottle refill ink. The costs decreases the larger the bottle of ink bought. That's not too shabby!

According to JToolman in some post of his I just read, you will use on average 1 ml of ink total for a letter sized image. Used properly, you will make beautiful pictures that will bring much joy for quite a long period of time. Well worth the convenience, cost, and quality IMO.

From my research I have found out - they need to be constantly used to save headaches with the printhead.

Not according to Moderator The Hat. He thinks they are fairly hassle free compared to dye-based inkjets. I do not own one but I'll take his word on this one.

 

[palombian]

I'm new to printing myself and I was facing the same decision. Went with Pro-10 for the print longevity reasons. But I do like how the dye inks look (more like a real photographs on glossy papers). And 3rd party dye inks are more expensive. Anyway, I got to say, either-way these will be somewhat costly to maintain. Can't just leave it and forget it. From my research I have found out - they need to be constantly used to save headaches with the printhead.

I suppose you mean "3rd party PIGMENT inks are more expensive" (indeed, but at PC at least 5 times cheaper than OEM).

I was tempted by the more briljant look and gloss of dye inks, but you probably already know all 3th party dye inks fade quickly when exposed to light and air (not in albums or boxes). 3th party pigments don't.
My Canon dye printers needed much more attention to avoid clogging etc than my pigment ones. I have a PRO9500 II, with the same cartridge/ink technology as the Pro-10 and very seldom have problems, even after leaving it off for a month.

Although vastly enhanced (at least at PC), there are still minor gloss differences with 3th party pigment inks, even with OEM's. That's why the PRO-10 has a Gloss Optimiser cartridge.
If you prefer matte, this is not your concern.