PRINTING

6 ways the Canon PIXMA
PRO-200 can give you better prints

Meet the new flagship Canon PIXMA PRO A3+ printer, which makes it easy to turn digital images into vivid works of art in 90 seconds*.
A woman's hands holding a colourful A3 print of chilli peppers on the output tray of a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

Food and drink photographer Natasha Alipour-Faridani wants her prints to have impact, and the Canon PIXMA PRO-200's enhanced ChromaLife100+ 8-ink system ensures vivid colours and deeper blacks compared with the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S, its predecessor in the Canon printer range.

As the successor to the popular Canon PIXMA PRO-100S, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 has high standards to meet, but it does so brilliantly. With a 15% decrease in volume, an almost 28% reduction in weight and a smaller footprint than its predecessor, the new A3+ printer takes up less space but is capable of printing large panoramic images that are up to almost a metre in length.

Combining professional-level print quality with simple controls and time-saving features, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is the perfect first step into A3+ printing. The new flagship PIXMA PRO photo printer delivers an A3+ photo in just 90 seconds* and uses an enhanced 8-colour ChromaLife100+ ink system to produce vivid borderless prints on any media.

"If your work involves a lot of bold colours, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 will be perfect for you," says Canon Europe Inkjet Specialist and printing expert Suhaib Hussain. "It sits right at the top of our PIXMA series and provides a great entry point into our professional range of photo printers."

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 inherits a number of technologies from the pro-level Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300. This includes support for Canon's Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software, which makes it easy to achieve screen-accurate prints. If you've put off turning your digital images into beautiful photos because you've found colour management too complicated, PPL will give you the confidence to try again.

London-based food and drink photographer Natasha Alipour-Faridani put the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 to the test to demonstrate how its standout features can take your photo printing to the next level.

1. Vivid colours with ChromaLife100+ inks

With its 8-colour ChromaLife100+ ink system, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 produces vibrant, long-lasting prints with Canon photo papers. "These are our elite dye-based ink formulations," says Suhaib. "The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 introduces enhanced magenta and black inks. Users will definitely notice an improved colour gamut in the magenta and red areas of an image along with deeper blacks and blues compared with the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S."

The ink being changed in a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

With its wider colour gamut in the red area and higher black density, prints from the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 have a rich and vibrant look. Having eight single cartridges means that you only need to replace the ink that runs out.

A Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer on a wooden desk with framed A3 prints surrounding it.

Professional Print & Layout's feature set includes colour management settings, ICC Profile selection for third-party papers and the option to add text. It also offers split gallery wrap printing, which allows you break up an image into multiple parts and print each separately.

2. High-speed A3+ printing

Mirroring the high-speed capabilities of its predecessor, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 can produce an A3+ print in just one minute 30 seconds*. "Speed has never really been the defining measure of a photo printer, because at the end of the day it's the print quality that counts," says Suhaib. "But one of the remarkable features of the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is that it can print at a really fast rate without compromising quality."

This combination of speed and flagship print quality will appeal to a wide range of users, from event photographers looking to provide an instant display, to enthusiasts and semi-pros who need to meet tight deadlines. "Let's say for example you're a photography student and you're looking to run prints off for your coursework or an assignment," suggests Suhaib. "The fact that you know you can get through these quickly on the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is going to be reassuring."

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A woman sat at a desk using a computer with a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer on her desk.

Sharing the same dimensions as the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is smaller than the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S. It also weighs more than 5kg less than its predecessor.

3. Effortless colour matching from screen to print

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 supports Canon's Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software. Available as a free standalone application or a plugin that allows you to print straight from Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP), Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, PPL makes it simple to create high-quality prints with its intuitive interface.

With its soft proofing and hard proofing solutions, PPL takes the hassle out of colour management. As well as enabling you to view a simulation of the final print on-screen, the software's Pattern printing mode will print out a contact sheet of thumbnails of your image.

"Each thumbnail has a different mix of colour, brightness and contrast, so you can choose the one that gives you the look you intended," explains Suhaib. "It's then a simple case of going back to the software, dialing in the settings that are printed next to the thumbnail, and then outputting your final print. You can be confident that you'll get exactly what you wanted, and there's no wasting of ink, paper or time."

A woman hanging framed photo prints on a wall. On her desk are a computer and a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

Natasha often prints her food images for display and the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 can achieve a 90-second* printing time for A3+ prints whether they're made on glossy or fine art media.

4. Enhanced prints with EOS RAW files

If you're a Canon EOS camera user, you can unlock additional advanced features with Professional Print & Layout when you're working with RAW files. For example, you can use the HDR Print function to reveal more detail in the highlight areas of a print without losing colour integrity.

If the image was captured using the Dual Pixel RAW mode available on the Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R and Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, the software's DPRAW Print mode can use the 3D data embedded in the RAW file to identify which part of the image you intended to have in focus. It will then apply smart, selective sharpening to that specific area rather than out-of-focus parts of the image as conventional sharpening would do, giving a more lifelike print with added depth.

A woman printing a borderless A3 image on a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

The Professional Print & Layout plugin is compatible with Canon's DPP, Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, making it easy to integrate into your editing workflow. "The PPL software is designed for the printer, so it makes it easier to get great results compared with a standard printing interface," explains Suhaib.

A woman using her smartphone to print on a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

Being Wi-Fi and Wireless PictBridge enabled, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 enables you to print cable-free from a compatible camera, computer, smartphone or tablet.

5. Borderless printing on a wide variety of media

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 gives you the freedom to experiment with a wide range of different paper types and sizes – from 4x6 inches all the way up to A3+. Using the custom settings, you can extend that to 39-inch cut-sheet lengths for high-impact panoramic prints.

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is compatible with a choice of professional-quality Canon photo papers, including high-gloss, semi-gloss and matte. It also offers borderless printing with the Canon fine art range, which has recently been rounded out with the launch of the Premium Fine Art Rough paper. The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 also supports popular third-party papers, including those produced by Canson, Hahnemühle and Awagami Factory.

For even greater ease of use and convenience, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 inherits the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300's Auto Skew Correction function. "If you make a mistake when aligning a sheet of paper, the printer will automatically fix that for you," says Suhaib. "It's another example of how the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 can take away the inconvenience of wasted paper, ink and time."

The new printer offers two main paper-feed mechanisms including a top tray and a manual feed option. It also comes with a multi-purpose tray that enables you to print onto CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using the Canon PIXMA PRO-200's Direct Disc Print function – a useful option if you want to create a professional look for your image and video discs.

A woman's hand holds one of a number of borderless prints of different sizes, on a tabletop next to a Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printer.

In another evolution from the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 allows you to print right to the edges of fine art media, in addition to offering borderless printing with panorama size paper up to A3+ lengths.

6. Convenient size, connectivity and on-board controls

Thanks to its compact size, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 won't take up much space in a home, studio or workplace. Its dimensions are identical to those of the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 and it's noticeably lighter than its predecessor the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S. At just 14.1kg, its weight has been reduced by around 28% compared with the outgoing model, with the overall volume trimmed by 15%.

As well as losing weight, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 gains a new 3-inch colour LCD screen and control buttons. This adds the convenience of being able to monitor ink levels, make paper adjustments, change network settings and carry out a host of other operations directly on the printer.

Further convenience comes in the shape of its extensive connections. With Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB options available, you can print to the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 from tablets, smartphones, laptops or desktop computers.

Marcus Hawkins

* Photo print speed is based on the default setting using ISO/JIS-SCID N2 on Canon Pro Platinum paper, A3+ with border.

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