The Canon PIXMA Pro-100S is a minor update to the PIXMA Pro-100 printer. You can get Canon PIXMA PRO-100S Driver at the link below. The new printer uses the same ChromaLife100+ dye ink as the PIXMA PRO-100 (and its predecessor, the Pro9000 Mark II). Eight cartridges are included with the printer, including the standard colors yellow, magenta, cyan and black and gray and light gray plus photo magenta and photo cyan. This ink claims to retain its color for over 100 years when the print is stored on the album.
Three monochrome inks allow the printer to produce black and white prints free of unwanted color prints and ensure smoother color gradations in dark areas. The Optimum Image Generation System introduced in the Pixma Pro-1 (and included in the PRO-100) analyzes photo colors and calculates optimal ink combinations and ink droplet volume.
The system also controls how ink is deposited on the paper to improve color reproduction and color gradation and ensure uniform shine across every print, regardless of print mode or media type. Ink is delivered in drops of three picolitres for fine detail resolution at a high resolution of 4800 x 2400 dpi (dots/inch).
If you already have a PIXMA PRO-100 a3+ printer, the only reason to upgrade to a new model is because of its Wi-Fi capabilities. However, it’s debatable whether serious photographers would actually want to print directly from a smartphone or tablet without editing their images first.
While there are many editing apps available, most of them have very limited capabilities and even the best ones cannot offer the versatility and performance of a dedicated photo editor. Screens on portable devices can rarely be calibrated so translating color data between the device and the printer can be problematic.
As a printer, the PIXMA PRO-100S is perfect for the keen photographer who wants to make A3+ (483 x 329 mm) prints for framing and display. It’s also a good option for anyone looking to print their own photo book.
Like most dye-based printers, this printer provides optimal results on glossy, semi-gloss, and glossy paper, although it does not slouch when printing on matt surfaces. The ink dries quickly enough for two-sided printing, in part because the ink is absorbed onto the paper surface. It also makes it more scuff-resistant than prints made with pigment inks.
What’s in the box?
The PRO-100S is wrapped in thin plastic foam and packed in a large plastic bag placed in a styrofoam holder. The stand is made up of four sections, so you can remove the top to remove the printer from the box.
Packaged with the printer is a user-mountable print head plus eight ink tanks, an 8 cm disc adapter, and an optical disc printing tray. Setup instructions are provided in seven languages (English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) on two sheets of paper folded to approximately A5 size.
The larger ones contain general-purpose ‘Getting Started’ instructions; the smaller ones have specific instructions for using the printer with ‘Non-PC Devices’. The smaller sheet provides ‘Safety and Important Information’ instructions. There is also a warranty card.
Attached to the plastic bag in which the printer was packaged is a multi-language sheet that covers the printhead mount. The single software disc contains the printer driver for Windows computers plus a link to the online user manual (which cannot be downloaded for printing). Mac users should download the driver from Canon’s support site. USB and mains power cable is provided.
Build, Ergonomics and Set-up
Physically, the PRO-100S is identical to the PRO-100 and printer setup involves the same steps. We’ve covered these factors in our review of the PRO-100.
Installing the printhead holder and inserting the ink cartridges involve the same steps as on the PRO-100, as shown in the illustration below. The red LED on the front of the printhead indicates the status of the ink tank (blinks when the cartridge needs to be replaced).
Like its predecessor, the PRO-100S uses the rear ‘tray’ as the main paper feed slot. This tray accepts simple stacks (20-25 sheets) of plain or photo paper weighing up to 170 gsm. The paper support extension reverses from the rear tray cover.
Heavier paper must be fed one at a time through the manual feed tray, which exits the back panel of the printer. You should use the feed-in guides by gently rocking the paper up and down until they ‘pick up’ the sheet.
Printouts are ejected through the output tray at the front of the printer, which has a pull extension to support larger sheets of paper. CDs and DVDs are printed in the supplied disc tray, which is placed behind the drop-down cover just above the output tray.
The printer driver is the same as the PRO-100, with four pages covering Quick Setup, Main, Page Setup, and Maintenance tasks. The screenshot below shows the function of each page.
The Custom Settings in the Printer driver’s Page Setup section are the same as in the PRO100. This allows you to set the printer to print on paper up to a maximum of 420 x 676 mm, which is the same width but slightly longer than A2 size. However, you will find it difficult to fit that paper width into one of the feed trays, neither of which is wide enough.
Canon PIXMA PRO-100S Wi-Fi Setup
The main difference between PRO-100S and PRO-100 lies in their connectivity options. While the PRO-100 includes a wireless LAN interface, the PRO-100S is fully Wi-Fi enabled and supports direct printing via Wi-Fi from smart devices also available via Canon’s Easy-PhotoPrint+ (EPP+) app.
Once a Wi-Fi connection is established, users should be able to print images stored in cloud storage services such as DropBox, Flickr, Facebook, Google Drive, One Drive, and Canon’s Photobucket or PIXMA Cloud Link.
EPP+ includes templates for creating personalized items such as greeting cards, stickers, collages, and calendars, as well as the facility to save projects so users can come back to complete them at a later stage. The app also lets users check printer information and settings remotely, displaying ink status, utilities, printing status, and detailed error information.
Links are provided to take users to Canon’s printer and Web Services support pages, along with the IJ Cloud Printing Centre. Mac users can define Apple AirPrint settings. The application also provides access to a printer usage data log that allows the user to view the number of pages printed. Security settings can be managed through the app, as can firmware updates. The online user manual is also accessible.
To use the PRO-100S wirelessly, you must first select Wireless LAN connection settings from the printer connection method menu (shown above). If you choose another connection method, you will need to reload the included CD and reset to Wi-Fi when the page shown below is displayed.
Our success was limited when trying to print images from our Nexus 6 smartphone and tablet. As mentioned in the review, we were unable to connect the Panasonic CM1 camera phone to the PRO-100S, either via Wi-Fi or with the Bluetooth interface, mostly because both processes were involved and clunky.
Then hold down the Continue/Cancel button until the POWER lamp flashes eight times and release it after the eighth flash. The WPS PIN code should be displayed on the smart device screen, along with instructions for completing the connection. (When we couldn’t see the PIN Code, we tried the Troubleshoot function, but that didn’t help and the 10-minute timeout for creating the link had passed before we could make any further progress.)
Trying to connect to the printer via Bluetooth also doesn’t work. Neither the printer nor the active devices we use provide any sign to identify other devices. So we gave up.
We haven’t penalized the printer for this issue as we don’t think many readers will see remote printing as a key aspect of this printer. The majority of serious photographers want to edit their images before putting them on paper and the printer works perfectly with popular image editors from Adobe as well as freeware like GIMP.
Canon PIXMA PRO-100S Software Setup
The software bundle is basically the same as the PIXMA PRO-100. In addition to the printer driver and onscreen manual, the disc contains links to the following programs: My Printer, My Image Garden, Quick Menu, Print Studio Pro, Easy-WebPrint EX and the XPS driver. No Adobe RGB (1998).
Easy-PhotoPrint+ is a new web-based application for remote printing and image sharing (which we couldn’t try). The user must be registered with the Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center and the password used for it must be entered to log in to the application, along with your email address.
The app can be used to print images from a computer or tablet, create personalized disc labels, and access templates with preset designs for creating and printing greeting cards and collages. Paper craft options are available to print and assemble and the app includes some basic editing adjustments for brightness and color tone.
Images can be shared via the app and recipients can also edit and print the shared items. The intended recipient must be registered as a ‘sharer’ to access the shared item, but once that’s done, they’re free to use it and leave comments while editing it.
We had the same problem accessing Print Studio Pro from Adobe Photoshop as we did with the PRO-100. The latest versions of Photoshop CC (2014 and 2015) do not appear to be supported.
The plug-in should be automatically added to the compatible photo application when the software is installed and accessed via the Auto sub-menu. However, as you can see from the screenshot above, it wasn’t there when we looked at it. (We suspect most readers prefer to print directly through Photoshop — or their favorite editor.)
Canon PIXMA PRO-100S Ink Consumables
Canon’s ChromaLife100+ dye ink claims to be able to resist fading for approximately 30 years when framed prints are displayed under normal lighting or 300 years for prints stored in albums. This resistance is closer to typical pigment inks than previous dye inks 5-10 years ago.
Individual CLI-42 series cartridges are priced at AU$25 each at Canon Australia’s online store, with a complete ink set priced at AU$200. Canon USA lists them for US$16.99 each and includes free shipping plus two packs of 20-sheet Photo Paper plus glossy II (8.5 x 11 inches and 5 x 7 inches) when you buy four cartridges at a time. (This offer is limited to US buyers.)
The lowest local prices we found for ‘genuine Canon cartridges’ were around $18.55 each or about $150 for a set of eight, which translates to about $1.43 per milliliter. That would be close to US prices, given the current exchange rate. Free shipping on orders over $50 is offered by one supplier, while another offers discounts on orders over $99. So it seems that local prices can compete.
Canon publishes the following ink yield figures for this printer, based on an ISO/JIS-SCID N2 test file on A3+ size plain paper using default settings. (We have included the figures for the PIXMA PRO-100 in parentheses for comparison.
- Black: 62 (65) photos
- Grey: 66 (70) photos
- Light Grey: 142 (111) photos
- Cyan: 53 (58) photos
- Magenta: 49 (48) photos
- Yellow: 52 (51) photos
- Cyan’s Photos : 59 (60) photos
- Magenta Photos: 38 (37) photos
In our tests, the first ink to show a low warning was the Gray cartridge, which came after 56 A4 and 8 A3+ prints, all with standard white borders. The ink in this cartridge runs out after two more A3+ prints.
The Black and Light Gray Inks simultaneously display a warning after a further four A3 and five A4 prints, with both indicating an exhausted warning after two more A3 prints. The Yellow Cartridge was next, showing a warning after five more A3 prints and requiring replacement after two additional A3+ prints. The Photo Magenta cartridge displays a low ink warning after two more A3+ prints and out after two more A3+ prints.
We also print a 50-page A4 photobook via Microsoft Publisher software using Longbottom Coated matt 170 gsm double-sided paper. Printing this book consumes the Photo Cyan cartridge along with the second Gray cartridge. Measuring the area covered by the ink, we estimate it will cost around $2.60 per A3+ print (with white border) for ink purchased in Australia, which is the same as what we found for the PRO-100 printer we reviewed. This is about average for this type of printer.
The actual printing costs will be determined by the paper of your choice. Canon provided three different papers for our review: Pro Platinum Paper, Photo Paper Plus Semi-gloss, and Photo Paper Pro Semi-matte. We also have some Museum Etching papers leftover from a previous review as well as the aforementioned 170 gsm Longbottom Coated matt double-sided paper.
CD printing is done through My Image Garden, using the Disk Label setting in the New Art dialog box. The software isn’t very intuitive but if you’re ready to work with predefined templates and select the image you want to use before opening the dialog box, it’s easy to create labels and print them on the prepared disc using the provided holder.
Canon PIXMA PRO-100S Ink Performance
Printing speed has not changed since the PRO100 and we didn’t find any significant time variation with the different papers we used.
For A3 prints (again with borders), the same image takes one minute 40 seconds with the Standard Quality setting or two minutes and 53 seconds with High quality. A3+ printing takes two minutes 20 seconds with the Standard Quality setting or three minutes 35 seconds with High quality.
Printing an image with a 4:3 aspect ratio generally takes a second or two longer than this. Selecting a frameless print approximately doubles the time it takes to produce the print.
As with the PRO-100, the paper that stands out is Canon’s Pro Platinum Paper, which is designed to produce the best immersion inks. The test prints on all the papers we tested were free of gloss differences (surface irregularities) and the resolution of detail was so fine that we could not see any rasterized pattern of dots or lines.
Prints made on matte paper are slightly less bright than those on glossy and semi-gloss paper, but it is difficult to distinguish them from prints of the same image made with pigment inks on similar papers. We recommend not printing on paper without optical brighteners as the beige surface will prevent the bright colors of the dyed ink from being displayed at normal intensity. (Canon Museum Etching Paper produces very dull looking prints.)
Monochrome prints are just as good as color prints on the same paper. They contain lots of detail and subtle tonal nuances and can easily be judged as ‘exhibit quality’. There is no difference in printing time between color and monochrome prints.
Prints produced by checking the monochrome checkbox in the printer driver are virtually color-free, although we’re pretty sure at least some color ink was used in their production. The same printed image created via the monochrome settings in Photoshop is completely neutral in tone. Photoshop provides plenty of room to adjust the tone of the image to add warmth or coolness to the printed image.
We had no issues with head strikes (which leave ink marks around the edges of the print) or loading issues. There are no paper jams and no problems related to ink tank installation. In fact, when printing from editing software, the printer’s performance is near perfect, even with non-standard sized paper.
The maintenance tasks are the same as for the PRO-100 and are shown in the screenshot above. Unlike professional printers, treatment sponges, which absorb scattered ink on the inside of the printer as a normal part of the printing process, are NOT user-replaceable as in high-volume printers.
When it fills up, the printer has to go back to a Canon service center to have it replaced, which is time consuming and not cheap. (Unfortunately, the user manual lacks information on how to recognize when the maintenance tank is full.)
Conclusion
If you’re in the market for an A3+ desktop printer, the PIXMA PRO-100S is an excellent performance and definitely worth a look. When you consider the built-in support for ICC profiles, this is arguably the most advanced dye ink printer of its kind on the market. It is also the most expensive.
Interestingly, the prices posted on Canon Australia’s online store are the same for both printers, i.e. AU$799, although the PRO-100S is currently on sale for a ‘sale’ price of $689, while the PRO-100 is priced at $699. (We couldn’t find this printer listed on any US websites, so no US prices.)
Shopping online allows you to access lower prices for both printers and replacement ink cartridges, especially from printer specialists. (Most photo specialists quote Canon prices.) However, please allow shipping costs, which may be quite large for such a large and heavy package.
This printer works best with glossy and semi-gloss paper but the ink cartridges are small and relatively expensive to replace, making them unsuitable for high-volume printing.
System requirements
- Windows 10 (32bit)
- Windows 10 (64bit)
- Windows 8.1(32bit)
- Windows 8.1(64bit)
- Windows 7 SP1 or later(32bit)
- Windows 7 SP1 or later(64bit)
- macOS Mojave
- macOS High Sierra
- macOS Sierra
- OS X El Capitan
- OS X Yosemite
- Linux
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