Keith's photography, cameras, lenses, printing, reviews and how-to videos
Hi, I'm Keith Cooper, an architectural and industrial photographer (Northlight Images) I also provide training in photography and modern photographic techniques to individuals and companies. Bespoke one-to-one training covering advanced printing and specialist photography such as tilt/shift lenses.
My videos are intended to pass on my experience, technical knowledge and expertise in photography, printing, colour management and the business of photography, in the hope that they will help make you a better photographer, whether you're an talented amateur, professional jobbing photographer or new to the world of digital photography and printing. Questions always welcome! More info, articles, reviews and editorials: www.northlight-images.co.uk/keiths-photography-blog/ For a full categorised listing of all my 600+ videos, see: www.northlight-images.co.uk/keith-cooper-photography-videos-index/
If you've not seen it, do check the actual [i.e. written] review - a lot of paper related info there www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/
Hi Keith. You often ask for ideas to cover. Well here goes. There is a company selling lights for macrophotography called Adaptlux. Both flash and continuous LED. So far I have read one thing about banding and electronic sutter which is : don't use it, you need to include mechanical first curtain. However Adaptalus has said this on the idea on purely electronic shutter with their LED lights: " I think you're over worrying about banding. It can occur but only when the shutter speed specifically matches the refresh rate of the LEDs, which can also be changed with the birghtness settings and Boost mode". Could this realisticaly be true, that electronic shutter can be used with continuous light without any banding effects? They are yet to get back to me with the frequencies available. It's important as I was thinking of Aurogon-type closeups which would eat mechanical shutter actuations per finished shot. And I recently saw you say you had helped design some electronic component in a macro vid of your's, so might be one you'd enjoy covering?
Thanks Not that I know of I've asked both Canon and Epson about this, but nothing much was suggested. That said, this one is the only one I've tested which reliably stacked cards [print bigger and chop] www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-wf-c8690-printer-review/
Thank you for this detailed video Keith. I have just unboxed my brand new PRO-1100 and I just can not get the Canon drivers to install. It seems like there is a serious issue with any Canon print driver on macOS Sequoia (I found reports of PRO-1000 and PRO-300 users with the same issue). The only driver that does install flawlessly is that useless AirPrint driver (as you pointed out). Have you tried installing it on the latest macOS? Are you also running into the same problems?
Thanks - However, I've not tested Mac OS 15 at all. In general I absolutely avoid new Mac OS releases [any xx.0 version] on any machine I intend to do any work on. Unfortunately, I don't have any 'spare' Macs capable of running it any more, so won't be trying it until at least 15.1 So... the driver has issues with pre 10.15 and 15.0... :-(
@@KeithCooper Thanks for your very speedy reply! I will definitely hold off on updating to a new OS in the future. However, it does seem a bit odd that their brand-new printer does not seem to work on the latest OS. I hope they fix this issue soon because now I'm stuck with a 2500USD paperweight on my desk 🫣
Yes - However, the main reason I don't mention these here is that they are proprietary image adjustments which require images processed with Canon DPP V4.9.20 or later. Oh, and obviously a supported Canon camera... ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/ProfessionalPrintLayout/M/1.0/EN/PPL/ppl-600.html It's very much a feature I'd note in the written review, but not one of my more general videos Very few people I come across, ever use DPP a second time... Now that's not a comment on its functionality, but just how most people approach their editing. Add to that, I'm producing videos like this for all photo image printing - no matter what camera or image editing software they might use. At a deeper level [perhaps a topic for another video?], my feeling is that a print utility like this is completely the wrong place for making adjustments, that and my longstanding dislike of adjustments which are on/off and offer no finesse or finer control/adjustment
@@KeithCooper The print guide says for Contrast Reproduction Available Data Formats JPEG: 8-bit RGB data formats (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe) TIFF: 8-bit or 16-bit RGB data formats (.tif, .tiff) The Canon Print & Layout still seems to me to have the best soft proofing therefore the fineness of adjustments can still be relevant in this software
@@japamax Thanks for the note - it is indeed the DPRAW/HDR/ELO functions which are DPP specific As to using it... Depends very much on your workflow... I would still not want to make any adjustments in my print app - especially with controls that are simply on/off Soft proofing is sometimes helpful, but once again I'd want to do that [if I wanted it] long before I opened a print application. For myself, all these adjustments are simply in the wrong place, but as ever, use what works for you ;-)
Not that I've seen in a good few years... Something I've been asked to do, but after writing the tilt/shift one, it falls into the 'far too much work' category - well that and I'd have to include stuff on win PCs as well ;-) A review I wrote a while ago www.northlight-images.co.uk/book-review-bw-printing-by-george-dewolfe/
Question for you - I like to keep my monitor on peek brightness and I notice in the past when I’ve calibrated it makes my monitor to dark for my taste. Does this allow for me to manually increase brightness and still color calibrate? Cheers and thanks.
Well, for photo printing and editing, your taste is simply wrong [IMHO] :-) As ever though, it's what works for you, for what you want to do! But... The whole point of calibrating is to set known parameters - turning up the brightness like that just breaks it. Now, if you need such brightness for specific visual problems, then that gets more complex and a much more bespoke solution is warranted. All depends on what you are doing - so for example, working with HDR images/video, things are very different again, but you won't be using a cheap calibrator like this one...
Off to watch detailed review for P700. I was initially looking only at the Ecotank line (because this design seems to be tiny bit better for the environment), but the dye-ness of the inks I think is a deal-breaker for me :(
Best printer reviews, hands down. Thank you so much for doing them. I think you're the only one who goes into the details on papers, inks and colour profiles. From your reviews it's immediately clear why certain printers perform better (or worse) on certain types of papers, which is a gold-level insight for someone researching photo printers to buy (me :) ). I don't think anyone elsewhere mentioned the dye/pigment aspect of the inks, I was even unable to find this information on the official Epson website in the ink listings. I've got a question on the ink topic, apologies if it had been asked before or you already have a video covering it. I saw online that it's possible to use 3rd party pigment inks in the 8550. What are your thoughts on it and does using 3rd party inks void the warranty?
@@KeithCooper Have you reviewed any Ecotanks with pigment inks (you mentioned them in the video where you put multiple Epson models onto the screen and grouped them)? I'm trying to find any reviews for the 3 you mentioned in that video but can't.
Does this printer have a scanner as well? If not which type of scanner would you recommend alongside this printer? I do colored pencil art and need a good printer and scanner!
No - it's just a printer. On a par with it, see the 8550 - I have a section in the review covering art scanning www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/
I've enjoyed your presentations! Question, I've seen the examples for the print layout via Lightroom, Photoshop, and Capture 1 but nothing regarding ON1 Raw. Please advise if possible, thanks.
I use a HP inkjet printer for home needs, kids prints, bills etc. Its becoming very expensive as HP uses color in B&W prints as well and without the the color cartridge or a depleted one it refuses to work, even with a full black cartridge. So planning to move to a ink tank printer which makes sense to me as we have good usage at home. Can you recommend a good model, preferably one that does not have this hidden caveats like HP which uses color for monochrome prints.
All B&W printing [other than black text] will use some colour However none of the Canon/Epson tank printers have limitations other than letting a tank run on empty [bad for any inkjet] I don't really cover printers for more general use, in any detail Look at the likes of the Cann G550 for example www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-g550-printer-review/
Hi Keith. Have you ever done a vid of using the ICM setting with colour profiles on the Canon Pro300? Love the way you proved colour printing can be so simple with this video. Thank you.
Thanks icm? Sounds Windows PC? If so, I'm afraid I only test on Macs - I've not used a win pc this century, so a bit rusty on details ;-) All my PRO-300 stuff is at: www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-pro-300-printer-review/
Thank you for an excellent comparison. I am almost set on the 8550 now. Are there any others like the 8550 that I should have a look at before pulling the trigger?
PRO 200: Thank you so much for your tutorials!!!! I was so frustrated when printing on my watercolor paper colors were SO off. Then I started playing with settings and turned out I must also choose relevant setting on the printer itself, then we got closer to reality. But still - surprisingly printing on thick art paper - colors are totally different, only on photo paper or just paper colors are true to the digital image. I think I will keep the printer and just use regular thick paper for postcards. One bummer though - when printing on small postcards - towards the end printer moves them... not sure why (maybe they are too thick 300grm), and then it messes it up... your tutorials are so helpful, Keith!!!
Hi Keith, Could you recommend a good matte paper for the Epson 8550 and a good uk supplier. I have no idea who is a good supplier so I don't get burned!🙏
Hi Keith, enjoy your videos. a bit off topic for this video, I now live in Toronto and often download/buy paper kits for my model railway. Many kits should be printed on A4 paper, sounds stupid but all J have is Letter size. To avoid scale problems what should I do? Many thanks Charlie
Twenty years ago, when I first got into shooting a very small niche of architectural work, I bought the Canon 24mm TS. Looking for guidance on how to use the features correctly, the best example I found was exactly the one you call out as not useful 😂. A landscape with flowers in the foreground and large mountains in the distance. Nevertheless, I figured it all out eventually, and though I no longer do this for a living, I still love the lens. Reminds me of watching my dad with his Linhof.
Ah, it's not useful for me in a teaching context, which is distinctly different to it not being useful in some circumstances ;-) I do regularly look for real life example where such tilt makes an obvious difference - which I can show in a video...
A friend has a PRO-1000, is very happy with it and I was just about to get one too and the 1100 was announced. Hence this is now on my shopping list. However I have what might be an insurmountable problem. For half the year I live in France and my printer will stay in the UK. I have had a litany of problems with various Canon and Epson high end printers with clogged printheads and all have eventually been scrapped as a result. Is there any way I can ensure my printer will still be serviceable after such a prolonged period of inactivity. I enjoy your videos and have complete confidence in your advice. Many thanks.
Six months will likely limit the life of any inkjet printer - especially better ones Unless you can find some way of remotely exercising the printer [doing nozzle checks for example] you are asking for trouble.
Hi. I am looking för a general purpose printer that kan print both photos, office documents and artsy bits for scrapbooking. This printer seems to be flexible and refill seems a bit more eco friendly than disposing cartridges. I have one question about the inks. Do they dry up or clog up if the printer is not used for a month or two? We don't print on a regular basis now and our current laserprinter needs a new drum and have o be replaced.
@@KeithCooper I guess we can manage to print some minor thing each month if that is vital, but looking back we have had months of no printing and then other periods of much printing. Very unregular.
Yes - that's why I have diary reminders pop up on my computer! A nozzle check on plain paper is fine - make it 3 weeks though for an 8550. If you are feeling particularly tight fisted, you can use the same bit of paper 4 times... :-)
@@KeithCooperI am not too bother by the price of the paper if that is what you mean. It is just the experience that some other project or work will likely take up time for some period.
All ink cartridges for printers are highly overpriced. Epson 5370 cartridges cost $100 and you need 10 of them, Epson 20570 needs 12 bags of ink and each one will cost $500 which is a merciless ripoff by corporate oligarchy.
I am a truck driver and I will be away for two months. Should I be worried if the Pro 300 machine is not used for those two months? I wonder why they don't make those printers that automatically print a copy every 3 days.
Thank you very much for sharing your view on the printer and its capabilities, but I do think that print quality is very important. I'd hate to pay say £40 for a print (or more) only to get some cr*p quality one. Would definitely merit a 1 star review from me.
Ah ... Much of the 'print quality' comes from the use of the printer, not the printer itself. The better the printer, the more expertise and skills matter. However, my bigger question to anyone mentioning this, is just what do you actually mean by 'Quality' ? The answers [and there should be several] to this should point to whether this or a higher end printer match your market. That includes if you're in a market where people even leave reviews?
@@KeithCooper Thank you for the response! I think people leave reviews in any case, maybe just in different forms (if not in a traditional form of a review section on the website). If you say sell prints through a gallery, 'reviews' would be no one buying the prints because they are not of good enough quality (for the people who frequent that gallery/art fair/exhibition and so on). A 'review' also could be a bad reputation spreading through a word of mouth (like 'I bought a print from that artist and it faded in 6 months, waste of money, not going to buy anything off them and not advise you to either'). Basically any form of negative feedback. Good point about 'quality' being relative and also understanding what intended customer base needs/wants/how it perceives quality (both of the print and of the original artwork). My personal view is to aim for a higher standard equipment and materials (budget allowing). Yes initially it might eat into the profits and for the audience who don't care about quality it would be an overkill, but it gives scope for expansion and attracting higher-end clientele without the need to purchase different piece of kit later.
Having had a 1000 and been very impressed by the quality, it had to go as I was not printing enough and the regular cleaning cycle was using far more ink than I did. I have read somewhere that the newer Canon printersare a little more economical with ink being used for cleaning. I might consider getting the 1100 if the printer is less thirsty in this regard. Figures on cost per print don't give the full picture 🙂. Can your tests include this information please?
Ah, where did you read this about ink use? I have seen no authoritative info on this question relating to the 1100. It's tricky for me to reliably test this since I've only got the printer here for a month. Nothing about using the printer suggests any significant change to the 1000 [important word being 'significant' there]
I'm with you, Keith. I started with film (it's my age!) and have fond memories of those days. I'll never get rid of my film cameras, though. I used to use slide film (Fujichrome Velvia latterly) and struggled with the limited latitude of slide film. Digital cameras are so much better and I don't now have to mess around with chemicals (which I calibrated to avoid colour casts). Gone are also the days of spending hours enlarging photos onto low-contrast Ilford Ilfochrome Classic (formerly Cibachrome) only to find the prints (which had a red cast until dry!) were not what I wanted and having to start again. You're right about modern lenses and the use of a computer (Lightroom in my case) means that aberrations and distortions are not a problem. Your videos are very informative and extremely helpful, keep up the good work, I very much appreciate your no nonsense approach. I'm well into colour management and you've given me a few excellent tips so thank you for that. Keep ranting!
Hi Keith, Thank you for your very informative videos. I have recently had an issue crop up when printing on A3+ epson premium semi glossy on my 8550. When printing in colour I have small regular blobs of print colour running down the print at regular interval of about an inch about 2-3 inches from the left hand side. (it is not a pizza wheel line) . I can send a photo if that would help you in helping me to identify the solution. Have you come across this before? I have done a google search and all I have found is the black ink showing on the edge of the photo paper problem and this is not that.
It's ink buildup on the print head assembly - needs cleaning I have an 8550 video IIRC. I use the folded kitchen paper technique, with the head freed to move Start here and take care. www.northlight-images.co.uk/inkjet-printer-cleaning/
Thank you Keith! Your videos have been a huge source of help in my design journey. I recently purchased a ET-8550 and am now going into the minefield of deciding on a good quality paper/cardstock to print my work on.
@@KeithCooper Yeah, I'm leaning towards Fotospeed Matt DUO 240 or possibly Platinum Etching 285. I have tried their Lustre 275 and the image quality is great, but I have a plan to stamp my work on the back, so I think I need something with a matt surface on the back, sort of non-resin stuff I'm guessing.
If only I could get this paper, or any other brand that allows me to make cards ... Because I live in Norway and I can't get this paper (ie. pre folded cards) ANYWHERE. I asked one British supplier and the cost of postage nearly made me faint. I mean, I'm willing to pay for good paper, but not the horrendous postage. I could fly to London for that price :-) So I have bought this thing that can cut paper and also make a neat fold, so there's always a work-around ... But, thanks for the video anyway. Most helpful!
I'm especially looking forward to the comparison video. I feel I'm still lacking a good understanding for the impact of paper handling. I would love to be able to explore the widest possible variety of papers or even other print media like poster board. But I have to also consider the irregular use from me just doing this as a hobby and the space requirements and weight of the different models.
Yes, I will be doing a "17 inch printer" comparison at some point, but not until after I've finished the main review. As to 1000 vs 1100 that will be part of the 'review video' to go along with the main written review. Remember, the 'authoritative' bit is always the written review - they are maintained, corrected, expanded and edited over the years - the videos are set in stone [oh, and shot without a script ;-) ]
How do you handle power outages? Since the printer needs to be on all the time. Doesn't that trigger the ink to be dumped into the maintenance cartridge? Do you use a battery backup for that so it doesn't happen?
Never really thought about it to be honest [we have reliable electricity supply] A power interruption doesn't have the calamitous consequences you describe - nothing I know of 'dumps ink' as you say, other than setting up the printer for transport, which is a known thing. If we had supply issues I'd set up a UPS for our main file server, for it to do a graceful shutdown, but not a printer.
@@KeithCooper Had to shut down my printer again today to do the final test on whole house generator. When I turned it back on the maintenance cartridge was not any fuller. You were right. I am so glad. Don't plan to turn printer off again but good to have peace of mind. And no I will not be moving my printer. Happy to keep it right where it is making prints
Don't see that it does?... Works just fine on Mac OS 14.6 - used it when testing a Macro lens last week. If you meant 15.0 then I've a longstanding policy of ignoring Apple major OS updates which end in .0 on any machine I use for work... ;-)
It just seems like Fuji is pushing everyone to use XAcquire while pumping up its abilities. Most hardware companies go through something similar with a raft of single purpose connectivity apps slowly abandoned as they coalesce around a single solution. I’d guess it won’t be long before you just download Acquire and it adds a LR plug-in. My biggest disappointment is there’s no way to do direct wireless tethering without connecting to an existing network. We should be able to use the laptop as a hotspot/server. I was doing that with my Canon 15 yrs ago. MacOS updates are fine it’s just that third party developers don’t always keep up. I’ve never had a .0 update harm a computer in the 44 years I’ve been an Apple user. But I’ve had lots of unhappy apps.
@@f.kieranfinney457 Fair enough, but x-aq doesn't really do much of any use for me as far as I can see [this is a LR and C1 free zone] I do find Canon stuff more comprehensive in this area - The new Tether App version is closer to EOS Utility - that's what this video is essentially concerned with. Unhappy apps are an unhappy user - said as a Mac user since 1988. Blame who you like but I'll only ever install brand new stuff on a 'test' machine where failure won't hit the business... or cause me support grief. Which these days, only covers my wife's Mac, making my update policy even more belt and braces ;-)
What sort of metallic paper? - it's often a marketing term which covers quite a range of actual papers. I've several, so I'll see what I can profile [the prerequisite for any test]
Cool video, thanks a lot. PPL -> Other Settings -> gives options on how much the picture should overlap on borderless prints (None, Small, Medium, Large). Have mine set to Small, works well
Hi, Keith, regarding your remarks, that pro1000/pro1100 aro no-go for small living spaces. I had to place a printer in a small room, still went with pro1000, and there really was a problem finding a place for it. But then I've found (and I've spent long time searching) an absolutely perfect solution for me... in Ikea. It's called ALEX Drawer unit on castors 67x66 cm. It's cheap, stable enough, it fits pro1000 perfectly (it's a little bit narrower, but all the printer feet stay flat on the top surface), you can coast it, it has six A2 size drawers as if they were made for paper. It solved the small room problem in no time for me :). P.S. No, I don't work for Ikea, i'm just as happy with this cabinet, as with pro1000 itself😂 P.P.S. I'm sure, it can be a good hint for all the new pro1100 users, that don't have a dedicated place for it.
Hi, can you not print borderless on this printer on paper smaller than a4? I’m trying to print on cards that are 8” x 8” and noticed it cuts the edges off, do you know of a printer that will print borderless on smaller sized papers please?
Custom page sizes never work for borderless [in any printer I've tested] See the examples in the et-8550 review www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/or PRO-300 www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-pro-300-printer-review/ Sizes for the 300: A3+ /A3 /A4 /LTR /Ledger /Hagaki /7*10 /12*12 /5*7 /L(3.5″*5″) KG (4″x6″) /2L(5″*7″) /8″*10″ /10″*12″ /Square(127 mm) /210 *594 mm You'll need to check the 1100 manual for its specs, but it won't be any 'better'
Thanks Keith :) If I replace my newly resurrected R2880, the P900 was firmly in my sights but ... the Pro-1100 is out ! hmmm ... very looking forward to all you have to say in time :)
Thanks for this video, it was very interesting and I would love to have one of these printers, maybe one day..... I would like to learn how to print images with a consistent border either from Lightroom or Photoshop. By consistent, I mean specifically the same size border on all four sides.
Thank you again Keith!!! This is, these are excellent and looking forward to all your repots re this. Question? Can you please at some point address this printers handling of Fine Art Papers and forcing the issue of the “Art Papers Margin 30” on smaller sheets? Thank you again Keith!! Sincerely appreciate all your work and sharing this with us here!
Ah the margins... I almost always check the 'turn off margin regulation' option in the driver This was actually my biggest dislike of the old PRO-10 [and earlier models] I've been known to use a media setting for profiling just because it didn't have margin problems. I'll be addressing this some time before the review [the main written one]
@@KeithCooper Yes turning it off if I read everything correctly is NOT an option on the Pro-10. And the Pro-1p doesn’t work w the PPL software either. Oh well it’s not their flagship unit😏
@@lschiz-photography1765 Both rather old printers now - Canon didn't have PPL when I reviewed them and their backwards compatibility with old hardware is not always so strong.
