IPF5000 Banding Fix

Jim H WY on the IPF5000 Wiki came up with a solution to his nasty banding problem for the trailing 1.25 inches of paper on prints made from the Cassette. It completely eliminated the banding for me as well, so I feel reasonably confident that this fix is the solution. Here is the procedure (see the Wiki for additional details and discussion):

1. Install Firmware 1.23
2. On the printer LCD menu choose: Adjust Printer -> Manual Band Adj -> Adj Far Ed Feed and set to "Yes"
3. You can use letter size paper in the Cassette. Printer will print a sheet (assuming you have paper in the Cassette and have the Cassete selected)
4. Examine the rows C1 and C2 with a loupe and find the column in each row that shows no banding. If you can't choose between two adjacent columns, use a number between them.
5. Enter the number determined above for C1 and C2 by using the right and left arrow keys and choosing OK.


You may need to make this adjustment for every type (and size?) of paper you'll be using, and you may need to make it every time you switch paper because the printer does not appear to save these parameters separately for each paper type/size. You can record these values for each paper type and if you have to re-enter them, just print the pattern on a blank sheet 20 lb. bond paper so you can get to the part where you enter the values for C1 and C2.

It isn't known yet whether the Automatic banding adjustment would work just as well, or how different the values may be for different paper types. More information is needed from Canon about how the values are stored and whether they apply to each paper type or the printer as a whole.

http://www.canonipf5000.wikispaces.com

--John

Hi John,

Glad there's a solution. I didn't know there was a problem, LOL!

Could you briefly introduce us to the issues?

asher

Asher,

It is all detailed on the front page of the Wiki, plus a section on "Known Bugs" for other problems that have been discovered by posters to the Wiki:

http://www.canonipf5000.wikispaces.com

Would be too much to repeat here, thus I refer anyone interested to the Wiki.

--John

Thanks for the reference, John. I like your work on the WIKI and commend the effort and depth of the information.

I read it all and the forum thread and that's helpful in understanding the issues.

It's an important topic as is the printer MFR's policies for providing solutions.

Given your experience, how would this influence you purchasing decisions if you wanted to get a 44" wide printer?

Asher

I would probably go with the Canon IPF8000. No head clogging, easy switch between matte and photo black, and probably less ink used per square foot (not easy to compare, though). I had an Epson 9600, which was a personal nightmare for me. Makes the Canon IPF5000 look like a gem (which in most ways it is). The one issue would be that I think the "small" cartridges for the IPF8000 are 330 ml, so one would need to do a lot of printing to justify such an investment in ink.

--John

What do you think of the new HP machines.

Michael Reichman of Luminous Landscape waxed poetic on the Canon pigment printers but then this was all displaced by the new lady, the HP pigment printer.

The latter has the benefit of doing its own profiles with the built in Gretag phototometer.

I do like the idea of not having to change over ink lines and waste ink!

Asher

I think it is too early to get the HP. I am sure they are still working on the Firmware, software, etc. Trouble getting some papers, ink carts not in supply (so I have heard). Good for glossy, for sure. I found that I really prefer to print on sheets, just too much hassle with roll paper (especially the larger sizes) and flattening, etc. For this reason I will stick with the Canon for the time being.

--John

Hi John,

Thanks for the info.

What are the largest sheets sold? Are there really very large sheets sold? The 44" and 60" wide papers must come in some huge package?

Asher

The largest usual size is 17X22, although I know there are some larger sizes in sheets for some papers. The 17X22 will work fine with Canon IPF5000 or Epson 4800. Feeding sheets with the HP 24 and 44 inch printers (as is the case with most larger prints) is a pain. That is one reason I will stick with the Canon.

--John

Hi guys,

I'll chirp in here.. I've examined the HP Z3100 pretty closely and looked at various B&W & color prints from the z series. From what I saw, the print quality is pretty much the same league as the new Canons and Epsons. Without the Gloss Enhancer, there is some bronzing, etc. just as on the other printers. The wide gamut ink set, the lack of nozzle cloggs, having all the blacks on board, etc. are all good features.

The ONE downside for ME is the paper handling, as John states above. There are many of us who need "production" features for CUT SHEET media. If you have to print quantity 11 x14's or letter size prints for a client, it is a serious time saver to be able to load the paper in a tray or cassette and get on to other tasks. NOT with the Z series. You're only option is to stand at the printer and load them "in the back" ONE sheet at a time. DEAL KILLER for me. Makes me wonder who did their market research. A great spec printer with a Kluge paper handling which I suspect will cost them sales. Hopefully, they'll rethink the form factor in the next generation of printers. The forthcoming Canon iPF6000 is looking better all the time.

Of course, there are many who say that all they have to do is print multiple images on the roll and then cut them out with a paper trimmer. I envy working photographers with a small studio who have the time to do that. I don't.

Regarding the banding issue; there was nothing wrong with our printers.. they just needed to be "adjusted" using the built in firmware procedure. The sick humor in all this is that none of the USA techs, etc. knew about the adjustment and we all went through all kinds of hoops trying to figure out the "fix". I personally dealt with Canon tech support on numerous occasions, sent them sample prints, files, detailed letters, etc.

Thank goodness for John Hollenberg's wiki site !!

Tony Bonanno said:

The forthcoming Canon iPF6000 is looking better all the time.

Click to expand...

So, Tony, what's all the excitement about the coming messianic age of the iPF6000?

What will it bring uis?

Asher

Hi Asher,

Not sure it will bring much more than the IPF5000, but in a 24" printer. When you think about it, the iPF5000 brings us a lot. 16 bit plug-in (printer can actually use 12 bits of color depth data), 12 color pigment inkset, economical ink usage, no nozzle clogs, cassette, tray, AND roll feed paper handling, excellent print quality with both color and B&W, all blacks on board, pro quality build, etc.

What I would LIKE to see added to the list is pretty minimal. Gloss optimizer cartridge would be nice. Built in spectrophotometer as on the Z3100 is slick, but I can get by fine without it. User interface software / firmware could be cleaned up a bit.

Of course, if the new 24" Canon was designed so that it could take cut sheet smaller than 8x10, it would be a killer model. I could get rid of my Epson 3800.. many others who have wide format printers and who are using R1800/R2400 etc. for small cut sheets could get rid of those printers too.

I have no way of knowing if the iPF6000 will have any "improvements" or not, but even without any significant changes compared to the 5000, it would likely still be a very good choice for a 24 inch printer.

Thanks Tony!

Now people have said that the prints of the Prograf series show more of the matrix od the ink spray than the HP or Epson.

Is that your impression?

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Thanks Tony!

Now people have said that the prints of the Prograf series show more of the matrix od the ink spray than the HP or Epson.

Is that your impression?

Asher

Click to expand...

I'm still waiting for some custom profiles to use in comparing a wide color space 16 bit image using the plug-in compared to the same file at 8 bits. I would expect the differences to be quite subtle (if visible at all). I do think the 12 color inkset DOES make a difference and may offer better gradation and gamut than an 8 color inkset.

Tony

Tony,

Will the IPF6000 have Cassette and Tray feed of cut sheets? If so, it could end up being a killer printer!

--John