Canon Pixma Pro-1 Review: Second to None

Build and Design
In terms of its outward appearance, the Pixma Pro-1 is somewhat similar to the previous generation Pixma Pro9500 Mark II but the button layout is slightly different and the dimensions of the Pro-1 are noticeably larger. How much larger, well the shipping weight of the Pixma Pro9500 Mark II is 41 pounds and the shipping weight of the Pro-1 is 60.9 pounds - roughly 20 pounds heavier than the printer it replaces!

Larger and heavier than its predecessors, the Pixma Pro-1 will take up some considerable desk space with the approximate dimensions of 18 x 27 x 10 inches in nonuse; it will expand to a massive 33.7 x 27 x 15.8 inches with the rear tray and front output tray extended. In short, you need to be prepared to have a large desk or table dedicated to just this printer.

One change we are happy to see is that Canon addressed the issues of small ink cartridges that were difficult to reach in the old Pro9500 Mark II. The new Pro-1 features front loading ink system and 36 ML ink tanks, approximately 2.5 times larger (150% bigger) than the ink tanks in previous models.

The new ink system combines the Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) patented print head with a tubular ink delivery pulling from the motionless ink tanks located on the left and right sides of the machine.

And Canon has expanded the color gamut to 12 Lucia pigment inks: Matte Black, Photo Black, Dark Gray, Gray, Light Gray, Photo Cyan, Cyan, Photo Magenta, Magenta, Yellow, Red and the Chroma Optimizer.

The exterior controls are very basic. The top of the printer has a single button with blue LED backlighting that opens the dual ink tank compartments. You'll also find two round, silver buttons on the front right side of the printer; one is the power button (right) and the other is the pause/resume/cancel button (left). While that might sound like too few buttons, it keeps things remarkably simple, and the Canon printer drivers allow you to make all the needed adjustments electronically rather than needing to mess with a clumsy collection of buttons on the printer.

The Pixma Pro-1 features a front side USB/PictBridge port and all connections are found on the back of the printer. You set up the Pro-1 via USB or an Ethernet connection (USB and Ethernet cables are not provided).