For printing, I had been using a Canon i9950 desktop printer and had achieved some superb results, both for printing my photographs and also for short run print jobs for our design clients. It was a costly consumer of ink however, as I never used anything but genuine Canon inks. I had had it a couple of years and it had given exceptional service so when the printhead finally gave up I couldn't really complain. For what it was going to cost in repairs, replacement printhead, new set of inks etc, it gave me an opportunity to consider my longterm printing options.

As a small design studio and fine art photographer, it did not take long to decide that a large format printer made a sensible longterm investment, especially as it provided a service which could then be offered to clients and other photographers. The new Canon IPF5000 was chosen, based on various reviews and reports I had read.

This printer produces some amazing prints! I am absolutely delighted with the print quality and have experimented with various paper types and also canvas and achieved some excellent results. It has taken some serious experimentation however as there are so many settings and so many combinations that I had to resort to using a notebook to keep track of which ones I have tried and what the results were. Once you get the right match, it is very, very good but the driver software doesn't make it easy in this respect so quite a few tests were needed initially but I do feel that I am now starting to get my head around it and am starting to achieve some sort of consistent results. Others have been so impressed with the results, especially on fine art papers and canvas, that I am already starting to produce prints for other photographers and artists. I will add more information on printing on fine art papers when time allows.

For everyday printing of documents, postcards and some small proofs I find the Canon Pixma iP4300 Photo Printer a superb desktop A4 printer which produces some excellent colour prints, perfect for 6x4, 7x5 or even A4 when required.

Read more about my Digital Darkroom and Digital Workflow to find out about the software I use.