Nick Race27 February 2008, 11:24 PM
The PIXMA Pro 9500 is a very large, very slow, but very good-quality printer capable of printing A3 photos with excellent results.
The standard size photo printout is something that can be found at family get togethers around Australia and the world. The ease and speed of developing family and holiday photos in whatever quantity you want from the comfort of your own home has been one of the major influences behind digital camera adoption.
It’s all well and good, until you realise that the moment you want anything bigger, it’s back down to the photo lab for the same old song and dance. But is this for everybody? We can’t see it. Considering the price tag of $1,399, it’s relatively inexpensive given the quality of the prints produced (and their size) but might be a bit rich for the occasional photo of little Sammy wearing his favourite cowboy hat. But photographers both serious and amateur should take note.
The Pro9500 produces A3+ sized photo prints on glossy and semi-glossy photo paper using ten ink tanks, including three for black alone (photo black, matte black and grey). We tested the Pro9500 using some high-resolution digital camera photos and found the results on photo paper to be very good to excellent. Where we were really impressed was printing on another Canon paper: ‘Fine Art Photo Rag’. Results from this non-glossy, heavyweight and rich paper were outstanding.
If you can swallow the price tag and the ongoing costs at producing such large prints, this should be on your wish list.