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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Tips & Tricks
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Optimize Your Canon Printer’s Performance with the Firmware Update Tool

Canon Firmware Update Tool
This is the page where you can find the imagePROGRAF Firmware Update Tool. Click on the image to go there now and update your Canon iPF printer for optimal performance.

To make sure your Canon imagePROGRAF Printer is running at its optimal performance level, be sure to take advantage of the imagePROGRAF Firmware Update Tool V24.00.

The tool, which you can click here to access, is quick and easy to use. This link is to the iPF8400 printer Drivers and Software site. To find your printer, select the printer from the See Other Large Format Printers drop-down menu located toward the top of the page, toward the right and below the image of the printer.

The tool works by searching for firmware updates on the Canon website. If an update for the printer is available the tool, which is launched by clicking an icon, it helps you identify the new firmware so that you can update your printer and the next time you go to print, you will be up-to-date and ready to go.
Simply launch the Firmware Update Tool and the software will search for imagePROGRAF printers that are found via a USB or Ethernet connection, and inform you if any firmware updates are available for each device.

If a firmware update is possible for one of the imagePROGRAF devices listed, the software can connect to the internet to automatically download this firmware and update the device. This way, you don’t have to manually search to see if an update is available.
If you have any questions or need help, call a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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Canon Inkjet Printer Instant Rebates Include the New SE Series

Canon Inkjet PrintersCanon is offering a variety of instant rebates on its imagePROGRAF (iPF) printers through April 30, including introductory sales prices of up to $500 on the new SE Series (click here to read more about the SE Series).

Buy or lease a new Canon large format inkjet printer from LexJet before April 30 to take advantage of the instant rebates and the SE Series sales price, which include…

For more information about Canon’s rebates, special bundle deals from LexJet, and anything you need help with, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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You Print to it, and it Sticks

Print-N-Stick Video

Not only does it stick, but LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric is repositionable and removable. As the video embedded below illustrates, the repositionable adhesive on the back of this bright-white fabric makes it super-simple to print, apply, reposition and remove with no residue.

Compatible with aqueous printers, including the latest from Canon, Epson and HP, LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric provides true photo-quality printing for a variety of applications, chief among those applications being wall murals and wall cut-outs.

It can also be used for signs, windows and other flat surfaces. It will not rip, wrinkle or stretch in production and provides higher ink saturation and a bright-white print surface for deeper, sharper colors than most inkjet fabrics on the market.

See how easy it is to print, stick, reposition and remove in the video below…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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HP’s Latest Printer Incentives through March 31

HP Latex 260The HP Latex 260 61″ inkjet printer is now available for a $3,000 cash-back mail-in rebate for owners of eligible HP Designjet L series or HP Latex 200 series printers through March 31. All you need to do is submit a photo of the printer with the serial number to cash in. For details, go to www.hp.com/go/latexloyalty.

If you’re looking for a wider print area, HP is also offering a $7,500 instant rebate on the HP Latex 280 104″ inkjet printer. The instant rebate and the Upgrade to Latex promotion for the HP Latex 260 are good through March 31.

If you’re looking to upgrade your aqueous inkjet printer, HP has a great deal for you with its HP Designjet Cash In & Trade Up Winter 2014 promotion. When you trade in a qualifying printer you can get up to $3,500 cash back.

HP Designjet printers to which you can trade up include the HP Designjet Z6200 60-inch photo printer (up to $3,500 back), HP Designjet Z6200 42-inch printer (up to $2,500 back), HP Designjet T7100 42-inch technical printer (up to $1,500 back), HP Designjet T2500 PostScript eMultifunction 36-inch printer (up to $500 back), and the HP Designjet T2500 eMultifunction 36-inch printer (up to $500 back).

We use the phrase “up to” since you’ll need to provide a serial number and return the formatter board or motherboard for your qualifying trade-in printer to receive the maximum. You can also provide just the serial number for less cash back ($250-$500). The Designjet Cash In & Trade Up promotion runs through March 31.

To find out more, including qualifying trade-in printers, and for direction on what printer would work best for you, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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Inkjet Printer Rebates from Epson through March 31

Epson Inkjet Printer RebatesThe latest rebates from Epson are good through March 31. Here are the rebate details, grouped by printer type (Stylus Pro aqueous, SureColor low solvent and Technical printers)…

Epson Stylus Pro Mail-In Rebates

Epson Stylus Pro Instant Rebates

Epson SureLab D-Series Mail-in Rebate: $2,000

Epson SureColor Instant Rebates

Epson SureColor Trade-In Program (call LexJet for info on eligible trade-in models)

  • $2,000 for the Epson SureColor S30670
  • $3,000 for the Epson SureColor S50670 HD
  • $4,000 for the Epson SureColor S70670 HD

Epson SureColor T-Series Instant Rebates

For more information about the latest rebates, contact a LexJet customer specialist, who can also tell you about special bundle deals, at 800-453-9538.

And, to learn more about how to set up and operate Epson printers, go to the Epson Printers and Workflow playlist at LexJet’s YouTube Channel.

Posted on by Michael Clementi Posted in Tips & Tricks
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Step 2 in Color Management: Printer and Media Color Gamut

In Step 1 of the color management to-do list we discussed how the quality of your monitor impacts the precision of your output. Step 2 of 3 focuses on understanding how your printer and the inkjet media choices affect color.

Print accuracy doesn’t rely solely on your use of a custom profile and an accurate monitor, though these two components guide you toward the closest possible result. There are two additional variables that can have a big impact on the types of colors you can hit with any printer…

The first is the gamut of the printer. How an ink is formulated in order to print a Coca-Cola red or a Pepsi blue, for example, may differ slightly from technology to technology.

These days I field a lot of questions about choosing between an 8-color system and a 12-color system.  Or, should I use the 9-color or the 11-color printer? Is there a noticeable difference between them?

The answer is yes, there is a noticeable difference any time you add colors. However, the next question I usually follow up with is, “What are you using the printer to print?”

When considering printing technology, there are printers made for higher-speed production (HP Z5200, Canon S Series, Epson T Series, to name a few) that can print a sellable photographic image, but would not be the ideal to use for an artist, photographer or fine art reproduction house. These printers have fewer inks, which cuts down on gamut but improves on speed in most cases.

If you’re in the market for a printer, talk to a LexJet customer specialist and explain the market you are in. We will make sure that you are using the right equipment for the job.

If you are seeing a color that is in your photograph or art piece that you just can’t nail with your printer, it may be out of gamut for the printer or out of gamut for the media you chose to print to.

If you’ve calibrated the monitor, make sure your printer is running at 100 percent capacity, that you’ve soft-proofed the image with the chosen rendering intent, and used a specific printer profile to print. If it still doesn’t portray what’s on your screen, then either of the above mentioned may be at fault.

Now I just spit out a bunch of jargon that may be foreign to you, so click on the links to the tutorials here to find out more…

Download and install ICC Profiles:

PC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W-F-k8z5io

MAC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuOhztAqoyY

How to Softproof before Printing using Photoshop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahf9yEPO4zA

How to print using ICC Profiles (find your printer and computer combination):

http://www.youtube.com/user/LexJet/search?query=Printing+Through

Color gamut difference between a gloss and matte photo paper.
Figure 1 shows the difference in gamut between a gloss and a matte paper in the high, mid and low range of color (top to bottom). The gloss paper is our Sunset Gloss Photo Paper (red line) and the matte our Premium Archival Matte Paper (green line) as profiled on the Canon IPF8400 with the X-Rite DTP70. Click on the image for a larger version.

You can’t do anything to increase the gamut of the printer, but you can make the right decision based on your needs at the time you purchase the equipment. Making sure you use the right equipment for the type of work you are doing will dramatically increase the quality of your print.

Our second extremely important variable to understand is the media with which you choose to print. The less reflective the media, the less light that reflects back into your eyes, and therefore, the lower the gamut and detail your print will realize (see Figure 1).

Artists have come to love matte watercolor papers and canvas, yet always demand the best color on those surfaces. This is where the owner or production manager at a fine art reproduction house runs into the biggest conflict.

The reflectivity of your media is not the only aspect of the printable supplies that affects color outcome.  White point can change your gamut as well. The brighter the white point, the more gamut you’ll pick up, not to mention an increase in that lovely term the experts like to use, Dmax, which is the darkest measurable value your printer-media combination can hit.

For canvas, Sunset Select Gloss Canvas has the highest dynamic range and color gamut of the canvas offerings LexJet produces. The highest-gamut matte canvas is our Sunset Select Matte Canvas, which has a very punchy white base. Partnering the Sunset Coating line with Sunset Select Matte Canvas has been a very popular choice amongst artists and photographers.

If you are trying to appease the artist crowd who prefer fine art papers, the highest-range matte paper is Sunset Fibre Matte (a very smooth bright-white fiber cellulose paper). If you need 100% cotton with a smooth finish, Sunset Hot Press Rag will be close behind.

If they would like texture on their cotton paper our latest addition to the line is Sunset Bright Velvet Rag.  This paper has the highest Dmax of our cotton line and prints very elegant-looking velvet-textured prints.

On the photographic side of media options, all of our bright white glossy and semi-glossy fibre-based papers put out a phenomenal range. They are all meant to emulate different versions of old-style air dried chemical bath papers that film photographers were used to exposing in the darkroom. These papers include Sunset Fibre Gloss, Sunset Fibre Elite and Sunset Fibre Satin.

Our newest paper in this category is Sunset Fibre Rag, which is 100% cotton and has a warm tone to the base. Even though it is warm in tone, the range is very large and the texture is very fitting to that style of paper.

For RC photo-based paper replicas, nothing tops the gamut of the Sunset Photo Gloss Paper. It reflects the most light, has a high-gloss wet-looking surface like one you would receive from a photo lab providing chemical-style glossy prints.

Also ever so popular for printers looking for a beautiful thick luster paper (e-surface) is our Sunset Photo eSatin Paper. This paper has a very cool white point and the surface is the most popular amongst the RC-emulating class of papers.

LexJet will provide you with the ICC profiles for every media above mentioned. If we do not list one here for your technology we will happily make one for you free of charge! Next time, we’ll tackle Step 3 in the color management to-do list: understanding ICC Profiles and settings. In the meantime, feel free to call us any time at 800-453-9538 with questions.