Advanced Software Features for Your Canon imagePROGRAF
6
CREATIVE AND WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS IN THE BOX
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONSCanon includes innovative software that will help you expand your creative process as well as manage your printing process, resulting in beautiful output with an eye on the bottom line.
* Included in 24" and 44" models only.
• Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop: Expands creative and processing options for the photographic professional—for higher quality levels than what the traditional printer driver can offer.
New! Gallery Wrap Feature: This feature
not only gives users the ability to easily create gallery wrap prints for framing, but also includes creative options that will expand output possibilities.
New! Adjustment Pattern Setting: Print
multiple versions of an image with different color settings in order to choose the color that most closely matches what you need.
• New! Color Calibration Management Console:
The Color Calibration Management Console program allows for the centralized management of networked printers in a system, allowing users to manage, share, and link their color data and ensuring color consistency between printers.
• Accounting Manager (PC only): Allows users to track and calculate your printing costs to help minimize waste and maximize profits.
• Print Plug-in for Microsoft Office (PC only): Print posters, spreadsheets, and banners quickly and easily directly from Microsoft® Excel, PowerPoint®,
and Word® applications.
• Free Layout Tool: Edit the placement and scaling of files and be able to group and print files from different applications as a single job, right from the Printer Driver—no third-party software is needed!
• PosterArtist Lite (PC only):* Use this
template-driven poster creation software to create professional posters, banners, and signage in just four easy steps!
• Media Configuration Tool: Allows for new Canon and custom media profiles to be imported into the printer, giving users more flexibility in media choices.
• Print Plug-in for Digital Photo Professional:
Software designed specifically for your Canon camera to help bring your professional photo production to the next level with the ability to work with RAW files.
• Remote User Interface: Have the ability to remotely access your iPF printer and receive any notifications, as well as check on the printer’s status and diagnose problems.
Adjustment Pattern Setting
New Gallery Wrap Feature
Table of Contents
imagePROGRAF Software Solutions
PosterArtist and PosterArtist Lite
5-6
Create eye-catching banners and posters
Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop
7-8
Advanced photo printing
Print Plug-in for Microsoft Office
9-10
Print large format directly for Microsoft Office applications
Free Layout Tool
11-12
Get the most out of your media
Accounting
Manager
13-16
In this guide you will find an overview of some of the software and utilities that Canon includes
with their imagePROGRAF line of large format printers*. (* see product specification for included
software). These programs come free with your imagePROGRAF device, and are designed to bring
out the full potential in your printer. Whether you need to know how much you’re spending per
print, how to print that perfectly touched-up image from Photoshop, or just how you can print that
perfect poster or banner, you’ll find that Canon has the software solution that you’re looking for.
Canon's included software are easy to use and made to enhance the printer experience. The
over-views in this guide are designed to give a brief description of the features and benefits of the
pro-gram as well as how to use the propro-gram. Each of the propro-grams comes with a help function that will
teach a user how to use the program to its full capabilities. These overviews show the extra value
that Canon puts into line of imagePROGRAF printers.
PosterArtist and PosterArtist Lite are easy to use, template-driven poster creation software (Windows O/S only) designed to be used by users of all levels of experience to create professional posters, banners, and signage in just 4 easy steps.
Create Eye-Catching Banners and Posters
PosterArtist and PosterArtist Lite
Features
• Pre-designed templates
• Royalty-free images and clipart • Backgrounds
• Frames • Text Graphics • and more!
Four Easy Steps to Poster Creation
The full version of PosterArtist includes advanced features:
• WYSIWYG Text Editing: “What you see is what you get”. Allows users to see text at the correct size and font as they type. • Auto Design Feature: To assist the user in creating personalized posters, Auto Design creates numerous template design options based on user inputs including image selection, color themes, text and more.
• Design Assistant: Developed to support more efficient design-editing, Design Assistant enables users to specify any area of the poster being edited and apply the “Auto Design” feature to that area providing new design ideas for the end user. • Quick Exchange: Allows users to easily interchange design elements in a poster by simply dragging one of the elements to the location of the other, and the Quick Exchange will automatically swap their positions.
1) Select template
• Choose existing template• Use the “Auto design” feature (Full version only)
• Open an existing poster • Create your own template
2) Set-up Print Options
• Printer
• Media source • Media Type • Roll Paper Width • Borderless Printing
• Enlarged/Reduced Printing
3) Customize
With dozens of editing functions and hundreds of high-resolution images, you can personalize your creation... • Photos • Clipart • Text • Shapes • Backgrounds
• Variable Data (Full version Only)
Canon's imagePROGRAF expands the print options for professional level output by creating an export module for Adobe Photoshop, the de facto standard for professional quality image editing. The Print Plug-In for Adobe Photo-shop module expands print options for higher quality levels than the traditional printer driver can offer.
Features
Advanced Photo Printing
Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop
• Bypasses the printer driver to enable direct printing from Adobe Photoshop
• Allows for 16-bit processing of images to dramatically improve gradations and image quality • Accurate monitor print preview to save time and reduce waste
• User friendly approach to adjusting print settings
• Enhances productivity when editing and manipulating images • Greater control over image processing
Advanced tools …made easy
The Print Plug-In always shows a print preview based on actual images being printed, eliminating the need to close the print properties dialog just to check on the layout preview. The Print Plug-In's preview function is located in the print window, always displaying the positioning of the image based on the media size, the exact color adjustment as well as the print layout, as the user changes the settings. The Plug-In offers three types of previews to view an image.
Images opened in Photoshop are “exported” to
the Print Plug-in module right from the “file”
menu.
When performing various settings and printing with-in the Plug-In, the Plug-In automatically saves the print history. This way there will be a record of all logged print jobs and their settings. This provides the ability to apply past print settings to other jobs and even save these settings as a favorite With Canon's imagePROGRAF, users can interface with digital photo files to implement a digital RAW file workflow and maximize image quality with 16-bit image processing. From input to output, Canon delivers technologies that enhance all aspects of photo imaging and printing.
The module shows a preview screen with options:
Print Area Layout - Shows the image laid out on the selected paper size.
Image - Shows just the full image.
Roll Paper Preview -Shows the image and selected paper size laid out on the roll paper, with media size and roll paper information noted on top.
The page set up screen gives the options for: • Borderless printing
• Enlarge/reduce printing o Fit to page
o Fit roll paper width o Scaling
• Paper size
• Paper orientation • Paper Source
The color settings tab gives control over of color, brightness, contrast, saturation, gray tone and also has an option to change color in a curve chart.
Changes made will show up in REAL time so users can see what the changes they make look like in the preview.
(Shown)
Print Preview
Page Set Up
Have you ever needed to enlarge a spreadsheet, graph, or chart made in Microsoft Excel? How about a flyer in Microsoft Word that you wanted to make in poster size? The Canon imagePROGRAF Print Plug-in now allows for users of any skill level to print posters or banners directly from Microsoft® Excel®, PowerPoint®, and Word®.
In your respective office application, click the imagePROGRAF icon in the tool bar. Then follow the instructions provided by the Wizard to turn your office document into large format output. It’s that simple!
Features
Print Large Format Directly for Microsoft Office Applications
Print Plug-in for Microsoft Office
• Print Matching Roll Width – This is used for resizing the original to fit the roll width. Choose this option to enlarge posters and vertical or horizontal banners before printing.
• Borderless Printing - choose this option to print without a border around posters or photos
• Multi-Page Printing - For printing multiple pages per sheet. Choose this option to arrange multiple handouts on a single page, or in other cases when printing multi-page documents.
• Print Using Registered Settings - Choose this option to print applying settings that you registered previously.
Using the Print Plug-In wizard is easy as
1,2,3! – Choose from print Matching Roll
Width, Borderless Printing, Multi-Page
Printing, or use Registered Settings
Choose the best Layout for your output. Roll Paper Width is the size of the roll in which you will print, and Layout
selection will show you how the print will come out.
Select Media type, Range of Pages to Print, then you’re set to Print!
*TIP* - Binding margin setting for Excel This is a useful feature to leave
space for hole punching or binding margins when printing out material to be stored in files, such as project management charts and schedules.
The benefits of using the imagePROGRAF Print Plug-In for Office are endless; make a poster from a slide in PowerPoint for a small or large meeting; use Microsoft word to make a large format flyer or poster; make a large format spreadsheet in Excel to make a checklist or chart. This can be an essential asset to marketing, sales, or legal team which can now have the ability to have their office documents in large format.
The Print Plug-In works for the following Windows Operating Systems:
The Canon Printer Driver includes a Free Layout function for effectively laying out (nesting) and printing multiple images on one print. Free Layout is an application that handles page data from the iPF driver as an object. It opens after the first file is sent and allows for the layout to be edited, including placement and scaling. You can use the Free Layout function to group and print files from different applications as a single job.
Get the Most out of Your Media
Free Layout Tool
In addition to normal nesting functions, the imagePROGRAF Free Layout has the following features.
• Arranges pages output from different applications and print them. • Changes the layout and size of specified pages only.
• Manual movement of objects • Manual alignment of objects • Enlargement/reduction of objects • Rotation of objects
• Ordering of objects
From the application, go to the print function.
Free Layout allows for different file types to be laid out and printed on one page
PDF File TIFF File
From the Print Driver,
• Select the “Layout” tab on the top and check the "Page Layout" box.
• Select "Free layout" from the scroll down menu. This will disable all but the page size function in the printer driver.
• Click on the “OK” button and then “print” This will send the job to the Free Layout screen
The Free Layout screen will open with the job laid out. You can now “print” (send) other print jobs to the same “Free Layout” page.
From this screen:
• Arrange, Align, rotate, and move objects on the page
• Control the page setup functions of the printer • Print images as seen on the screen
Free Layout will help minimize
the amount of paper used.
How to Access the Free Layout Function:
The Accounting Manager serves as a powerful feature, used for accurate management of job logs, printing costs, and other information that is increasingly important in production markets and office printing environments. In today’s ever changing economical environment, the Accounting Manager feature is a must for anyone closely watching their costs and consumption, giving an accurate picture of what really matters - the bottom line.
Features
* * Please check printer speicification for availability
Keep Track of Your Costs Accurately.
Accounting Manager
• View paper and ink consumption quickly and accurately.
• View printing costs by individual print jobs, as well as costs within a specific period.
• Configure parameters and enter values used to calculate printing costs for paper, ink, and other variable costs. • Printers with a built-in hard drive can store up to 500 records of cost information on the printer**, and the administrative server can display up to 10,000 job log records in the Status Monitor.
This feature is located in the Status Monitor of a Canon imagePROGRAF printer’s* properties under “Accounting,” or in the print driver under Utility -> Maintenance -> Accounting.
The Accounting Manager window shows a wide variety of information relating to print jobs. The information tracked gives the user not only the ability to see cost per print data but also who has been using the printer, what they are printing and other useful information. The data logged can also be used to review the paper type usage which can help plan paper purchases as well as inventory control.
Features
• Job cost
• Printing Results
• Document Name • Print Time
• Print Job Start Time
• Owner
• Ink Consumed in ml
• Paper Consumed
• Media Type
In Settings under Units and Displays, you can change units of measurements, including Paper Length and Paper Width.
T i p
In the Accounting Manager window, scroll to the right to see all the information being kept tracked on the screen, such as:
With the Accounting Manager feature, you can track how much ink and paper is being consumed for your large format printing. Costs can be assigned to ink and paper to determine your expenses based on your own “Cost of goods”. Each individual ink tank can have its own cost associated to it, as well as a variety of different paper types. This feature will allow you to determine the cost of each print based on your actual cost.
Quantify Your Ink and Paper Costs.
From the Accounting Manager window, go to the “Settings” menu and select “Unit Costs”. The Unit cost window (shown) will open, you can then click on the “Use same price for all ink” option if you want to enter the same cost for all the inks. You can also choose to enter the cost of each tank individually.
When at the Paper Tab, select your Media Type. In this case, we are using Heavyweight Coated Paper. Enter the Width, Length, and Price. Add it to the Price list. When finished, click on the “OK” button. Add any other additional media as needed.
With the “Other Tab” you can add a fixed cost into print. This will automatically add your predeter-mined costs into each print that is produced. By using this option, costs such as labor or other over-head items can be factored into the cost of a print helping you create a realistic pricing structure.
Note** - Printers equipped with a hard drive can store up to 500 print jobs. However for the models without the hard drive, they will only store up to 10 jobs. To ensure all job logs are saved, Accounting Manager can poll the printer periodically throughout the day. Be sure to check “Regular Data Acquisition” menu under “Settings.”
A Closer Look at The Job List - Cost Information
The cost information can also be saved as an excel file (.csv). Click on the icon to save the information to a .csv format. By saving the information in an excel spreadsheet cost information can now be directly extracted and used in other documentation such as invoices or inventory control reports.
Double click on any job entry in the job log list. The detail of the print job is displayed, showing paper cost and the cost of each ink tank.
