Canon's LUCIA EX Ink set is designed for dramatic photographic expression and detailed color reproduction for exacting proofing applications. This 12-Color ink set offers a brilliant range of vibrant colors, smooth gradations and transitions, with incredibly fine details. This specially formulated ink also offers better scratch resistance, superb black reproduction and exceptional color stability compared to its predecessor. Combined with the printer's technologies, the LUCIA EX inks have the ability to satisfy the demanding needs of the Photographic, Fine Art, Proofing and Graphics professionals. The LUCIA EX Ink system excels in reproducing colors in the blue, red, purple, yellow and green spectral ranges, providing an exceptionally large color gamut. Vibrant, rich colors with unsurpassed detail and crisp, clean monotone images make this ink set essential for incredible photo quality output.

The Color Calibration Management Console is included for the centralized management of networked printers in a system from one easy to use software tool. This unique feature enables color calibration targets created using the iPF6450 printer with optional spectrophotometer to be linked across the entire line of new 12 color imagePROGRAF devices. A printer's administrator can monitor and manage each printer in a remote location. Linking color calibration targets among multiple printers allows color calibration for custom media to be performed on printers not equipped with a Spectrophotometer Unit.

This new printer includes an upgraded, built-in color densitometer that's designed to offer even more precise calibration and color matching. Using a three-color LED and a newly developed condenser lens the sensor enables accurate recalibration of the device, allowing users to maintain a low average printer-to-printer color difference. Automatic color calibration is finished quickly after a few simple steps on the printer's operation panel. A single color calibration performed with one type of media can be applied to media in all printing modes.

In highest print mode, the order of ink application and layering is optimized to maintain the highest print quality with fewer passes, making this mode twice as fast compared to previous models. In high and standard print modes, print density within a single pass of the heads is optimized to reduce unevenness and support fewer passes as well.

The new tint and tone controls over the four monochromatic shades allow a user to create even more expressive blacks with smoother gradations - especially in dark areas. Found in both the Printer Driver and Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, the new tone control in the monochrome photo mode includes adjustments for:

• Soft Tone
• Middle Tone
• Medium Hard Tone
• Hard Tone
• Strong Hard Tone

A tint control has also been added to the Print Plug-in for Photoshop. This new option gives users the ability to affect the white space on an image. By adding monochromatic ink to an images' white space, the user can improve gloss control in a black and white image, allowing them greater control on how their final printed output will appear.

Utilizing the included sub ink tanks, the iPF8400 keeps some ink in reserve so that even when the physical ink tanks run out of ink, printing can continue without interruption and the tanks can be replaced on the fly.

A built-in 250GB hard drive within the printer increases productivity by relieving workload from the host PC, while providing a large capacity for print job data storage and retrieval. This 250GB hard drive enables job data to be stored in protected mailboxes for easy access via web browser or at the printer for job re-printing. The embedded hard disk is ideal for medium to large workgroups to share a printer efficiently with multiple users, offering sample job storage space. To ensure security of your files, there are is a quick erase mode, high-speed mode, and a secure erase mode which meets to U.S. Department of Defense requirements (DoD5022.22-M Compliant) for erasure of disk media.

Fast data transfer will help exceptionally high measures of productivity.

This export module allows 16-bit image processing, preserving the expanded color spectrum and high gradation of the file. The Print plug-in also reduces the possibility of incorrect settings, by providing an integrated interface for print settings in Photoshop and the printer driver, enabling efficient production.

The new Adjustment Pattern Setting feature allows for multiples of an image to be printed with different color settings in order to choose the color that most closely matches what you need.

The following new or enhanced features are provided in the Print Plug-In for Photoshop:

• Adjustment Pattern Setting
• Adobe CMM support
• Proof printing support
• Support for commercial profile creation tools

This new creative tool can be accessed via Adobe Photoshop and allows users to easily create gallery wrap prints for framing, as well as creative options that will expand output possibilities.

• Crop Marks: These lines are a guide for folding the paper for mounting.
• Edge Lines: The area outside these lines is the area that gets folded around to the back of the canvas. (Not actually displayed or printed).
• Blue Lines: The area within these lines is the area that appears on the front surface of the canvas when mounted. (not actually printed).
• Canvas Thickness: This area becomes the sides of the canvas when mounted.
• Amount of Extension: This is the region that is printed protruding excessively in order to prevent white areas appearing on the sides of the canvas.

You can choose the effect you would like on the canvas that would be wrapped on the frame.

• Image: Wraps the image to the canvas sides.
• Soft Image: Performs Gaussian filtering on the image on the canvas sides.
• Reflection: Reflects the image on the canvas sides.
• Soft Reflection: Reflects the image on the canvas sides and performs Gaussian filtering.
• White, Black or Color Makes the canvas sides white, Black or a custom color.

Recognizing the expanding array of media options for large format printers and to further improve the versatility of these new imagePROGRAF models, Canon has developed a Media Configuration Tool, which allows customers to not only utilize Canon-branded media, but provides the ability to make adjustments to printer settings to enhance the precision and quality of output achieved with third party media.

Settings that can be configured using media parameter adjustment features include:

• Media weight and thickness
• Ink drying
• Automatic cutting settings
• Borderless printing
• Paper feed amount
• Print-head height
• Vacuum strength
• Maximum ink usage

This export module allow users to directly process and print RAW image files from DPP This plug-in bypasses the operating system's dependent print driver, allowing processing of 16-bit RGB images directly, which dramatically increases gradations and as a result, overall image quality.

Features:

• Full screen preview
• More print quality selections
• Categorized paper type view
• Roll paper layout view
• Bi-cubic enlargement

This utility makes it easy to print large-format documents created in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. The Plug-in appears in a tool bar inside the Microsoft application and has an easy-to-follow "Wizard". The Plug-in will bypass the printer driver to simplify the printing process. A few simple steps convert your 8.5" x 11" office document to poster size.