The Indecisive Product Review
People have been asking how I like the Canon Pro 300 printer compared to my old Epson R3000. I'd like to start my answer with my view on gear in general so you know where I'm coming from. My approach to gear is that every piece of equipment has its own characteristics that you need to adapt to. In the case of printers I think both the Canon and the Epson are capable of producing excellent prints. I've only had Epson printers and I had my Epson R3000 for pretty much 10 years. I understood its character and quirks. Three months into the Canon and we are still getting to know each other.
What I like about the Canon Pro 300
It seems very well made. Every aspect of the construction is solid. There isn't anything cheap about it. Set up and basic operation is straight forward. The print quality is exceptional. I hesitate to say it but I think the Canon print quality is smoother and more natural looking, especially the it comes to printing B&W. Colour prints are exactly the way I like them, deep yet natural looking. Lastly and this is a big deal for me is that the loading of heavy weight paper is so much easier. Epsons front paper loading was madding.
What I don't like about the Canon Pro 300
I'm not particularly adept at software things so this may be my fault as much as Canon's but I find the Canon clumsy. For example, paper size has to be set both in the print dialog and on the printer. Some times the Lightroom print function works and sometimes not. The work around is to use the Canon software but it has to be for each new print if working from Lightroom. My feeling is that there is something I need to learn to make it work more smoothly, I just haven't figured it out yet. My only other concerns are the noise and the seemingly massive cleaning cycle it seems to do when turning it on.
In summary it makes great prints and that is what really matters. The frustrating interface is simply proof that the designers of printers are evil and out to drive us crazy, couldn't have anything to do with my abilities, lol.
