Best black and white all in one printer: The 4 Best Laser Printers of 2023

Best Black and White All-in-One Laser Printer

HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw Printer

Up to 5,000 pages of toner

Print, scan, copy, wirelessPrint speed: Letter: Up to 23 ppmAutomatic duplex printing, HP Auto-On/Auto-Off, HP Smart AppPrint up to 5,000 monochrome pages

381V1A#BGJ

HP Color LaserJet Professional CP5225dn Printer

Print onlyPrint speed letter: Up to 20 ppm (black and color)Prints up to 11×17″; Auto duplex printing; 2 paper trays (standard)FCC Class A emissions – for use in commercial environments, not residential environments

CE712A#BGJ

HP Color LaserJet Professional CP5225n Printer

Print onlyPrint speed letter: Up to 20 ppm (black and color)Prints up to 11×17″; 2 paper trays (standard)FCC Class A emissions – for use in commercial environments, not residential environments

CE711A#BGJ

HP LaserJet M110w Wireless Black & White Printer with available 2 months Instant Ink

World’s smallest laser in its classPrint black and white forms and documents with fast speedsEligible for money-saving HP Instant InkDynamic security enabled printer

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HP LaserJet M140w Wireless Black & White Printer with available 2 months Instant Ink

The world’s smallest laser in its classPrint, scan, copy black and white forms and documents with fast speedsEligible for money-saving HP Instant InkDynamic security enabled printer

7MD72F#BGJ

HP Color LaserJet Professional CP5225dn Printer

Received the printer with a hardware malfunction. The printing kept coming out skewed at a near 40 degree angle. Called support and they immediately sent me a replacement. New one came in just a few days and works perfectly. I use HP exclusively in my graphic design business and really appreciate the quantity, service life, and the support HP has. Thank you!!!

READ THE REVIEW 

HP Color LaserJet Professional CP5225n Printer

HP has come a long way in printers. This one has impressive resolution and good color. It also works with 11×17 paper. As an engineer, this was a must. There are a few things you might consider: the printer cannot scan, it works over hard wire to a LAN and the second paper holder is not a tray, it is a fold out holder that works very well. On the plus side, the printer is very fast. You should consider buying the HP Support monthly plan since I’ve had great support via the telephone. HP knows the driver you should download, FYI.

READ THE REVIEW 

HP LaserJet M110w Wireless Black & White Printer with available 2 months Instant Ink

Das Gerät arbeitet einwandfrei und ist leicht zu bedienen. Besonders gefällt mir die Bedienung über WLAN

READ THE REVIEW 

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M653x

Prints very well on plain paper and cardstock. On glossy, prints too flat. Best printer ever is the Xerox Phaser 6700. Wish someone would use that technology.

READ THE REVIEW 

7 Best Black and White Printer Scanners in 2023

The best black and white printer scanners available on the market.

Nowadays more and more people look for printing and scanning devices to satisfy their work-related or educational needs. With the help of these machines, you can print out some learning materials for your children, digitalize business reports written by hands, send out a scanned file to an administrative office, etc.

A black and white printer scanner is a must-have assistant if you want to save your time and eliminate the need to search for a local supply store for printing out some documents or other stuff.

Top 7 Black and White Printer Scanners

  1. Brother HLL2395DW –

    The best black and white printer scanner

  2. Xerox B205NI –

    Relatively fast

  3. Canon MF236n –

    Stylish

  4. Brother MFC-L5700DW –

    Excellent text quality

  5. Brother MFCL2710DW –

    Modern

  6. Brother HLL2390DW –

    Portable

  7. Brother MFCL2750DW –

    Cheap

This article offers the list of the most popular monochrome printer scanners that can offer a great range of useful features for fulfilling all your printing and scanning needs fast and trouble-free. This review will definitely help you find the best black and white printer scanner.

1. Brother HLL2395DW

The best black and white printer scanner

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 36 ppm | Interface: USB, Wi-Fi | Feeder capacity: 250

  • ✚ Great quality of graphics and text
  • ✚ Various connectivity options
  • ✚ Comes with Nuance PaperPort software
  • No faxing features

$

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Fitted with a flatbed scan glass, a newly released Brother HLL2395DW is capable of quick scanning and copying various documents. This model was upgraded with many new features and is functional enough for processing up to 36 pages per minute. This model has successfully replaced the previous and less capable HLL2380DW version.

Engineered with a feeder with 250-sheet capacity, this updated monochrome printer scanner requires less time for processing all necessary documents as you don’t need to refill the tray often. The machine can process letter and legal-sized paper producing graphics and text of excellent quality.

2. Xerox B205NI

Relatively fast

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 31 ppm | Interface: USB, Wi-Fi | Feeder capacity: 40

  • ✚ Excellent quality of printed files
  • ✚ Quite quick performance
  • ✚ Low maintenance costs
  • Automatic document feeder is manual-duplexing

$

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Xerox is considered by many users as the best black and white printer scanner in terms of data security. It comes with integrated secure protocols and offers such useful features as 802.1X, HTTPS, IPsec, IPv6, IP and Mac address filtering, SNMPv3, Scan to Email with Authentication, Secure Print and Secure Fax Receive. All these specs allow you to print documents safely from any device including mobile phone, laptop, or desktop.

Besides, this model comes with such features as EPEAT, Green World Alliance, Toner Saver, N-up Printing, and N-up Copying that greatly reduce environmental impacts, making the device worthy of Energy Star.

3. Canon MF236n

Stylish

Optical scan resolution: 600 dpi | Scanning speed: 24 ppm | Interface: USB | Feeder capacity: 35

  • ✚ Affordable
  • ✚ Perfect for a standard desktop
  • ✚ Rather quick
  • High running costs

$

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Canon MF236n is a black and white printer scanner meant for small and home offices that require printing and scanning services on a daily basis. This model offers rather fast performance and requires minimal maintenance for uninterrupted functioning. The machine comes with an adjustable touch LCD panel that has a user-friendly interface and is convenient for usage.

Besides, the device is capable of printing up to 24 pages per minute. Its Single-Cartridge System incorporates the toner and drum in one unit, meaning you need to replace only one expendable item. Besides, the device boasts great compatibility with various printing software and utilizes Canon Genuine Toner.

4. Brother MFC-L5700DW

Excellent text quality

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 24 ppm | Interface: USB | Feeder capacity: 50

  • ✚ Quick printing
  • ✚ Great quality of text
  • ✚ Running costs are not high
  • Duplex scanning is unavailable

$

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Brother MFC-L5700DW features a user-friendly touchscreen that allows for effortless navigation and production of up to 48-customizable shortcuts for faster processing. Considered by many users as the best black and white printer scanner, this machine is compatible with a great variety of mobile devices and delivers excellent monochrome images.

Besides, Brother MFC-L5700DW supports wireless connectivity meaning that it is capable of fulfilling printing and scanning tasks remotely. Furthermore, the device supports Amazon dash replenishment feature that identifies the toner level and make an order on Amazon when this level is low.

5. Brother MFCL2710DW

Modern

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 32 ppm | Interface: USB | Feeder capacity: 50

  • ✚ Great quality of text
  • ✚ Neat and lightweight design
  • ✚ Supports Ethernet
  • Automatic document feeder is not auto-duplexing

$

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Brother MFCL2710DW is a monochrome printer scanner that uses smart technology for identifying the toner level and makes an order on Amazon automatically when this level is low.

One toner is sufficient for printing out up to 3,000 pages – two times more prints than other laser printer tones can handle. Moreover, Brother has an eco-friendly recycling program for disposing empty cartridges. No subscription or cancellation payments required.

6. Brother HLL2390DW

Portable

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 32 ppm | Interface: USB | Feeder capacity: 250

  • ✚ Compact and lightweight design
  • ✚ High printing speed
  • ✚ The quality of text is great
  • No memory drive support

$

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Brother HLL2390DW monochrome laser printer scanner combo supports various sizes of paper being capable of printing envelopes, cards stocks, and more. Fitted with a manual feed slot, the device can print and scan documents in professional quality. The machine runs wireless technology allowing you to send files for printing using a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, or PC.

Furthermore, the developers offer free support video chat or call to ensure that your experience using Brother HLL2390DW is pleasant and trouble-free. You can also take advantage of the Amazon Dash Replenishment feature for automatic identification of toner level and making orders on Amazon when it is low.

7. Brother MFCL2750DW

Cheap

Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi | Scanning speed: 36 ppm | Interface: USB | Feeder capacity: 50

  • ✚ Exceptional speed of copying and printing
  • ✚ Scans black-and-white images to PDF quickly
  • ✚ Speedy document feed
  • The speed of color-scanning is not high

$

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Rating

Brother MFCL2750DW is engineered with a 2. 7″” color touchscreen, supports a wireless printing option, and can print various documents or images sent from your laptop, tablet, smartphone, or personal computer. The developers provide their users with instant support via chat or call.

The machine offers 600DPI copy resolution that is enough for producing qualitative images. Besides, its scanner driver supports various file formats including JPEG, Max, PDF, TIFF, etc. Furthermore, the device supports Amazon dash replenishment technology that measures the toner level and orders a consumable when the level of toner is insufficient.

IMAGE NAME FEATURES

Brother HLL2395DW

Our choice

  • Optical scan resolution: 1200 dpi
  • Scanning speed:36 ppm
  • Interface: USB, Wi-Fi
  • Feeder capacity: 250
CHECK PRICE →

Xerox B205NI

Compact

  • Optical scan resolution:1200 dpi
  • Scanning speed: 31 ppm
  • Interface: USB, Wi-Fi
  • Feeder capacity: 40
CHECK PRICE →

Canon MF236n

Stylish

  • Optical scan resolution: 600 dpi
  • Scanning speed: 24 ppm
  • Interface: USB
  • Feeder capacity: 35
CHECK PRICE →

How to Choose the Best Black and White Printer Scanner?

Place

Before buying such a highly functional and helpful device, find the place where you can locate it. If you need a machine for personal use and want it to be near your PC, you can opt for a wired version, as it is low-priced. However, if you want or need to place a printer in another room far from your computer, or share it with other users, decide on wireless models. In this case, you should check the quality of your Wi-Fi connection.

For a Small Business or Home Office

If you are an owner of a modest business or need a functional and fast printing machine, opt for alaser printer that can fulfill multiple tasks saving your time and money. For printing forms and other stuff in greyscale, decide on monochrome models that are quite affordable today. Duplex printers are also worth your attention as they can process both sides of a sheet automatically. For multitasking, try to find the best black and white printer scanner that can perform scanning, and even faxing. Opt for a supertank printer, if you print much and do not want to change cartridges so often.

What Do You Need a Printer to Do?

The functionality of your machine is an essential aspect to consider while selecting the most suitable printer. If you need to print files only sometimes, a low-end inkjet or laser printer can satisfy your needs. For printing out images or photos, you need a photo printer. For handling more than 100 sheets per day, opt for quicker laser printers. However, if you aim to start your own business that will involve performing various tasks, decide on a monochrome laser printer scanner combo that can serve as a scanner, printer, and fax machine.

Deciding if a Laser Printer Is Right for You

A laser printer is the best option for those, who need to fulfill printing tasks on the daily basis. Although these devices are more expensive than inkjet printers, they can actually save your money as they don’t require frequent change of cartridges. As practice shows, a page printed on an average laser printer will cost you 2-5 cents. The cost of a page printed on an inkjet printer ranges from 10 to 15 cents.

Moreover, the printing of photos using an inkjet machine may really harm your budget, as the average cost of one photo can reach up a dollar.

FAQ

The main drawback of a laser printer is that it uses cartridges that are quite pricey. If you want to use the cartridge economically, you need to print docs in a low-quality mode.

Many users consider OfficeJet Pro 8210 as one of the most cost-effective inkjet printers. This model uses cartridges with low ink consumption. Besides, this device can brag about various features and is more efficient than many laser printers, as it offers a twice-lower cost per sheet.

It is worth buying a laser printer if you have to print many monochrome documents every day. This type of printer functions faster and can process more pages per minute. The majority of models are fitted with high-volume paper trays for processing more pages during a particular span of time.  

Tips for Printing Black and White Landscapes

Tips for Printing Black and White Landscapes – Canon Ireland

ARTICLE

Learn how to get the most out of your printer to reproduce rich blacks and nuanced grays in monochrome images.

Canon Ambassador Clive Booth enjoys creating dramatic, atmospheric landscapes in black and white as well as printing his own images. “For a photographer, printing an image is the best way to showcase their work exactly as they intended,” says Clive. © Clive Booth

Clive Booth is best known for his commercial and fashion projects, but the atmospheric scenery of the Peak District National Park near the photographer’s home, as well as the beautiful Islay on the west coast of Scotland, inspired him to create black and white landscape photographs. An exhibition of his Islay landscapes in Paris landed him a major contract with Ardbeg, an LVMH-owned whiskey distiller with its own distillery on the island. A significant part of the project involved shooting black and white landscapes on the island, helping to create a mysterious atmosphere.

Clive is also very fond of printing in black and white. “I am a graphic designer by training and have been working with printing presses for 30 years,” he says. — I like to print, including black and white landscapes. If you find the right theme and atmospheric conditions for shooting, the image can be made very multifaceted. You can maintain maximum detail in both the highlights and dark areas of the image, and achieve soft gradation.”

In this article, a Canon Ambassador shares his experience of printing black and white images and provides some tips for getting the best results. And Suhaib Hussein, Product Marketing Manager for EMEA at Canon Europe, explains the technical details that make it possible to produce the highest quality prints with Canon’s professional photo printers.

When shooting black-and-white landscapes, Clive says it’s important to capture detail in both the highlights and shadows of an image, which is exactly what he did when shooting winter storm waves crashing against the rocks near Craig Fada Lighthouse on Islay’s Kilnaughton Point, Scotland. Taken on a Canon EOS-1D X (now succeeded by the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III) with a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM lens (now succeeded by the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM) and the following settings: 1/500 sec., f/2 and ISO 1250. © Clive Booth

1. Take advantage of your camera equipment

“When shooting, you want to maximize the potential of your camera,” says Clive. “At the moment, the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 models are the most efficient. In terms of optics, the same applies to Canon RF lenses. I always shoot in RAW or Dual Pixel RAW because it’s important for me to extract as much information from my image files as possible. Canon’s new cameras deliver phenomenal dynamic range and retain maximum detail – from deep shadows to the brightest areas – while maintaining high resolution.

This photograph of empty barrels near the Ardbeg distillery in Islay demonstrates the low-light capabilities of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, as well as the wide dynamic range available when shooting in Dual Pixel RAW. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 24mm, 1/200 sec, f/2.8 and ISO3200. © Clive Booth

2. Choose an appropriate

printer

Clive uses the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 for printing images up to A2, the imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 for large A0 prints, and the new imagePROGRAF PRO-300 for A3+. “The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 printer is quite budget-friendly, but at the same time very productive. It’s the most efficient printer of its size,” he says. “It prints just as well as my other printers, and in some ways even better. It provides exceptional black depth.”

Suhaib says that if you want high-quality black-and-white prints, your first choice of printer should be the amount of monochrome ink. “The more monochrome ink you have, the wider the tonal range will be,” he explains. – Gradation will be more natural, as will neutral shades. If your printer is limited by a low amount of monochrome ink, you may experience unwanted color casts because if the machine doesn’t find the right tone in the black ink, it uses other colors to fill in the gap. For example, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 model is equipped with black, gray and light gray inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 offers matte black, photo black and gray inks. Matte black inks are designed to render deep and rich blacks; in this regard, the PRO-300 outperforms even the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000.”

Clive used to think it was impossible. “When Suhaib sent me the imagePROGRAF PRO-300, I thought it couldn’t be any better than the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 or PRO-2000. He told me to try black printing. I followed the advice and was shocked at how good this printer is. We can say that when printing in A3+ format, the imagePROGRAF PRO-300 outperforms all other devices in the line.”

Do you have Canon equipment?

Register your equipment and get access to free expert advice, equipment maintenance, exciting events and special offers – join the Canon Professional Services program.

JOIN CPS

The lack of color in the original photo taken by Clive atop the Schilthorn in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland was not a problem for the photographer, as the black and white print format helped him make the image cooler and more atmospheric. Canon Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software offers the user a special black and white photo printing mode to enhance the quality of monochrome prints such as this one. Taken on a Canon EOS 5DS R with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens at 1/1000 sec, f/2.8 and ISO1000. © Clive Booth

3. Calibrate work devices

“It is very important to calibrate the devices used in the workflow. “My configuration is fully calibrated, from the monitors to the lights I use to analyze print results.” Clive most often edits images in Adobe Lightroom before importing them into Canon Professional Print & Layout (PPL), which supports standalone and installation as a plug-in for Digital Photo Professional (DPP), Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. “This is extremely important to me,” he says. — This is a super-powerful program that greatly simplifies the printing process. Many do not understand how effective it is. This is one of the main benefits of using Canon printers.”

Tips for making perfect black and white prints

Print specialist Jay Sinclair shows family photographer Helen Bartlett how to create quality prints of her black and white photographs.

Learn more

“While the monitor projects light and the print reflects it, PPL’s ​​soft proofing tools provide an accurate preview of the future printed version on a range of Canon photo and art media, as well as third-party specialty papers. . Premium paper costs a lot of money, so you can save time and money with this feature. It also provides maximum stability – I know that if I edit images for printing on imagePROGRAF printers in the studio, I can send them anywhere in the world, and if they are printed on the same paper, the result will be identical.

“Another useful PPL feature is template printing. At the proofing stage, it allows you to print thumbnails of an image with different options for brightness, contrast, and color tone. It’s like creating a contact sheet – you can choose the version you like before printing the image in the final format. If you are confident that your monitor is calibrated accurately, you can use the soft proof pattern printing feature so you can see the difference on screen.

The atmosphere created by fog and the smooth surface of the water near Kilnaughton Point, Islay, is enhanced by the black and white format. Software such as Canon PPL allows you to create thumbnails of a file before printing it – with different color gamuts, brightness and contrast options – to choose the version you like before printing. Taken on a Canon EOS-1D X with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens at 248mm, 1/3200 sec, f/5 and ISO150. © Clive Booth

4. Use Black and White Photo Printing Mode

PPL has a special black and white photo printing mode that removes color casts from black and white landscapes. If you don’t have a high-end monitor and the ability to fully calibrate your devices, this mode will help you achieve exceptional results. “The black-and-white photo mode reduces the color level of the print to eliminate tones that cannot be recreated with black and gray ink alone,” says Suhaib. “It uses a specially designed algorithm to produce neutral tones, using only cyan and magenta photo inks in addition to black and gray inks. It’s a simple and quick way to avoid showing color casts.”

5. Choose the best paper for black and white printing

The print quality depends largely on the quality of the paper. Clive says the new fine art papers as well as Canon’s premium matte paper are great, but he also likes Hahnemühle’s paper. “Different types of paper can give your print a different look and style, and it’s also very easy to switch between them. You can buy different Canon papers, choose the size you want in the print dialog, and the software does the rest for you. With the imagePROGRAF PRO-300, you can create prints of the highest archival quality even at home. What was previously only possible with bulky printers is now possible with a device that is small enough and affordable for any photographer.”

Suhaib agrees that paper affects the quality of monochrome prints just as much as ink. “The whiteness of paper affects the appearance of a print in the same way that white balance changes the appearance of a digital image,” he explains. – Matte paper is usually much less white, so whites don’t look as sharp, and prints can have a warmer color tone than on screen. We recommend that you always calibrate production devices, as well as use color profiles, soft proofing and proofing functions so that you can determine how the screen image will look when printed on a specific paper.

Borderless printing allows you to freely experiment with different types and sizes of paper to create more voluminous and dramatic black and white landscapes, such as this photo of rain on Big Strand, Islay’s longest beach. Taken on a Canon EOS 5DS with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens at 47mm, 1/500 sec, f/4 and ISO160. © Clive Booth

6. Make the most of printing without Margins

A big advantage of the Canon imagePROGRAF and Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printers is the ability to print borderless photos on matte, glossy, and art media. This allows you to use the entire surface of the media for edge-to-edge printing, which increases the print size. “You also don’t limit yourself to printing, for example, in 13×19″,” says Clive. “You can choose the right length of paper to match the aspect ratio of the image: from panoramic to square.”

7. Remember what kind of image you want to get

“Photo printing is inextricably linked to the archiving process,” says Clive. I have hard drives that I use with computers that are 20 years old just so I don’t lose the ability to access files.What will happen in the next 50 years?All Canon printers, inks and papers produce prints that last more than 150 years, which is a significant advantage of printing as a format for archiving images.It is also worth considering that any monitor will be different from all others.For a photographer, printing an image is the best way to showcase work in full accordance with his idea.Printing is a craft where your passion as well as the quality and value of products, but don’t forget about durability and archiving.”

Author Matthew Richards

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    Wedding photographer Sanjay Jogia talks about extracting frames from an 8K video shot with the Canon EOS R5 and then printing them on the imagePROGRAF PRO-300.

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    Tips for printing black and white landscapes

    Tips for printing black and white landscapes – Canon UK monochrome images .

    Canon Ambassador Clive Booth enjoys creating dramatic, atmospheric landscapes in black and white as well as printing his own images. “For a photographer, printing an image is the best way to showcase their work exactly as they intended,” says Clive. © Clive Booth

    Clive Booth is best known for his commercial and fashion work, but the atmospheric scenery of the Peak District National Park near the photographer’s home, as well as the beautiful Isle of Islay on the west coast of Scotland, inspired him to create black and white landscape photographs . An exhibition of his Islay landscapes in Paris landed him a major contract with Ardbeg, an LVMH-owned whiskey distiller with its own distillery on the island. A significant part of the project involved shooting black and white landscapes on the island, helping to create a mysterious atmosphere.

    Clive is also very fond of printing in black and white. “I am a graphic designer by training and have been working with printing presses for 30 years,” he says. — I like to print, including black and white landscapes. If you find the right theme and atmospheric conditions for shooting, the image can be made very multifaceted. You can maintain maximum detail in both the highlights and dark areas of the image, and achieve soft gradation.

    In this article, a Canon Ambassador shares his experience of printing black and white images and provides some tips for getting the best results. And Suhaib Hussein, Product Marketing Manager for EMEA at Canon Europe, explains the technical details that make it possible to produce the highest quality prints with Canon’s professional photo printers.

    When shooting black-and-white landscapes, Clive says it’s important to capture detail in both the highlights and shadows of an image, which is exactly what he did when shooting winter storm waves crashing against the rocks near Craig Fada Lighthouse on Islay’s Kilnaughton Point, Scotland. Taken on a Canon EOS-1D X (now succeeded by the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III) with a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM lens (now succeeded by the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM) and the following settings: 1/500 sec., f/2 and ISO 1250. © Clive Booth

    1. Take advantage of your camera equipment

    “When shooting, you want to maximize the potential of your camera,” says Clive. “At the moment, the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 models are the most efficient. In terms of optics, the same applies to Canon RF lenses. I always shoot in RAW or Dual Pixel RAW because it’s important for me to extract as much information from my image files as possible. Canon’s new cameras deliver phenomenal dynamic range and retain maximum detail – from deep shadows to the brightest areas – while maintaining high resolution.

    This photograph of empty barrels near the Ardbeg distillery in Islay demonstrates the low-light capabilities of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, as well as the wide dynamic range available when shooting in Dual Pixel RAW. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 24mm, 1/200 sec, f/2.8 and ISO3200. © Clive Booth

    2. Choose an appropriate

    printer

    Clive uses the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 for printing images up to A2, the imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 for large A0 prints, and the new imagePROGRAF PRO-300 for A3+. “The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 printer is quite budget-friendly, but at the same time very productive. It’s the most efficient printer of its size,” he says. “It prints just as well as my other printers, and in some ways even better. It provides exceptional black depth.”

    Suhaib says that if you want high-quality black-and-white prints, your first choice of printer should be the amount of monochrome ink. “The more monochrome ink you have, the wider the tonal range will be,” he explains. – Gradation will be more natural, as will neutral shades. If your printer is limited by a low amount of monochrome ink, you may experience unwanted color casts because if the machine doesn’t find the right tone in the black ink, it uses other colors to fill in the gap. For example, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 model is equipped with black, gray and light gray inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-300 offers matte black, photo black and gray inks. Matte black inks are designed to render deep and rich blacks; in this regard, the PRO-300 outperforms even the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000.”

    Clive used to think it was impossible. “When Suhaib sent me the imagePROGRAF PRO-300, I thought it couldn’t be any better than the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 or PRO-2000. He told me to try black printing. I followed the advice and was shocked at how good this printer is. We can say that when printing in A3+ format, the imagePROGRAF PRO-300 outperforms all other devices in the line.”

    Do you have Canon equipment?

    Register your equipment and get access to free expert advice, equipment maintenance, exciting events and special offers – join the Canon Professional Services program.

    JOIN CPS

    The lack of color in the original photo taken by Clive atop the Schilthorn in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland was not a problem for the photographer, as the black and white print format helped him make the image cooler and more atmospheric. Canon Professional Print & Layout (PPL) software offers the user a special black and white photo printing mode to enhance the quality of monochrome prints such as this one. Taken on a Canon EOS 5DS R with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens at 1/1000 sec, f/2.8 and ISO1000. © Clive Booth

    3. Calibrate work devices

    “It is very important to calibrate the devices used in the workflow. “My configuration is fully calibrated, from the monitors to the lights I use to analyze print results.” Clive most often edits images in Adobe Lightroom before importing them into Canon Professional Print & Layout (PPL), which supports standalone and installation as a plug-in for Digital Photo Professional (DPP), Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. “This is extremely important to me,” he says. — This is a super-powerful program that greatly simplifies the printing process. Many do not understand how effective it is. This is one of the main benefits of using Canon printers.”

    Tips for making perfect black and white prints

    Print specialist Jay Sinclair shows family photographer Helen Bartlett how to create quality prints of her black and white photographs.

    Learn more

    “While the monitor projects light and the print reflects it, PPL’s ​​soft proofing tools provide an accurate preview of the future printed version on a range of Canon photo and art media, as well as third-party specialty papers. . Premium paper costs a lot of money, so you can save time and money with this feature. It also provides maximum stability – I know that if I edit images for printing on imagePROGRAF printers in the studio, I can send them anywhere in the world, and if they are printed on the same paper, the result will be identical.

    “Another useful PPL feature is template printing. At the proofing stage, it allows you to print thumbnails of an image with different options for brightness, contrast, and color tone. It’s like creating a contact sheet – you can choose the version you like before printing the image in the final format. If you are confident that your monitor is calibrated accurately, you can use the soft proof pattern printing feature so you can see the difference on screen.

    The atmosphere created by fog and the smooth surface of the water near Kilnaughton Point, Islay, is enhanced by the black and white format. Software such as Canon PPL allows you to create thumbnails of a file before printing it – with different color gamuts, brightness and contrast options – to choose the version you like before printing. Taken on a Canon EOS-1D X with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens at 248mm, 1/3200 sec, f/5 and ISO150. © Clive Booth

    4. Use Black and White Photo Printing Mode

    PPL has a special black and white photo printing mode that removes color casts from black and white landscapes. If you don’t have a high-end monitor and the ability to fully calibrate your devices, this mode will help you achieve exceptional results. “The black-and-white photo mode reduces the color level of the print to eliminate tones that cannot be recreated with black and gray ink alone,” says Suhaib. “It uses a specially designed algorithm to produce neutral tones, using only cyan and magenta photo inks in addition to black and gray inks. It’s a simple and quick way to avoid showing color casts.”

    5. Choose the best paper for black and white printing

    The print quality depends largely on the quality of the paper. Clive says the new fine art papers as well as Canon’s premium matte paper are great, but he also likes Hahnemühle’s paper. “Different types of paper can give your print a different look and style, and it’s also very easy to switch between them. You can buy different Canon papers, choose the size you want in the print dialog, and the software does the rest for you. With the imagePROGRAF PRO-300, you can create prints of the highest archival quality even at home. What was previously only possible with bulky printers is now possible with a device that is small enough and affordable for any photographer.”

    Suhaib agrees that paper affects the quality of monochrome prints just as much as ink. “The whiteness of paper affects the appearance of a print in the same way that white balance changes the appearance of a digital image,” he explains. – Matte paper is usually much less white, so whites don’t look as sharp, and prints can have a warmer color tone than on screen. We recommend that you always calibrate production devices, as well as use color profiles, soft proofing and proofing functions so that you can determine how the screen image will look when printed on a specific paper.

    Borderless printing allows you to freely experiment with different types and sizes of paper to create more voluminous and dramatic black and white landscapes, such as this photo of rain on Big Strand, Islay’s longest beach. Taken on a Canon EOS 5DS with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens at 47mm, 1/500 sec, f/4 and ISO160. © Clive Booth

    6. Make the most of printing without Margins

    A big advantage of the Canon imagePROGRAF and Canon PIXMA PRO-200 printers is the ability to print borderless photos on matte, glossy, and art media. This allows you to use the entire surface of the media for edge-to-edge printing, which increases the print size. “You also don’t limit yourself to printing, for example, in 13×19″,” says Clive. “You can choose the right length of paper to match the aspect ratio of the image: from panoramic to square.”

    7. Remember what kind of image you want to get

    “Photo printing is inextricably linked to the archiving process,” says Clive. I have hard drives that I use with computers that are 20 years old just so I don’t lose the ability to access files.What will happen in the next 50 years?All Canon printers, inks and papers produce prints that last more than 150 years, which is a significant advantage of printing as a format for archiving images.It is also worth considering that any monitor will be different from all others.For a photographer, printing an image is the best way to showcase work in full accordance with his idea.Printing is a craft where your passion as well as the quality and value of products, but don’t forget about durability and archiving.”

    Author Matthew Richards

  • ARTICLE

    Print still frames from 8K video

    Wedding photographer Sanjay Jogia talks about extracting frames from an 8K video shot with the Canon EOS R5 and then printing them on the imagePROGRAF PRO-300.