Part 3: Canon imageprograf Pro-1100, 90 Days Later

July 11, 2025 / Brian Cade

I bought the Canon Pro-1100 printer three months ago. Since then, I've faced several power outages—three in the last two weeks of June. The printer doesn't handle power loss well. When the power goes out, it automatically cleans itself and uses a lot of ink, sending it to the maintenance cartridges. After the first outage, I noticed that my Chroma Optimizer (CO) was low, but I ordered a replacement without worrying. The second outage affected my Photo Black (PBK) ink. Instead of ordering a new cartridge right away, I decided to see how long I could print with it being nearly empty. After the third outage, I realized I had critical ink levels for all my colors, and the maintenance cartridge was almost complete.

I ended up going back to B&H to order the other 11 inks and a maintenance cartridge. I also started looking into battery backup units from APC and CyberPower to avoid future problems. With so many choices, I chose the APC 1350VA battery backup for our printer. It's an 810-watt unit, which may be more than I need, but I thought it was better to have extra power. Since the last outage on June 23, I discovered from the Canon forums that when this printer is in standby mode, it draws 1.1 watts of power. I feel prepared for whatever comes next.

Final Thoughts

I have printed around a dozen 13x19 prints using the original ink that came with my printer, and it is still functioning well despite the critical ink levels. I have new ink cartridges on standby, along with a new maintenance cartridge.

On days when I don't print, I still perform a nozzle check, a tip I learned from Jtoolman's Photo Printing Techie and Keith Cooper's YouTube channels. Keeping the printer on helps prevent the deep cleaning cycles that waste ink. A safeguard would be investing in a battery backup; you won't regret it.

After using this printer for more than 90 days, I'm happy with it. The deep blacks and vibrant colors caught my attention, as well as the 17" wide prints. There's something special about holding your work in your hands; it feels equally as satisfying as seeing the images before editing. I'm also considering gathering a group for a portrait project that combines film and digital photography. I want to provide my clients with enlargements of their sessions, and the Canon Pro-1100 will help me achieve that.