I’m not sure if this should be in equipment or processing. I’m curious as to what printers you all find best to print out your Astro photos. I’ve been using a Canon Pixma Pro-10 which is sufficient, but lately the colors have been off. For example, blues tend to come out violet, indigo, or purple. The inks are fresh and I only use the Canon brand when replacing a cartridge. I’m not sure if this is a calibration problem with my monitor or if the printer just can’t determine the proper color, from the image or even if the printer needs calibration. I’m unable to find a document that explains how to do that. Anyway, what make and model do you prefer and recommend for high quality prints?
Best printers for astrophotography prints and color calibration issues
Well Written Respectful Engaging
Might be clogged print heads, or time to replace the print head. I have an Epson P800 and have had the same poor color issue and cleaning the heads solved the problem…Dave
Canon Pro 300 is excellent.
Jerry Gerber · Aug 31, 2025, 01:06 AM
Canon Pro 300 is excellent.
Thanks, Jerry, I’ll check that out
CS….Pat
Dave Erickson · Aug 30, 2025, 10:28 PM
Might be clogged print heads, or time to replace the print head. I have an Epson P800 and have had the same poor color issue and cleaning the heads solved the problem…Dave
Thanks, Dave. I actually hadn’t thought of that. What solution or product would you suggest cleaning the heads with?
Well Written Respectful
Patrick Graham · Aug 31, 2025, 01:49 AM
Dave Erickson · Aug 30, 2025, 10:28 PM
Might be clogged print heads, or time to replace the print head. I have an Epson P800 and have had the same poor color issue and cleaning the heads solved the problem…Dave
Thanks, Dave. I actually hadn’t thought of that. What solution or product would you suggest cleaning the heads with?
Hi Pat, I have used Isopropyl alcohol and/or distilled water and a soft swab. The Epson P800 printer has a head cleaning feature and performs a head test to confirm the heads are clean.
Your printer has an automatic head cleaning feature as well. I looked it up and here are some suggestions:
1) The “ Maintenance tab” in your printer driver's setup has a "Cleaning" option
2) For manual cleaning, power off the printer, open the top cover, press and hold the RESUME/CANCEL button until the POWER lamp flashes once, and then release it. The printer will then begin the cleaning cycle.
As a side note: The Epson P800 is an excellent medium format printer with 9 inks and great color on prints to 17”×22”.
I use an older eye1 spectrometer for calibration…Dave
Helpful
Dave, Thanks again. I found the manual on the Canon website but it won’t open after downloading so I appreciate your help. I’ll use your suggestions as my printer is about 7 years old and due a through cleaning. I’m going to check out the P800 as well. Again, thanks for the tips.
CS
Pat
Patrick Graham · Sep 1, 2025, 03:34 PM
Dave, Thanks again. I found the manual on the Canon website but it won’t open after downloading so I appreciate your help. I’ll use your suggestions as my printer is about 7 years old and due a through cleaning. I’m going to check out the P800 as well. Again, thanks for the tips.
CS
Pat
Hi Pat, glad to help. Best of luck…Dave
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