Canon CT-21

So, I like it. But there is some learning...

Colour

One aspect is setting colour options, and ensuring it knows the paper type, else you get too dark or too blue, or whatever. This is a general thing anyway with colour printing, but on my PRO-1000 I only printed on the same proper photo paper all the time, and so it always just worked. On the CT-21 I have a roll of A1+ "coated" paper. It needs slightly different settings.

Paper Size

This is where it gets fun...

The paper is A1+ width, i.e. 610mm (A1 is 594mm). Fair enough, it means you can print over size, and cut down with bleed over the edge of the print. The catch is you need a big cutter or are good are cutting against a straight edge.

Just to be clear, A1+ is not the max size, it will print up to 18m long from a roll - a banner, which is just crazy!

The print driver essentially allows basic size options, for example, for A1, it can be A1 with 5mm margins, A1 borderless, or A1 oversize borderless. The A1 is great if you are putting in a frame with more than 5mm edges. A1 borderless is great if the frame has little or no border, or if cutting to A1 exactly. Oversize A1 is great for that bleed over the edge, but still has margins of a few mm on the A1+ paper each side and at the ends of the print.

Then there is a "scale to borderless roll" which goes to around 609mm wide, a slight white edge each side. It also cuts the length in to the edge of the print by a few mm. This means you get an over size print with two cut edges and two very narrow white edges.

Confused? Well, yes, too many options.

What I did was make the oversize with print close as you can, and ended up with nice over size A1. The snag is they don't fit in the clip frames so needed cutting, on all four sides.

Now, it can, of course, do A2 on the same roll, sideways - well A2+ (all the same issues, just on the other two edges).

But A3 and smaller I can use the sheet feeder and plain or photo paper, etc. However it does not do borderless at all on the sheet feed, always at least 5mm borders, so a tad more limiting.

Three sided borderless

There is yet another option - 3 sided borderless, and I realise now that this is actually what I need to use.

It prints the image the size you selected, so typically A1 exactly (to then go in a frame, but no scaling or cropping involved from the original artwork). But prints it as far to one edge as it can, and then cuts the start and end. This means you have two cut edges, one very close to edge, and one margin. The margin means only having to cut (or fold over) that one side of four. This makes it very easy to put in a clip frame, or only one cut to use with no frame.

This also means I could print smaller sizes, A3, A4, etc. These are extra easy as the (now quite large) margin fits in my guillotine. It also means all the same (roll) paper with the same colour settings, and edge to edge, unlike using the sheet feeder.

This is an example of A1 three sided borderless - only one side needs cutting or folding over. This is 840mm left to right.