Oh those cryptic codes on Canon print dialogue boxes. I can never remember what Canon’s codes are for their photo printer paper. Even the box the paper comes in doesn’t do a really good job of explaining which photo paper you’ve purchased.
Here’s a handy guide to Canon photo printer paper:
NOTE: NUMBERS INDICATE PRINT QUALITY: 1 = best , 2 = medium, etc. Always choose the highest number for your given photo paper type.
MP = Matte Paper:
MP1 Matte Photo Paper 1
MP2 Matte Photo Paper 2
PR = Photo Paper Pro & Photo Paper Pro II :
PR1 Photo Paper Pro 1
PR2 Photo Paper Pro 2
PR3 Photo Paper Pro 3
SP = Photo Paper Plus Glossy ICC Profile:
SP1 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 1
SP2 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 2
SP3 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 3
SP4 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 4
GL = Photo Paper Glossy or Photo Paper Plus Glossy II:
GL1 Photo Paper Glossy 1
GL2 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 2
GL3 Photo Paper Plus Glossy 3
SG = Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss ICC:
SG1 Photo Paper Semi Gloss 1
SG2 Photo Paper Semi Gloss 2
SG3 Photo Paper Semi Gloss 3
PT = Photo Paper Platinum (ooooh):
PT2 = Photo Paper Platinum quality setting 2
PT3 = Photo Paper Platinum quality setting 3
FA2 = Fine Art Photo Rag:
FA2 = Fine Art Photo Rag quality setting 2
Printing to Canon printers in Photoshop:
Canon Easy Photo Print Pro doesn’t work with my version of Photoshop, so setup can be confusing. Use this click path in the print dialogue:
- Photoshop manages color >
- Relative Colorimetric intent >
- Pick the profile for your Canon printer / Choose the Canon photo paper type you’re using
- Choose a color intent (below)
-
Uncheck Black Point Compensation
Color Intents
Perceptual
Suitable for photo images, giving attractive gradation
Renders the vividness of the original data. Hue is not emphasized. Suitable for business documents.