Canon imagePROGRAF iPF685

The iPF685 suits a small architecture studio, field office, engineering department, or contractor team that needs color drawings close to the people reviewing them. Its five-color ink set includes black and matte black alongside cyan, magenta, and yellow. That matters when a coordination drawing needs linework to stay distinct while revision clouds, utilities, phasing, or safety notes remain visible.

HP-GL/2 and HP-RTL support are relevant to older CAD plotting workflows, while GARO covers the printer language used by this platform. Direct printing through the USB Type-A connector is useful for a controlled handoff at the machine. Gigabit Ethernet is the more sensible route for a shared office printer. The 320 GB internal storage may also help teams that keep recurring output close at hand.

For a 24-inch fleet comparison, see the iPF685 and Canon iPF680 24-in comparison. Bottom line: it fits teams that print technical documents regularly but do not need wider sheets at every deadline.

The media range is broad enough for plain paper, coated paper, roll media, and cut sheets. Supported media thickness runs from 0.003 to 0.031 inches. The maximum roll length is 708.7 inches, with a maximum roll diameter of 5.91 inches. Those are handling limits, not a promise that every job will run unattended. Somebody still has to load the right roll, confirm the file, and collect the sheets. Printing has never been fully cured of human involvement.

The listed best-quality speed is 73 sqf/h. Treat that as a quality-mode rating, not a prediction for a mixed afternoon of PDFs, different sheet sizes, reprints, and last-minute redlines. First-sheet timing, RIP or driver processing, paper loading, and the stack at the output area decide whether the deadline behaves.

The printer measures 39.3 inches wide, 29.8 inches deep, and 20 inches high, and weighs 101.9 lbs. It is office-sized, but leave room for media loading and for the person who will eventually need to reach behind it. Bottom line: the footprint is manageable; the workflow around it still needs elbow room.

The iPF685 is limited to 24-inch-wide media. Firms that routinely issue 36-inch civil, structural, or construction sheets should look at the Canon iPF710 36-in rather than force a 24-inch device into a wider-format workflow. A larger machine is not automatically the answer, but it is hard to plot a 36-inch sheet on a 24-inch carriage. Physics remains stubborn.

Scanning and copying are not listed among this printer’s specifications. If walk-up scan, copy, and print work is central to your drawing-room process, the Canon iPF770 36-in is the in-family option in this catalog identified as a scanner/MFP. For a simpler 24-inch in-family comparison, consider the Canon iPF670 24-in.

Consumables for this model include Canon 6704B001, Canon 6705B001, Canon 6706B001, Canon 6707B001, Canon 6708B001, the Canon PF-04 printhead, Canon MC-10 maintenance cartridge, and Canon CT-06 media component. Confirm local availability and service arrangements before committing a deadline-critical printer to one location. Bottom line: choose this machine for 24-inch technical output, not for wider sheets or integrated scanning.