This printer offers 4800 x 1200dpi printing from four easily replaceable inks: black, yellow, cyan and magenta. This differs from other printers with six or eight inks, utilising photo, or light, inks in between the primaries, and even extra black and grey inks. Ink-drop size is a reasonable 2 picalitre using Canon’s FINE print head.

The printer offers a USB 2.0 connection for the computer, while a secondary USB port on the front of the unit allows cameras to be connected for Canon DirectPrint, along with PictBridge capability.



Using the printer is fairly straightforward, and printing is fast. Canon has always used many more nozzles on its printheads than its competitors, and has consistently outperformed its rivals in speed tests. Unfortunately, this printer doesn’t outperform in print quality. Firstly, the blacks are very weak: even the densest black looks more dark grey. This leads to images lacking contrast and bite, which isn’t helped by a weak set of colour renditions in some areas, particularly blues and some greens and yellows. Green is also a predominant cast in the print, especially in shadow areas and even skin tones, which is never an attractive cast. This certainly doesn’t help black and white images. So, if you’re considering this printer, consider profiling it too.