A skeptic is sold
Written: Apr 24 '04
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Pros: Beautiful, blemish free borderless large format printing.
Cons: Big.
The Bottom Line: If you've ever had doubts about buying a photo printer, you need to see a print from this machine!
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| toeslider's Full Review: Canon i 9100 Inkjet Printer |
A month ago, I was the one telling all my friends that there was no reason to buy a photo printer when you can get such great results by taking my flash card to Wal-Mart. I mean, come on, 8X10 photo quality prints, in an hour, for less than $3?
Then I met a Canon rep.
I was actually in a store looking for something else, but I always have printers in the back of my head. It really would be nice to make my prints at home. I would be a hard sell on an 8x10 printer, but when I thought about redoing my photo portfolio (40 pages @ 11x14) a large format printer started making sense. A quick bit of research told me that 11x14 photo enlargements were going for $10-$15 a piece, and with 11X14 photo paper going for less than $2 a sheet it became apparent that I would basically be getting a free printer out of the deal if I could keep the purchase price around $300.
But, would the quality be there?
This is where the Canon rep comes in. He politely answered all my questions without trying to pressure me into a sale. When I told him I had a flash card on me, he offered to make me a 4x6 print. When I got home I put it next to the same picture, printed at a photo lab, and couldn't tell them apart! (The 4x6 was done on a Canon i960, which is basically the same internal organs as the i9100).
I decided it was time for me really to research these printers further. I read up on the i9100, the Epson 1280, and the HP 9650. I also had a friend that showed me some prints done on an older Canon S9000 that were in large format, and they looked really good. In everything I read, I don't remember reading anything bad about the Canon printers, whereas more people seemed to have their doubts about the Epsons and especially the HPs.
After about a week I decided I really wanted a Canon, but couldn't afford the $500 for an i9100. I found both the HP and the Epson at around the $300 range, but I decided to go with a Canon S9000 that someone was selling as B-stock. I got the printer, was amazed at the results, and prepared myself for a marathon large format printing session. All I needed was paper.
I had seen the Canon Photo Paper Pro when I was looking for printers, but I couldn't remember where. I figured the local camera store was the most likely place to have it, so I set out.
Wouldn't you know it, the camera store, the same one I had been in 3 or 4 times looking at printers, now had the i9100 marked down to $299! Everywhere else had it priced at $499 a week ago, including this very same store. I calmly asked if this were the right price for this model, no refurb, etc. I was told that it was. Since they didn't have the paper I wanted I left the store and went to a different store that I knew had it. When I went in, they also had the i9100 -- at $499!
I purchased my paper and quickly went back to the other store and purchased the 9100, praying that I could sell the S9000 and break even on it.
So now I have the printer I wanted, at the price I wanted, and it works beautifully! I have printed approx. 20 10x13's (I print two photos out on a single 13x19 piece of paper - they fit nice in my 11x14 portfolio) and I've printed maybe 10 or 15 8x10's as well. According to the printers ink monitor, this has barely put a dent in the ink cartridges.
One thing I have always been worried about is what happens to inkjet prints when you handle them. I am pleased to report that the prints from this printer are completely dry to the touch as soon as they come out, and only the slightest bit sticky. The Canon Photo Paper comes with tissue sheets between the individual pieces, and I found that taking a finished print out, covering it with the tissue, then putting the next print on top, etc. is not at all problematic. A 13x19 takes approx. 7 minutes to print (borderless!), and an 8x10 is out in about 3 minutes.
Perhaps the most amazing occurrence so far with this printer involves a mistake I made. The paper tray in front closes up completely when not in use, and requires a good bit of force to open by hand. (In other words, as I found out, a print coming through is not going to open it if it is closed!) I started a 13x19, but forgot to open the paper tray. I realized it about halfway through, and opened the paper tray door to reveal half a print all scrunched up inside the door. I thought "well, there's $2.50 down the drain", but let the printer finish it's business since I didn't know how else to get it out of there anyway.
I was surprised to see that the print really didn't look too bad, considering what it had been through. In my experience with inkjets, sometimes just nudging them or even opening another application is enough to screw up a print. I straightened it out and let it sit underneath some books overnight, and now, when I show people my portfolio and ask them to tell me which prints got stuck in the printer, they can't tell! That's enough to sell me on a printer right there!
I hope I haven't rambled on too long. To make a long story even longer, setup was a breeze, I have used it on both a Mac and a PC with zero problems, just follow the quickstart guide that is included with the printer and you'll have no problems.
The only problem or glitch that I have encountered is with the printer driver. There is a quality setting that seems to keep defaulting to one or two steps below maximum quality, resulting in banding. After the first time it happened I just made it a habit to check all the printer settings before hitting to print button. It takes an extra ten seconds, but it's cheap insurance to make sure everything is in order.
If you have $500 to spend on a printer I would wait until the i9900 comes out (twice the resolution, half the time, 2 additional ink colors), but if you're on the fence about spending the extra cash to go large format, look for a deal on the i9100 or even an S9000. If you don't need large format, you will be very happy with a Canon i960 or i950.
One other note, if you just can't afford a new printer at all, you should at least check out Canon's line of Photo Paper. It can give you quality results from almost any recent color inkjet. I couldn't believe how good a photo looked on their paper coming out of my $40 Lexmark Z605.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
toeslider
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Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Closet Gadget Guru. Single homeowner looking for the "easy" way to do things. Wannabe Photographer.
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