Inexpensive doesn't mean Cheap
Written: Dec 17 '02
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Pros: Low Price, Cheap to Run, Good Quality Printing
Cons: Slow Photo Printing
The Bottom Line: For Great Quality printing at Low Cost the Canon is Hard to Beat. Definitely a Good Buy for Home Use.
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| wwtom's Full Review: Canon i 550 Ink-jet Printer |
Finally had to replace my dead 5 year old Epson 600, it's inkjets were clogged beyond all repair.
After MUCH research on the Web, I had narrowed my choices down to just a few printers with a Max. Price of $150 give or take a few. So it was off to CompUsa & BestBuy knowing that wherever you go, the manufacturers set the Retail Prices so either store would charge me the same for whatever I finally chose.
Looked at all of my choices by HP, Epson and Canon, printed out their Sample pages and decided in the store on the Canon as being the least "Gaudy" looking piece of equipment. I also found that there was a $30 Mail-In Rebate which would put the Final Cost for this unit at around $120.
Unfortunately CompUsa was sold out of the unit (It must be pretty Popular!) so it was off to BestBuy.
Of course the Real deciding factor was Ink Cost. According to one of the Computer Mag websites, the Canon had one of the Lowest Costs per Page and the separate ink tanks for each color has a lot to do with it.
Set-Up was a Breeze, then again most all of them are these days. The most surprising thing was while assembling the unit it seems that there is also a Removable Print Head!
This could be a Godsend! I had previously gone through an Ordeal with my old Epson's jets getting clogged, probably due to using "Clone" Ink Cartridges. In any case the Cost of the Canon tanks are much lower and if I ever do try any "Off-Brand" inks, I will be less fearful if I can replace the Print Head itself if I run into any problems.
Print Quality is Excellent, they really have Improved the DPI you get on these things in 5 years. A couple of 4x6 prints from my 2.3 MP Toshiba looked as good as my eyes could tell as a 35mm print. I'm sure a "Real" Photo Printer would do better but we're talking under $150 here.
The only drawback I could find is the printers speed, a 8 1/2 x 11 page with mixed text & photo's, a pretty intensive page though, takes some time but it's probably about the same as my old Epson. My E-Mail gets done pretty fast though with good looking type and I will say that the Canon is Much Quieter than the old unit.
The included software is pretty good though I haven't done much with it yet preferring to use my existing graphics programs, I think we all tend to stick to using what we're used to. I'll have to experiment I guess.
All in All, I'm pretty Impressed with what less than $150 buys you in a printer these days, the old Epson ran me $175 or so 5 years ago. This unit does a Much better job Cheaper & Quieter but I would have liked a little more Speed. Then again it may be the Graphics Intensive stuff I print most.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 119.00
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
wwtom
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Member: Tom
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm over 50 but you CAN Trust Me!
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