Great Printer if you have the right extras…
Written: Apr 13 '03
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Pros: The best quality as long as you use the right paper and software
Cons: Without the right software and paper results are average at best.
The Bottom Line: With quality paper and Photoshop your prints will rival the best 35mm cameras have to offer. Without the right tools you may as well by an HP.
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| dkaakd's Full Review: Canon i950 Inkjet Printer |
If you read my review of the Alps 5000 printer then you know I loved it. The color, the tones, and those plusses were enough to overcome it’s many shortcomings in speed, cost, and noise level. Alas, my 5000 is now gone and I’ve moved to the latest and greatest in photo printer the Canon I950. Let me say that I am very impressed by this printer, but without all the right goodies to make this printer truly perform, it is at best ordinary and at worst over-rated.
Since most people reading this review already know the specs on the I950 I wont waste your time. I recently bought a Nikon Coolpix 4500 (see my review!!!), and my Alps 5000 broke a while ago so it was time for a new printer. I wanted a printer that could create photo quality prints and high quality text and graphics for my business needs. I think the I950 answers the mail on these requirements as long as the right paper and software are used..
What’s in the package:
A Suite of Photo Software
Drivers for most versions of Windows (on CD)
Printer and Power cable
1 set of 6 ink cartridges
Some sample glossy photo paper.
User Manual
What’s missing:
USB Cable (This printer is USB only You gotta have it).
Out of the Box
The printer is very easy to install. I simply put the ink in, plugged in the power and USB and viola! Windows has no problem loading the driver from the CD. Windows XP users don’t require the CD, but since the software suite is on it, you will want it.
Color registration. Before you can make your first prints the driver requires the user to run a color alignment page. The printer prints several bar code style boxes for each color. You then choose which box is best. The problem is which one is best? The manual is unclear about this and I am still not sure. Am I supposed to pick the smoothest one where I can see the break between bars or am I supposed to pick the box with the most clear and defined bars? I still don’t know, I have to say the user documentation rates VERY low in my opinion. Luckily, it is not really needed.
An now for the guts of this review….
Software Limitations
The I950 is packaged with a suite of image tools; photo record, Easy Photo Print, and Photo Stitch. I haven’t used photo record since it is mostly an archival program and I have little use for it. Photo Stitch is pretty cool and works well, although it does not easily accommodate splicing together photos from the top, bottom, and sides.
Using the software that my Nikon came with I made several test prints. What an initial disappointment. The colors were way off. Every print had a blue/grey tint. Also, it is virtually impossible to use the 4x6 borderless feature unless you use the cannon software. OK fine so I load the pictures into Easy Photo Print. Well that solved the 4x6 borderless problem, but the colors are still off, and to make matters worse, the pictures a grainy in an odd uneven way. This software offers no color or contrast balance and no image sharpening. Luckily I have Photoshop! I load the picture into photo shop adjust the color, and print. Whoa moma!!! Now were cookin’! The prints are nothing short of spectacular.
I used Kodak Premium Photo 4x6 paper (high gloss) and Canon 5x7 Photo Paper Plus. I printed the exact same picture with both papers and the Canon paper looks like photo lab quality. The Kodak paper is a bit on the grainy side and tends to require some color correction. I used some regular laser paper and the prints looked, well, in a word, horrible.
If you buy this printer get Photoshop and Canon paper. Otherwise it’s like buying a racecar and only using 87-octane fuel. You will be very disappointed with your results if you don’t have these supplies.
The printer itself is very impressive in terms of quietness and speed. In fact compared to my old Alps, (which sounded like a chainsaw and was about half as fast), prints come out almost silently and they sun through the system oh so smooth.
One question I have for Canon is why they forgot to add support for Banner paper. Almost every other Canon printer in recent years offers support for roll and banner paper, the I950 does not. This is somewhat disappointing because I have several large panoramas I want to print and am now limited to 8x10.
Ok so here’s the final results:
The Good:
Quality - with the right software and paper prints look like 35mm photographs. Text and graphics look equally as impressive as long as high quality ink-jet paper is used.
Speed - borderless 4x6s or 5x7s in less than 40 seconds!!!.
Quietness, you wont even know it is printing.
The Bad:
Software – The suite that’s included is poor at best.
Why only USB support, and why no included cable? For $250.00 they can afford to toss in a cable!
No support for roll paper or banners. Come-on Canon I expect more for you.
At this price point I think they could have included support for direct printing from the memory card as well.
The Ugly:
Your prints if you don’t get Canon glossy photo Paper Plus and Adobe Photoshop!
Your text if you don’t use the best inkjet paper you can find. Laser paper looks fuzzy and barley acceptable.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 245
Operating System: Windows
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dkaakd
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Location: Frisco, Texas, USA
Reviews written: 41
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About Me:
I'm just a dude that lives in Texas.
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