I bit the bullet and plunked down $499 for the ability to print larger photos than the standard printer. I did a little homework and have used Canon printers in the past so I wasn't at all hesitant.

I pick up the 30-lb. box, 2 variety packs of Canon's Fine Art papers for $25 each. Then decided to pick up the 8-pack of ink for this monster. Total when leaving the store was $725. Gulp!

I followed the quick-setup guide and set up took about 5 minutes. Simple, straight forward and clear directions made it a breeze. I was in a hurry to try it out.

I loaded the 13 X 19 paper in the front-load position. That is a little weird, but you lay the paper face up on the feed tray and press the load button. After a few seconds, you can actually push the paper from the front of the machine to the back of the machine. You stop when the front edge of the paper reaches the indicated mark, you press the front feed button and the Pro 9000 smoothly pulls the large paper into printing position.

I tried a picture that was a 3 mega-pixel sample. I printed on the semi-gloss and used Canon EZ Photo Print to blow up that picture to fit the large paper. It was amazing to see this beauty kick into action. The file was RIPPED and the printer began printing in just a few seconds. After about 2 minutes (I didn't actually time it) I had a huge color-accurate photo. It was than that I wish I used a higher resolution picture.

Next, I took an old family slide that I had scanned with a film scanner at high resolution. I decided to use the Fine Art "photo rag" paper for this job. After telling EZ Photo Print what paper I was using, the printer initiated the job and again in about 2 minutes, it too was done.

You can't believe the quality of color, saturation and clarity. I love the result because it looks like a slide that used to appear on the old projector screen. The Fine Art paper puts a very professional look to the picture. Now, dammit, I have to get a frame.

I'm not a professional photo printer or photographer, I just wanted to decorate my home with memories of family and other pictures I have taken. I figure I'll be able to print and hang beautiful photos, artwork and landscapes throughout my home and I couldn't do that for the price of the printer, Ink and paper.

I love it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 499
Operating System: Windows