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Reviewed by UK Guest, 14th Mar 2007. |
| Review Summary: The best printer I have owned |
Overall Score: 5/5
 
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Review: This Canon Pixma iP4300 Photo printer was purchased for the purpose of crafting some family albums out of a few years' worth of digital photographs and so far, two months and a couple of hundred borderless 6X4 inch photos later, it has performed well.
It is easy to install into Windows XP (these things are never exactly as it says in the manual but overall it was fairly painless), and comes with some decent software. If you are like me you may never use software that comes free with hardware (apart from the driver of course), as you will have your own favourite imaging applications already. However, I must say that Canon's Easy Photo Print is a joy to use when rattling off large volumes of photos. It allows you to select, preview, adjust the cropping, and fix common defects such as red-eye instantly prior to printing.
While printing, status of the printer, ink etc. is clearly displayed. The software accurately detects problems (printer offline, cover open, no paper, front-tray-closed) and clear advice pop-ups to help rectify the given situation - disappearing automatically once the instructions have been carried out. When ink is running low such that it will affect the integrity of the image the printer refuses to continue - unlike my old printer that would struggle on, leaving you to scrutinise the quality of the results in order to decide when to change the ink. With this model, you know that you'll either get a perfect image or none at all. When changing the ink, the cartridge that has run out flashes to ensure you pull out the right one - a nice touch. Canon have used their experience to put together a very user friendly interface for their target home audience and it is a joy to use.
Printing is fast enough and the quality of photos matches what you would get if you took your digital copies to the local pharmacy, even on cheap photo paper (mine is £1.99 for 40 sheets from The Works). Colour cartridges started running low at around 75-100 photos, the black ink seems to last much longer. Of course, this printer handles your letters and documents (or more importantly, the kids colour-in sheets!) just as well.
You get cartridges with the printer. To get started you just need to buy separately paper and a USB cable (why do they always do that?). I purchased the Hama USB2.0 A-B Black cable also currently available on Amazon and it works fine.
In summary, I would have been happy if I'd paid over a hundred pounds for this printer so at this price the Canon Pixma iP4300 Photo is a definite recommendation.
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Ratings
| Value For Money: |
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5 |
| Review Score: |
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5 |
| Recommended? | |
Yes |
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Digital Cameras