|
- Canon is still the best printerThis is my second Canon printer and is a replacement for my 5 year old i960 which I absolutely loved. The print head started to go and I do a lot of fine detail printing so I had to replace it. I chose the ip4500 for a few reasons, One was because it also had separate color ink tanks (C,M,Y,K) plus the addition to pigment black which i'm not sure what difference that really makes. This printer also has dual trays, one on top and one underneath so you can have different types of paper loaded and can easily choose which tray in your printing setup right before you print or click a button on the printer. Another major feature that isn't mentioned, is that you can print on printable cd's and dvd's. You have to do some slight modifications like remove a small plastic tab and a little bit of configuration by hitting a combination of buttons on the printer to turn on this feature. You will need to purchase an "F" size disc tray for feeding the discs into the printer. You can get one on ebay for around 20 bucks. The printer does NOT come with a tray (the European versions do) as one of the other reviewers mentioned. I got mine from seller rungsamilathai, there are also step by step instructions as well as videos showing the procedure. The printer is very nice looking and folds up well. Its not a tall machine but it is a bit wide just about the same width the i960 was. It is a fingerprint magnet because of the hi-gloss black finish but cleans easy. Its sturdy and seems to be well made with thick plastic and don't really see anything cheap that can break easy. OK now for my big complaint. The ink cartridges have that chip on it which makes it very difficult to refill and or use non-OEM brands. Epson started this B.S. back in like 2000 and others have now followed. You can get the printer for a very low cost and to offset these cheap prices they jack up the prices on the ink and then put chips on them so you are forced to buy the manufacturers ink. I read an article in PC World about third party Inks and most of their tests showed no differences other than some brands did fade from UV light when they printed photos using photo paper. Regular plain papers had no issues. I've had fade outs with OEM brands so I now get my photos printed with Shutterfly or SnapFish because I believe they still use the old chemical process for prints and not inkjet. I have seen chip resetters out there but they cost half the price of the printer. To replace all 5 inks it will cost just under 50 bucks and almost the same for these chip resetters that allow you to refill the ink and trick the cartridge to think its brand new. I have also read that there is a way to bypass the chip via the printer programs utility, we'll see what happens when the time comes to replace the ink. Final thought on the printer that it is totally a great printer, looks good, printing both photos and general stuff look great and has the capability for disc printing. Its a great replacement for my i960 with many more features. Rating: - pixma ip4500 printerThis printer is a class act. I spent as much two years ago on a well known brand name printer which couldn't compare to this one. I have had very good luck with ALL Canon products that I have purchased and am happy to recommend this machine. Rating: - Fantastic printerThis printer has met all of my needs. I just love it. Although I don't print a lot of pictures, I am printing recipe cards with a photo on the reverse, using glossy photo paper with a matte back (recipe on the matte side, pnoto on the glossy) Both the text and the photo are outstanding. I love the way that the paper can feed either from the rear (so it doesn't have to roll around a platen (or whatever it is called), and it has a large paper tray in the front, out of sight. I can "close up" the printer when not in use, protecting it from dust. And, it prints on both sides (duplex). That's a wonderful step up for me and it works very well. I also love the way it handles odd-sized envelopes and cards. It's one great printer for the money. I haven't discovered any "cons" yet. I have been able to print (and print well) everything I have thrown at it so far. I did a lot of research before settling on this printer, and I am not disappointed with my choice. Rating: - Printer with a heartThis inkjet printer is a workhorse. I have had no problems with it. The color is true and the speed of printing is good. Price is good. I print on fabric (I'm a quilter) and this little guy works great for that. Rating: - Canon iP4500 -- decent printerOther reviewers have covered the essentials of this unit. So far my personal experience matches the others regarding speed and print quality. Interesting features that weren't mentioned elsewhere include built-in image enhancement, pigment-based black ink for text printing, auto-power-off, and auto-power-on when a print job is started. A disappointment for USA users is this: although European versions of this printer include a CD tray and can print directly onto CD/DVD's, as confirmed by Canon tech support, a legal dispute in the US led Canon to disable (but not remove) this feature. For the adventurous, instructions for re-enabling the feature and obtaining the CD tray can be found on the Internet.
|