CANON I960 - THE BEST JUST GOT BETTER
Written: Jan 20 '04 (Updated Jan 20 '04)
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Pros: Quality photos, individual ink tanks, six color printing.
Cons: Printhead will eventually fail, size, no USB cord in package.
The Bottom Line: Excellent quality. Overall cost per printed page lower than average. Six color printing = stunning photos. Individual ink tanks saves money.
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| DENGNY's Full Review: Canon I-960 Photo Printer Ink-jet Printer |
Well it was bound to happen... My two-year-old Canon S800 that I loved so much finally started giving me trouble. See, I switched from traditional photos to digital photos a while ago. And with my camera's memory capacity at about 250 photos, I was taking a LOT of pictures ALL the time. So, within a period of two years and a couple of thousand photos (and who knows how many documents) later, the printhead on my S800 wore out.
I did look into changing the printhead, but at a cost of $125 it didn't seem to be the way to go. Especially considering that the I960 was delivered to my door for $175. Additionally, in the package you get 6 ink cartridges ($72 if you had to buy them separately), and of course a new printer comes with a new warranty.
Out with the old and in with the new...
The printer set-up (the stuff that you need to do BEFORE you install the printer software) was totally easy. There's a few pieces of tape to remove, a power cord to unravel, and installation software / installation instructions to find. Next, install the printhead (the piece that holds the individual ink tanks and does the actual printing). Lastly, you pop ink tanks into the printhead. Both ink tanks and printhead are clearly marked as to where the tanks are supposed to be installed, so there's no guesswork. Load plain paper, power on, close the cover, and you're ready to install the software. Total time to complete - about 6 minutes.
After uninstalling my old printer software I began the installation process for the new printer. It should be noted that you should pay careful attention to the instructions when installing any USB device. Sometimes, you'll plug the item in, and a window pops-up and you just point the installation window to where your installation files are. Other times, you'll need to start the installation software first and then when prompted; you'll plug your new device in.
Anyway, properly following the installation instructions, my printer's software went in without a hitch. The printer was instantly recognized and the printhead alignment pages (the last process you need to go through before you can print photos) were printed in a matter of minutes.
Things I love about this printer.....
1. 4x6 Borderless Prints ... I had to buy special paper with micro-perf tabs on them so that when you ripped them off you had a 4x6 borderless print. No more. Now, I have more options as to what brand of paper I buy.
2. Excellent Photo Prints ... As was my previous experience with my now deceased Canon printer, the photos are truly stunning in quality.
3. Crisp laser-like text documents. Although I do use this printer 90% of the time for photos, document quality is also an important thing to consider.
4. Print Speed ... The printer is substantially faster than my previous printer. I cannot honestly tell you how fast that is. I usually set-up a batch of 20 photos to print at one time, then I'll go and watch TV for a while the printer is working and come back during a commercial. This method may not give you some vital information that you may need, however, it does tell you that this printer handles paper extremely well and is not subject to jams. In other words, you don't have to baby-sit it while it's working. By the way, black and white text documents print very fast as well.
5. Noise Level ... Other than a noticeable clicking noise when the paper is feeding into the mechanism, the actual printing is really quite quiet.
6. Individual Ink Tanks ... Other than the print quality, this is probably the second most important feature of this printer. When yellow runs out, you replace just yellow. When photo magenta runs out, you replace just photo magenta. You don't have to scrap a whole cartridge just because one color runs out. Overall, this will save you a TON of money. Which brings me to the next point. OEM Canon ink tanks are about $12 each. I pay $4 each for generics. Is there a difference? Well, I started using generics after the cartridges I got with my previous printer ran out, and I have been unable to notice any difference whatsoever. Did I do a side by side comparison? ... No, but I'm satisfied with the quality and that's good enough for me.
7. Canon's Print Monitor ... While your printing, the printer monitors itself and lets you know when an ink tank is running low. You don't have to change the ink tank when you receive this warning. But it does let you know that that time is coming soon.
8. Print Driver Properties Page ... Get to the printer's properties page in Windows and you can set all kinds of parameters to best suit your printing needs. Moreover, you can name them and save them for later use. For instance, you can make two different print types one called 'Regular Quality', one called 'Super Quality' for 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 prints and easily call them up whenever you want, rather than setting each individual parameter each time you print.
Not so great ...
1. No slot for memory cards so printing without your computer is not an option unless your camera supports DIRECT PRINT.
2. Direct print works great with Canon cameras - yeah, too bad I don't have a Canon camera...oh well guess I'm using my computer to print photos.
3. It's big. Better make room.
4. Supplies feed from the top. You may not think this is a big deal, but you'll need to make sure there's no shelf above it if you've got one of those nifty computer desks with all the cubbyholes and spaces.
5. Canon supplies are expensive. Well, so are HP, Epson, and Lexmark's. I buy Kodak paper on the cheap at Costco, and generic photo tanks anyway.
6. Eventually I'll have to replace the printhead again or buy another printer.
7. No USB cable. C'mon guys at Canon (and others by the way)! Why do you continuously do this kind of thing to your customers? If you need it to hook it up, then it should be in the !@#$'n box. It's amazing ... I can buy a Hess Truck WITH batteries and batteries are everywhere. But a printer with the cable you need to hook it up with? ... kinda like selling you a refrigerator without the cord to plug it in with, or picking up a new car without the keys!
Conclusion ...
Would I recommend it over HP? ... yes. HP has got the better printer for paper handling (feeds and ejects paper from the front), comparable prints, but HP's cartridges are like $25-$35 each which makes high volume printing expensive.
Would I recommend it period? ... yes. For overall ease of use, per page cost, quality, etc. Without a doubt, you'll be happy.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 175
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
DENGNY
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Member: Dennis G
Location: Morris County, NJ
Reviews written: 85
Trusted by: 38 members
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