Canon Pixma iP6000D InkJet Photo Printer

With my old HP Deskjet 840 past its prime and color printing just not cutting it despite several ink changes and cleaning attempts, I decided a few months ago to get a new printer that I could use with the digital camera I had purchased earlier last year. Off to Best Buy I went in search of a good printer, with visions (rather, nightmares) of having to pay over $250 for what I was looking for. I've owned HP printers for the past 10 years, but after reviewing the selections from Canon, Epson and HP, the Canon PIXMA series stood out with its combination of features and price. The iP6000D had the resolution, connections and capabilities at price that screamed BUY ME! It didn't hurt that Best Buy had an instant $15 off and Canon was offering a $20 rebate

Setup was quick and easy with the included Canon EasyInstall software. The software took care of installing the printer drivers, user manuals, media utility and the print head alignment. It took about 5 minutes to get up and running.

After using this printer for 4 months and printing in excess of 100 photos, I am impressed. The quality of the photos I print is outstanding and rivals that of any one-hour photo shop, for less money. I did find that the photo paper thickness or weight is important in the results. I used the sample sheets that came with the printer and the pictures looked great. I bought Kodak Soft Gloss (7 mil, 51 lb) 4"x6" paper for my next project but found that some of the pictures looked odd and weren't nearly as sharp as my first batch. I switched to an 11.5 mil (75 lb) gloss paper and am quite happy with my pictures. I recommend a 61 lb (~8.5 mil) paper as a minimum. I have not tried a matte/satin finish yet.

The iP6000D uses six ink tanks to get its performance – standard 15 ml black, yellow, cyan and magenta, with photo cyan and photo magenta. This allows the user to replace individual ink tanks as needed, rather than a combination tank that may only be low on one color. Canon replacement tanks are $8-$12 each. Supposedly compatible replacements are available from sites such as 123inkjets.com and buy.com for $5-$7. Because I used the iP600D for regular black-and-white text printing as well, I have already had to replace my black ink cartridge. It has the same capacity as the rest but in most applications will get used more. That is one of the few negatives of this printer. My solution is to set up my old HP as a text printer since it still functioned fine in the non-color mode.

The bi-directional features are superb. The printer tells you when an ink tank is running low (and which tank) through the BJ Status Monitor, which checks for errors and provides recommended solutions. The printer has the capability to print double-sided, generate borderless photos, enhance the printing with a variety of effects, including watermarks, and even run in a "quiet" mode.

The printer has both a cassette and sheet feeder so that multiple paper sizes/types can be used without constantly having to change the paper. Alternatively, both can be used with the same size paper for large print jobs. You can control this either via the printer driver or using the paper feed switch on the printer. You can also specify that certain types of paper will always feed from one source.

The LCD viewer allows you to view, edit and print digital photos from a memory card, a camera connected directly to the printer via a USB connection, or a infrared (IrDA) port. It appears to be a very handy feature but one that I have not used yet. One of the issues for me is that the memory card from my camera does not fit the media reader provided on the printer. My digital camera is connected via a cradle to my computer so I can quickly download and store my photos on a hard drive.

The iP6000D comes with some useful software – Canon's Easy PhotoPrint, Easy WebPrint, and PhotoRecord. PhotoPrint helps you enhance your photos with features such as red-eye correction, digital face smoothing (blemish remover), face brightening, face sharpening, vivid natural color mode and photo "noise" reduction to easily print from borderless 4"x6" to full-page wallets and indexes. The features can be performed automatically or the digital photographer can manually experiment with his or her own settings. Modified images are saved separately so that the original image always remains intact. WebPrint is an Internet Explorer add-in that allows you to print a web page quickly and easily. Finally, PhotoRecord lets you create a photo album complete with background, borders, text, and clip art. It's scrapbooking without the cutting and pasting. Both PhotoPrint and PhotoRecord support Exif printing.

Purchase price below is the price I paid at the register - includes the $15 Best Buy instant rebate and excludes the $20 rebate I received from Canon. Net price = $114.99 + tax.