I've been asked to write a review about the free printer received with the purchase of an Acer laptop computer. The free
Canon Pixma MP160 Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer definitely made a good deal a great deal. This is an all-in-one printer. It prints, copies, and scans.
Description Like most of the Canon Pixma printers I have seen, this printer is rectangular and reminds me of a breadbox shape. The color is a medium gray. It has a large footprint measuring 17 1/2" wide x 7 1/4" high x 15" deep. It weights about 14 pounds. It has a USB 2.0 port on the left front side and a direct print port.
A feature that attracted was the fact the box says it is certified for Windows Vista (the operating system on the laptop). It is also compatible with Windows XP, 2000, ME, 98 and also Mac OS X v.10.2.8 to 10.4x.
Here are some specs on the various features (ppm stands for pages per minute):
Printer: Black printing – 22 ppm / Color printing – 17 ppm / Photo printing – 4" x 6" borderless photo takes about 52 seconds. The black has 320 nozzles, while the color has 384 and three colors (cyan, magenta, yellow). Black print resolution is 600 x 600 dpi (dots per inch). Color print resolution is 4800 x 1200 dpi.
The paper slot will hold about 100 sheets of regular paper. The printer also handles a variety of paper sizes: Letter 8 1/2" x 11", Legal 8 1/2" x 14", Credit Card 2.13" x 3.39", 4" x 6", 4" x 8", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", also #10 business-size envelopes, and photo stickers.
If you have a PictBridge compatible digital camera or DV camcorder, you can print photos directly without the need for a computer.
Copier: The copier prints the same speed for black and color print as listed above. A color document takes about 53 seconds, and a 4" x 6" borderless photo about 1 minute 46 seconds. It will make borderless copies and multiple copies.
Scanner: This is a CIS scanner. A CIS scanner is more compact than a CCD scanner and needs less power. However, a CCD scanner provides a higher resolution scan. This scanner produces 600 x 1200 dpi (optical), 19,200 x 19,200 (interpolated), 48-bit internal. It will accept a maximum document size of 8.5" x 11.7".
What Comes in the Box The box contains:
1 Canon Pixma MP160 printer
1 Power Cord
2 FINE Cartridges (one PG-40 Black and one CL-41 Color)
Easy setup instructions
Setup software
User's Guide CD-ROM and printed documents
(The box does not contain a USB cable.)
The box says the following software is for use with Windows XP, 2000, ME, 98 and where specified Mac.
Included software: Easy PhotoPrint (Windows and Mac), MP Navigator (Windows and Mac), ArcSoft PhotoStudio (Windows and Mac), ScanSoft OmniPage SE (Windows and Mac), Easy Web Print (Windows and requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher).
Setup This printer was a breeze to setup. The "Easy Setup Instructions" have a lot of illustrations, too. Set the printer on a flat surface and remove the protective tape and packaging. Connect the power cord. Turn on the printer. Insert the ink cartridges. After the machine cycles the new ink, load the paper into the printer and open the paper-out tray (it can fold up against the front of the printer when not in use). The paper feeds vertically from a slot at the back of the printer.
Next, install the software. The CD-ROM includes the necessary drivers. Turn off the printer and insert the CD into the computer. The setup program will automatically begin; just follow the prompts. After the software is installed, then connect the USB cable. If the cable is installed too early, a window appears featuring the Hardware Wizard (exit this window and unplug the USB cord).
Our Experiences This printer is primarily used as a printer attached to the computer. Sometimes the copy or scan features are used, and it has never been used to transfer photos directly from a digital camera.
The control panel at first looks confusing but quickly becomes easy to navigate. These are the buttons: Fit to Page, Copy, Scan, buttons to select Black or Color copying, paper size indicators, an alarm indicator and the on/off button.
One of the excellent features of a Pixma printer is that it uses microscopic droplets (2 picoliter) of ink. This produces crisp print as well as photos with better resolution than printers using a larger droplet of ink. This printer does an excellent job at printing! The black text is crisp and dark. It also does a great job at printing color text that is easy to read, though some of the colors are light against a white paper.
Where this printer excels is at printing photographs. I could not believe how gorgeous the color is, and how detailed the images. I'm looking at a family photo where the skin tones are amazing. I can see every blade of grass in the foreground (even where the lawnmower sheered the grass blades). Hair shows highlights, and even visible are the reflections in the sunglasses that someone is wearing atop their head. And the photo looks this good printed on regular white paper. It is phenomenal when printed on photo paper!
When printing regular text, the page quickly dries. If the page is filled with images, or if printing a photograph, you will definitely want to make sure the page has time to dry before handling it. Most printing is done on 8 1/2" x 11" inkjet paper or photo paper. No envelopes or stickers are printed on it.
Even though the scanner isn't used as frequently as the printing feature, it does come in handy. The top of this printer lifts to reveal the glass plate of the scanner. The lid allows scanning of thicker objects such as notebooks or slim books measuring no more than 3/4" thick… but the object can't weight more than 4.4 pounds.
One thing I'm not crazy about is the vertical paper feed. I much prefer a horizontal paper tray (preferably with a cover to keep out dust). Also, the paper-out tray does not have an extension to hold longer sheets of paper. However, the paper feeds beautifully through the printer.
The printer is noisy though. When first turned on, it takes a few minutes to warm up. It thinks a lot, clicking and clacking. It is also noisy when feeding the paper and printing. I have heard louder printers, and I have heard printers much quieter … so this falls somewhere between. There have been no problems with paper jams.
Purchasing This printer normally sells for just under $100. Prices vary. I have seen it for $89.99 at
Best Buy. Replacement ink cartridges cost $19.99 each for the black and $24.99 each for the color.
Summary For a free printer, the
Canon Pixma MP160 is proving a great computer addition. It prints text well and photographs even better! Everyone is pleased with it.
I hope you found this review useful.
Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Please read my other reviews:
Acer Aspire 9410 Notebook Computer
Toshiba Satellite Notebook Computer
Logitech V200 Cordless Notebook Mouse
Antec Notebook Cooler
SanDisk ImageMate 12-in-1 Card Reader
Belkin Flip 2-port KVM Switch
Logitech Harmony Universal Remote Control
Canon PowerShot A400 Digital Camera
Copyright 2007 Dawn L. Stewart
