Canon MP800: Reviewed by Tony McDermott
editor
I got the Canon MP800 because my current Lexmark X1150 has seen better days. I also was losing patience that my colour ink-cartridge soon ran out of certain colours depending on what colour pictures I was printing.
I spent a lot of time researching computer magazine reviews & Internet sites before settling on the Canon MP800. The all-in-one arrived a few days ago & I found it reasonably easy to set-up. It took between 30-40 minutes, which included installing the replaceable print head. (Very neat although I attempted to install it initially the wrong way up). The 5 Ink cartridges (Text, Black, Photo Black, Magenta, Yellow & Cyan) were easily snapped into place. The actual installation process was straightforward. The software comes in 2 versions Mac & Windows. I found it far easier than most software used to install new hardware.
It does not come with a USB cable, but I had known this from reading the specifications previously & I had a spare one to hand, so this did not cause any difficulties.
My wife has been nagging me to sort out our photos and as I have a lot of old 35mm negatives the Canon MP800 is a godsend for me. It has the ability to scan negatives and slides. It has a first rate auto-enhancement feature, which automatically corrects photos, slides and negatives as they are scanned in.
The Individual ink tanks mean you only have to replace the one cartridge when it runs out, which is a major advantage & the 1 peculator droplets means a better quality picture. I have a done a number of different print runs & the quality is excellent with crisp pictures & text.
I am particularly impressed with the duplex printing feature, which avoids re-feeding the paper manually to print on the other side. It even lets you know on the excellent LCD display that it is waiting for 1 side to dry before printing on the other side. Far too often with other printers I have ended up with 1 or both sides badly smudged.
The MP800 also has an Auto sheet feeder & a cassette tray, which means you, can have two types of paper loaded at once.
The LCD Display on the front is so clear and easy to follow. Some of the buttons are a bit on the twiddly side but the main buttons are distinct enough. It has a button to cancel printing immediately, which has already come in handy for me.
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Pros + Excellent photo quality, great scanning of negatives and photos, easy to use, Duplex Printing, excellent software included, Large LCD, Easy replacement of Print Head & Cartridges. |
Cons - No USB Cable, some of Buttons on front panel a bit fiddly. Attached manual could be clearer. |
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Overall Rating 
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22/3/2006 at 11:20:16am
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