Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Product Review

When I started selling my fantasy paintings from home, I knew that I needed to find a reliable and cost effective way to create quality prints. I researched online print companies, as well as local shops, and finally decided that it would be far easier and cheaper in the long run to purchase my own printer.

I chose the Canon Pixma Pro 9000 because of its range of print sizes. It prints up to 13" x 19", and the smallest I've printed is 4" x 6". The printer is very large, about 26" x 14" when closed and is very boxy, but is far more reasonable than the free standing printers which are one step over this one. Because of its size, I keep it on a separate work table, and move my laptop over when I need to print.

The ink cartridges are very easy to change, and each of the 8 dye based colors are in individual tanks. Cartridges cost around $14 each. I've found that you can push the cartridges for several prints after the printer tells you that they need to be changed. The cartridges each last for about 100 8x10 prints, with the Photo Cyan and Photo Magenta needing to be replaced more than the others, and the Red and Green I have not yet needed to replace.

The color saturation on the prints is exceptional, as well as the color accuracy and sharpness. It creates beautiful prints of my paintings, as well as photo prints. The only paper I have had good results on are coated for photo prints, and have had no luck with regular paper, so don't purchase this thinking that it will be a versatile office printer.

The printer has two separate ways of printing. One allows you to put several sheets of paper into the printer, and set it up to go. The other allows you to load each sheet in individually, and this prevents bending in the paper. The second option takes a good deal of time, but having the option to print flat is a big plus.

This printer is very slow, and noisy. This doesn't bother me, since I set it up to print and walk away.

Any time the printer has a problem, it communicates to you in a series of flashes that you then have to interpret with the user's manual or by calling the help line. I've found the customer help folks to be very useful, and friendly. I was also very glad I spent the extra money to get the 2 year warrantee from Best Buy, since after two months the printer shut down and had to be shipped back for maintenance. After a good deal of arguing, the manager at Best Buy replaced the machine with a new one. I have been using the new machine for months now with no other problems.

This would be a great printer for professional photographers and painters who need reliable vibrant prints on demand. In my opinion it would be a bit pricey for the hobbyist, but the quality of the photos is worth the money.