The Price was Right

When I purchased my Canon PowerShot A470 digital camera at Radio Shack, I received a free Canon PIXMA iP4600 printer. This was certainly a good incentive, since I needed both a new digital camera and a new printer. However, the iP4600 is no perfect printer.

Installing the print head and the five separate tiny ink cartridges are cumbersome operations. After I had installed the former, the orange alarm light -located on the right side on the front of the printer, under the green power light- began flashing. I was sure that I had followed the instructions to the letter, but I consulted the online help section. I read that the number of times that the orange alarm light flashes before pausing identifies the specific problem, up to 19 flashes. Mine flashed 20 times. I wound up taking the printer back to Radio Shack, where they replaced the unit free of charge. The second time everything worked.

The ink cartridges can cause additional headaches as well, such as when the time comes to replace them. Installed properly, the cartridges should read from left to right 221BK (black), 221M (magenta), 221C (cyan^*), 220PGBK (also black) and 221Y (yellow). Why there are two black cartridges I don't know. I recently had to replace the 220PGBK, and had to go to three different stores before I located it at Walmart for $14.97. (Later I noticed on the back of the instruction manual to call 1-800-OK-CANON for dealer listings). That's pretty steep for a half-inch by one-inch ink cartridge! Even the Radio Shack where I originally got the printer two months before didn't sell the cartridges. When the ink is running low, a pop-up box will warn you, and display a diagram indicating which cartridges require attention. You should purchase the necessary cartridges at this point, but wait until the cartridge/s are actually empty before replacing. This avoids spillage, saves ink, and money.

The iP4600 is designed not only for printing documents, but for pictures and photographs, as well. Consequently there are two paper slots- one in the rear for pictures, and the other in the front for text documents. A removable tray -which holds about 100 sheets- for the latter easily snaps into and out of place. Aligning the print head on the rear paper tray is slightly complicated, and gave me a few problems. In order to accomplish the aligning, you must insert a thin piece of cardboard labeled "MP-101" into the tray, with "the whiter side" facing you. "The whiter side" is the side with "MP-101" printed at the top in bold, followed by two columns of instructions in 27 different languages. If this procedure is performed properly, a black and blue pattern will print out. When I attempted this, the good old orange alarm light began flashing. (I finally enlisted the aid of my wife's technically savvy nephew, who didn't even have to read the instructions)! When printing, it is important to remember to open the output tray and fully extend it. I still frequently forget to do this.

Fortunately, installing the necessary software and drivers is easy. After you insert the set-up CD-ROM all you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions, which will walk you through the entire process. If you want to set up the printer for very specific tasks you can choose the custom installation, but the easy installation is recommended. The program will also prompt you to register online, which you can do immediately or later. After you finish with the CD-ROM you should have three new icons on your desktop: Canon Solutions Menu, Canon iP4600 Series User Registration, and My Printer.

I am at least thankful that there are only two cables attached to my new Canon PIXMA iP4600 printer, the power cord and the cord connecting the printer to my computer's USB. My old printer had three or four cables (but only two ink cartridges; one for black and one for color). Although this printer is somewhat bulky, it only weighs about 12 pounds.

My Canon iP4600 came with a complimentary package of six sheets of 4" x 6" glossy photo paper. To print photos from your computer, you merely access the Canon Solutions Menu and choose One-Click to Photo Print. In the printed instruction manual, Getting Started (p.28), an important step is left out of this process. The manual tells users to first select the image that they want to print, then click on Layout/Print. Actually you must choose the type of paper before printing, both size (e.g. 4" x 6", 5" x 7"), and type (e.g. Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, Matte Photo Paper). In printing borderless photographs, I have found that the iP4600 frequently cuts off the top of the picture. Aside from that, the printing is fast and of high quality.

Since I was offered a free Canon iP4600 printer with my recent purchase of a Canon PowerShot A470, I naturally accepted. But I am not a photographer, and generally prefer to have my pictures professionally printed and developed. The iP4600 works well enough, but the photo printing package was more than I needed, and I certainly didn't need the hassles with the ink cartridges. I would not purchase this particular printer.

^{*Greenish-blue.}