Pros & Cons
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- Fast.
- High-quality output.
- Two paper trays.
- Automatic duplexing.
- Prints directly from cameras.
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- Full-page graphics tend to make plain paper curl.
Canon Pixma iP4300 Photo Inkjet Printer Specs
| Business Applications - DEFAULT SETTINGS - Microsoft Excel 2003 - 1 page, graph: | 0:23 (min:sec) |
| Business Applications - DEFAULT SETTINGS - Microsoft Excel 2003 - 1 page, table A (with grid): | 0:12 (min:sec) |
| Business Applications - DEFAULT SETTINGS - Microsoft Excel 2003 - 3 pages, charts and graphs: | 1:17 (min:sec) |
| Business Applications - DEFAULT SETTINGS - Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 - 4 full-page slides: | 1:39 (min:sec) |
| Business Applications - DEFAULT SETTINGS - Microsoft Word 2003 - 2 pages, text: | 0:18 (min:sec) |
| Claimed lifetime for photos - dark storage: | 100 years |
| Claimed lifetime for photos - exposed: | 10 years |
| Claimed lifetime for photos - framed behind glass: | 30 years |
| Color or Monochrome: | 1-pass color |
| Connection Type: | USB |
| Cost Per Page (Mono): | 2 cents |
| Direct Printing from Cameras: | Yes (via cable) |
| Ink Jet Type: | Photo All-Purpose |
| Input Capacity (printer input only): | 300 sheets |
| LCD Preview Screen: | No |
| Maximum Standard Paper Size: | Legal |
| Network-Ready: | No |
| Number of Cartridges: | 5 |
| Number of Ink Colors: | 4 |
| Photos - HIGH -QUALITY SETTINGS - Adobe Photoshop 7 - Average output time per print: 4" x 6" prints : | 0:47 (min:sec) |
| Print Duplexing: | Yes |
| Printer Category: | Ink Jet |
| Type: | Printer Only |
| Water/smudge proof or resistant: | Yes |
Canon doesn't exactly own the Editors' Choice slot for standard desktop ink jets, but it's been doing an awfully good job of monopolizing it for the last couple of years—starting with the
Well, it does. A lot. The iP4300 is faster, and cheaper, and it even offers a smidge better quality than the iP4200 does. And it retains welcome touches such as two paper trays, the ability to duplex automatically, and a PictBridge connector for direct printing from cameras. Not to keep you in suspense, it replaces the iP4200 not just in Canon's line, but as our Editors' Choice as well.
The paper handling features are typical for Canon ink jet printers and AIOs, but they're worth special mention, because they aren't typical for ink jets in general. Each of the paper trays can hold 150 sheets of plain paper, which is a substantial capacity for a home office or a personal printer in a larger office. If you're using the iP4300 as a home printer, you can load plain paper in one tray and photo paper in the other, so you can switch between standard printing and photos without having to load and unload paper each time. With either approach, the second tray is a highly useful convenience.
Setup is absolutely standard for a Canon ink jet printer. Find a place for the 6.3- by 17.5- by 12.0-inch (HWD) printer, plug in the power cord, snap in the print head and ink cartridges, load paper, plug in the USB cable, and run the automated setup program. One touch that's a little unusual is the ink system, with five ink cartridges to snap in. The iP4300 uses cyan, yellow, magenta, and two versions of black—a pigment-based black for better-looking text, and a dye-based black for better-looking photos.
I can describe the iP4300's print speed in one word: exceptional. It sped through our business applications suite in just 12 minutes 9 seconds (timed with QualityLogic's hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com). Nothing else I've tested in its price range is even close. To find a faster ink jet, you have to move up to the
What makes the speed even more remarkable is that it goes hand in hand with high-quality output. Every standard business font I tested was easily readable, with well-formed characters at 4 points, and even the most stylized font, with thick strokes, was easily readable at 20 points. The edges on characters are not as crisp as you would get with a laser, but most people would need a magnifying glass to see the difference. Except for the most demanding desktop-publishing application, the iP4300 can handle any text you throw at it.
Graphics were a match for all but a handful of ink jets. They're easily good enough for any internal business use and even good enough to hand to an important client or customer, as long as you stay away from thin lines, which tend to disappear. Also, with the standard plain paper we use in our tests, graphics that fill most of a page tend to make the paper curl—a problem the iP4300 shares with other Canon ink jets and AIOs. If you need full-page graphics, as with presentation handouts, you may need to print them on more expensive paper.
Photos all showed true photo quality, with no important flaws. Color was on the punchy side, but many people prefer that to more realistic colors. And they are certainly high enough quality for framing and hanging on a wall.
Just as important for photos you want to keep for a long time, Canon claims lifetimes of 100 years for photos kept in an album, 30 years for photos framed behind glass, and 10 years for photos exposed to the air. The photos are also highly water-resistant, which I proved by holding one freshly printed photo under running water while rubbing it. Some of the dye migrated into the white border as it dried, but the photo itself looked fine. As a practical matter, you can safely handle the photos without worrying about ruining them with moist hands.
Whether you're looking for speed, output quality, or features, the Canon Pixma iP4300 Photo Inkjet Printer stands out from the pack. That makes it easy to recommend, and a shoo-in for Editors' Choice.
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Benchmark Test Results
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