I just got a new Canon IP4500, as the head in my IP4200 has started to
print lines on photos. The new head, plus some spare carts was going to
be about £86. I got the IP4500 from Amazon for £61, and they seem to
supply full carts with theirs (they did with the IP4200).
Anyway, not much to say about the IP4500, it's very similar to the
IP4200, seems about the same speed, same features (Duplex and CD
printing) and, er, just works.
I did a few test prints, wanting to give it a quick check over. First I
used a couple of sheets of Epson 'sample' paper I had - perfectly good.
I then tried some cheap paper I got from Boyes for about £2 - 90 sheets
of 220gsm glossy 6x4 photo paper - which I couldn't pass up on. At first
I thought I'd got a duff printer, but no, the paper is just crap. So it
really does make a big difference.
For those interested, it's branded IQ Office Photo Paper. It looks OK,
but the printing ends up very strange indeed - the colours seem to bond
well, but the black doesn't. The blacks end up floating on the surface
of the paper, while the colours are absorbed quite well. This give the
image a kind of embossed appearance, and is bad enough that the ink can
spread across the page. They are improving slightly after being left to
dry a bit.
I did another test print using genuine Canon A4 Glossy Photo Paper, and
that was instantly perfect - as good as a photo.
--
Andy Hewitt
<http://web.mac.com/andrewhewitt1/>
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