Review: Canon Pixma iP100
Don Bradbury takes a look at Canon's mains or battery powered portable colour printer
| Product | Pixma iP100 |
|---|---|
| Company | Canon |
| Web | www.canon.com |
| Price | £329 incl |
| We like | Excellent print quality. Battery power option. Useful facilities. |
| We don't like | No carry case. No wifi option. No media card reader. Price is rather high. |
| Rating | 8/10 |
| Requirements | Windows XP, Vista and 7. Mac OS 10.5. |
These days, many PC users spend much of their time on the road and could do with a means of getting high quality printouts while away from mains power.
The handsome, silver-bodied Canon Pixma iP100 covers this need nicely. Its rear mounting battery - once you've sussed out how to attach it to it's carrier box - gives that remote option that will be valued by all travelers as well as those who like a no-wires home setup, but of course most users will use the mains adapter for assured power supply when they can, plus a USB cable. A wireless connection is made possible via infrared or optional Bluetooth adapter, though there's no WiFi facility as such. There's also PictBridge for digicam connection but, as is usual with printers, no USB cable is provided.
Setup was ostensibly easy, though it's not aided by multiple sets of instructions. The pack contains a quick start manual, plus a separate sheet graphically illustrating the setup routine. Then there's the Portable Kit User's Guide as well, plus a sheet for Mac OS 10.5 users, all in multi-language versions. And setup does take some time to complete its auto-configuration routines, so be prepared for that.
Setup presumes you want to make the iP100 your default printer so it takes over that role without asking if it's what you want, but we got good photo prints on suitable paper from the ChromaLife colour carts, with 9600 x 2400 colour dpi resolution quality, once the user configuration was complete.
We were particularly impressed with the number of user options that were available. Maintenance was well covered, and among these options there was a thoughtful 'quiet mode' for reducing the noise the printer makes when that's desirable.
User Profiles are also featured for saving your particular preferences for output modes, though Canon's defaults can quickly be restored when necessary.
An Effects wizard offers further levels of customisation. Among these is image optimisation and photo noise reduction. Purists may frown at some of these, but they can prove useful on occasions.
The printer itself, as you would expect for a portable, is diminutive for an A4 printer. Light in weight, though relatively sturdy in construction, it should serve well for specific user types, though at a substantial price disadvantage compared with similarly specified printers where portability is not a primary requirement.
There was also a useful 'save black' option where users could opt to save their black ink by using a composite colour derived from using mixed colours instead. That comes in useful if you find yourself running low on black ink with no replacement black cart to hand, though of course there's an inevitable compromise in tonal rendition.
In conclusion
While it's true that Canon's RRP is considerably higher than that of alternative printers with less ambitious requirements, on-the-road users will relish using the iP100. Fulfilling most of the requirements of a portable machine, it offers excellent print quality, and connectivity options to satisfy the majority, though there's no wifi. You could, of course, add the optional Bluetooth adapter, or simply settle for InfraRed.
Although the battery pack is very much an add-on at the rear, the case being too small to accommodate it, the overall package offers the combination of performance and facility that appropriate users require. The pack really does need to include a carry case though, considering it's primary application.
