Customer Reviews

Canon Comp. PIXMA MP950 All in One Printer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This review is from a non-expert in photography / printing- in fact I'm not even a knowlegable amature and have had no experience with home colour printers since about 1997 (might as well be the stone age). Consequently I can't compare this product to similar items- I can only convey my impressions of it.

Unless noted otherwise all photos were taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC-P1 3.3 megapixel camera.

The first photo I printed was on Standard quality L size paper and I was quite impressed with the result. The scene included a lot of fine details and these were rendered quite well. Upon closer examination there was some noticable lack of definition when compared to the on-screen view of the same image- but good enough for most purposes I would think.

I next tried the same image with Premuim grade L size paper and there was noticable improvement in fine details.

For a bit of a test I printed a scene with a wide range of colors and textures on premuim paper and was quite astounded at the quality. This scene was more brightly lit than that discussed above so the basic image quality was probably beter. To my (very) inexpert eye the result looked something like the result of a commercialy processed film image. Everything from bright chrome, rough textured pottery, dusty wooden panels and my wife was faithfuly rendered. Some foliage in the corner of the image was blurred but, as adjacent objects were sharp, it was probably just moving in the wind at the time of exposure.

I next tried some A4 size pictures and here I met my first disapointment. The definition decreased noticably. However- I assume that that is at least partly due to the limited resolution of my camera (only 3.3 mega pixels). To test this out I printed some higher resolution images from the internet and was happy to see that the image quality improved.

The printer takes a little while to warm up but once up and running it is as fast as the advertising promises.

The advertisments boast that it can produce laser-printer quality text. I'm not quite sold on that. It is very good and is pretty fast too but you probably wouldn't want to use it as your main printer for text unless you have a fairly light workload.

Scanning and copying functions are all very good and the unit has now replaced a my old (1 year old!) dedicated scanner / copier.

I found the set up of the printer to be very simple and there were no snags. All in all I am very happy with it- the only problem is I now want to buy a better camera to be able to take advantage of it.

I recently purchased the MP950 for office and personal use. Great news, the product is cost effective, easy to use, and I have produced professional quality catalogs in house. The photos are incredible and the scanner is top notch. Although I am not currently using the negative feature of this product, I chose this Canon Multifunction unit for it's scanner and high end print quality. Clear individual ink tanks save money, even IF I do large print jobs since it has a large smudge proof black ink for text plus six other colors. We make our color proofs on the printer then send them out for higher volume print jobs. I love this printer!!! FYI: This product doesn't have fax, as we have fax machines in our office, however, with winfax or rightfax, I could fax from this printer, or you can use the free fax program included with Windows XP - it's a secret...Canon has consistenty been tops in PC Magazine/PC World/Consumer Reports for the last few years, they have forced the competition to change how they sell printers. Always check the cost of your ink and how much ink is in the tanks. Canon usually provides more for your money. Also, price your inks, many retailers sell the ink for more than suggested retail...Amazon is actually several few bucks cheaper...You replace each color as it runs out...cost savings in the long run...The truth is out there...

This is a great all in one printer and as mentioned before you can fax with winfax or rightfax. Heard due to a patent issue Canon can not sell the print to cd version in the U.S. but you can enable this feature, search the web for "five easy steps" and canon and mp950. Actually most of their printers can print directly to cd/dvd you just need to follow the steps.

i have no complains with amazon, 5 stats for them,but be sure to test this product as soon as u recive it cos some of this printerrs have an internal error a6404 which means the inbuild memory of the printer is damaged and cannot be replaced only option is to send it back to the company and get a new one,,,

thanks

This product only earns a four star rating from me due to one thing which was left out. The ability to print directly to a CD/DVD disc. This is a very important option, which is found only on Canon printers marketed in Europe.

Why not in the USA? Yes there are other manufacturers who also sell printers with this feature, but thus far none match the quality of Canon printers.

My previous printer was very old so the PIXMA MP950 is beyond words. I looked at the Canon Pro9000, Canon i9900 and the HP 8750. I chose this printer after finding out I could order something on e-bay that would allow me to print on printable CD's with any Canon printer. I haven't done this yet, though.

I am extremely pleased with the quality of the photos. I wanted a printer with excellent print quality, wanted one that could print on CD's and wanted one that would print decent text because this would be my primary printer. I also had to ask myself how often I would actually print out a photo larger than an 8 X 10. I thought I wouldn't, but I probably would have if my printer had that capability.

It had a few additional features that were a pleasant surprise. It can copy your film or slides to a jpeg file and you can use them then in making video or printing as a photo. The quality is good. I am going to try putting the negative directly onto the glass to see if the image becomes sharper. I have a 3 megapixel camera. I also discovered that if I take a nice photo I can print out the picture in 8X10 size then scan it and save it on my hard drive as 3200dpi and could then have the photo printed out really large if I wanted. The image size at 3200dpi is 6028 X 4866. That's one way of getting more megapixels out of a camera. I did try this out and print out a 4 X 6 and was happy with the print quality. It was virtually the same as the origional I printed.

I like how this printer shows when you're getting low on ink, or you can check under printer preferences under maintainance.

If you print out black and white photos you may want to look for a printer that has more definition in those shades.

I was also quite surprized by all of the options of sizes that could be printed with this printer. Proof pages, credit card size, passport size, etc.

I have been sticking with the Canon inks. They produce very vivid and bright colors. They are more expensive, but to me, worth it. Nice looking pictures was the reason I bought the printer in the first place.

I have been very satisfied with the scanner and think it has a very good quality.

When ordering this product, you will also want to order an AB USB cable. If you plan to print a lot of photos right away like I did, order an extra photo Magenta CLI-8PM. If you photos have a lot of green in them, order an extra yellow CLI-8Y. Also, you might like to order some photo paper. I love the matte and fortunatly for me it's the least expensive.

I read with other brands that the print cartridges would block if you didn't use it regularly. I've gone away on vacation so it had no use for more than a week and at times it has light use and this isn't any problem.

The printer was easy to set up. I like that the ink cartridges are separate so I can replace only the ones I use. I've this printer for 3 months now and would buy it again.

This is my first all-in-one printer and I have really been pleased with its performance. I have used almost all of its features and it has worked very well. I'm not a very computer literate person, but I was able to install the printer quickly and with no problem at all. The directions were very clear and easy to follow. It's also been easy to learn to use the various features. I know some organizations didn't rate it quite as well because it does not fax, but for my purposes it worked perfectly because I didn't need that feature. The ability to scan negatives and slides is a real bonus. The photos I've printed have turned out beautifully. I would recommend this printer to anyone interested in an all-in-one (that doesn't need a fax too).

I did a lot of research, am glad I chose the Canon PIXMA 950, and highly recommend it. I've been hooked on Canon cameras for many years and models, my newest are digital - the EOS Rebel XT and the PowerShot A540, so feeling comfortable with a Canon product seemed natural. However, I also like and use HP so considered and researched their line as well as other name brands. Though the PIXMA 950 isn't the least expensive all-in-one, the feature that sold me (along with the favorable reviews of the product) is the ability to print from negatives and slides. I have hundreds of pics from the '70s and '80s that have turned or faded and I knew I couldn't afford lab prices to restore them. Plus, no lab will be as picky or spend as much time as I will. If the negative has degraded I scan directly from the picture. The fade restoration feature is nothing short of spectacular -- I've seen fabulous colors reappear from a photo or negative that looks like a sepia. Since I'm picky I always use the high rather than standard setting. I prefer the bordered setting because it doesn't crop like the borderless. Inks are not cheap but colors are excellent. The first time it queried "The following ink is low. Continue?" I immediately said no and changed the tank. I've learned that the question appears early and I can print a lot of pics before it tells me "Ink has run out. Replace the ink tank." I still use my HP PSC 500 for copies and text documents because the inks are cheaper. Paper does make a difference; but, in addition to the recommended Canon, I like very much and use both Staples and Office Depot professional quality stocks. Kodak hasn't worked for me, prints look squishy. I still take hundreds of pictures and still use a lab because it's cheaper and quicker for 4x6 in large quantity. But, I do my own 5x7 and 8x10 (or 8 1/2x11)prints,love the credit card ability too, and am totally pleased with the quality of the final product. Love it!

The ink cartridges in the PIXMA MP950 dry out in a few weeks whether or not I print any pages. This makes the ongoing cost of running this printer very high.

After reading all rave reviews from PC Magazine, PC World, CNET, etc., we decided to buy the Canon MP 950. We bought in in August of 2006, and the printer was used very lightly. Well in December it failed. Canon's website suggested it was a USB cable problem. I replaced the USB cable and it still didn't work. I called Canon Tech support, and after an hour on the phone, the choices left to me were to have it repaired or get a refurbished unit. Why, after spending this much money on a printer would I want a refurbished one? I took it in to the repair center and they ordered the part. Once this was repaired, the repair center called and said that the scanner now doesn't work, and he'll have to order another part. A week later, the repair center called and said the part is on backorder and there is no telling when it would arrive. So now I'm left with only one option, to get a refurbished unit. A printer that fails under light use, limited parts on hand for repairs, and replacements with refurbished units. Why would you want to buy this printer.