Customer Reviews

Canon PIXMA MP600 All-in-One Photo Printer with Easy Scroll Wheel (1451B002)

5 star:		(194)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I've had this printer for about a month, and so far found it excellent at everything. I had been using an Epson printer and scanner and both turned into nightmares, I find this machine to be light years ahead, especially in speed and ease of use.

It's easy to setup, the software is easy to use, it's quiet and it prints fast!
Text is nice and crisp, it gives you 3 different settings to choose from, even the fast mode is good quality for most uses if you want to save ink.
Copies are quick and easy and very good quality.
Photos are very sharp, have good contrast, colors are rich overall. Comparing a portrait type shot to the same one I had printed at a lab, It was tough to tell any difference, except this one was a bit lighter. This was on Epson paper, have not tried Canon paper yet which is supposed to work best.
Scanner is easy to use, relatively fast, and quality seems very good.
Overall this machine is a pleasure to use with impressive quality.

I've been through about 5 printers in the past 9 years. My last printer was a multifunction Canon MP370 which lasted about 2 years, but it finally clogged up out of warranty. The MP600 is kind of big, very heavy (which I kind of liked that for a change) but is extremely fast, produces high quality output and easy to use. I've had it for 2 weeks and both my wife and I use it daily. She copies lots of stuff for her artwork, scrap-booking and card-making. The color reproduction has improved a lot. It also scans fast and accurately. Best of all, it is very quiet and so fast in B&W text mode that it doesn't seem possible. The setup had one problem that I've never encountered. The instructions made a big deal out of not connecting the USB cable before the software was installed, the wording was incorrect which led to me connecting it up incorrectly anyway(and I knew better from experience). You can't go wrong with this printer, except the ink is a little hard to find and very expensive. One complete set of cartridges will cost you at least $75. I'll be looking for after market ink soon. Canon would make more money if they simply cut the ink costs by about 40 or 50%. This is a very good multi-function, much better than my past experiences with Epson and HP.

I spent days researching multifunction printers and the Pixma MP600 had everything I wanted. It prints. It scans (quickly). It photocopies (producing very crisp images in color and black and white). It also had all the "nice to have" extras I was hoping for but didn't want to pay extra to get: double-sided copying. Prints from a memory card and a PictBridge enabled camera. Has a fold down 2.5 inch LCD screen with a scrolling wheel to choose functions with. It was highly rated on three well-known tech review sites as well as by the majority of buyers on this site, with virtually no negative feedback - which is quite a feat. And the price was nice. The only thing holding me back before buying was the five individual ink tanks, which I realized would probably end up being more economical in the long run than having to replace one combined tri-color cartridge when a specific color ran low.

I bought it at BestBuy the other day for a surprisingy low price I'm not allowed to mention apparently and Amazon has just dropped the price as of this writing below that. The Pixma replaces my old HP 920c, and while there's no comparison as far as functionality goes, here are some reasons why I deducted a star for the Pixma:

- Looks: no raving beauty, it has a boxy style and is a bit clunky, with an extending auto sheet feeder whose flimsiness recalled to mind an old Brother word processor I owned back in the day when WP's were the ultimate in high tech devices.

- Set up and general information: I had been spoiled by HP's hand-holding set up CDROMs and easy-to-follow instructions and experienced nothing of the sort with the Pixma. I am not a novice in such matters, but Canon's instructions do tend to leave you guessing. The unit's parts are not identified with corresponding numbers when you go through the "easy setup" process. For example: "Open the sheet feeder cover and pull out the paper support, then the paper output tray and open the output tray extension." Huh? Which is which? Is the sheet feeder cover thing in the front of the machine? Is it in the back? WHERE is it? I finally found it an eternity later, lurking under a hidden cover in the back of the machine. The instructions seem to assume a previous knowledge of Canon printers. There were also shipping tapes everywhere, and it wasn't immediately clear how to remove one stuck inside the unit which I didn't even see until after I had turned the printer on.

Additionally, during the critical ink tank installation phase, where you are warned not to touch the electrical contacts or the ink ports - easily enough done when there are NO diagrams showing the correct position to hold them while installing - you are left guessing. The first step in this portion is to install the print head. There are a couple of implied threats about damaging the unit if you get this part wrong, but no guidance on how to hold it, which way it goes in, etc.: here it merely says: "Intall the print head".

A word about Canon's descriptive powers when it comes to explaining the functionality of their products on their website as well as in the product manual itself: Poor. I had to check three different sites (Amazon, PCmag, and Cnet) to find answers to the most basic questions - how many sheets of paper do the trays hold? Does it print double-sided? and so on. Again Canon leaves you guessing on the feature-specific questions you most want answers to, and you have to look elsewhere to find them. Even in the provided manual, under paper information, the number of sheets you can put in is expressed in maximum inches and centimeters of the overall stack, not by the number of sheets of paper. Not helpful unless you prefer to whip out a ruler every time you put a stack of paper in the trays. (Let me save you the trouble - 150 sheets of plain paper can go in the auto sheet feeder and 150 can fit in the hidden "cassette" tray on the bottom of the unit).

-Construction: Though the unit has a solid sturdy frame the flimsiness of some of its parts cannot be overlooked. The lock lever on the print head cartridge is tough to lift, and wants to immediately slam back down as soon as you let go of it. Though you're directed to put it back down gently, this is a bit hard to do. The lever seems in danger of snapping off at any minute. Fortunately you are not required to touch it when installing new ink tanks, as far as I can tell.

As previously mentioned the plastic auto sheet feeder and extension support are on the flimsy side and tend to collapse downward at the slightest jostle.

If the above general recommendations for improvement were made this would be a stellar product. As it is it's very good. The copies are sharp and crisp. The print quality on text documents is also sharp. The scanner works quickly and can covert a document to a PDF or jpeg for emailing. The quality of the scans are not so great, but it suits my needs. Thus far I haven't used the printing feature from memory cards or digital camera, but the color and black-and-white photos, even lower res ones taken with a PDA that I printed on plain, non-photographic paper were so sharp and crisp I can only guess that images taken with a digital camera and printed on photographic paper on this unit are going to be as impressive as other reviewers say they are.

I would highly recommend this machine if you want to print, copy, and scan and do not need a legal-sized flatbed scanner or a fax, as this has neither.

Slight caveat: I hadn't invested in a new printer for a very long time, so the MP600 is the first modern inkjet, multifuction, or photo printer I've owned. Prior to this purchase I've had monochrome laser printers, both at home and at work.

So.. we found ourselves wanting to do some color graphics printing, mainly kids' crafts and activity sheets from the web. I decided that if we were going to go color, we may as well get a photo printer as well, and make it a multifunction/all-in-one unit for the copy/scan capabilities. After some research, I'd decided on the Canon Pixma MP950, but no local retailers carried it and I just wasn't comfortable spending that much on a printer without seeing the thing first. The MP530 actually got better print quality ratings than the MP830, so I was leaning that direction but found that the new MP600 was out for the same price, so this is the purchase we made.

My thoughts after 3 days or so:

Build: Out of the box, this thing is impressive. And large--make sure you have sufficient space for it! The shiny black and matte silver looks good, the unit feels solid, and the scanner lid (which acommodates thick items) is sturdy. I especially like that the control panel/LCD, media card slots, paper feed slots, and output tray all fold shut--makes me feel better that dust won't be getting into the works so much.

Setup: No problems. As for the printer itself, you just turn it on, set the language, and install the print head and ink tanks (after making sure you've removed all the packing tape!). The tanks glow when installed correctly, which makes it user-friendly and just looks cool. Driver and software installation was smooth on Windows XP--it installs a lot, but all of it appears useful. The documentation (provided in hard copy as well as via an online manual) looks a little skimpy for my taste, but I haven't read it all yet.

Performance: So far so good! Color graphics prints from the web look great, and I didn't pull out the microscope but black-and-white text prints look to be laser-quality to the naked eye. I also printed an index sheet directly from a CF memory card, and that looked good even though I used plain paper. I haven't printed many photos yet and feel like I still have some settings tweaking to master, but so far prints on glossy paper look quite acceptable for color and detail. I'm noticing some "noise" (for lack of a better term) in out-of-focus backgrounds, but I'm not sure if that's due to the printer or software sharpening before printing. Also--and I'm sure this goes for any printer--make sure not to get any fingerprints on the photo paper before printing! The oil really wreaks havoc with the printing. Print speed isn't really an issue in my mind, but text and graphics prints are quite speedy, and the time to print a 4"x6" photo seems quite reasonable (just make sure to let the ink set!). I have not yet tried the scanner or copier, but I will update when I do! It's too early for me to speak to the printer's ink consumption, but I have read that there's a workaround to refill Canon's marketed-as-unrefillable ink tanks. Similarly, I've also read that workarounds exist to enable the printer to print directly on CD/DVD media (something Canon have left out of their U.S. models due to patent/licensing issues) with the purchase of an inexpensive tray. Things to keep in mind for the future!

So, to recap:
Pros: Solid build, easy setup, and so far performance looks good. Overall, while some things remain to be seen (mainly ink consumption and longevity), for home users looking for an all-in-one print/copy/scan solution I would say this unit is an excellent value for the price.

Cons: Photo print quality, while good, isn't what I'd call photo-lab quality--but again, for the price what can you expect? As a hobbyist photographer, I would have liked negative-scanning ability (as on the MP800 and MP950), but that was more of a want than a need. Networking also would have been nice, but you won't find that on any printer at this price point.

This is the best printer I've ever owned. My last printer was an Epson C86, which was a DISASTER - constantly clogging up, and kinda slow. This Canon MP600 is in a totally different class - fast and outstanding quality photo prints.

I guess I skimmed the features and reviews when I bought this printer, and didn't realize that the MP600 prints duplex copies (flips the page over and prints on the back as well as the front). I've tried it with regular 8.5 x 11 paper, and it works like a charm. Haven't tried it with thicker paper yet. I've never seen this feature in a printer that's this inexpensive!

Also aligns the print heads automatically - you don't have to analyze a bunch of lines and grids to see which one looks best. I thought this was slick.

First thing I did was scan a few photos to make copies. There are many options for sizing/positioning the pictures on the sheet. (BTW... I used Costco brand glossy photo paper - works wonderful on the glossy side, but you shouldn't print anything on the back of the Costco paper, as it won't dry properly due to the paper texture - ends up smudging easily. This is not a printer problem...) I used the "high" quality setting, making 4 pictures to a sheet, and pressed the "color copy" button. The printer actually starts printing while the pictures are still scanning - this makes the copy feature quite fast. I was amazed at how well the pictures turned out - we all thought the copies looked better than the originals. (Note... I manually adjusted the "darkness" to 1 "notch" darker than the auto setting, and the colors seemed more "vivid" than the original photos. Hope that made sense!)

This printer gives the option of popping your digital camera's memory card into the slot (Compact-Flash and SD cards) and printing using the easy menu screens.

When I first tried printing old photos from my computer's hard drive (photos were scanned with an old, cheap, low resolution scanner), I was disappointed with the results - bad pixelation and contrast. It took a few tries, but I finally figured out the settings that give stunning photo prints. "Vivid Photo" and "Image Optimizer" really clean everything up, so that the color/contrast/balance look fantastic and pictures look "smooth" (un-pixelated). Believe it or not, I got beautiful 8 x 10 prints from .jpg files that were between 100KB and 200KB. I'm just pointing out that these were POOR quality picture files, but the printer's image enhancing software worked miracles and got them to look beautiful.

I only had one "disappointment" with this all-in-one printer/scanner, and it's really kinda dumb. On the Amazon website, it's hard to tell how big and heavy this thing is... and as I mentioned, I didn't read the dimensions on the website very carefully... what can I say? I'm a typical guy. Anyway, this is somewhat big - it has to be - it has a full size scanner built into it! Don't let the size dissuade you though... In my situation, it works out better, as I am getting rid of my separate scanner and separate printer, and going to this all-in-one unit. I'm improving my desktop "real estate" situation!

In summary, I would recommend this scanner/printer to everyone. You can trust the Canon name... my kids have had an ultra-cheap Pixma IP1500 for the last couple years, which is durable and great quality considering the price. I figured that I couldn't go wrong with the Canon brand, and I got even more than I expected.

I needed to replace my 10-year-old Canon NP6012 Copier and wanted to also be able to copy in color. That old Canon was wonderful and dependable in its day so I decided to try a Canon 4-In-One. In the last ten years I have had both Epson and HP printers. Both had features I liked and disliked. After much research, I ordered a different Canon only to learn that it had been discontinued but was being replaced by the MP600. After reading about it, I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did! I purchased it at my peak printing season...November and December.

*It was easy to set up...I am 63 and did it all by myself with no problems.
*Be sure to order a USB cord...I don't know why they can't just include them.
*This machine is so QUIET (and does not vibrate the table like the HP) you can talk on the phone while it is printing nearby...could not do that with the HP.
*The copies and printing quality are crisp and clear.
*Since purchasing the MP600 at the end of October 2006, I have printed or copied over 1,000 copies of our Family calendar, Christmas letter, and two monthly Church newsletters, all of which have lots of graphics, photos, and text. I figure my printing time was cut in half over my old HP Business Inkjet 1100!
*I ordered the first extra ink cartridges from Amazon.com when I ordered the machine. They came from several different vendors which made for extra shipping costs. I found all cartridges at Staples for even lower prices and free shipping because I ordered so much. I live in the country so have to be well-stocked on everything.
*The ink cartridges are easy to change. Be aware that it takes two different black cartridges #5 and #8. The #5 goes fastest. I haven't had to replace the #8 yet BUT have #5 three times so far.
*I love the two-sided printing and the two paper trays! Poor paper feeding was a major problem with the HP.
*I haven't done much with the photo printer but my preliminary tests are very satisfactory.
*I would highly recommend this machine.

As executive director of a developing statewide non-profit that recently received its first small grant, I had significant demands in a printer. I needed a printer versatile enough to provide high quality scanning, quick and professional grade high volume printing, and ease of use. This printer has delivered far beyond my high expectations.

The easy scroll wheel makes this printer a dream to use. Replacing ink cartridges is intuitive and the entire design is user-friendly. The separate ink cartridges and light display when changing cartridges are very helpful. In addition, it is easy to see ink volumes on the easy scroll wheel and on my computer screen. The printer informs you when one of the ink cartridges is running low well in advance. I was able to print about 15 full colour brochures after receiving the low ink warning before I changed the Black 5 Pigment cartridge.

I was impressed that I was able to print 200+ double-sided, full colour (yes, Brit spelling) brochures on thick, high gloss paper without any smudging or bleeding. The ink cartridge lasted until the end of my printing, after I had already printed over a hundred full colour brochures on plain paper. Ink may be more expensive than with other printers, but I've never had ink cartridges provide as much use as these.
A print job that would have cost $2 per brochure for a total of $400 ended up costing me under $100 including high quality, double-sided gloss paper and the replacement ink cartridges for the Black 5 pigment ink. After only one print run, this printer has now paid for itself in the money that I saved. The images and text appear sharp and high resolution. I received multiple compliments on the brochures at a conference yesterday.

I asked the customer service employee at Staples why this printer had two different Black ink cartridges. He told me that the printer usually defaults to using the Black 8 ink for plain paper printing, but that it automatically defaulted to using Black 5 pigment ink for this print job because the Black 5 pigment ink dries more quickly and is more suitable for brochures. I didn't select anything different than if I were printing a letter, the computer just decided (correctly) for me. Again, painless and simple. On another printer, this print job would have required me to play around with different settings. Ideally, you should check print setup to select the correct paper type, paper feed location, and page setup before you print. However, even without doing that, this printer still managed to get it right.

I did not get a single paper jam, except for when I overloaded the paper feed tray with 50+ extra thick brochures, which was definitely my fault. I was impressed that, unlike on the HP I have at my other office, this printer stopped running immediately as soon as the paper began to jam and put a message on my computer screen about the paper jam. Because the printer stopped so quickly, even the jammed sheet was not fully damaged and none of the other pages were affected. Yet another mark of superior quality. For once, the images on my screen actually looked BETTER in print than in print preview. The photos I printed appeared to have been professionally developed upon close glance, though I am admittedly not a professional photographer.

Installation was easy, without the bugs I experience constantly with my HP. My colleague has an Epson, which is better quality than my HP, but is incredibly slow and loud. He has started to use mine because printing on the Canon MP600 is so much quicker, quieter, and higher in visual quality.

There are only three potential drawbacks to this machine that I can envision:

1 Size- It does take up a larger space than many other printers, though this appears to be because it has solid, sturdy construction. It does not appear flimsy at all. I am rough on my equipment and it has held up to over a month of hard, continuous use. I realise that is not a long time, but I've printed the same volume for my non-profit in a month as a personal user might in an entire year. Also, this printer IS smaller than some of the expensive laser printers that many businesses use. It's mainly large when compared with most printers designed for home use.

2 No fax- I generally prefer not to send sensitive documents by fax and use Skype instead of a ground phone line. This printer does not have a fax, so you may want to get e-fax or use Skax if you use Skype (which I highly recommend because you can make domestic and foreign calls from your own number with voicemail for less than $100 a year).

3 Ink costs- The ink costs seem high. However, I got twice as much colour printing per ink cartridge as I did with the HP. So, while ink may appear to cost twice as much, the reality is that it probably costs about the same amount when actual volume per dollar is calculated. Buying in bulk or searching online for the lowest price will save money. The multipack containing all of the 8 ink cartridges seems to offer the most cost-effective solution, just remember that you will also need to purchase Black 5 pigment.

This is a 10 star printer out of a possible 5 stars. If it had a built-in fax, slightly smaller size, and less expensive ink, even my perfectionist self would be unable to find a single fault with this printer.

Aside from these three minor drawbacks, this printer is flawless.
For a printer in the $100-$200 price range, I would recommend this printer above all others I have encountered. Bravo, Canon.

Based my purchase on PC Magazine Editor's Pick two years running for the Cannon PIXMA MP600. Was initially put off by the styling, but it really grows on you, and after using for one month, have learned to appreciate the advanced ergonomics and thumbwheel interface.

Paper handling is flawless, and the built in paper cassette is a bonus.

4X6 Borderless photos are comparable to high quality 35MM photo prints.

Print time is excellent, with most 4X6 photos printing in about 20 seconds. Standard black text pages print in about 5 seconds with excellent resolution.

Cancelling large print jobs is almost instant.

Haven't had to replce ink tanks yet, but Cannon's strategy of a permanent print head and individual color tanks should prove to be much more economical than combination cartridges.

Easy Print Photo Software is a breeze to use and produces outstanding results. Many photos look better printed than on the screen.

Scanner is fast and razor sharp. Software can remove the crotch from bound originals and fuzzy darkened background from newsprint. Cropping is usually right on the money, but software allows the user to compensate for large white areas, etc.

Copier is fast and produces very high quality images.

Print head is self calibrating, no need to print test pages and select best images from a range of alignments.

Have owned HP, Lexmark, and Epson products in the past, and this one is easily superior to any of the other printers I've owned.

I bought this to replace an Epsom printer that refused to print accurate color, and an old Canon scanner. I am very, very pleased! It looks terrific (my daughter said, "Wow, cool new printer!"). Set up was easy. And the printing is fast and absolutely beautiful, even in draft mode. Better yet, the cartridges are much cheaper than my Epson ones. Scanning is easy and good, too. I don't use fax, so can't rate that function.

Overall, I am thrilled with this printer. It was well worth the $180.

It took a while to set up, going step by step through the instructions. After reading some reviews, I decided to do EXACTLY as the instructions said, and in doing so, everything worked perfectly when it came on line. Set up took me about 30-45 minutes, but bet kids could do it faster.
I put it through its paces -- copying, scanning, printing photos from a photo card, and using the pic-bridge. Oh yea, I also did normal printing. It passed all these tests with flying colors.
I find that for documents and general printing (not photos), changing the default print mode to fast gives a very crisp document, and probably saves on ink. I also set my default to print multi-page items from back to front so that I do not have to reorder them after printing.
The duplexer is a real joy. So many times I have had to waste paper!
I am still in awe that I got all these features for the Amazon price (almost 25% below the retail stores in my area), and free shipping to boot! Even though my old printer died during the holidays and forced me to spend yet again, I must say that I feel that the value delivered for the dollar is superb, so it is money well spent.