Customer Reviews

Canon i550 Color Bubble Jet Printer

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this printer for basic home use because it was highly rated by PC Magazine. A lot of internet research was performed as well (about 2 weeks worth). I debated between the Canon i850 and the i550...The only discernable difference between the two was print speed. This was confirmed on Canon's website. I am very impressed with its photo printing. Since we went all digital photography at our house, my wife kept complaining about not being able to get a good quality print. PROBLEM SOLVED!! It prints a beautiful, 4x6 borderless photo in no time at all! It would take a magnifying glass to distinguish it from a professionally developed photo. 4x6 glossy photo paper is only 15-20 cents a sheet. The individual tanks, and ink cost was the deciding factor as well. The cost of the Canon ink replacements vs. the other leading brands is a no-brainer. I had my last Canon for 4 years before I decided to upgrade to the newer technology. Bottom line - great printer, great photos, great price.

PS-The text printed by the i550 is laser quality, just in case you need to actually use it as a "regular" printer:)

HP has let quality seriously slip, and Epson thinks the printer future is with cameras and not computers. So the perennial also-ran, Canon, has stepped in with this worthy successor to the S750.

The i550 is no great breakthrough product. Inkjet printers have become settled commodity items. And they are becoming very cheap. So the question is whether quality has suffered. For the i550, the answer is no. The ink comes in individual tanks for economy and has been reformulated so as not to fade. Speed is comparable to older Canon models and is faster in every mode than most Epsons and HPs. It is interesting that draft mode shows little degradation from standard mode for text and graphics but is noticably faster still and will be the setting of choice for all internal documents. But neither will you be ashamed to send anyhting you print in standard mode out into the world. The type seems crisp and black and the colors are true, at least to my eye.

This is not a photo printer, but to I think it produces pictures as good as any printer(assuming the right paper -- I used the samples from Canon), though real purists may want to invest more for a real photo printer if that is your main use. This is an office printer, and though it has camera-type software, it has no slots for memory sticks. Overall, it's a good all-around unit at [money] and I don't miss my old Epson a bit.

This is my second printer I've bought in ten years. My first was a Canon BJC-600. It was a great printer, even up until the day I replaced it. But it was showing its age and it was way too slow. So I set out to get another Canon product. I had my eye on the S520, but was upset to find out that it had been pulled! Why? To make room for the i550, of course.

So, two printerless weeks go by and finally the i550 hits the shelves. I run out and buy one ASAP for two reasons. First, my previous experience with Canon products, and second, I saw the S520 in action. I was very impressed with the photo quality, speed, and price. The i550 promised to be better and faster at about the same price as the S520.

To make a long story short, if you're looking for an inexpensive printer...look no further. For someone like me who doesn't really use the borderless photo printing (as amazing as it may be), this is the best one I've found for the price. Best of all, it has individual ink tanks for all the colors! I like HP printers, but I hate the wasteful and expensive 3-in-1 color cartridges that go in them.

For those who do a lot of photo printing, be advised that you'll probably want to use Canon paper. Although you can use other paper (i.e. Kodak) the ink and paper are all designed as a system. Therefore best results will be achieved with Canon paper.

PROS: Speed, individual ink-wells, high quality, easy-to-use bundled software, low cost.

CONS: Vibrates a lot when it picks up speed.

I went out and brought a new Canon S330 digital camera to co-ordinate my pictures with the new intuitive software that the printer provides for digital pictures taken with a Canon digital camera. Truthfully, my old Canon Bubblejet had given up the ghost after 6 yrs. of hard work. I chose this printer because it does everything: text, and, great digital photographs.

The i550 printer supports Exif 2.2 (Exchangeable Image Format File), a new worldwide standard for higher quality digital photos, and features exclusive Canon Easy-PhotoPrint software that delivers the potential of Exif Print. The quality is amazing with an ultra-high resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi. Simple-to-use Easy-PhotoPrint analyzes the recorded data then automatically adjusts printer driver settings for optimum image processing for photos that look like what you intended them to look like.

As for those ink cartriges that cost so much. Canon has replaced them with an intelligent ink management system for ease-of-use and lower printing costs. I have already printed out six 8"x11"and several 4"x6" photos, and dozen of text pages, and still have have almost full tanks. I would use Canon's glossy paper for the ultimate photos for clarity and color. There is a big difference in the paper you use for printing out photographs. Now, I am waiting for my new Canon S330 digital camera to arrive from 'Buy/Dig'. I can hardly wait to see the spectacular results. I heartily recommend the new Canon i550 Bubble Jet Printer for business, pleasure and photography.

About 4 months ago, I was in the market for a printer to replace my Epson. The Epson was fast, printed good quality documents and pictures, but it was an ink hog and I just couldn't afford new cartridges every month.

I wanted a everything- decent print speed, good quality prints, efficiency, something that wouldn't guzzle ink, something simple to use, and something under $150. A friend suggested a Canon, because he bought an S-series Canon for his business and had wonderful things to say about it. I asked another techie friend his opinion and he said to go with a Canon, too.

Seeing as how the I-series is basically a newer, upgraded S-series, I went with the i550. Since then, I've been very pleased with the purchase. Prints are beautiful, and documents printed are wonderful- letters are clear and crisp. I was so pleased with it that I chose to with Canon again when I bought a scanner a month later. I like that this printer also features 4 separate ink tanks, so I don't have to buy a whole new color cartridge when I'm only low on one color.

The physical design of the printer is very nice, as well. Some printers look hideous, but it's pretty sleek. I also like how I can close up the printer when I'm not using it. There are flaps you can snap shut to close up the paper feeding area and the output area where the prints come out. I have two cats, so cat hair gets everywhere, and the last place I want it to get into is the printer.

It's given me no trouble at all with my Windows XP operating system. I've printed documents galore and many pictures, and I've barely dented the ink. For those who will be printing picture prints, I'd suggest you use Canon's photo paper, as it seems to get the best results.

This printer isn't exactly what I'd call silent, but I wasn't expecting something that'd work completely quiet in my price range. It's a trade off I'm more than willing to make for a good machine.

I've been very satisfied with this printer. It's sleek, cost efficient, handles various jobs well, doesn't waste ink, and is perfect for the average homeowner and small businesses who just want an inexpensive machine that lives up to its hype.

For so many years HP and Epson were among the highest rated printers. I had great quality from my HP 840C Deskjet--for 3 1/2 years, after which 'it' decided that I had No Paper (even after pulling paper through, but not printing). I had it cleaned, but a short time later, the problem re-occured. So I went out and bought an Epson C82. And wasn't happy. It made an incredible racket once the data was FINALLY received and it pulled the paper down; and then, after waiting and jumping out of my chair when it pulled the paper in, I was not impressed by the quality of the print--in any mode. (see my review of the C82 printer)
So, what the heck... Canon was getting high ratings. I went to exchange the Epson for the Canon i850, but it was out of stock. Needing a printer ASAP, I bought the i550 figuring if I didn't like it I could exchange it. I'm not exchanging it! The trays aren't the most solidly built, but if you don't jerk them in and out, they'll hold up. And I was very pleased with the quality of print! I've printed in nearly all modes and media types (from e-mail, scanned, digital camera, text from documents, etc.) and have not been disappointed! Unlike others' experiences with photo paper, I've found that JetPrint Photo Paper (Premium)works just as well as the Canon paper. Looks great on Burlington Bright White, too. However I've been disappointed with the photo software (both Canon and Epson). So far no one meets, let alone beats, Adobe PhotoShop! So buy a Canon printer, install Adobe PhotoShop, and be deliriously happy!

This is my first experience with a color printer from Canon. But initial test on regular papers was disappointing, even I selected the correct regular paper printing option. I was about to return this printer, thinking that if the printing quality on the regular paper is as such, it won't hold much chance for printing photos, where the quality is more demanding.

This turns out to be gravely wrong. The photo print from high quality photo glossy paper, a small gift package from Canon, is simply amazing and hard to believe. They are even better than my regular photos developed from the film. The time of digital camera and prints has finally come.

It seems to me that Canon i550 is a great photo printer if using the right photo paper. I highly recommend the Canon Photo Paper
Plus Glossy for this printer. I tried more expensive Kodak papers (e.g. Kodak Ultra Glossy). Canon's paper is better by a big margin, in terms of paper quality, printing quality and price.

In picture printing, once you see how good a picture print can be, you will never want to keep a less perfect one. I ended up wasting my investment on Kodak papers, that I originally thought to be the best given the expensiveness of the paper (a price factor of two or more comparing to Canon's paper).

In short, don't expect a great printing quality on the regular paper, and if the quality is not idea, make sure you use the right paper. The ink in i550 is more water like, and it produces beautiful photo print with a thin layer of ink that is tightly bounded to the paper. For regular paper printing, Epson C82 might be a better choice, since it uses a thicker but more expensive ink.

Here are some small things that can change your experience with i550.

(1) If you use USB port to connect the printer with your computer, make sure you order this cable (Belkin F3U133-06), a [money] item.

(2) The installation manual is generally good except at one step. You need to turn the printer on in order to reach the gray printing head release and installation handle. You cannot reach it when the printer is off. In other words, you need to turn printer on when you want to install the printing head and inks.

I would buy this printer again. Actually, I have bought it again, as a gift for a family member. I have too many great things to say about this printer. I know if you are researching what printer to buy, it can be difficult process.

Short, sweet, and simple -- Buy the Canon i550 you will not be disappointed. It prints amazing color photos and it's not even categorized as a "Photo Printer". I have given photos to friends and family and they can't believe that the picture is the output of a $... printer. I've had my printer now since December 2002, and it has never once failed me, and never had to clean the heads. The replacement cartridges are reasonably priced, but after 150 black and white pages, 2 packs of Canon Glossy 8.5x11 and 4 packets of Canon 4x6 Glossy Paper Pro -- I don't see myself buying cartridges anytime in the near future. I have more than 3/4 of the cartridges left.

With a baby on the way I wanted a more convient way to take pictures and share multiple copies of them with the family. I bought a 4 megapixal camera and needed a great printer to make hard copies. This printer makes photo lab quality 4x6" photos in under a minute. I see no difference between ones taken with a 35mm and developed at a store then the ones I printed out. It is much quieter then my previous Canon BJ-4300 and light years ahead in quality. The individual tanks are very cost effective too. The software included even made a low resolution digital print (about 20 kb) come out very nice at 4x6". You can see all your photos and send multiple copies to the printer. It also does regular printing of letters very quickly. Highly recommend!!

The black print head constantly clogs. If I haven't printed in a day or two I must clean the head or my printout will soon run out of black ink. I'm not sure how much ink is wasted in this cleaning process, but clearly this is not a defect I expected from a Canon printer. I bought the i550 because I like Canon ink cartridge prices - a major cost often overlooked by buyers. Other than this major exception, the print quality is great and the price was good. Would I buy another Canon printer? Absolutely! Following the cleaning the print quality is very good.