Canon Pixma MP470
Manufacturer: Canon USA Part number: 2177B002
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Canon Pixma MP470 offers good print speeds, great text and graphics print quality, and useful features for a low price. This $100 multifunction printer trumps all of its budget competitors with printer quality; we highly recommend it for home users on a budget.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
| MacHotDeals | Not yet rated | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Canon Pixma MP470 price range: $69.00 - $69.95
- Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 07/26/2007
- Released on: 07/02/2007
The good: High-quality text and graphics prints and scans; fast graphics and photo prints; built-in memory card reader and PictBridge port; reasonable print costs; lots of special copy and photo print features; produces scannable proof sheet.
The bad: Slow text prints; photo quality needs improvement; can't use USB port to connect flash drives; scan-to-program feature is stunted; can't initiate transfer of photos from card to PC via control panel.
The bottom line: The Canon Pixma MP470 offers good print speeds, great text and graphics print quality, and useful features for a low price. This $100 multifunction printer trumps all of its budget competitors with printer quality; we highly recommend it for home users on a budget.
The $100 Canon Pixma MP470 is an entry-level inkjet all-in-one that produces high-quality prints at decent print speeds (though text prints are slow). Of all the $100 multifunctions we've tested, this one produced the best text and graphics prints. It does have some limitations, such as the inability to use a flash drive with the front-mounted USB port, but overall, we really like this inkjet multifunction. Casual home users who need high-quality prints will find their money well spent.
Design
The Canon Pixma MP470 uses the same basic design as the Pixma MP510. The black-and-silver body measures 17.7 inches wide, 13.9 inches deep, and 6.7 inches tall. The silver scanner lid conceals an A4-size flatbed scanner. Because the MP470 lacks an automatic document feeder, you can't scan legal-size documents.
The paper handling system is simple. A paper input support flips open in the rear and the front panel of the printer folds open to serve as the output tray. Next to the output tray is a small door that conceals two memory card slots. The slots accept most common types of memory cards, though some require an adapter (which is not included). Hidden away under the memory cards is a PictBridge-enabled USB port (it's so hidden that we missed it on first inspection). You can use it to connect PictBridge cameras for direct printing, or to attach an optional Bluetooth adapter (sold separately) for wireless printing. The one thing you can't attach to the USB port is a flash thumbdrive; the Dell Photo 926 lets you print files from an attached flash drive.
The control panel is hidden underneath a flip-up panel on the top side of the printer. Embedded on the underside of the panel is a 1.8-inch graphical LCD. The control panel is basic, though well-organized. Buttons include task buttons for copy, scan, and memory card modes, menu navigation buttons, and two start buttons--one for black-only and one for color.
The Pixma MP470 uses a two-tank ink system: one black and one tricolor. It ships with regular capacity cartridges, but you can replace both with high-capacity versions. The regular black costs $16 (220 prints) and the regular color costs $20 (205 prints), while the large black costs $20 (355 prints) and the large color costs $25 (308 prints). Using the large tanks for best value, we estimate that a black-only print costs about 5.6 cents, while a four-color page costs about 13.7 cents. These costs are a little higher than those for the HP Photosmart C4280, but still reasonable for low-end multifunction inkjet printer.
Features
The Canon Pixma MP470 offers copy, scan, and photo print features. As it's a photo-oriented, home all-in-one printer, it lacks fax and network connectivity. The feature set is standard for an all-in-one in this price range. Standard copy lets you make up to 99 copies and reduce or enlarge from 25 to 400 percent. Special copy features include borderless copy, sticker copy, frame-erase copy (for photocopying books), and image repeat.
The main scan menu lets you choose between scanning the file to your PC (you can specify where you want it saved via a file tree), attaching the scan to an e-mail, scanning to PDF, or scanning into a program. The last option proved baffling. We're accustomed to selecting a program from a list of options on the printer's menu and having the resulting scan pop open in that program. With the Pixma MP470, the scan pops up in Canon's MP Navigator EX utility; you can't instruct the scanner to scan to a program such as Word or Photoshop. The MP Navigator EX utility allows you to edit the photo (in the case of photo scans), turn scans into PDFs, attach them to e-mails, or convert scans to editable text using optical character recognition software.
Printing from a memory card offers a lot of options. You can step through the files on a card and manually initiate prints individually, or you can go through the entire card, mark all the ones you want printed, and make a batch print. Special photo print options include print all, sticker prints, special layouts, and index prints. We don't like how the Print All option is buried in a third-level menu; we prefer it to be a top-level menu option. You can print the index sheet in the standard layout with small thumbnails and images labeled by number, or you can print larger thumbnails in a layout that makes them look like negatives. Neither provides file names. Alternatively, you can print a scannable proof sheet that allows you to select photos on the proof sheet, and then scan the proof sheet to print just those photos. When printing the proof sheet, you can include only photos within a particular date range.
One final note: we couldn't initiate a transfer of photos from memory card to the attached PC using the printer's control panel. If you browse to My Computer on your PC, however, you'll find the memory card reader listed as a drive, and from there, you can drag and drop the photo files to your PC.
Performance
Among its comparably priced competition, the Canon Pixma MP470 was slow with text prints, but quick with graphics and 4x6 photos. Its scans were right in line with everyone else's. It printed text at a pokey 5.45pages per minute. The Lexmark x5470 was faster with a score of 6.90ppm, and the Dell Photo 926 was even faster than the Lexmark at 7.60ppm. The Pixma MP470 produced color graphics prints at a rate of 2.10ppm, however, while none of the other three $100 printers we looked at broke the 2.0ppm mark. It scored 0.81ppm for 4x6 photo prints; the Dell was the next fastest, with a score of 0.74ppm. The Canon produced grayscale scans at a rate of 4.60ppm and color scans at a rate of 4.49ppm; both scores were in the middle of a tight pack.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Color graphics | |
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Print quality is where the Pixma MP470 (and Canons in general) really stood out. The text print was dark, sharp, clean, and legible down to very small point sizes. Very close inspection revealed some minor jagged edges, but you really have to be looking for the errors to find them. The graphics print was likewise sharp and detailed. Colors were true and gradients were smooth. We were also pleased by the color saturation. The 4x6 color photos fared the worst of all the quality tests, and yet, they still weren't too bad. The details were sharp, but the light end of the grayscale looked overblown, resulting in lost details in highlighted areas. The colors could stand to be a bit warmer, as well.
Both the color and grayscale scans were good. The grayscale scan showed sharp details, but again, the highlight areas were overblown a bit. The color scan was the better of the two: sharp details and great color reproduction. Overall, we were really impressed by the quality of this $100 printer. None of the competition produced results as consistently good as the Pixma MP470. Home users will be very pleased with this machine.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Color scan | |
Grayscale scan | |
Photo | |
Graphics | |
Text |
Service and support
The service and support section for this particular printer on Canon's site isn't up yet (the site says the support information will be up in August). We do know that it's backed by a one-year warranty, standard for consumer-level printers. Toll-free phone support is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to midnight and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. Also, e-mail support is available via a Web-based form. We expect this model will have the same online support options as Canon's other printers, including downloadable drivers and software, manuals, and FAQs.
User reviews
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Fantastic Value for Multi-Function
by phwayne on December 4, 2007
Pros: Excellent Scanning, and copying. Easy Setup.
Cons: Photo printing slightly red and under saturated
Summary: My main reason for buying this printer is for scanning and copying. I purchased on sale at circuit city for $79, but it is also available on Amazon for $75. ...
Summary: My main reason for buying this printer is for scanning and copying. I purchased on sale at circuit city for $79, but it is also available on Amazon for $75. The strong features were a higher resolution optical scan (2400 x 4800) and larger capacity ink (black, 16ml; multi-color 12ml), than others in this price class. The scanning software is also notible, offering 2 modes: simple, one button using automatic setting and advance giving the user many parameters for controlling the scan.
As a test scan, I used an 8x10 professionally photographed print. The scanned image on the monitor was 98% of a match for the original. Excellent quality.
My next test was printing a digial photographic image (not scanned). The print was slightly undersaturated and had a slight red hue. Finally, I did a color copy from a brochure with text and graphics. Quality was Excellent, on par with reproduction I get on the Xerox machines at Kinkos.
Only a few negatives. The view screen is way too small for viewing photos. It's best just used for the menu choices. Rear paper load makes the machine an inch or two wider than front loads.
My second choice would have been the HP C4180, but it got some bad review concerning large software loads and paper jams. It also did not have the larger ink tanks of the MP470.8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Perfect for home users with modest requirements
by tlb7263 on December 14, 2007
Pros: excellent text printing, very good photo and copying abilities
Cons: small 1.8" view screen
Summary: I love this printer/scanner/copier. I bought this printer at buy.com and the total cost $66.00. Including tax and shipping. What a deal. It has done everything ...
Summary: I love this printer/scanner/copier. I bought this printer at buy.com and the total cost $66.00. Including tax and shipping. What a deal. It has done everything I have asked it to do with amazing results. Sure there are more expensive models, the Canon Pixma MP600 comes to mind, but I don't need to duplex print and the larger view screen, though preferable is not a necessity. Buy the Canon Pixma MP470 and you will not be disappointed. Probably best used by point and shoot photographers,(perfect companion for the Canon Power Shot A560) and people who do a good deal of text printing. I wholly recommend this product. The Canon Pixma MP470 has far exceeded my expectations.
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Another Happy User.
by Klaire 98116 on November 25, 2007
Pros: Very Easy To Operate
Cons: Slight Over Saturation When Color Printing
Summary: I bought this printer based on the positive reviews at CNet and I am very happy with it. I only gave it a rating of 8 because I have yet ...
Summary: I bought this printer based on the positive reviews at CNet and I am very happy with it. I only gave it a rating of 8 because I have yet to use all the features.
I first saw this printer at my local Staples selling for $99.00. I really liked the look of the sleek design but I wanted to check it out further before buying.
I read the CNet reviews which stated, "excellent choice for a home user on a budget." Well that's me. I also checked on line to see how much it would cost for ink refills and found two places that sold the refills pretty reasonably.
Further checking found I could purchase the printer online for $65.00 at New Egg and $75.00 at Amazon with free shipping.
However, even when I purchase online I prefer it to be at a place where I can return to the store if there are any problems. So I went back to my neighborhood Staples and spoke with he manager and he met the online price and took $25.00 off their in store price.
Of course we all know they practically give you the printers because they make their money on the ink cartridges. So far, I've tried most of the basic features and it works like a dream and is very quiet.
The only problem I noticed was when I printed a photo that was emailed to me. I printed the photo on plain paper. The photo looked great on screen but when printed out it looked too red. I went back and brought the saturation way down and printed it again and then it looked great. I have yet to print on photo paper so I don't know if that would have made a difference.
I am VERY happy with this printer.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good with some limitations you should know
by AB1570 on June 21, 2008
Pros: Good quality printing
Cons: Doesn't turn itself on via the PC, chintzy exit door for your printouts
Summary: I have had a HP 970Cxi printer for a few years that just stopped printing color. Since I trust CNet & didn't want to spend days figuring out what ...
Summary: I have had a HP 970Cxi printer for a few years that just stopped printing color. Since I trust CNet & didn't want to spend days figuring out what to buy, I chose the MP470. It wasn't until I got it home that I remembered I had a Canon home printer up until about 8 years ago & its construction seemed flimsey. While the MP470 offers good quality printing, note that it does not turn itself on automatically just by clicking print at the PC (something the 970Cxi does & the previous Canon did), the exit door is flimsey such that I feel like I will break it just by touching it (also unlike the robust HP printer), the scanner is slow & the menu takes multiple steps just to make a copy (unlike another HP multifunction purchased a few years ago). Given that the control panel is covered (e.g. needs attention just to use it), this printer is designed more to be pretty when not in use... where I prefer to spend less time printing as its just a printer. These are things the reviews don't tell you, so decide what you consider important before buying. Knowing this, I may have bought it anyway, but I would have looked more closely than I did. Another thing, our printer fits into a slide out drawer in a desk, so it would also be nice to have both the infeed and the exit on the front, but that's something I knew going in.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good value for the price
by Basicuser on March 2, 2008
Pros: Cost, good print quality
Cons: poor color match and have to replace ink often
Summary: For the price a good general home use printer. The color match from the screen to paper is ok, often the colors are too bright and wash into each other. ...
Summary: For the price a good general home use printer. The color match from the screen to paper is ok, often the colors are too bright and wash into each other. Basic documents and letters the print quality is fine. Cannon should be horse whipped for changing the software so you can't use of the high cap inks i.e. PG-50 and CL-51. The MP 470 replaced the MP 450. The MP 450 can use the high cap inks. The high cap inks will fit into the MP 470, but the software will not let you use them. So expect to replace the inks more often which can add up.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Decent, but there are better options.
by MarcPBcup on July 19, 2008
Pros: Printing and copying in one. Cartridge longevity.
Cons: Size, Layout, Photo printing, warm-up time, OCR Software
Summary: I bought the Canon MP470 for my new house after a series of HP printers at home (C4280 being the most recent) because I wanted to try something different. Many ...
Summary: I bought the Canon MP470 for my new house after a series of HP printers at home (C4280 being the most recent) because I wanted to try something different. Many of the peer reviews on CNET and the relatively good price ($90) were deciding factors in my decision. However, after two months I find myself continually wishing I had the HP C4280 back.
On the positive, the device is solidly built and does not vibrate much during printing and it is decently quiet. I have printed half a ream of paper (250 pgs)as well as 20 4x6's and both color and black ink cartriges show 20% of ink left. I would be out of ink around this point with my HP. Page printing is of decent speed, approximately 15 seconds for a combined page with some color and some text. Black text is crisp and easily readable but color is not (see below). I like to turn the printer off because it is in my bedroom and has a bright green LED light in the front that is blinding at night (plus it just wastes power). Whenever the printer turns on it takes between 1-3 minutes to "warm up". I often find myself getting stuck while trying to print something on the way out the door. It also has to randomly "warm up" in between print jobs, increasing the time it takes to print multi-page documents. Annoying.
Another complaint is the "washed out" look of colored text and photos. It's very noticeable on Normal and Fast Normal print settings but fine on Best. Everyday Yellow, orange, green and blue text is barely distinguishable on plain paper.
The scanner is of good quality, but it is smaller in area than the C4280's. This is especially noticeable when scanning large books and the whole page won't fit on the scanner. I also use the included OmniPage OCR software to convert scans to text and images. But it turns out that Omnipage can't include OCR text AND image on one document unless you buy the upgraded version. That means you can get a word document with text and images in multi-page TIF but not a word or PDF document that looks like the page you just scanned. Oh, and the upgraded version is $500. No way.
This unit is also bigger than I'm used to. The paper loading sticks out the back and prints out the front meaning the unit is approximately 2 feet deep by a foot and a half wide. It dwarfs my laptop and speakers on my desk.
Lastly, I have an Apple Time Capsule (Airport Extreme would work too) that could attach to a printer to wirelessly print. My HP worked great in both printing AND scanning (something Apple doesn't claim the Time Capsule can do!) wirelessly. Not so much with the Canon. It printed whenever it felt like it (maybe 1/5 of the print jobs queued) and forget about scanning.
I like Canon (esp. for cameras), but they didn't match the market with this product. Sorry guys, spend your money elsewhere.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Feaure rich, but colour photos aweful.
by 77tribal on November 26, 2008
Pros: good resolution
many features for price
easy to install and useCons: photo colour quality is aweful
shaddow area detail in photos not retainedSummary: I would not recomend this printer to anyone wanting to print photos. Although the resolution is good, the colour reproduction is aweful. After many test prints on canon and other ...
Summary: I would not recomend this printer to anyone wanting to print photos. Although the resolution is good, the colour reproduction is aweful. After many test prints on canon and other photo paper, and using different profiles and adjustments could still not get acceptable colour for photographs. Tech support at Canon (after playing with drivers and paper settings etc) finally said it was a limitation of printer, being an entry level printer. I have a 8 year old epson entry level that prints photos better than this MFP from Canon. Although the resolution on Canon is good, blacks print as a murky brown, and any shaddow detail is completely lost when printing. Other than photo printing, text is crisp and colour documents print nicely and decent speed.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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very fine value
by nikej on February 9, 2008
Pros: fast and accurate printing
Cons: small LCD; somewhat large & noisy
Summary: I bought this machine at Office Depot for $80, a bargain (they get you on the ink, like all inkjet makers).It prints typed-size fonts sharper than many commercial laser ...
Summary: I bought this machine at Office Depot for $80, a bargain (they get you on the ink, like all inkjet makers).It prints typed-size fonts sharper than many commercial laser copiers, & very quickly. I just did some 4x6 photos on Kodak glossy paper & they came out looking great, & printed amazingly fast.The copy feature is very easy to use. This three-in-one is a super combo of features & performance, & should be on the shortlist for anyone with light-duty requirements & no need for faxing.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Really great printer with wireless capability!
by macxnet on January 22, 2008
Pros: Bluetooth adapter can be attached, very inexpensive, color lcd screen, good quality prints, cheap ink
Cons: way bulky! a tad tad noisy
Summary: besides from the fact that it is pretty ridiculously bulky, this printer is pretty much perfect. the ink is cheap (15 - 20 dollars). i got it on ebay for ...
Summary: besides from the fact that it is pretty ridiculously bulky, this printer is pretty much perfect. the ink is cheap (15 - 20 dollars). i got it on ebay for THIRTY dollars. and my favorite feature (drum roll please...) if you have a laptop/computer with bluetooth capability, you can buy a 3 dollar usb bluetooth adapter, plug it into the port on the printer, and print wirelessly. the feature allows you to avoid expensive print servers and annoying sharing settings. just plug and print. i love it!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good all-in-one. Low ink capacity but easy to refill.
by kevychevy2 on May 15, 2009
Pros: Scans relatively quickly, decent quality, "just works" no problem, rarely jams. Easy to refill the ink cartridges.
Cons: Won't scan unless ink cartridges are installed. Cartridges are small, don't last long. After re-filling, computer will no longer tell you when a color is getting low. CL-41 cartridges are only half-full for 80% cost of full CL-51 cartridges!
Summary: Will serve you well, unless you are planning on doing a LOT of color printing. Easy to re-fill cartridges (don't even need to re-seal refilling holes) but they don'...
Summary: Will serve you well, unless you are planning on doing a LOT of color printing. Easy to re-fill cartridges (don't even need to re-seal refilling holes) but they don't last long, with no warning, so runs out of ink regularly. This unit scans way better than my previous old SLOW Agfa scanner, but prints not quite as well as my HP 940 (which used to jam horrendously, and was a PAIN to re-fill, so I don't miss that). I use the photocopy feature a lot - not super fast, but really handy. It came free with my iMac, but I would buy it again.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Canon USA
- Part number: 2177B002
- Description: Higher productivity, right at home. This versatile All-In-One lets you quickly print beautiful photos and laser-quality text. Copy important documents, with results that are truer to your originals. And scan photos or forms, even thick notebooks. You can print directly from memory cards, digital cameras and camera phones - and even enhance your images before you print, using the 1.8" color LCD display. All this performance comes in one compact, stylish machine that will enhance any office setting.
General
- Copier Type Digital
- Printing Technology Ink-jet - Color - Photo printer
- Display Diagonal Size 1.8"
- Office Machine Features Print from memory card
- Width 17.8 in
- Depth 13.9 in
- Height 6.7 in
- Weight 13.4 lbs
Memory
- Supported Flash Memory miniSD, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, IBM Microdrive, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro
Copying
- Max Copying Speed up to 22 pages/min (mono) / up to 17 pages/min (color)
- Max Document Enlargement 400 %
- Max Document Reduction 25 %
- Maximum Copies 99
- Automatic Duplexing None
- Copying Features Fit to page
Printing
- Inkjet Technology Canon FINE (Full-lithography inkjet Nozzle Engineering)
- Nozzle Configuration 320 nozzles (black), 3 x 384 nozzles (cyan, magenta, yellow)
- Max Printing Resolution up to 600 x 600 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)
- Max Printing Speed up to 22 pages/min (mono) / up to 17 pages/min (color)
- Ink Cartridge Configuration 1 black cartridge, 1 color cartridge (cyan, magenta, yellow)
- Ink Palette Supported (Colors) Cyan, magenta, yellow, black
- Color 4-ink
- Minimum Ink Droplet Size 2 pl
Scanning
- Scan Element CIS
- Optical Resolution 2400 x 4800 dpi
- Interpolated Resolution 19200 x 19200 dpi
- Color Depth 24 bit
- Color Depth (Internal) 48 bit
Document & Media Handling
- Max Original Size Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
- Min Copy Size 2.1 in x 3.4 in
- Max Copy Size Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
- Min Copy Weight 64 g/m2
- Max Copy Weight 273 g/m2
- Supported Media Type Cards, Envelopes, Photo paper, Plain paper
- Borderless Photo Sizes 4 in x 6 in, 5 in x 7 in, 8 in x 10 in, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in)
- Standard Media Capacity 100 sheets
- Speed Details Printing : up to 1.3 pages/min ( 4 in x 6 in ) - Photo, Printing : up to 22 pages/min - B/W fast, Printing : up to 17 pages/min - Color fast, Copying : up to 22 pages/min - B/W fast, Copying : up to 17 pages/min - Color fast
PC Connectivity
- PC Connection Availability Yes
- PC Connection Hi-Speed USB
- Operating System Support MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later
- Software Included Drivers & utilities, ScanSoft OmniPage SE, Canon Easy-PhotoPrint
Power
- Power AC 110/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
- Power Consumption Operational 14 Watt
- Power Consumption Standby 2.1 Watt
Miscellaneous
- Direct Printing Specifications PictBridge
- Consumables Included 1 x Ink tank ( Color ) - Canon CL-41, 1 x Ink tank ( Black ) - Canon PG-40
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
- CNET Labs Color Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 4.49
- CNET Labs Gray Scale Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 4.6
- CNET Labs Photo Speed Test (pages per minute) 0.81
- CNET Labs Presentation Speed Test (pages per minute) 1.72
- CNET Labs Printer Graphics Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.1
- CNET Labs Text Speed Test (pages per minute) 5.45
Accessories
- Canon BU-30 - print server (32906164)49.99 - 56.99
- Silex Pricom C-6700WG - print server (33722386)99.56 - 204.47
- Canon Photo Paper Plus II - glossy photo paper - 100 sheet(s) (33003970)14.50 - 21.60
- Canon PG 40 Black Twin Pack - ink tank (32335113)29.99 - 42.99
- Canon Photo Paper Plus II PP-201 - glossy photo paper - 20 sheet(s) (33660126)15.96 - 36.99
Manufacturer info
- Canon USA
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Canon USA products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://estore.usa.canon.com/
- Address:
One Canon Plaza, Lake Success, NY 11042 - Phone: 516-328-5000
- Email: mediacontact@cusa.canon.com
