Canon Pixma iP1800 review

Performance
The Canon iP1800 performed as expected, considering its price. It printed text at a rate of 5.82 pages per minute, slightly slower than the Lexmark Z845's 6.85ppm. It was speedier than Lexmark at printing 4x6 photos, though: 0.72ppm vs. 0.48ppm from Lexmark.

CNET Labs Inkjet Printer Performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Photo Speed

Text Speed

Lexmark Z845

0.48 

6.85 

Canon Pixma iP1800

0.72 

5.82 

Canon Pixma iP1700

0.49 

5.8 

Epson Stylus C88*

0.4 

5 

As far as print quality, the Pixma iP1800 did an okay job. Text prints on inkjet paper were quite good for a $50 inkjet printer: the text was well-formed, though the characters' edges weren't as clean and sharp as we'd like. Color text looked good, too, with smoothly blended colors. The color graphics print showed some of the same problems with text, though the photo elements showed great detail and sharpness. Color blocks were smooth, though we'd like to see a bit more saturation. In the 4x6 photo prints, we saw some graininess, especially in flesh tones. Photo details were sharp enough, but the colors were on the cool side. We'd like to see more warmth and brightness. Overall, the print quality should suffice for basic snapshooters and printing Web pages. Anyone looking for high-quality photo prints will need to spend more for a better printer. Overall, we liked the photo quality better than the Lexmark Z845 and found it be on par with that of the older Pixma iP1700.

CNET Labs Inkjet Printer Quality
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Photo

Graphics on Inkjet Paper

Text on Inkjet Paper

Canon Pixma iP1800

3 

3 

3 

Canon Pixma iP1700

3 

3 

3 

Lexmark Z845

2 

3 

2 

Epson Stylus C88

2 

2 

2 

Service and support
Canon backs the Pixma iP1800 with a short, 90-day warranty. This is a far cry from Canon's usual one-year warranty and a big disappointment, though Canon emphasizes that its research shows few issues with its entry-level printers. Toll-free phone support is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., ET. You can also fill out a Web support form to send e-mail to a tech. Canon's site offers a searchable knowledgebase, FAQs, downloadable manuals and software/drivers, as well as information on supplies.