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"Excellent photo printing compared to professional prints" on by drmini
Pros: excellent tonal range and color
Cons: none worth mentioning
Summary: As a former professional photographer, I have had a lot of experience with color printing. There are two main factors in printing digital images. First is the range of the image scale (black to white). A very long scale makes for a poor print. Digital images are similar to transparencies. Trying to get a full range from a transparency onto print is impossible. As with the transparency, a digital image will always look better project (i.e. on the computer screen). That being said, a good printer like the iP8500 matched to the right kind of image will make spectacular prints. As comparison, I had some prints made using a commercial photo printer and compared them to the iP8500. The prints were made without any corrections in either case. The average person would be hard pressed to find any discernable differences. This priinter is capable of turning out truly professional level prints.
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"Best photo printer so far" on by gordonrd
Pros: Lucious color, excellent drivers and software, great paper handling, looks nice on the desktop, fast and quiet
Cons: Like all inkjets, costly cartridges, lack of card readers
Summary: This is by far the best inkjet photo printer I have ever owned. I was a devoted user of another brand until I was browsing through a computer store and saw an 8.5 X 11 glossy sample on Canon Pro photopaper produced by this printer -- it was simply breathtaking with the most vivid color, clear detail, and perfect gloss that I have ever seen from an inkjet -- better than a photolab print on conventional photographic paper.
The addition of the red and green cartidges not only makes for much better rendition of colors that need those two pigments, it makes for very good black and white prints (note that this printer has only one black cartridge, not a second photoblack or gray yet still prints B&W well). I disagree that the colors can be too vivid -- yet to see a print from this I would describe that way.
Other things I love about this printer -- it is really fast - pumps out a full color 8.5 X 11 print in about 45 seconds. It is also very quiet. Like this entire line of Canon printers, it is very stylish in appearance and the various trays fold up leaving a compact nice looking shape when not in use. The paper handling is great -- dual paper paths allow for duplex (two sided) printing, and you can keep letter size plain white inkjet paper in the bottom tray for routine page printing and photo paper in the top feeder (or two different sizes of photo paper in the two different feeders if you want). The printer knows what is being sent and will select the proper paper source automatically (provided you set it up in the software to do this, which is not hard). You can also select the paper source from the front panel if you need to do it manually. The printer will also power up and turn off automatically, a nice feature that works well.
The Canon driver software has lots of excellent options, but there is a simple wizard to help select choices for those who don't want to get too deep into the software.
I don't miss the lack of a built-in card reader, since I have one on my computer and read all my pictures into the photoalbum in Adobe PhotoElements 3 for editing and storage before printing. Since this is a near top of the line printer, I expect it will appeal especially to serious enthusiasts who also like to work over things before printing. There is a USB port, however, on the front of the printer so it is possible to attach cameras with USB output (many serious higher end digital cameras have USB, like by Canon digital SLR).
Although the cartridges, like all inkjets, are expensive, they come in very convenient packaging and are easy to install (unlike some other brands that require a tug of war to get them out of the packaging and in to the printer). The Canon software monitors the ink supply for you.
In summary, this is the printer to get if you want the current state of the art in a "prosumer" level machine. The only thing that would make me give it up would be a larger machine able to produce print sizes like the 9000 series, but designed like the iP8500. I highly recommend use of the Canon brand papers with this printer. They are excellent. The Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy in almost as good as the Pro Glossy paper, is less expensive, and is fine for most work. Matte paper is also available. 4 X 6, 5 X 7 and 8.5 X 11 are readily available from photopaper suppliers and Canon's website. Save the Pro paper for that exceptional rare gem of a photo. -
"BEST PHOTOS EVER!!!!!" on by Ycymry
Pros: 4x6 photos are as good or better than photo lab
Cons: Small Ink Tanks (but they are relatively inexpensive)
Summary: I have been trying for 10 years to get good quality photos from a consumer inkjet printer. They have always been too grainy or had poor coloration. The iP8500 prints spectacular prints at 4x6 or 8.5x11 boarderless. The combination of cassette and sheet feed are great. The duplexing functionality should be on every inkjet.
Over well worth the money.
If you want an excellent easy to use inkjet photo printer go buy the Canon iP8500. -
"Quality rivals photolab" on
Pros: Was easy to setup and is a joy to use. Fabulous prints, especially on Canon papers --rich colors, great contrast, and very high gloss on Glossy Plus and Pro Canon papers. Prints a borderless 8 X 10 in about 45 secs. Dual paper feed and automatic power on
Cons: Uses 8 ink cartidges -- which is why colors are so good but this means more inks to replace. Photo cyan and photo magenta seem to run out faster than others.
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"Best photo printer on the market" on by italianlsu
Pros: 8 ink catridges which give you fuller more vibrant pictures. Ink catridges only $12 a piece. Excellent photo quality that rivals professional prints.
Cons: none as of yet
Summary: Every time I print a picture this printer amazes me. The pictures are true to life and full of color. The FINE print technology allows you to print virtually flawless pictures without seeing the individual dink droplets. All around awesome printer!! Well worth the money!
Canon Pixma iP8500 user reviews
