Canon Pixma MP450 review

As for quality, on coated inkjet paper, the MP450's black text was fairly sharp and nicely dark. Upon close inspection, we noticed slight jagginess, but nothing too distracting, and the text was legible down to very small point sizes. In our color graphics page, the MP450 performed quite well, with bright, saturated colors, sharp edges, and a nice progression through grayscale and color gradients. The color photograph was nicely rendered, too, though the colors appeared a bit washed-out. Both color and grayscale scans showed good detail, though the dark end of the grayscale showed compression. In comparing photo prints between the MP500 and the MP450, we didn't see a noticeable difference, which is impressive considering the MP500's higher-end ink handling.

Canon provides a one-year limited warranty for the MP450 all-in-one, as well as a year of free, toll-free phone support, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. You can extend the warranty to three years for $95. You can also get tech support via e-mail, and Canon says it will respond within 24 hours. Canon's site has FAQs, a troubleshooting tool, downloadable drivers and software, and PDFs of product and software manuals.