Printing
Connecting and installing the i9900 and Mac OS X took just a few minutes. Even
if you're brand-new to ink jet printing, Canon's single sheet of
instructions will have you up and running in no time. Canon's Think Tank
System, featuring individual ink tanks, will take a few more minutes to install,
mostly because it takes time to unwrap these things and plug them all in. I
have never been able to do this without getting a drop or three of ink on my
fingers.
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Canon's
Mac OS X drivers are the best in the business and provide lots
of menus to fine-tune output, or you can just select the media
being used and click Print. Here the intensity slider was "kicked
up a notch" to enhance the color of Ferrari's "blood
red" F-1 racecars.
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The i9900 has an intelligent ink
management system that lets you replace only the color that runs out, rather
than an entire multi-ink cartridge containing some unused ink, and may reduce
printing costs somewhat. Contrary to what you may have heard, each color doesn't
run out at the same time. The first two to run out for me were the photo magenta
and photo cyan that ran out within a day or two; a week later the black needed
replacement because I also printed lots of text on the i9900. I'm waiting
for the others to run out, but it's been at least another week and no
alerts have appeared. The printer's low-ink sensor lets you know when
ink levels are low, so you can drop in a new tank and avoid running out of ink
unexpectedly, but more importantly it won't let you print an image unless
the software/hardware thinks you have enough ink to do it.
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Street
Photography. This one's for
all of those readers who have
complained that I don't show more
of my "street" photography. It was
shot with a Contax AX using Kodak
color negative film and printed on
Moab's Entrada Fine Art Natural with
the i9900's Quality and Media printer driver set for Grayscale
Printing.
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Needless to say, the i9900 performed
perfectly with Canon media, but it also worked and played well with others,
including Adorama's ProJet papers and fine art papers from Moab Paper.
Software
Most of the software that companies bundle with their printers is useless, but
Canon's Easy-PhotoPrint software is an exception and is capable of identifying
color space information automatically and transferring it accurately to the
i9900. Other features include batch printing for a large number of images of
differing types and aspect ratios, index printing to facilitate file management,
and printing the EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data captured together
with the images. When used in combination with Canon's Digital Photo Professional
software, it can also print raw data.
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Canon's
printer drivers provide control over the overall color of the
final output, too. Here the Monochrome Effects box was checked
along with the Sepia option.
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ICC profiles allow for the accurate
translation of color data from any other compliant device into the Bubble Jet
i9900's native color space. For professional users reliant on consistent
color reproduction across devices (such as scanners, monitors, and printers)
the profile permits flexibility by ensuring color accuracy during printing.
In addition to Easy-PhotoPrint software, the i9900 includes Easy-PhotoPrint
Plus to reduce redeye problems and smooth out facial imperfections. Easy-WebPrint
software facilitates printing from the Internet by automatically formatting
and scaling the output so that the entire page is printed, even when it extends
over multiple screens.
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Canon's
Printer Utility doesn't just show you the contents of all
of the individual ink tanks, but another item in a pop-up menu
provides two levels of head cleaning: Clean and Deep Clean, when
you've been a naughty ink jet user and left the printer
on over the Labor Day holiday. When compared to other popular
ink jet devices, I spent little (and as of this minute no) time
cleaning heads. I ain't that lucky.
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Facts
· Print Speed
(Up To) 4x6 Color Photo: Borderless--approximately 38 seconds;
8x10 Color Photo: Approximately 50 seconds
· Number Of Nozzles: 6144 nozzles (768x8 colors--C,
M, Y, Bk, PC, PM, R, G)
· Print Resolution: 4800x2400dpi in Color
· Paper Sizes: Letter, Legal, 4x6", 5x7",
11x17", 13x19", US #10 envelopes
· Interfaces: USB 2.0, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, FireWire, Direct
Print Port (cables not included)
· OS Compatibility: Windows XP/Me/2000/98 and Mac OS
8.6 to 9.x, Mac OS X Version 10.2.1 to 10.3.x
· Estimated Street Price: $499
Big, beautiful, borderless 13x19 prints, for less than $500--the Canon
i9900 has a lot to offer.
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