Canon updates its Bubble Jet technology, with smaller droplets, 25-year print life, great color, and great print speed!
Page 1: Intro and Highlights
Review First Posted: 05/09/2001
MSRP $299 US
*
Up to 2,400 x 1,200 dpi, six-color
process for fine detail, smooth gradations.
*
4 picoliter droplet size for
"invisible" dots in highlights.
*
25-year print
life (on Canon Photo Paper Pro).
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Dual Parallel/USB computer interface, compatible with
Mac or PC.
EZ Print Page
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Manufacturer Overview
Canon has been in the inkjet printer business for many years and its Bubble Jet technology represents one of the earliest viable approaches to inkjet printing. Though Canon is likely to dispute the observation, it's always seemed to play second fiddle to other companies in the inkjet marketplace: Hewlett-Packard in the business market and Epson in the photographic arena. While Canon's technology has always been solid, and the philosophy of using seperate ink cartridges for each color is a good one (we'll treat you to a full rant on the subject later in this review), Canon printers have never recieved the mind share among consumers that they deserved, nor have they been strong contenders at the high end of the photo market. All this may change with the new S800 photo inkjet printer. It takes a back seat to no one in terms of exceptional color and image quality, longer print life, fast printing speeds, and excellent media cost. The S800 looks like a clear winner on all fronts, with many positive attributes and very few negatives. Read on for the full story!
High Points
Six-color inkjet printing, with six seperate color cartridges (to significantly reduce the cost of consumables!).
2,400 x 1,200 dpi resolution (currently the highest dot density in the industry).
4 picoliter droplets and 49 gradation levels for ultra-smooth highlight detail and gradients.
8.00 x 10.67-inch maximum printable area (203 x 271 mm).
25-year print life (on Canon Photo Paper Pro).
Multiple print quality and mode settings.
USB and parallel port computer interface (neither cable is included).
1,536 nozzles (256 x 6 colors) for high-speed printing.
Very fast two-minute print time for 8 x 10-inch prints in normal photo-quality mode.
Great performance, even on plain paper.
Special settings for plain or photo paper, plus transparency film.
CompactFlash card reader included (USB) to facilitate image dowloads to host computer.
