<h1>Another Review Of The Canon Pixma MP980</h1>
The Canon Pixma MP980 is another very capable all-in-one from Canon that prints, faxes, and copies documents in full color with 4,800x9,600-pixel resolution, thanks to the unique six color ink bay. The bay includes a special gray cartridge for more distinct grayscale photo prints. The $300 MP980helps the amateur photo enthusiasts, sporting a large 3.5-inch LCD screen, that has an easy to use control panel, and a media card reader. As with so many products, the procedures for the wireless setup are poorly written. Personally, I think the slower than average output speeds are unsatisfactory, especially when you consider the inflated price. I have always been partial to HP products, having purchased only HP products except for the Canon Pixma on my wife's computer. When you compare the Canon Pixma MP980 with the HP Photosmart Premium Fax all-in-one that throws in a fax machine and an auto-document feeder (ADF) for less, I think HP offers a better deal.
<h3>Canon Pixma MP980 Design</h1>
The Pixma MP980 all-in-one (AIO) takes the same form factor as the rest of Canon's MP series,
but this year's model seems to have been hit the shrinking ray, measuring only 7.9 inches high
by 18.5 inches wide by 15.2 inches deep. This all-in-one weighs a hefty
24 pounds because of the auto-duplexer built into the back for
double-sided prints, so pick a good place because you probably will not want to move it around much. The silver and glossy black body has a stylish
professionalism, and the scanner lid is so finely designed that in its flush position against the main
body, you can barely tell its there. In addition, the main output
tray and control panel both fold in to save space.
The control panel rests on the lid and houses a bright 3.5-inch color LCD is similar to the screen on the Pixma MP970 which it replaces.
The menu is laid out in a circle, and you use the tactile dial on the
base panel to access the different settings. The wheel and "OK" buttons have a satisfying click with each selection, but there's also a
four-way directional pad surrounding the dial for those not comfortable with the wheel arrangement..
The rest of the pad contains more shortcut buttons, including a Navigation button for help with onscreen menus, and a home button, along with instant color and black copy keys, two buttons to increase and decrease the number of copies, as well as a stop button in the event you want to cancel a job in progress. Finally, there are two soft buttons sit directly underneath the screen to navigate through the onscreen menus.
The printer moves paper from the main 150-sheet cassette as well utilizing 150-sheet tray that folds out from the rear. I have preferred
two input trays to one and find that using the main tray for plain and
the rear tray for smaller photo paper is a lot more convenient than
constantly switching the different sizes. The quality of construction of the main tray leaves something to be desired, It rolls out of the bottom and seems to be made of cheap plastic. The jury is still out on the tray's true
durability, but I just do not like the flimsy feel.
Canon utilizes six individual ChromaLife100 ink cartridges including the
dedicated gray cartridge for better quality monochrome photos, but many
users on the MP980 product page
have complained about the non availability of the gray cartridge in retail stores. Canon's online store seems to have them available, so be
sure to order one before the gray runs out. All of the dye-based color
ink cartridges cost $12.99 to replace, and the pigment-based black tanks are a
bit more at $14.90. Canon estimates a black-and-white document to cost
3 cents, a full-color document costs 5 cents, and it costs 29 cents per
4-inch-by-6-inch color photo; This is about average for today's
typical photo printer.
Read another review of the photo printing characteristics of the <a href="http://printersandaccessories.com">Canon Pixma MP980</a> here,