| ign="center">little longer to print and earn a lower | | | | monochrome photos and a tendency for some |
| quality rating than the iP4000, but the overall balance of | | | | colours to be overly punchy. It was also a little |
| features makes for an impressive package. | | | | troublesome to get a neutral gray out of the printer as |
| The Pixma iP4200 uses Canon's Full-Photolithography | | | | prints tended toward either green or blue depending on |
| Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) print head, which | | | | the driver settings used. |
| releases droplets as small as 1pl for each of the | | | | Refilling the Pixma iP4200 Cartridges |
| 1,536-nozzle cyan, magenta, yellow, and black print | | | | The new Canon PGI-5 and CLI-8 cartridges have an |
| heads (plus 320 nozzles for pigment-ink black text), | | | | onboard chip to measure the ink level of each individual |
| providing an effective color resolution of | | | | cartridge. The five individual ink cartridges in the Pixma |
| 9,600x2,400dpi. Two separate black ink cartridges for | | | | iP4200 feature bright red LEDs that light up when |
| both a pigment-based black and a dye-based black, | | | | properly installed. The cartridge lights also start blinking |
| significantly improve photo output. | | | | when ink is running low, and the blinking gets faster as |
| Apart from five inks, the photo printer offers the | | | | the tanks get emptier. The numbers of the Pixma |
| advantage of two paper inputs: a standard paper feed | | | | iP4200 cartridges are: |
| tray in the rear and a second paper tray that slides | | | | PGI-5BK - Black pigment ink |
| into the front bottom. You could now easily load | | | | CLI-8BK - Black dye based ink |
| standard paper in one tray and photo paper in the | | | | CLI-8C - Cyan dye based ink |
| other, and switch back and forth between standard | | | | CLI-8M - Magenta dye based ink |
| printing and photos without having to swap out paper | | | | CLI-8Y - Yellow dye based ink |
| every time. One eco-friendly feature of this printer | | | | These cartridges are also suitable for Pixma iP5200, |
| includes the ability to automatically print on both sides | | | | iP5200r printers, MP500, MP800 and MP950 MFPs. |
| of a sheet of paper. However, it might take you three | | | | Needless to say, many people would like to know if |
| times as long to print a 10-page Microsoft Word | | | | these cartridges can be refilled, or if compatible |
| document in this mode compared with printing | | | | cartridges are available. As of now (February 2006), |
| one-sided sheets. | | | | compatibles are not available for the PGI5 or CLI8 inks, |
| The iP4200's driver can automatically adjust colour | | | | probably for 2 reasons: |
| balance, you can access sliders that modify the | | | | The ink formulations are quite complex, and refill ink |
| intensity of the individual inks; you can also switch from | | | | manufacturers need to ensure their inks will perform |
| sRGB to Windows Image Color Management (ICM). | | | | equivalent to the original Canon inks. |
| Grayscale printing simply requires the tick of a check | | | | Canon has patented the on-board chip; consequently, |
| box, and a simplistic Print Advisor wizard can quiz you | | | | compatible manufacturers have to be very careful not |
| on the type of document you're printing and | | | | to infringe that patent, which could leave them open to |
| recommend an appropriate paper. | | | | litigation. Canon recently won a lawsuit against a |
| Other than duplexing, the Page Setup options include | | | | company in Japan, which was involved in the business |
| size and orientation, number of copies, border | | | | of refilling and resale of Canon cartridges. Naturally, this |
| borderless printing, and addition of a background image | | | | will set back any plans for compatible cartridges. |
| or a watermark. An Effects tab provides settings for | | | | However, there are refill inks available on the market |
| optimizing the image; reducing noise; boosting contrast; | | | | and refilling instructions are available from ink vendors. |
| or adding effects such as sepia, pink, and other | | | | Canon has very cleverly adapted their printers; if you |
| colours. You can save your settings as a profile for | | | | refill the cartridges and re-insert them into the machine, |
| reuse in another printing session. | | | | a warning message will appear on your computer |
| The Maintenance tab offers functions such as nozzle | | | | along the lines of: |
| checks and cleaning, printhead alignment, and other | | | | "You are using refill ink in your cartridges. If you |
| tasks, including a bottom-plate-cleaning function that | | | | continue, your printer warranty will be void." You are |
| uses a folded letter-size sheet to tidy up before duplex | | | | prompted to press OK, and after doing so, the low ink |
| printing. | | | | warning facility on the printer no longer works. If this is |
| Graphics quality, rated at the high end of good, is | | | | the case, you must be very careful never to let the |
| suitable for schoolwork or internal business use, and is | | | | inks run dry, as this will burn your print head. |
| marginally good enough for an important client or | | | | Learn about cleaning tile floors and cleaning aluminum |
| customer you might want to impress. However, some | | | | at the Best Cleaning Tips site. |
| visible problems with photos include a slight pink tint in | | | | |