Canon i560 or i860 for gen purpose printing

[Bob Hayden]

Hi all,

I want to buy my parents a new printer for their computer as the old Epson
860 is not doing so well. I have a Canon i960 and print a lot of great
photos with it, but for my parents, I want an easy-to-use budget printer
primarily for printing test, E-Mails, maps, etc., with occasional photos,
mainly 4x6. WIth the new intro of the PIXMA line, it seems prices on the
i560 and i860 have dropped nicely and thought one of these might fit the
bill.

Any advice, recomendations, etc are appreciated.

Bob

 

[PC Medic]

I have an i560 and think they would be quite happy with it.

 

[Larry B]

I am close to recommending the i560 to a friend but she wants an inkjet
that produces as close to laser-quality text as is possible.

In your experience, would the i560 fit that description. If not, any other
suggestions?

Thanks, Lar

 

[JJO]

Try this review for information about the i560. They have it rated as an
editor's choice and Canon is really starting to introduce some great
printers at very affordable prices.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_i560/4505-3156_7-30472037.html

Regards,
John O.

 

[colinco]

I am close to recommending the i560 to a friend but she wants an inkjet
that produces as close to laser-quality text as is possible.
[/QUOTE]
The i560 or the i860(865),Pixma 3000 and 4000 use a pigment black ink
for good looking text. I have an i865 and leave it on draft quality for
most text output.

 

[Larry B]

I checked out the reviews for both the i560 and i860. Impressive, esp the
anectdotal reviews. With a price difference of $30 or $40, the i860 seems
geared for faster and better photo printing . What other advantages would
the i860 bring to the table over the i860?

Thanks, Lar

 

[MSu1049321]

I love my i850.

 

[Prime]

(e-mail address removed) (MSu1049321) posted the exciting message

I love my i850.

I'm EXTREMELY pleased with my i860. One really nice feature is the auto
on/off. You never even need to touch the printer except to pick up the
printouts.

By the way, I also had an earlier S820 (6 color Canon photo printer) and
the i860's photo output is stunning for a 4 color printer. 95% of people
would never know it's not a traditional photograph.

 

[PC Medic]

Yes, I think the text quality is quite acceptable in comparison.
Remind her that an very important part of good quality print (especially
text) is using good quality papers. Many neglect to do so and end up with
fuzzy edges.

 

[Mo]

I want to buy my parents a new printer for their computer as the old Epson
860 is not doing so well.

I would suspect that your parents will not be printing a color photo
at least once per week at the very minimum. If that is the case, an
HP printer would be the best choice for them since the printheads are
built into the ink cartridges.

With HP if they don't print for a while and have a clog, they can
replace the ink cartridges and have a new printer again. With Epson
and they have an unrecoverable clog, they will have to buy a new
printer since it is so hard to replace the print head. With Canon
they would have to buy a replacement printhead at considerable $$$.

That said, I have a Canon i960 like you so I'm not an HP man.
Mo