Customer Reviews
great printer 
2002-08-30
I agree with the first 3 comments. I did buy the LCD screen but because I use smart media I (I use an Olympus4040) cards I had to buy a different PCMICA adaptor. ... The prints are excellent especially with Photo Pro paper. However, I wish Canon made a wider variety of papers - satin, matte, watercolor, canvas, etc. However, I have had success with Epson Colorlife photo paper and some other Epson papers - just use the highest resolution which is the color transparency setting. The prints are just as good as with Photo Paper Pro (but probably use more ink).
Quiet Quality 2002-06-13
This is one of the best photo printers that is currently available on the market. It is quiet, uses 25+ year inks, prints near-lab quality prints, and does it quickly. And did I mention that its quiet? I dare you to find a quieter printer on the market. In any case, here are some notes to help you to maximize your experience with this printer:
1. First and foremost, use the recommended Canon photo papers. There really is a difference in the output quality when you use other brands. I used some generic papers and the ink smeared all over the place. Other name brand papers, such as Kodak, gives decent quality, but none that can match the quality of the Canon papers.
2. The S820D is the same printer as the S820 except with the ability to print directly from a PC card. If you do not require this option, go with the S820 and save yourself (money). If you do need this option, note that THIS PRINTER DOES NOT SHIP WITH AN LCD SCREEN FOR VIEWING YOUR PICTURES WITHOUT A COMPUTER... In my opinion, the direct PC card feature is useless without the LCD screen. Why? Well the whole purpose of the direct PC card slot is to be able to use the printer without a computer. But to do that, you need to be able to navigate through the card by using the LCD screen. Without the LCD screen, the only way to navigate through the card is by using a computer. And if you need to hook up to a computer, why have the direct PC card access in the first place? My advice to most users: Go with the S820, buy a cheap USB card reader, and save yourself (money).
3. As with most inkjet printers, ink is expensive. Canon uses six separate ink tanks on this printer, which is a big benefit from the standpoint of not wasting ink, but which is not easy on the wallet come replacement time.
4. If you are using this as your main PC printer, realize that it is significantly slower than most standard PC printers, even in draft mode. It is fast for a photo printer, but slow for a desktop printer. So if you need a fast desktop printer, I would use the S820D as a photo printer only, and have a second desktop printer which does not print photo quality.
My overall advice, this is a fast, quiet, high-quality photo printer if you want to print directly from PC cards without a computer. However, because of its intended purpose, I think Canon should have included the LCD panel with this printer because, without it, it is no better than the S820 which is ...cheaper. If you do not need the direct PC card slot, step down to the S820 and save yourself some money. If you do need the direct PC card slot, you will need to spend ... more and buy the LCD panel from Canon. If they included the LCD panel, this would easily be a 5-star stand-alone photo printer. Without it, 4-stars is the best I can give it.
Photo printer 
2002-05-12
This printer is a great companion to my S30 camera ... fast, quite, and vivid colors. I do not have to power up my laptop for printing ... just insert compactflash card or connect the camera to the printer. Be sure to use Canon papers to archive the similar quality as photos through Ofoto.com
Highly Impressed!!!! 2002-05-07
I have been eyeing this printer for a couple of months now. I have been very skeptical about buying a photo printer due to its price and especially wondering how the quality would be. I got this printer for my birthday and it is wonderful!
I own a Kodak DX3600 digital camera. I printed pictures from the Kodak on the S820D and the quality is outstanding. The pictures look just as good as the photo lab prints. I was truly amazed at the quality. I like having the separate ink tanks too. That way you won't have to buy an entire cartridge, just the color ink you run out of. A 4*6 picture printed out in less than a minute. The printer is not noisy at all. I used the Photo Paper Pro by Canon. I also printed an 8 1/2*11 picture using Jet Print Photo paper and it took about 2 minutes to print. The quality of this photo was very good. It was slightly grainy but you have to be really close to the picture to even notice. If I put this in a frame and hung it on a wall you wouldn't notice the grain. I printed a picture on regular paper too just to see what it looked like. Of course it didn't come out looking like a photo would but it wasn't too bad. I will definitely be using the Photo Paper Pro by Canon to print my pictures.
I did try the Kodak paper and the HP paper (both photo paper) and the quality on these papers in not nearly as good as the Photo Pro Paper by Canon. The Photo Paper Pro is hard to find in stores and I have ordered it directly from Canon's website but it is definitely the paper to use. The Kodak and the HP photo paper made my pictures look grainy.
All in all I am extremely impressed with this printer and with all the pictures I take I will be saving alot of money in the long run. No more disposable cameras and trips to the 1 hour photo!
