Customer Reviews
You'll go broke buying ink for this machine 
2008-05-08
Sure, it's cheap, but you'll quickly make up for that in buying ink. This printer takes 5 separate ink cartirdges, 4 of which must be bought in a pack, so you end up with extras you never use. It will refuse to print if it thinks any of those 5 cartridges have unacceptable ink levels. This has happened to me even on a fairly new cartridge. Even worse, my particular machine often gets confused and tells me I have more than one of the same color installed (I don't). Again, because of this, it refuses to print. I wish I'd never bought this printer.
Fantastic Photos 
2008-04-22
When I was shopping for a new printer last year. I looked at many brands for consumer evaluations. Canon got the highest rank over all and the price was within my budget. The photos are clear, clean and beautiful. The paper doesn't take long to dry as with many printers and you only have to replace the cartridges individualy, nice when you only run out of one color. I also like the fact that when not in use you can close all trays, no dust build-up and things don't get dropped inside. The availability to print quickly or quality and two paper trays that can be changed in an instant, just push a button.
Great buy! Beware about generic ink 2008-02-29
I bought this printer about half a year ago because I wanted to get a better photo printer than the hp I had. Photo prints are wonderful and I could not detect any grainyness to them. The printer has a duplexing option (that I love), auto-alignment, and a quiet mode that you can set for the times that you want. You can also set it so that the computer turns the printer on and off when it needs to rather than just leaving it on all the time. Having two paper trays is another useful feature.
I bought some of the generic cartridges from ebay (note: voids warranty) and they seemed to print ok for emails and such but not so good for photos. I switched back to the OE cartridges after they were used up and can't get rid of the white steaks in the blue. So it seems that a new printer head is needed (will buy a new printer because it comes w/ ink & warranty).
The printer makes great photos just don't buy generic cartridges (didn't work for me at least).
Great Printer 2008-02-18
Very good color printing. I am surprised to get such good quality for such a small price. It prints much better than my other more expensive one. I would highly recommend this product.
Much better than expected 2008-02-17
This is a wonderful printer. I bought it to print edible images (with special ink of course) and it really exceded my expectations. The images come out very sharp and very clear. They really have a photograph quality. I'd recommend it to every one looking for a Photo printer. The down side might be the price of the ink cartridges. But as I said before I use it with specialty cartridges so I can't really comment about it.
If you can still find one, go for it 
2008-02-11
The PIXMA iP4200 Photo Printer is a high-performance machine, combining exceptional print quality with advanced convenience features. It delivers a resolution of up to 9600 x 2400 colordpi, for amazing detail and clarity. To achieve this, Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) uses a high-performance 1,856-nozzle print head that ejects precise, consistent droplets as small as 1 picoliter, resulting in beautiful photos with virtually no detectable grain. Also, the ContrastPLUS 5-color ink system - four dye-based inks and a pigment-based black ink - produces true-life photos with a wide color palette, along with laser-quality text. With a dual paper path, you can keep photo paper stored in one tray and plain paper in another. You're always ready to print - no paper switching required. Plus, you can print 2 sided to help save on paper costs. And with direct photo printing, you simply connect any PictBridge compatible digital camera or DV camcorder, and print! This PC-free process saves you time and eliminates the need to be tied to your computer.
Great printer 2008-02-08
Canon PIXMA iP4200 is a great printer! Reliable, economic. It can print DVD labels if you reprogram it!
DO NOT BUY!!! 2008-01-24
This printer is driving me up the walls. You can buy and install generic ink, but it won't work as it does not have the chips. I tried everything i can find online regarding resetting the printer. Nothing worked. Finally i took out the generic ones, leaving only the Canon black ink (which is full) and it still won't work. I called tech support, only to find that you need all 5 ink tanks in for it to work, otherwise it will damage the print head. All i want is to print black and white copies!!! THe color ink costs about $45. Almost the same price as the printer when on sale. I'd suggest getting a different printer. Read up on the consumer guide or maybe check out that kodak printer that was on the Apprentice.
Ink Refills & CD Tray 2008-01-06
This is our second Canon. We ruined the first one (ip3500) our fault.
1. This printer is capable of printing directly on CD's. Go to ebay & do a search for Canon CD Tray. There is guy there (for years now) that has the trays, a link to instructions for activating CD Printing, & a link for instructions on how to set up your Canon IP4500 for CD Printing. It is very easy, & you can revert it if you change your mind. No worry about hurting your printer. You used to be able to buy the CD Trays on Amazon???
2. Ink refills: We use high quality ink refilling on our Canon. If you get ink from a RELIABLE dealer, you have NO problems. Do NOT use a 'generic' all in one ink refill kit. They WILL mess up your printer!!!
3. inkjethelper dot com for general nfo.
4. inkjet dot cfriends for your first refill kit.
5. inksupply dot com for just ink after you already have a refill kit.
You can also get newer/updated drivers & easy photo print OR easy photo print EX from the European Web site. The guy on ebay has the links for you.
The very first Canon we bought was defective, & Amazon replaced it even before we got the defective one mailed back to them. The replacement has been working fine for years now. Amazon made it extremely easy to do the exchange. Sold by Amazon from Amazon are good ones to watch for, even if the price is a few more dollars, it is worth it.
Canon 4 Cartridge printers & up are great. The IP3500 had to have the 'Prevent Paper Abrasion' turned on all the time, but not this one. If you have problems, it is more likely a defective printer. If you get one that is not defective, the colors & printing are Excellent.
Using ink refilling, you have to manually check ink levels, & turn off the automatic ink level checking. Refill BEFORE you run out of ink completely. There are defective ink cartridges!!! Canon will usually replace them for free. Once you know you have good cartridges, then just refill them.
If you have problems with paper or envelope feed, or some such, then you pobably have a defective printer. Exchange it. It is worth it.
Not good for the long haul 
2008-01-04
I bought this printer about 1½ years ago. I bought it partly because many family members/friends recommended a Canon printer. Another factor in my decision was that it has separate print cartridges for each color.
Still, I was never been completely happy with it. I thought the print quality was adequate but not great.
After about a year, I started experiencing problems with paper feeds in the back paper tray. Paper in this feeder started to misfeed with increasing frequency and failed completely a few months later. Now I am relying completely on the lower paper tray which is cumbersome at best. After conferring with my friends and family who all had Canon printers before, I have learned that they have all switched back to HP! One commented that she, too, had experienced problems with the paper feed mechanism.
To be fair, I do use my printer a lot. Nevertheless, as soon as the current ink cartridges run out, I will be buying another printer and I, too, will likely switch back to a HP!
