Editorial Review
Package Contents: PIXMAMP800R, power cord, USB cable, print head, ink tanks (PGI-5Bk Black, CLI-8 Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow), user guide, registration card, Printing 4" x 6" Sample Pack, Canon Photo Paper Pro
The Canon PIXMA MP800R Photo All-In-One improves your home or small office performance, by giving you the freedom of wireless printing and scanning. It produces amazing print resolution for smooth, virtually grain-free images -- the Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology produces true-life photos and laser-quality text. High-resolution CCD technology enables you to produce exceptional 2400-dpi scans, with vibrant 48-bit color depth. The extra-large 3.5" LCD color viewer lets you preview an image without connecting to a computer -- then print them directly from memory cards or from a PictBridge ready device such as a digital camera. The PIXMA conforms to the IEEE 802.11b/g wireless (WiFi) standard, enabling it to receive 54 Mbps wireless transmissions from up to 164 feet away. You can print to it or scan from it using an individual WiFi-enabled computer, or integrate it into a full wireless home network - so the whole family can print and scan wirelessly. Print Resolution - 600x600 dpi black; 9600x2400 color Print Speeds - Up to 30 ppm black; up to 24 ppm color Paper Sizes - Letter, Legal, Credit Card, 4x6, 4x8, 5x7, 8x10 Copy Features - Borderless, AE, 4 on 1, 2 on 1, fit-to-page, Image Repeat Reductions/Enlargement - 25%-400% Supprted Media - CompactFlash, MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick PRO, SD Card, MMC (supports miniSD, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Duo and Pro Duo with optional adapter) Interfaces - USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Direct Print port (cables not included), IrDA (JPEG), Bluetooth v1.2 Operating Systems - Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98; Mac OS X versions 10.2.4 to 10.4.x Dimensions(WxHxD) - 18.6 x 19.3 x 9.5 Weight - 27.3 lbs.
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Customer Reviews
feeling positive 
2006-08-08
Over the past couple of months I updated some of the electronics in our house. I replaced an older single desktop iMac with a new iMac, and added a MacBook laptop. I put in wireless connectivity (Airport) and purchased a new printer (the MP 800R, my first multi-function) as well as a new digital camera (Canon A620).
I found the setup and connectivity of the MP800R wireless to be realtively troublefree. I would not consider it "a snap" as many reviewers have noted, however, I am new to wireless technology and verbage.
So far I have used the 800R for copying, printing, and photo printing. All worked very well with excellent speed and quality results. I have not done any scanning yet.
One complaint...the 800R keeps telling me that I have a problem with one of the ink tanks. I don't believe there is a problem with the tank. I usually have to turn the unit off and then back one to circumvent..or...re-snap the offending tank into place. Kind of annoying, but I will continue to look into this issue.
UPDATE: I finally just replaced the offending ink tank ($16) and so far the problem is solved. With a new unit like mine, one wouldn't think you'd get a bad ink tank, but that is what must have happened.
All in all in the short time I have been using this unit, I am quite pleased.
Small annoyances 
2006-08-05
I really wish that I liked this machine more than I do, since I researched it carefully and decided that "price is not an issue." But it does small dumb things. It's always telling me that there's a paper jam when there isn't, and opening the back is not convenient. It just switched itself from the front paper tray to the back tray, where I keep photo paper, and wasted 7 pages of photo paper before I noticed it. I switched it again to the front feed, tried to print my document, and it switched itself back. I've turned it off and perhaps it will do what I say next time.
I'm also unimpressed by some of the finishing -- for example, the plastic part that moves to accommodate 4x6 photo paper in the back paper tray is flimsy and difficult to move.
I've been using computers and printers for 20 years, and have owned many, so I'm not a complete bumbler. Just frustrated.
easy wireless set up for Mac Book Pro & Dell Latitude! 2006-07-11
We have a Mac Book Pro (laptop) as our home computer and a Dell Latitude (laptop) that I bring home from work. Both are wireless through our airport (mac). The MP800R practically set up itself. The instructions did show pictures of windows that were not just exactly like the windows that showed up during installation, however, I was able to quickly and easily figure out what to do with the windows that did appear. A flier inside the box said to download the newest driver for the intel-based mac but it was up and running before we did that. We are able to print from both laptops without any additional reconfiguring between print jobs. Also, I am not sure if the airport has anything to do with the configuration or if the printer is "beaming" straight to the computers.
The only issue is that from farther than about seven feet the computer's bluetooth or wireless (not sure what the difference is) sensor has to be pointing at the printer. At least I have gotten rid of one wire in our house.
Don't you miss the good old days when the computer turned on the printer when it was off.... Oh, well. We can't have everything.
Happy printing!
A rushed product 2006-07-08
We expressly purchased this printer for its wireless capabilities. We own a lot of Canon products, and I am always impressed by the performance of their cameras. Some printers' quality too. Scanners... that's a different story.
So, my main complaint with this printer is that for the price and tauted features is not a solid network performer. It's an USB printer with a quick network job behind it. Here are highlights:
1. Software is buggy
- network re-configuration should be automatic. Instead, one has to reset the LAN settings on the printer's menu because the included software doesn't want to update new settings (e.g. WEP key change, DHCP server change to new IP, etc.) This applies to wireless.
- On OS X 10.4.7 one has to disable the firewall to be able to scan. No documentation shows the TCP/IP or UDP ports needed to be opened so that the scanner can transfer the image to the computer.
- printer driver features are hidden behind friendly names like photo-print, tables-and-charts, etc. The "detailed-settings" shows a slider with "fast" at one end and "fine" (print quality) at the other. Detailed settings indeed.
- printer does not enter standby after a predetermined time unless all computers on the network are off or standby too. Even the LCD does not turn off.
2. The device lacks a dedicated hardware engine with queue support for each function. Some RAM for buffering wouldn't hurt either. So that means one user has to wait until the device is available. Here's a scenario (both users on laptops):
- user1 prints or scans
- user2 wants to print but is queued
- an HP (or true network-enabled printer) would accept both jobs (buffer them) and both users would be free to do whatever else they want. Because this printer doesn't have such features, user2's printjob would go into polling mode (querying the printer every now and then: are you available yet?). This translates into poor CPU usage and eating away battery like crazy on user2's laptop, until his computer can finally send the job to the printer.
3. Wireless connectivity is extremely bad. The access point is about 9ft away from the printer, link quality is at 63% and consequently, the super-fast advertised printing speed of 30ppm translates into about 2ppm (black-only, medium-quality prints). Forget about color photos, they take bloody ages. USB or LAN printing is obviously faster. LAN printing still suffers from the same queue problems.
On the bright side, technical support is handled by friendly people. Unfortunately, their most typical answer is Windows-like: "did you reinstall the drivers?" although they have a dedicated Mac team for driver and application software development.
Okay, enough with the negatives.
1. Scan quality (from film negatives, pun intended) is great. Scan from printed pictures, magazines, books, etc. is good too.
2. Print quality is great. Individual monitoring of ink levels is a very nice touch.
3. Duplex-printing. Yee! Enough said.
So, would you pay the $100 difference between the MP800 and MP800R in light of the above? I definitely wouldn't have done it, if I knew beforehand the above problems. Instead, I would've looked elsewhere. But all reviews tend to be so simplistic, and so they also are misleading.
If the people from Canon care enough, they could fix this with updated software (I can think of several ways of doing this). Unfortunately, queue support requires hardware changes.
Hope above helps.
Virgil
Amazing all-in-one printer 
2006-07-03
I've been looking for a good multifunction for a while.
This unit not only prints amazing photos but the black text quality rivals lasers.
This unit also has built-in wireless (wifi) printing. Now I can print from every computer in the house without any cables or a print server.
Highly recommended!
Great for scanning; home-office friendly 2008-02-02
I purchased this about four months ago, on sale for $260, and am quite pleased with its performance. Since then, I've been steadily scanning color and grayscale 35mm slides, color and grayscale 35mm negatives as well as letter-sized papers.
The photo adapters inside the lid are sturdy and easy to load. The ScanGear software is intuitive. The hardware is capable of up to 3200 pixels per inch and scans a full rack of 6 negatives in just a few minutes.
The printed color output is, to my eye, slightly over-saturated but still realistic and pleasing to look at.
One drawback, I think, is the large size. It dominates the area but still manages to look sleek and professional. If you can deal with the size, this product is highly recommended.
Canon PIXMA MP800R: A Great All-in-One Printer 2007-03-15
I researched color all-in-one printers carefully before selecting the Canon PIXMA MP800R. If I could use half stars, I would rate this a 4 1/2. The sound level (extremely quiet), print quality and ease of use are all great. The scanner and copier work well and are fast. The wireless networking feature is great for a Small Office or Home Office (SOHO) network with several computers.
The only drawback is that the unit lacks a FAX modem. I realize that FAX machines are on the way out, since you can scan a document and then e-mail it. Also, if you often copy or scan multi-page documents, buy the Canon PIXMA MP800, which has an automatic document feeder.
Perfect for all around functionality - bit expensive 2006-10-17
I use this in a home/office setting with Mac OS X and Windows XP machines connecting via 802.11g(WPA). Essentially, I have one printer that fulfills all my needs without wires - no more clutter.
Used for amateur digital photography and general printing/scanning. It is a versatile machine, prints and scans well, both quality and speed. Even scans slides/negatives, although, only fair is quality.
I like the dual paper feed, from top or tray. Large LCD is great.
I have no issue with included software or install. Followed the brief install directions - and was up and running.
Chosen over sister MP800 for WiFi capability. I think the extra $100 is worth it if wireless is a desired feature.
Poor wireless performance 2006-09-09
Positives:
Print quality is good to excellent, especially photos.
Printing from my Canon camera is easy.
Printing from a camera card is OK, even if the menu controls are not the best and the resolution on the monitor sucks.
B&W copying is fast and easy, giving good results on plain paper.
Cons:
Lousy networking. The setup is tedious at best. I had to call the (friendly) tech guy three times, once for each computer I set up (two on OS X, one XP Pro).
Wireless range is pathetic - a few feet at best. The printer signal connection is so weak that it won't print, or even connect if it's in another room from the WAP, even though a laptop positioned next to the printer can get excellent speed on the internet over the same wireless connection. Also, and this is not clear until you buy the thing, you can only connect wirelessly to a wireless access point, not directly to a computer. So you can have a laptop close to the printer, but can't print wirelessly because the printer doesn't have the range to reach a WAP 15 feet away.
The wireless card in the printer locks up my Netgear WAP if my MacBook Pro and the printer are on at the same time. I have to reboot the wireless router to get the connection going again.
Scanning - same connection problems as other people have mentioned. Poor control of reflectance and moire when scanning magazine pages. Have yet to get a good scan on default settings using the scan controls on the printer.
Software - all I can say is that it is pathetically slow on OS X, and on XP Pro it has made the computer slow to a crawl. Every selection or adjustment to the settings requires a pause and wait. Also, the Easy Print software is pathetically limited. Best thing about it is the templates for different size prints. But be prepared to wait a while.
The design is bulky, and the feed paths require space at the front and back of the printer.
Satisfied 2006-08-23
Print quality is very good. Ability to access scanner, printer and memory card reader over network is a plus. Note setting up wireless can be abit tricky but not impossible, if you have some knowledge of networks it shouldn't be that bad. Con the range at wich you can place it my vary, walls and other obstructions can greatly decrease wireless signal. A must for small buisness or home network no more dedicated computer to host shared printer. If I had to I would definetly buy it again.
