Customer Reviews
Dies soon after 1 year warranty 
2008-08-05
I am frustrated with this printer and many others. They seem to die on me soon after the 1 year warranty is past. Printer says yellow ink tank is out when, in fact, it is full, and it's the second new tank I've tried. Every print job stalls: I have to open the cover, reset the tank and start again. I read online that soon it will die completely. Customer service suggests taking it for diagnostic review at unknown cost--closest place is 1 hour drive. And then to replace the print head would be almost as much as a new printer. This is apparently a common problem.
Quality of prints was very good but I am so annoyed with the planned obsolescence on these products, especially considering how expensive it has been to keep replenishing ink tanks.
Works for me! 
2008-07-29
I've had this printer for over a year now and have had no problems with it at all. Because I like to print things other than a standard size (envelopes, cards, etc.), I wanted a straight paper feed for less jamming and I have not had one jam in all this time. The colors are vivid, especially photos. When I print a flyer or photograph on glossy paper, it truly looks professional. If I spray it with a fixative, it lasts forever. I have not had any issues with the ink tanks but I do search the web for the cheapest prices, as long as it is actually Canon. Easy to set up, pretty quick printing of photos or text, but I am a dinosaur from the printer stone age so my viewpoint may be skewed. It also prints quietly and has cleverly designed input and output trays. I have not used the auxiliary lower paper tray very much at all but I'm glad it's there. I do notice a slight pinkness to black and white photos but it might be my software - it is less noticeable with Elements than with Digital Image. The same photos have a green cast at Walmart. I would buy this printer again if it broke tomorrow.
Wish I liked it better 
2008-06-11
I've had the printer for over a year now. It prints good and crisp. Nothing to complain about that. Works great with my Mac, too. But there is one gripe that I'll mention. When I put something in the queue to print, the printer does this "pre warmup" routine. Little motors start a turnin'. Whirring, whirring and more whirring. 30-40 seconds later, it's ready and actually starts to print the document. Then if you print another document, it loads up and prints without the buzzing and whirring. But if you turn off the printer, expect to wait another 30-40 seconds when you press print.
Can I person wait that long? How long does his sanity last? I wish I liked the printer more. It hasn't failed me yet. But waiting so long to print a document is tiresome.
problems with ink cartridges in less than a year 
2008-05-19
I use my printer infrequently, so my first set of ink tanks lasted about 6 months. I replaced the PGI Black cartridge (one of the 5 that this printer uses) with an authentic Canon one which cost about $16. Now the printer won't print black at all. I have cleaned and deep cleaned the print head, checked the cartridge lights, followed all instructions on the manual. All seems ok but it still won't print black text - which is the one that I use most often.
When it worked, I liked the clear printing and especially the duplex printing capabilities. The cost of the cartridges and the significant failure rate of the same is really disappointing.
I am ready to throw this printer out, but I worry about the landfill impact of this shoddy piece of engineering.
Great product 
2008-04-21
Great color photos. Ink doesn't last too long, but it is worth it for the convenience of great color prints at home.
It's a nice paperweight. 2008-04-19
This is one fast, versatile photo printer. Thanks to its patented print head and 5-color ink system, you can quickly produce spectacular, long-lasting photos with borderless edges?from credit-card size up to 8.5" x 11"?along with bold, laser-quality text. The two paper trays let you hold both plain and photo paper, so you're always ready to print text or photos. And for convenience, you can print 2 sided without manually flipping over the page! Duplex Printing - Print Two-sided?and save paper Print Speed - 4 x 6 borderless Photo - approx. 36 seconds / Black - Up to 30 ppm (as fast as 2.0 seconds per page) / Color - Up to 24 ppm (as fast as 2.5 seconds per page) Accepts these paper sizes - Credit Card (2.13 x 3.39), 4 x 6, 4 x 8, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes Standard Interface - USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and Direct Print Port (cable not included) / Buffer/RAM - 42KB Works with Windows XP/2000/Me/98 and Mac OS X v.10.2.8 to 10.4.x Unit Dimensions - 17.5(W) x 6.3(H) x 12.0(D) Weight 14.3 lbs Manufacturer's 1 Year Warranty - Toll-free technical phone support plus 1-year limited warranty with InstantExchange program
Very happy with this great printer! 2008-04-18
I bought this printer in December 2006 and have been very happy with it ever since. I've been using Canon inks and Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy, and to my eye it prints *fantastic* photos. The text printing is also great and I usually use the double-sided printing option. I love the dual paper-source option, and use the cassette for regular paper and the flexible top-load slot for photo paper.
I run Windows 98SE, and I've had zero problems with this printer in one year and four months' usage. However, my usage has probably been light compared to what some users do. Well, OK, *very* rarely I've gotten a paper jam message, which was easily cleared by opening a few access panels. *If* I remember correctly, a past issue of Consumer Reports rated the Pixma iP4300 as fast, cheap to operate, with excellent output quality (that's why I bought it).
Canon now has an enhanced, newer model, the Pixma iP4500, very similar to the iP4300. The May 2008 Consumer Reports lists it as top-rated considering quality of output, speed of output, and (importantly) cost per page of photo and text output.
Great value for the price 2008-04-09
I like to wait a year before writing a review because it's more comprehensive and accurate. I am very satisfied with this printer. It's easy to use and works great. I have used this printer to print pictures and documents and it performs great. I use the the ink-saving features and like the flexibility. I have been using Canon printers since 1993 and I think they are very durable. My last one (finally) died on me after 14 years of use!!
As with all printers, the cartridges are expensive and hence my 4 stars rather than 5 stars.
Outstanding Printer 2008-03-29
This printer really does a great job. It is nice to have individual color. The black for printing documents is larger the others. That is a good touch. The best thing after the great printing I like is the two paper feeds. This really save on the photo paper. Overall I'm very happy with our printer.
don't buy if you can get another printer 2008-02-25
this printer is just a big headache. First problem: the printer won't work unless all ink cartridges have ink in them!! So if you use up, lets say, the magenta ink you can't print using the other ink tanks unless you replace the magenta ink. Second, sometimes the orange light in the front of the printer keeps flashing because it won't recognize that the ink tanks are NOT empty. This is my problem right now, my cyan ink tank is full yet the printer keeps saying its empty, and i can't even print because if it thinks one ink tank is empty it refuses to print. So even though, the black, magenta, yellow, and the other black ink tank, are ALL FULL, i still can't print. There might be a problem with the chip on the ink tank, but the ink tanks are not cheap, and i am a college student, i can't afford to keep buying replacement ink tanks for ink tanks that are not even empty! but still I could have avoided all this by just buying a normal printer that does not have this very, very dumb feature, of all or nothing. (I don't even use the cyan ink tank!! all i want is to brint in black!!) So if you value your money buy another printer because this printer is not worth it.
