Canon PIXMA MP990 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer

5 comments

1. 

   D. A. Hawkins on December 7, 2009 at 6:55 am

   After exhaustive research from tons of resources online, I chose a Canon printer product because of all the top ratings they receive. This model was shipped quickly and arrived well-packaged and undamaged. Putting it together was pretty simple, inserting all the printer ink modules went smoothly, plugged it in and the printer started booting up quickly. Then my daughter and I realized there was no cable included with the printer that enables you to connect it to your laptop to download the drivers, etc. It is no doubt my fault for not noticing I needed to buy a cable. I am not a happy camper that Canon sells these printers, and they aren’t cheap, by the way, without ALL the parts necessary to make them run. Now I have to obtain the right cable to download necessary operating features. I have absolutely no idea if the printer is excellent, average or junk, since I COULD NOT SET IT UP. I will obtain the cable, get it up and running and return with a full review. I DO think Canon and other vendors of printers should re-think their policy of selling the cables as add-ons. It’s like buying a toaster or coffee maker, then having to have an electrician come in and install an electrical cord and plug so it will power up. RIDICULOUS!

2. 

   Carol Figeroid Burgi on December 7, 2009 at 9:03 am

   I was excited to receive this AIO – now I would be able to do all my scanning, copying and printing with one machine. How wrong I was. First of all,even setting the thing up is a nightmare and I’m hardly a beginner. You have to install the print head which didn’t fit too well in its slot. After buying printers that do this for you, this was a bit of a shock. Then the print cartridges were impossible to install. They simply don’t fit.I took the cartridges out, Then I got a scraping sound when I turned the machine off then on and tried to start over. I got an error message telling me to consult the manual – which you can’t install until the print head and cartridges are installed.
   
   I bought this on a whim since I was looking for an AIO and Amazon was having a sale. Even if it were free, I wouldn’t accept another example of this monster. I’m headed back to HP.

3. 

   M. Borgia on December 7, 2009 at 9:34 am

   I found this very easy to set up. I just followed the steps and had absolutely no problems. I was concerned about installing the print head, but I did exactly as the directions stated and demonstrated, and it went in with ease. I had no problems installing the ink cartridges, they just snap in. The print quality is excellent and print speed is good. I rarely do photo printing on my printer so I cannot comment on that. However, like most printers today, it runs out of ink very quickly (and I do not do photos). I only use it to print school work and I had to replace the black ink in less than 2 weeks. I like the individual ink cartridges so that you can replace just the ones that are empty. I have used it now for about a month. I will probably have to replace the 4 color cartridges within the next week. Brand name ink is ridiculously expensive. Two refills of each cartridge costs more than a new printer. But I don’t use the brand ink as a general rule. So considering I do not do photos and do not do a heavy amount of printing, it does use a lot of ink. But, I don’t think that you can find a printer that does not use a lot of ink today. The companies plan to make their money on the ink. I took one star off the total score because of the ink consumption.

4. 

   MilesColtrane on December 7, 2009 at 10:43 am

   just got this after owning previous 4 year old model pixma all in one. the setup was a breeze for both our MACs and PCs. great print quality and love the full wireless connectivity for scanning and printing. prints quiet and fast enough.

   highly recommended.

5. 

   Brad Vanek on December 7, 2009 at 11:18 am

   first of all, I am writing about the canon mp 980, which is the pre-generation of this printer that uses the same ink cartridges…..I am only writing this to let buyers beware of ink usage and software/hardware that supports it
   
   this all in one printer is everything advertised it scans negs, slides, and does an outstanding job of printing photos and other graphics (looks like they came from the lab)
   
   however, Canon (like most printer companies) lock you in with expensive ink options….they have a chip on the cartridge which makes it tough to get after market cartridges that will work properly…of course this is by design …. purchased some from 4 ink jets that work (had issue with one cartridge, but about 60% cheaper and no problem with ink quality)
   
   the other issue is the supporting software does not allow you to individually clean tanks…in other words, if you get to the point of having to “deep clean” a a particular cartridge (mostly due to limited use and subsequent drying out) then you have to clean them all and use up a third of all ink supply in all cartridges (also probably by design)
   
   so although this has been a trouble free and good result printer, it has flaws. (when you note that you could easily pay for this printer[in less than a year] 3 times over in Canon ink supply if you print a lot of photos or even if you let it set idle for too long and the ink could dry and clog in the printer head)