Canon had an epic for press released yesterday, with a grand total of 30 products released yesterday (although apparently 80 in a day is their best) and while Jonathan gets to look at the cameras, I am lumbered with the rest - 18 printers and 4 scanners. Thankfully Canon's PR department have easily broken them down into groups with their press releases, so I'll do the same: Six photo-lab quality PIXMAs, two MiniPIXMAs, the SELPHY ES1, two other SELPHYs, and four PIXMA all-in-ones, three PIXMA photo-all-in-ones and four scanners. That's quite a haul so here is a brief run-down of the lot and more information can be found on their product pages, and even though this sounds like a lot remember Canon has to cater for lots of price points from budget upwards. No release details or prices have been announced yet.
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Six PIXMA photo printers
In what's called “the third generation” PIXMA range feature the iP1300, iP1700, iP3300, iP4300, iP5300 and iP6700D? All the printers offer A4 printing, FINE technology (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) for faster print speeds and quality, new printer design and a range of options - each of the size suiting a different requirement such as price and Direct Printing. Pick of the crop is the iP5300 that sets a new PIXMA speed record of 21seconds for a 4x6 inch photo.
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Two PIXMA “mini” printers
A new sub-range of PIXMA, the mini260 and mini220 are 4x6inch borderless printers, with photo-lab quality and high printing speeds. The big difference (other than price) is resolution. The mini260 offers 9600x2400 dpi and the mini220 offers 4800x1200. Both offer PictBridge printing and 2.5 inch LCD screen for navigation, but the mini260 offers something very special - an Easy-Scroll Wheel (think iPod) for menu navigation, making printing and use of the creative features very easy.
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The SELPHY ES1
The SELPHY range is for compact photo printing, but the ES1 redefines the genre - instead of typically flat and boxy printers, the ES1 is upright with a tiny 199x113mm footprint, suitable for tight spaces like a bookshelf. It is also the second printer ever to incorporate the DIGIC II image processor found in digital SLRs and this allows amazingly fast operation and quality. Its last innovation is the “Easy Photo Pack” printing that saves time by combining ink and paper in one cartridge - a good idea but time will see if this is cheaper in the long run.
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Two other SELPHY printers
Replacing the CP710 and CP510 are the CP730 and CP720. These are ultra-compact printers that have a footprint of a sheet of A5, have Direct Printing capability from memory cards (and a 2.0/1.5 inch LCD to help this) and claim to have a per print cost of merely 22p per unit - competing with the best high-street labs. The CP730 has an extra feature, My Colours photo effects such as Sepia, B&W and Vivid.
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Four PIXMA All-in-Ones
All-in-Ones offer printing, copying and scanning capability and the MP160, MP180, MP460 and MP510 are designed to offer this at a range of prices. Obviously as you go up in price the features increase - scanning capability goes up to 1200x2400, the MP460 and MP510 have a 1.9inch LCD screen and the MP510 has a Single Ink system to cut down on unnecessary wastage. Direct Printing is big on the agenda, they all offer PictBridge, and all except the MP160 have [memory] Card Direct capability.
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Three PIXMA Photo-All-In-Ones
The MP800, MP800R and MP810 add photo printing to the all-in-one mix, and also have the Easy-Scroll Wheel for quick and easy menu navigation on the 2.5 inch LCD (3.0 on the MP810. Speed is a selling point with the MP810 printing 4x6” in 21 seconds and the two MP600s offering 28 seconds. The MP800R also has another useful feature with built-in wireless and Ethernet connections, a welcome change from the usual USB connection.
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Four scanners
Finally (for those of you who have made it this far) are the CanoScan 8600F and 4400F and the LiDE 600F and 70. The former two are high-speed professional 4800x9600dpi scanners with Film Adapter Units for 35mm film (the 8600F also has one for 120 format. Both are suitable for PC and Mac. The 8600F is the flagship of the range and adds FARE technology for dust removal and throws a full version of Photoshop Elements in free. The LiDE scanners are more style-focused and allow horizontal or vertical orientation in 4800x9600 and 2400x4800dpi respectively, and the 600F also has FARE technology. Phew. |
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