CanonPIXMA iP8750 A3+ Wi-Fi Photo Printer

The best printer I've ever had! I ordered this to use to print my own stickers to sell and the colour quality is fantastic!! The set up was easy and it has been very reliable in the 6 months I've had it. My only issue is that it does go through ink quite quickly I've had to buy 3 refill packs since I got it. Though that may just be down to how much I print for my business 😅

I hadn’t planned on buying a photo printer, all I needed was an inexpensive printer for printing bits and pieces. But when I started doing my research I found a disappointingly high percentage of negative reviews on printers in the price range that interested me. I rapidly found myself in the territory of photo printers before the proportion of good to bad reviews suggested I was unlikely to be wasting my money. I’m a keen photographer, and since the arrival of digital I’ve created very few prints and so the family albums have, sadly, disappeared. Maybe it’s time to get back to printing, I thought.I ended up with a short list of two Canons, one more than double the price of the other. I ended up plumping for this Canon printer. Not because of the price, but because of the size and weight of the Pro – 10S. The reviews also suggested that the picture quality of the iP8750 was as good as or better than its more expensive cousin.It’s an A3+ printer so it takes up a fair bit of space. With the packets of paper I’ve acquired, spare ink cartridges, paper input support extended and the output tray pulled out, it takes up a whole desk. Luckily I have one in my spare room so that’s where it now lives.Set up involved following the picture sequence on the quick set up guide. I found some set up videos on Canon’s web site’s product page for this printer, so I’d already watched them before the printer turned up. They helped and I recommend checking them out before unpacking anything. Canon provide set-up ink cartridges with the printer. These are low capacity so I’d encourage ordering a set of spares (not much change from £60) when you buy this printer. The inks need installing after bits of orange tape and a chunk of orange plastic have been removed. The ink cartridges, and their corresponding slots, are obviously identified with a colour abbreviation code. You will notice there are two blacks. The pigment black is used purely for documents, the other black is used solely for photographs. There is no user choice in this. Correct installation is rewarded by an orange light lighting up on the tip of the cartridge body.After closing the lid the next step was to run the installation software. That was as straightforward as installing any else. Wi-fi set up was accomplished by pressing the wi-fi button on the printer – until the blue light was flashing, then running downstairs to the router to press the WPS button on the back of the router. That was all it took. You don’t need a WPS button on your router, but if you have, then wi-fi set-up is a piece of cake.The installation software left two obtrusively big widgets on my desktop. One was a video window running a slide show, the other was Canon’s proprietary software ‘Canon Quick Menu’. This software does things like tell you what ink type is required; opens a web page called ‘Useful Functions on the Printer’; issues ‘useful notices’; and other stuff that I’m highly unlikely to need so I haven’t made any use of this at all. Included in this is something with the really stupid name of Creative Park Premium which opens ‘My Image Garden’ (your own images) and lets you format them in interesting ways – well, interesting to Canon it seems. This software, when it runs produces two error messages on my system (Tvichw32 Driver Open Error & Can not load ASPI Layer Driver). I contacted Canon, they passed the buck and told me it was Microsoft’s fault and that I should contact Microsoft. That irritated me no end especially since these error messages only appear when starting Canon’s supplied software. Canon get 1 * for customer service. ‘My image garden’ won’t run if the printer is switched off, it checks that you have legit Canon cartridges in the printer before it will run.Fortunately this supplied software is completely unnecessary for printing images or documents if you have other image editing software that allows you to print. Both Lightroom and Photoshop facilitate this, so I’ve managed just fine without it. By the way, the error messages don’t prevent any of its functionality, they are just irritating.Back to the printer. The paper-support tray feeds almost vertically into the back of the printer. It is made from three telescoping pieces of flimsy plastic. The paper out tray is also a flimsy telescoping four part tray that pulls out at the front (bit of orange tape hidden on the underside of this that you need to watch out for). They all fold away very neatly and have lids that make the printer look quite attractive when it’s not being used. These flimsy trays do not appear as if they will take any stress without breaking so make sure you can place your printer where they will not be accidentally knocked, brushed up against, or have anything dropped on them.Straightforward printing is a doddle. Printing using ICC profiles from Photoshop is a little trickier, because you need to understand Canon’s secret codes in order to identify which profile applies to which Canon paper. You also need to switch off printer control using the driver software – otherwise it will just override your Photoshop choices. I’ve put these codes at the bottom of the review for those who may be interested in using Photoshop to control the printing. Canon’s supplied printer driver has a ton of options and it’s worth checking out Canon’s information pages on how to best make use of the different settings. To just leave it at the basic settings, and not explore some of these options would be to waste much of this printer’s potential.Image quality is superb. I’ve only used Canon’s Plus Glossy II and Pro Platinum and I’m completely happy with the results.The only problem I’ve noticed is that when I created my own black border in Photoshop, the resulting print showed it thinner on the rear edge of the image. This is something I need to play with a bit more. I don’t know whether it is down to the printer, or the settings I’m using. There are a lot of options to play with, and I’ve only had it a week, so plenty to explore yet.In conclusion, I’m totally happy with this. Image quality is superb, and without any fiddling, is a very close match to what I see on my monitor. If it proves reliable, then I’ve made a good purchase and am happy to recommend it. Check out my setting up images too.Codes for ICC profiles for Canon paperPR = Photo Paper Pro and Photo Paper Pro IISP: = Photo Paper Plus GlossyMP: = Matte Photo PaperSG: = Photo Paper Plus Semi-glossGL: = Photo Paper Plus Glossy IIPT: = Photo Paper Pro PlatinumThe numbers (following above code) relate to quality as set on the slide bar3= Standard quality2= High quality1 = something better than HighSo the ICC profile for Photo Paper Plus Glossy II High Quality = Canon IP8700 series GL2So the ICC profile for Photo Paper Pro Platinum High Quality = Canon IP8700 series PT2So the ICC profile for Photo Paper Pro Platinum High+ Quality = Canon IP8700 series PT1

I’ve been after a good quality printer for my photography work and was considering a Prograf 200 but the cost of which was too much, so after doing some research I came across this and boy oh boy am I happy I chose this!Print quality is superb I compared a print from this to one I did from a prograf 200 and there is little in it they are almost identical.This is a spending printer for the cost and works superbly at providing quality prints. If you are in two minds just get it you won’t be disappointed.

I bought this to replace my trusty Epson 1290 which finally packed up. Setup could be made easier (see other reviewers), but it worked for me (using USB cable), eventually, though it took a surprisingly long time (about 20mins) to load all the driver stuff (on a fast Win 7 computer). I've printed some A4 photos (using the Canon paper supplied, which is 'Plus Glossy II' and Canon inks and compared with the same done on the Epson 1290 with Epson glossy paper, and, though impressive, they are slightly warmer and darker. At first I preferred the Epson, but I now think that was a bit too light. Prints looking too dark is a common issue with photo printing, often blamed on monitors being too bright, and there is some truth in this. Prints with more contrast look better when viewed in bright light, allowing the shadow detail to be seen better, at the expense of looking a big dingy in lower light levels. After doing a series of test strips trying out all the different paper settings I have discovered that setting 'semi glossy' when using Canon 'Plus Glossy II' paper gives a result that is just a bit lighter and less warm, which is very useful. Setting 'lighter' was no good as it gave washed out colours in darker areas. As I have a lot of Epson paper, I tried using Epson Photo Quality Glossy paper and the result was just very slightly darker, than with Canon paper, but again it lightened with the 'semi glossy' setting. For anyone who, like me, thought the Epson 1290 was very good, I can say that, apart from the issue just discussed, results are pretty much identical. However, it's MUCH faster, and prints a full A4 page at highest quality in about two minutes (the Epson took perhaps ten minutes). Printing a page of text on plain paper is very quick too. If this printer suffers less from clogged jets; the bane of my life on the Epson for the last twenty years, then I will be very relieved (and there are suggestions that it will indeed be better in this respect). I note that there is an option in the software for 'deep clean' as well as 'clean', which looks promising.Quirks to be aware of: When first switching on it goes into what is presumably a cleaning routine, that takes a minute or two, and if left on it makes a noise from time to time, going through some sort of routine. When it grabs the paper to print it makes a noise that sounds as though it might do damage to itself, though it survives! Printing borderless is excellent - whereas the Epson needed careful flattening of the paper to avoid black streaks on the corners as it finished, the Canon has no such problem - clean results with no special care. Borderless printing, as on other printers, prints oversize in order to avoid white edges, and this can be annoying BUT, there is a setting for 'extension', and I find that setting it to the first mark rather than the recommended third gives good results with less image clipping. The Plus Glossy II paper is quite thick, much the same as you might expect a professionally printed photo be supplied on. My Epson paper was around half the thickness, but fine when mounted, and the Canon GP501 paper is an alternative cheaper and thinner paper that might prove fine for mounting. Whereas the Epson printer referenced one side of the paper to the edge of the feeder, the Canon has two guides that move together such that the paper is always centred, and the paper size has to be set in the print dialogue box. There is however, a useful facility in the print dialogue box to save print settings and name them for common tasks, and this saves everything - borderless, page size, landscape or portrait, quality and paper type, though I don't think it saves the 'extension' setting.I always print from Adobe Indesign, laying out single or multiple photos on a page, so that I can stick to A4 paper and just combine photos for printing sometimes using frames or guides. This also allows me to fit in text - useful for making an album with descriptions and dates, and a coloured background, though Indesign is an expensive programme to buy.Past experience has made me doubtful of 'equivalent' inks, and I will stick to Canon despite the very high cost - I paid £87 on Amazon for a set of 6 full size ink cartridges, and £14 for a pack of 10 sheets of 'Plus Glossy II paper. The inks supplied are of lower capacity, but probably good for about 25 A4 photographic prints. I have also ordered 100 sheets of GP501 paper for £29 to try. As always, photo printing is not cheap and an A4 print is going to cost around £1-50 to £2. I note that when I check the ink levels, some are much lower now than others, so the possibility of changing only the one that runs out is good, and will result in less waste of ink, though it means eventually having to buy some individual ink cartridges to make up the stock of spares.All in all, a good buy, and though a bit deeper and wider than the Epson, not an unsightly monster like some of the laser printers!