Canon Pixma MP470 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer (2177B002) Reviews

• Fantastic All In One for home and school

  
  By A1BRX51FAKAAVH on 2007-12-07
  The MP470 is a superb value at under $90 and is a very flexible tool. It has excellent text output, decent photo output and a useful scanner/copier.
  
  * Easy to set up and use
  * Great for home and school
  * There are better choices for business and photograhpy
  * A little noisy
  
  Seriously, the text output is fantastic. I'm back in college and have had to print out over 1000 pages of PDF's for my classes this quarter. My workhorse 4-yr old Canon i860 printer was fast and could use cheap non-OEM inks but it often made for very hard reading which wasn't worthwhile. This quality of the MP470's text on plain paper rivals that of the HP 5000-series Laserjets at work.
  
  I seem to average a little over 220 pages of text (which includes images) from the CL40 black ink cartridge. That's nearly 9¢ per page, which is not spectacular. For general use I prefer printers which use two cartridges (one black, the other tricolor) as opposed to 4,5, or 6+. It may cost a little more but it's so much easier to keep track of spare cartridges you will inevitably have to keep on hand.
  
  The LCD is easy to read and the media card slots are handy but as someone who uses Photoshop to at least sharpen the images I print, the card slots aren't used much at all.
  
  The scanner is OK, not great but not bad. Documents scan and print clearly, photo's are OK. I have a Canoscan 8400 and it's much faster and accurate but it cost twice as much as the MP470. I think for school and household use, the scanner is fine. For serious photo scanning, a dedicated scanner will be much better.
  
  My one criticism of this printer is the noise. Not as loud as dot-matrix but it's louder than any printer I've used, including the MP160 (which my partner uses for her work). There is a quiet mode with a timer, so you can make the printer quieter (and slower) during certain hours of the day.
  
  I have a certain disdain for all inkjet printer manufacturers for adopting the "Gillette" model; sell the product near cost and earn the profit on the consumables. Not only is this deceptive model for the purchaser of a printer but I think it encourages waste by making many printers 'disposable' compared to the cost of ink. My 2¢... Having said that, Canon seems to be the best of the bunch right now. Due to their design, Epson has head-clogging issues and higher per-page output cost. HP has very lightfast ink but their non-business models always have paper handling issues. Lexmark is undistinguished (and Dell inkjets are just Lexmark printers that have no Mac compatibility).
  
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• Disappointed

  
  By A24ZKLHGN7UTLG on 2007-10-23
  Canon Pixma MP470 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer (2177B002)
  After reading the rave review in one of the leading computer magazines I was anxious to try the MP470. The magazine raved about the outstanding scan results attained by this equipment. Since my primary need was to scan photographs this sounded like the one for me. The MP470 is an excellent printer and produces great results, but its scanning capability is not good. Perhaps my unit was flawed since the results I obtained were poor. I tried various adjustment to improve the clarity but to no avail. I have returned the unit to Amazon and purchased another brand.
  
  

• Great Printer Cheap Price. Best bang for the buck.

  
  By A34T990CNM3GI7 on 2007-11-01
  This is an excellent printer for those of you who will only use it occasionally. It has fast printing & the print quality is excellent. If you plan to scan only once in a while this will do the job. If you are a heavy scan feature user look for a printer more specific for that. I use this to print directions, some pictures, boarding passes & to make scanned PDF documents. It has worked great for my needs. If you are a heavy duty printer user I would suggest one of the higher end Pixma models.
  
  

• Great all-in-one

  
  By AK902JA8N11LS on 2007-11-02
  Canon Pixma MP-470 all-in-one (copy, print, scan) is mac compatible... a huge plus! Lots of great features..copy, scan, print, card reader, lcd display. Took about 10 minutes to set up and start using. A wonderful machine at a great price.
  
  Prints photos quickly and quality is just as good as prints from the store. A note of caution... let glossy prints 'dry' before stacking them or they'll stick together & ruin the finish on the photo paper!
  
  Scanner produces quality results. Scanning software included is easy to use.
  
  Camera card reader is also very convenient & eliminates the need to physically attach the camera to the computer. Reader allows you to print directly from the card, or save the picture files onto your computer.
  
  Only a couple cons...Unit is slightly larger than average & takes up extra space on my desk, but the design is attractive and goes well with any décor. Also color cartridge runs out pretty quickly if you're printing lots of pictures.
  
  Overall I would recommend this unit for the quality results it produces & the low price.
  
  

• WOW!

  
  By A3MYTPKIDL4NUU on 2007-12-13
  Okay, so I had 2 all-in-ones, both HP's, in the past. Both of them lost their ability to scan and copy, so the all-in-one became a one-in-one. HP's customer service dept. claimed that they had corrected the problem on their newer products, but wouldn't/couldn't refund or exchange these 2 broken ones. I hesitated on the Canon for that reason, but after seeing the reviews and witnessing what it could do, I have to admit that I am IMPRESSED!
  
  The first thing I printed was a color photo from a file on regular paper, regular quality and it is sharp, yet the colors are beautiful and it was instantly dry - a perk for the home user! The second thing I printed was a scanned black and white photo (at an impressive 1200 dpi) on glossy Kodak photo paper and it looks like the professional photo I scanned! I was able to make wallets from a 5x7 and no one would ever detect that I did it from home.
  
  I did print some black text on regular paper and the quality is just about laser.
  
  I am SOLD! I highly recommend this for your photos, flyers, invites or anything that you print from home and people will think you had them professionally copied.
  
  The style of the machine is sophisticated and sharp and the BEST THING IS - there are no buttons for my 2 year old to push!!! Until he finds the door for the LED, but that hasn't happened just yet. ;)
  
  
• Better than you'd expect printer for the price
  By A1DGAYHCDXE7FU on 2008-03-03
  I don't have much to add to what others have said about this printer. It truly isn't as good as a $400 unit, but remember it costs under a hundred bucks, and for that price it is a Very good printer. A few things to watch out for, though. First, in common with a number of other Canon consumer printers, the paper feed is not very good. Specifically, there is no tray. You mount the paper almost vertically in the back, where it is held up by a retractable support. The feed is combination of gravity and internal mechanism. Mounting of the paper is critical, or it will feed slightly at an angle which will be noticeable on your output. Certainly not a show-stopper, but just keep in mind you need to be precise in how you put the paper in. Second, you are guaranteed to break that support I mentioned if you aren't particularly careful. The paper still feeds OK if you do, but then paper mounting is even more critical and you may have to load less sheets at when you refill. Finally, it takes the printer a while to get itself ready, especially if it was powered up recently. Once it gets going it's plenty fast, but it isn't uncommon for that first page to take 15 seconds to come out, and I have actually seen it take almost 60 seconds to start after the job is sent (all were B&W, short text only), which can be annoying on short documents. Once it gets going, though, print quality is outstanding for the price.
  
  UPDATE:
  
  In the above review I talked about the sensitivity of the paper feed and that support in the back that can break quickly. After having used the printer for five months, the output quality remains excellent. However, the paper feed has become a bit more sensitive (and the support did break), so while it's still a good printer, the annoyance factor is up a bit. Also, still unable to figure out why sometimes it prints instantly and sometimes you have to wait 25 seconds for the first page to start (even same document on different days). While I'm not so upset that I would dump the unit, this does wear on you at times, so be aware. Still, it's only 90 bucks...
  
  
• Sleek and Functional
  By A2W2L97Q4B8Z4C on 2007-09-04
  PROS:Good price, compact design, excellent printing, excellent scanning, afordable good quality ink, great software, memory card reader, direct printing from camera, LCD Screen (kind of small)
  CONS:Scanner tray rubs against LCD.
  
  
• Great printer for the price so far...
  By A1H2KQF6MKA1DJ on 2007-12-17
  I'm usually a big Canon fan - I've had two Canon Powershot cameras that are great and I still have an MP730 that works well - just not the best quality. In October 2006, I got the IP4300 printer for $99 and loved it - printed better qaulity than MP730 and it was faster. I still use MP730 to scan and copy.
  
  The IP4300 printed many photos and 20 personalized calendars on it as well as the usual simple text documents. However, yesterday, in the middle of printing one of my calendars that I give as Christmas gifts, the IP4300 SUDDENLY DIED. As I now read on Amazon, others have had trouble with the Canon ink cartridges simply not registering and the printer not reading them after just a simple routine refill. I was really disappointed and not at all happy with Canon. So...
  
  I decided to try an HP4260, even tho I dislike the HP printers we use at work. I ended returning the HP4260 to Staples within an hour. The HP installation appeared to go well, but whenever I tried to change any setting in the printer options, the printer would not recognize anything but the default settings. Also, the HP4260 would not work properly with two software programs that I use the most.
  
  I began to appreciate the Canon IP4300 and MP730 that installed flawlessly and worked with all programs right out of the box so I decided to give the MP470 a try - it's the same price as IP4300 and it also scans and copies.
  
  So far so good - worked flawlessly right out of the box with all programs. The instructions are much better than HP's and I LOVE the little flip up screen. The ink cartridges are different on this printer than on the IP4300, so hopefully, I won't be buying a new printer in a year. This printer is also pretty lightweight and a small footprint for what you get. I have no idea how long the ink will last, but the cartidges are at least a little less expensive than the IP4300.
  
  So far, the only con to this printer is it's a little slow in printing color 8x10 pages. I haven't even tried glossy quality photos yet. I don't think the quality is any better at all than the iP4300 - maybe a little worse actually. But, it's the same price as last year's IP4300 and even tho it's noticably slower, it's really not that bothersome at all.
  
  I usually update in 2-3 months so time will tell, eh!
  
  
• No USB cable!!!
  By APV1MM4WRVAN9 on 2007-11-30
  i just got my printer and was very disappointed that it didn't come with the USB cable! What I was surprised is that Canon doesn't make this clear on its website. Be aware. Buy a USB 2.0 cable along with the printer unless you already have one
  
  
• bad color photo copying
  By A1F0ATMR1I4UA on 2007-11-02
  Based on great user reviews, I purchased this Canon Pixma MP470 to replace a reliable old HP printer that was not compatible with my new computer. I was impressed by the Canon's document printing, very crisp with fine detail. However, when I copied a color photograph, the resulting image was absolutely terrible! The colors were grossly oversaturated, and all subtle detail was lost, it didn't look at all like the original. The subject's hair looked black when it should have been brown, and the face was deeply colored, unnatural looking. FYI, I used Kodak Premium Photo Paper. Just for the sake of comparison, I proceeded to copy the same color photograph on my son's HP all-in-one. The colors from his HP came out natural. I'm returning the Canon and buying an HP.
  
  
• Great printer
  By ALUJ15UFI1422 on 2007-11-03
  I just purchased a Hewlitt Packard laptop with Vista and needed a new printer because HP refuses to make a patch to make old printers compatible with Vista.
  
  I purchased another HP printer first and it was terrible--couldn't get cartridges in and when I finally did, print quality was unacceptable.
  
  So I returned HP and bought this Canon printer. Fabulous. Cartridges went in easily. Best of all, razor sharp printing.
  
  In addition, this is Energy Star rated. I keep all my equipment plugged into a power strip. When I turn power strip on, printer remains off until I turn it on. Brilliant way to save energy!
  
  Author of award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet
  
  
• this all-in-one is good,
  By A2AWUJHFWVGG2Z on 2007-09-06
  i love this Canon mp470, compared to the other ones i used"HP c4180 and epson" this one is better, the print quality is good, and it is fast to. and installation is fast, only about 5 mins total(compared to my HP c4180(15+ mins)
  cons: the 1.8 LCD screen is not big enough and the printer is a little bulky, but really that bad.
  
  and i would recommend this printer
  
  
• Canon PIXMA MP470
  By A2GHSAUTJOH88E on 2007-09-27
  What can one say about the PIXMA MP 470 that has not already been said!
  Price is very right
  Installation is foolproof
  quality of product is outstanding
  Consummer report rates it the best
  Quality of printing is fantastic
  
  The MP 470 is an excellent product which I highly recommend.
  
  
• Excellent - works flawlessly
  By A3OMRC6MEMTUSV on 2007-11-01
  Got this for my kid going off to college, who had no problems with setup on a Mac - works perfectly - even had to print out 140 pages of text & images (this premier college did not have enough copies of an out of print textbook!)- printer handled it with ease - scan and copy functions used a bit, but again simple and quick.
  
  
• This is NOT a PHOTO printer
  By A1R13TR3QKE0W8 on 2007-12-22
  I needed an all-in-one printer but also needed to print and reproduce (scan) photos. I don't know if it is truly the printing capability or the scanning ability, but the photos are one level short of poor. The text and graphic printing is very nice and for the price is a great value. The scanner does not have the physical capability (resolution) to copy photos, period. So I thought I would take a shot at printing digital photos from my PC. Still, the photo quality was extremely poor. Talked to customer service and I thought the problem was fixed, no such luck. Returned MP470 and purchased the Canon Pixma MP610 and the only thing I can say is fantastic! Canon, you restored my faith.
  
  
• Well I'm non mechanical but::
  By A1M5MVOW5J9CGL on 2008-02-01
  I really dont know how good the printer is as I just set it up. I gave it four stars as others have and since I don't know, I had to be fair. If you are the kind of person that takes things out of the box and snip snap your set, skip this review, this is for the others.
  
  The instructions stink, when you load the cartridges turn the printer on first. This releases the arm and slides the cartridge holder in place. I didn't know, and my friend didn't know, so we spent two hours trying all kinds of gymnastics trying to get the cartridges in, and I almost returned the printer; but I brought it to work, and the techies showed me. First turn it on! They looked at me like I had two heads.
  
  Oh, the protective cartridge tabs are yellow and you pull them off, everyone knows that, but the 'trick' here is there is a yellow plastic cover (same color plastic) over the cartridges circuitry, do not remove this or you will have to buy new cartridges. I avoided this, how I don't know.
  
  The software install was a trip also, its a blur now, don't connect the printer to your PC till you load the software first, otherwise your in for a bad time. I worked it out and you will too, but curse you will.
  
  Oh, if you register the printer it will bring you to their site and have you looking for the drop down button with the MP470 model number, well I didn't find it, good luck, I registered it as an i470 or some such and that was a deuce to find and for all I know correct, although why i470 I don't know.
  
  Have fun, intuitive its not, unless your one of those techies.
  
  
• Superb
  By A2PA7KYISW566B on 2007-10-05
  I've had the Canon MP470 for three weeks now. So far, there've been no issues at all -- it's been great.
  
  I love its features and interface -- it's easy to customize on your computer. It looks sleek, prints with very nice quality, and has great design. Highly recommended.
  
  Note: you'll have to buy a USB A/B cable on your own if you want to connect the printer to your computer. The package doesn't ship with the cable, which to my understanding is standard practice among all printer companies nowadays.
  
  
• better than my previous printer
  By A7IORLV11E1V3 on 2007-10-30
  before owning this printer i had a HP. They are both easy to use, but the quality of the prints that i get from my Canon is better. How much better? I can't give a definite number like 30%, but it is noticeably better. What can I say? Subjective evaluations are hard to describe.
  
  
• Scan quality issues? Try this...
  By A23IGMYNOHRXXG on 2008-01-24
  This has been great for us, best printer we've ever had. (We normally get printers in this class, Epsons to be specific, and this is definitely an improvement.)
  
  Regarding the scanning quality, photographs that I've scanned have turned out fantastic, and printed wonderfully on the Epson glossy photo paper. The first time I scanned, I thought that it looked terrible when I opened the file. But I realized that it just looked bad because it was zoomed out so that it fit on the screen, and it had these strange looking patterns on the image. When I viewed the image at 100% it looks as it should, without those patterns or distortion.
  
  It's certainly possible that those who have complained of quality issues actually have had units that were bad, or perhaps they were expecting something even better, but I think you should try this suggestion before returning it.
  
  This has been a great unit. 4 stars!
  
  
• No USB Cable, that says it all....
  By ATXH9Z27ZB2FQ on 2007-11-12
  I mean how much money are they saving by not sending you a cable with the printer?
  The ink is impossible to load the first time. There's a little picture on the printer, but It makes no sense at all!!!!!!!! I don't know how it prints, I'm po'd about the cable, how freekin cheap. Oh and I'd like to thank the other ppl who reviewed this piece of crap and didn't mention that little detail.
  
  
• Canon Pixma MP470 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer
  By A3H3KP1A5T8OP0 on 2007-11-14
  This has been a great printer. It work perfectly right out of the box with my iMac system. It provides great copies and very clear fast prints. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a low cost all in one solution to printing.
  
  
• I used to think that HP was the only printer to have
  By A288QWXKYO29JY on 2008-02-15
  We have printers at every desk in the office, and when one of the HP printers needed ink, I decided that for the price of the ink I could get a new printer. After reading all the reviews, I was persuaded to buy the Canon Pixima MP740. As soon as it arrived and I picked up the box, I knew that something was different, it was heavy. I found it very easy to set up, not too noisy, and well made. For a printer that is used a few times a day to scan or print I am extremely happy with it, and for the price you can't go wrong.
  
  
• Good printer for the money
  By A3NWURJIJMYX5S on 2008-02-20
  I just bought this printer last night and returned it today. Not because it was a bad printer, it just didn't print text as well as I would have liked. The letters jogged a bit. Nothing too extreme for an average user but I'm pretty picky about that as I used to test printers for HP and Sharp. Overall though, the color was pretty good. Very easy to install and intuitive to use. I think the software is pretty solid. I know HP has a lot of driver issues so there is a high occurance of errors and corrupt text. From the reviews I read, you might want to check ink cartridge prices... I didn't even think of that! I did some additional research and have purchased the Canon MP610, it got some great reviews and think it will print better than the 470 (which it should for 100 dollars more). I haven't gotten it yet but I'll see. Overall though, you get what you pay for with the 470 and it is a good printer, not great but it would do the job.
  
  
• This might be THE one
  By A4MX5J20DCKDB on 2008-08-16
  I've had two Epson printers, and never again! They were slow as molasses to print plain documents, they jammed frequently, they used a lot of ink, and worst, the printer would very often fail for no reason, requiring a rebooting of the computer and a lot of frustration over wasted time. I've had friends report the exact same problems.
  Anyway, I just received the Canon Pixma MP 470. I am rating it 4 stars only because I've only had it for 24 hours, but so far, I am in love.
  It was amazingly easy to install, and I am not good with hardware.
  You do need to connect it with a usb printer cord as suggested as an additional purchase when you order the device. Ink installation was also very easy. The documents print FAST, and both color and b/w are crisp. Scanned documents came out fine. I did not buy this primarily for photo printing, but for document printing at home, and I needed a low profile compact machine because it fits into a niche in my desk. So far, so good!!
  
  
• All I wanted - Simplicity.
  By A2D365ZXRINC20 on 2007-12-06
  All I wanted was a no fuss replacement for my stupid old HP printer that jammed every other page. So far, I unpacked, followed the set up directions, plugged in, and have been printing happily ever since. The most difficult thing was reconfiguring the default settings to print pages in reverse order. It's quiet, it's quick, the draft print quality is decent, let alone the "best." Would I print my wedding invites on it? Probably not. But for $70 it's a simple, reliable printer.
  
  
• Great printer and scanner
  By A1Y1VZ1R7RDAZM on 2008-01-18
  I bought this printer for my girlfriend, and it's a great printer. I had a problem with it the second time I was using it. It said that there was a paper jam, but with no paper in it. Customer service @ canon were very responsive, and helpful. Stupid me, there was a twisty-tie stuck in the printer causing the error, and I couldnt see it, even turing it upside down didnt unlodge it. Great printer, would buy another conon product.
  
  
• MP470 Canon All In One
  By A2FL3OUK40ZP35 on 2008-02-15
  Hardware great, software and telephone support sucks
  
  Use the unit just don't expect any help if u have a problem.
  
  
• NO USB Cord in accessories
  By A2EUOIJ3EF37UG on 2008-03-02
  I bought this printer from Best Buy for $85 and was very satisfied with the purchase before realized that it does not come with USB A to USB B cord which is necessary to connect it with any computer. I went back to Best Buy and found that their cheapest cord was priced at $27 :((((
  
  Conclusion - Do not think that you will be able to use it without paying a lot of extra money (unless you already have USB A to USB B cord)
  
  
• Versatile printer for the price.
  By A124S6MYD45PIQ on 2008-03-13
  We bought this printer as a replacement for a Canon S300 that broke down.
  It installed easily, we had to use an older USB cable because almost nobody includes the cable with a printer. The owner's manual and installation guides were clear and easy to follow.
  This printer excels as a copier. High quality and fairly fast!
  The flip up LCD screen is helpful. There are a lot of convenient features on the Pixma MP470, insert memory cards from digital camera as well as the versatility of the printer. The ink isn't too expensive either.
  So far I really like the Canon Pixma MP470.
  
  
• Worst buy ever.
  By A1VC7TDU3LUF7V on 2008-04-15
  The MP470... hrmmmm. It just might be the worst piece of equipment I have ever bought. I should have sent it back the moment the first thing I ever tried to print on it jammed and it helplessly squirted ink all over it's own rollers like an infant in diapers. For a while, every time I tried to print it would simply spin it's rollers, never pushing the paper into place. I got maybe 3 good prints out of it after partially dissembling it to see what the problem was, and never finding one. Now it just claims to have a non-existent paper time every time I turn it on. I'm going to office space this thing in my garden. Seriously don't buy this junk heap. I may have just gotten a bad one, but is that a risk you're willing to take?
  
  

• Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, 4 x 6 inches, 100 Sheets (2311B023)
• Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, 5 x 7 inches, 20 Sheets (2311B024)
• Canon PG-40 Black Ink Cartridge
• Canon CL-41 Color FINE Ink Cartridge
• Canon CL-51 High-Capacity Color Ink Cartridge

• Belkin F3U133-10 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Cable (10 Feet)
• Canon CL-41 Color FINE Ink Cartridge
• Canon PG-40 Black Twin Pack (0615B013)
• Canon PG-40 Black Ink Cartridge
• Canon PowerShot A570IS 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom