Photo-quality prints
in a minute
But the bottom line for serious photographers
is quality. How did the S900 perform? Using
Canon's high-gloss Photo Paper Pro, and printing
at the highest 1200x2400 dpi printer resolution,
we got sharp, colorful, photo-quality prints.
Even with image files as large as 30 megabytes,
prints came faster than from any similar inkjet
printer we've tested. With twice the nozzles
of Canon's similar-priced S820D printer (which
features a built-in card reader and direct-to-print
Canon camera connection), the S900 outputs nearly
twice as fast. Print action commenced only eight
seconds after we clicked the "Print"
command and full-color 8x10s flew out in about
a minute. The S900 is also as quiet as it is
quick, and we found the black-only text output
crisp, and admirably close to laser quality.
Unlike most inkjet printers we've encountered,
the Canon S900 prints visually alter as the
inks are absorbed by the paper and dry. Prints
often emerge dry to the touch, but lacking contrast,
with weak, grayed-out blacks. After several
minutes, however, the blacks "set,"
and overall contrast appears natural and pleasing.
TEST RESULTS:
Resolution: Extremely high. Color
Accuracy: Excellent (Overall Delta E: 7.67,
Best 90%: 6.79, Worst 10%: 15.35). Highlight
and Shadow Detail: Very high. Contrast:
Normal. Image Quality: Extremely high.
Print Speed: Extremely fast (at 1 minute
per 8x10 at highest quality setting on Photo
Paper Pro.)
Check out the software!
The S900 is bundled with Canon's useful ZoomBrowser
for viewing and organizing pictures, PhotoStitch
for creating panoramics, and a nifty printing
application called PhotoRecord (Windows only).
PhotoRecord helps users print multiple sized
images on standard-sized paper, print borderless
prints on Canon's perforated paper, and helps
organize photo album pages.
One of the most distinctive and welcome features
of the print driver is its ability to save settings
for later recall; particularly useful for anyone
who changes paper and/or inks frequently. Among
the settings you can save to memory are whether
the printer automatically influences image quality
with options like Vivid Color (which slightly
intensifies color saturation) and Image Optimizer
(which nicely smooths out jagged edges and minimizes
color casts).
An Achilles' heel?
If the printer has an Achilles' heel, it's that
it is optimized for use with Canon's own line
of inkjet photo papers. Our (admittedly limited)
attempts to print on paper other than Canon's
produced less than stellar results. Canon's
rather limited line of Photo Paper is both expensive
and relatively difficult to find (even Canon's
web site lacked paper info on their surfaces,
sizes, etc). While there are seven media choices
in the print driver, we found no setting for
matte, satin, or semi-matte paper, presumably
because Canon doesn't offer these common surfaces.
That said, there are several photo- quality
inkjet printers available that cost considerably
less than the S900. But you won't find one that
combines speed and image quality to the degree
possible with Canon's Bubble Jet S900. At least
not as of this writing.
