Canon PIXMA MP160 All-In-One Photo Printer (Gray) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was reasonably happy with my 5-month old printer until I discovered how Canon's ink management works. These comments are not necessarily specific to the MP-160 and some are probably relevant to any printer using Canon's new chipped cartridges. I learned a lot from a Canon MP-150 (v. similar to the 160) service manual obtained from the net.
Here are my beefs:
--the driver provides only 4 warning levels: 70%, 40%, "low," (whatever that means) and out. After "low" comes on, I've been able to continue printing for a long time, but I'm afraid to start an important job because I don't know how much ink is really there. And I now realize I replaced my first color cartridge prematurely - when the "low" light came on - not realizing I could probably go for quite a lot longer without replacing the cartridge. FWIW, I got into the service readout. I'm still on my 1st standard black cartridge (low warning light is on) after having printed 368 pages since I got the printer (the vast majority in black economy mode). Canon estimates 355 pages/black tank in standard mode. I'm on my 2nd standard color cartridge (low warning light is on; having replaced the 1st prematurely). Canon estimates 308 standard sheets/color tank and 120 4x6's. I've printed 9 photos.
--If I understand the MP-150 service manual, a standard black cartridge contains 43 gm of ink. The printer periodically cleans itself and uses 0.1 gm of ink when it does. My service readout says that my printer has cleaned itself 10-13 times and if the MP 160 uses the same amount of ink to clean itself, that means that 3% of my ink has gone to cleaning. This system of ink management would also explain why my color ink level suddenly went from 40% to "low" even when I hadn't recently been printing in color. I was probably near "low," the printer cleaned itself and since there are only 4 warning levels, the ink level appeared to drop suddenly for no reason.
--Canon has made it difficult to refill their cartridges or use 3rd party cartridges because the ink monitoring system is disabled unless you're using a new Canon cartridge. So if you use a refilled or 3rd party cartridge, you won't know how much ink you have left.
Very telling: the MP-150's product life, per the service manual, is 6000 pages (about half in black, half in color) or 3 years of use, whichever comes first. That is, Canon **expects the MP-150 to fail in 3 years or less**. This doesn't bode well for my MP-160.
I did not spend much on the printer. In fact, I'll pay more for a couple sets of ink cartridges than I paid for the printer. It seems to me that by building low-end printers with very limited product life and by making it hard to use generic inks, Canon is encouraging us to fill landfills with their printers.

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The Canon PIXMA MP160 All-In-One Photo Printer lets you print, copy and scan photos and documents quickly and easily. Whether working from the home office, helping a child with his/her school project or simply printing out pictures from a family trip, Canon provides solutions that satisfies consumers' preferences in look, feel, design and functionality.With a sleek, slanted design featuring rounded corners and a space-saving low profile, the stylish MP160 livens up any home or small business office. As more and more consumers begin to familiarize themselves with the benefits of a multi-function unit for the home, the demands go beyond just having the best technology. Ease of use and reliability have come to the forefront. The MP160 is designed to be extremely user friendly while delivering optimum results time and time again.Fast, Reliable Home Printing The MP160 is a system that lets you get more done, right at home. It allows you to print beautiful, long-lasting photos, along with copies that are truer to your originals' images and text. The unique Z-Lid lets you produce clear, complete scans even of thick originals like personal notebooks. You can even print photos directly from a PictBridge compatible camera or DV camcorder -- no computer required! With home-office AIO printers becoming everyday household items and digital photography's popularity increasing by leaps and bounds, Canon has created a new generation of multi-function printers, like the MP160, that further link the photographic world to that of the home office. This multi-function unit harmonizes printing functionality and performance with imaging excellence and a sense of home decor/style, making it a great long term investment.This four-color printer, with true-pigmented black and high intensity color inks, is ideal for printing text, web pages and photos. Affordable and cost-efficient, the MP160 offers resolution as high as 4800 by 1200 color dots per inch (dpi) and the ability to copy up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) in monochrome and 17 ppm in color. Borderless photo printing is equally fast: 4 x 6 inch photos print in less than a minute. For added convenience, the MP160 also allows for printing photos without a PC, thanks to the PictBridge port.Sharp, Crisp Copying The MP160 employs advanced copy technology to help give you vivid reproductions of original images and documents. Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology improves color accuracy by independently controlling brightness, hue, and other elements to make sure that there are minimal differences between the original and the copy. In addition, with Text and Image Separation Technology, the system can actually differentiate text from an image, making black text and fine lines darker and sharp. Now when black text appears over an image, the text on the following generations of copies can be virtually as clear as the first. These technologies plus hardware improvements in scanning and printing can help make a copy almost indistinguishable from the original.Quick and Easy Scanning Thanks to the MP160's multiple capabilities, there's no need to purchase a separate scanner that will take up extra space in your office. Instead, you can rely on this compact unit to scan with a high resolution of up to 600 by 1200 dpi (optical) and 19,200 by 19,200 dpi (interpolated). With a 48-bit internal color depth and the capability to deal with documents up to 8.5 x 11.7 inches, the MP160 will give you professional results in minutes.ChromaLife100 Technology For Image Permanence The MP160 uses the Canon ChromaLife100 system, including the FINE print head technology for great photo printing. When using select genuine Canon photo papers and inks, prints can resist fading for up to 100 years when stored in an archival quality photo album. The up to 100-year-lifespan rivals that of many traditional film based photos, long considered by consumers to be the benchmark for image permanence. Prints produced on Canon Photo Paper Pro with ChromaLife100-compatible inks have an up to 10-year gas fastness when exposed to open air. In addition, ChromaLife100 prints, when created using genuine Canon photo paper like Photo Paper Pro or Photo Paper Plus Glossy, have up to 30-year light fastness when displayed under glass.FINE Engineering and the Inkjet Nozzle Launched globally by Canon in 1999, the Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) advanced print head technology is one of the keys to the impressive speed and high photo quality in Canon PIXMA photo all-in-one printers. Canon FINE uses a groundbreaking high-performance multi-nozzle print engine that ejects consistent and microscopic ink droplets. The results are high-resolution photos with detail and clarity in less time.The MP160 comes with a one-year limited warranty.What's in the Box Pixma MP160 photo all-in-one, power cord, cartridges (PG-40 black, CL-41 color), easy setup instructions, document kit (setup software and user's guide CD-ROM, registration card, and cross sell sheet).

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