The only positive thing about the ink is that it is separated out into separate color cartridges that you replace instead of having to replace an entire cartridge when one color runs out. A nice bonus if you do a lot of printing.

I have an old Canon that would’ve cost more to replace the printhead than to buy a new printer so I chose the latter. I wish I would’ve spent the money on a new printhead. The cartridges I had from my old printer would not fit into this one and they were a lot less expensive. It seems that every time I have switched Canon printers, I lose a lot of money in unusable ink cartridges. Also, they don’t fill them up as much as they used to in the older models. I go through a lot more ink in a shorter amount of time. Very frustrating!

The print quality is very nice but not worth the price that goes into them. I would look at other manufacturers that care a little more about their consumers and not charge so much for the ink. I would research other printer manufacturer’s products before I’d ever consider buying another Canon printer.

Amazon’s prices were by far the best, and you still get the warranty since the product is new (assuming you choose to buy a new one.)

The iP4600 has a low price, and typical for Canon photo printers, produces good results. Calibrating your monitor will usually help to get you closer to the colors you want. Usually it takes tweaking to fine tune an image for optimal printing. After a while, you develop a feel for how the image should look to get the result you want. Hopefully you won’t waste too much ink in this process.

Using Canon’s included software Easy-PhotoPrint EX, is a convenient way to print. It’s fairly well designed and has a variety of layout options, but it seems like the program hasn’t been improved much in the last few years. The perspective is always landscape, although paper in output is in portrait mode. When cropping portrait images, they are displayed sideways. When combining multiple images for a single print, being able to easily rearrange them should be a basic feature, but it is not. The layout selected by the program is apparently based on the date and time of the selected images. Easy-PhotoPrint EX is useable, but the basic setup is wacky, and not very adaptable. It really needs to be upgraded.

In the ink department, the iP4600 uses a slightly smaller cartridge than the MP610. Ink consumption rate seems to be about the same. Everyone knows, ink is where the money is made, and by installing a chip, Canon has been trying hard to get consumers to buy their cartridges. The cost of Canon’s cartridges are at least double that of generic brands. Finding no noticeable differences in the results, I usually go with aftermarket cartridges. Print speed is not fast, it takes about 2.6 minutes to print an 8.5×11. When you do larger prints, obviously having a high quality image file, adjusted for printing, is advisable for the best results, and Canon’s 8.5×11 matte photo paper is a great product.

When loaded with standard paper, the paper tray protrudes from the bottom, spoiling what is otherwise a tight footprint. The printer will do wireless printing, but if you plan to use a USB connection, be advised that a USB cord is not included.

The 221 cartridge contains only about 8 ml of usable ink, compared to about 12 ml usable ink in the older CLI-8 cartridge. Both sell for about the same price per cartridge. You do the math. Even with refilled cartridges or OEM cartridges this is way too much hassle – the cartridges are running low or out all the time.

I was lucky enough to find a new, unused ip4500 for $120 canadian in a local store. If you check Amazon, you will see that the ip4500 goes for more than $200 nowadays. But if you print a lot, the ip4500 will still come in cheaper in the long run.

If you can’t find an ip4500 anymore – and print a lot – do your wallet and the environment a favour and get a CISS (Continous Ink Supply System). On my ip4500 I use one made by RIHAC in Australia, which serves me well.