Is the Canon S300 the best printer ever? (Canon S300)

Member Name: TechnoGadgetGeek

Product:	Canon S300
Date:	26/11/08 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple to install & set up, wide range of print options available, good quality photo prints

Disadvantages: Cartridges have shorter life span, 3-colour + black cartridges, expensive manufacturer cartridges

I've had one of these printers since 2002 (I think), and it's served me very well.

The output quality is very good, although the cartridge life is shorter than I would hope, especially the colour cartridge (holds Cyan, Magenta and Yellow), but this is typical for printers which have 1 combined colour cartridge instead of 3 separate ones.

I have even printed photos onto photo paper (and even plain A4) from this printer, and the results have been very good - which proves that you don't need an expensive photo-capable printer with the photo-optimised inks to get a good result. (I used compatible cartridges rather than Canon own-brand.)

I have mine setup with the drivers on my desktop and laptop, so I can plug it into either and get printing within a few minutes once Windows XP has recognised it.

The installation was easy, and I've only ever had to buy a new print head when the original one became too clogged up to be cleaned.

To clean the print head, I remove it and use an anti-static screen wipe, and that seems to do a very good job of cleaning the nozzles, but it does get ink on your fingers, so have the washing up liquid ready to clean that off.

Summary: It's a good all-rounder, but watch the colour cartridge's life: get compatibles instead

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