Canon PIXMA MG8220 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer (5293B002) Save 57% off

• The Intelligent Touch System allows you to effortlessly operate your machine with gorgeous touch sensitive buttons
• Superior optical scanning resolution of 4800 x 9600 dpi with included Film Adapter Unit to scan film and slides
• Full HD Movie Print software turns your favorite HD movie clips captured with your compatible
• Professional color adjustment feature with the included Easy-PhotoPrint Pro software
• Built-in CD/DVD printing
• Canon EOS Digital SLR or PowerShot cameras into beautiful prints

I have owned the last three generations of Canon''s top-of-line Photo A.I.O. -the 990, the 8120 and now the 8220. Each generation has offered at least one new feature that was important enough to me to justify an upgrade. And in terms of features, performance and price, each generation has been best-in-class vs. the competition. Measured only by those standards, they''re absolutely 5 star printers.

But I''ve also noticed an unwelcome feature in each new model: a steady increase in Canon''s greed through wasteful ink usage. I mentioned this issue when I updated my review of the 990... it got even worse with the 8120, which I didn''t review... and now it has reached near criminal levels with the MG8220. Seriously, there should be a law against this kind of consumer abuse and deception.

I''m talking about ink usage that hits especially hard the home or home business user who only occasionally prints a color document or photo. The culprit is the programmed cleaning cycles, which were originally developed to keep the inkjet heads from clogging and have long been a part of inkjet operation. But Canon has exploited this operational necessity and turned it into a cash cow, a means of cleaning out customers'' wallets. How bad has it gotten? In under three months, I have a full set of empty cartridges, without having printed a single photograph and with minimal printing of documents that had some spot color. So it has literally cost me DOLLARS PER PAGE to print some occasional color. At this rate, within a year, I''ll spend more on ink than the cost of the printer, and that''s with very light use. I''ve actually seen the five cartridges dedicated to color printing empty by a third during a period when I did no color printing at all. I''ve also had it go through cartridge cleaning cycles before it would SCAN a document which, of course, requires no ink at all.

Ironically, this would not be a problem for users who print regularly in heavier volume, since the ink would be used for actual printing and not constant cleaning cycles. In the tests I''ve read of continuous printing until the cartridges are empty (which is how the ink usage tests are always done) Canon printers perform with reasonable economy and a competitive cost per page. However, the vast majority of the market and user base for this printer is composed of people who do light to moderate printing, and their experience will be much closer to mine.

That brings me to my rating which, as I mentioned, would be 5 stars if features, performance and initial purchase price were the only considerations. But they''re not, and the issue here is serious, one that will have a very significant financial impact on most users that they did not anticipate. Worse yet--and the reason I''m deducting 3 stars instead of 1 or 2--is that the issue is greed-based and intentional. Canon is ripping off its customers because it can, and because what it''s doing will never show up in a review or test. I''m certainly aware that every printer manufacturer plays "the ink game" to some degree, but Canon has taken it to a whole new level with the MG8220.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and I hope it has helped in your buying decision.

Buy Canon PIXMA MG8220 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer (5293B002) Now

Installation went smoothly after I figured out that at one point I needed to turn the printer off & back on again. I''m using Windows 7, 64 bit.

PROS (of the features I''ve tried)

-The Intelligent Touch System provides light-guided direction...only the buttons you need light up; the controls are sensitive to touch & very easy to use.

-Scans slides & film; the color & clarity of the photo I printed from a 32 year old 35mm slide are excellent.

-Several varieties of memory cards are supported.

-Using the Duplex feature saves paper, but printing two or more pages on one side of the paper involves more steps than Pixma 6120 . To print 2-16 pages on one side of your paper, choose ''Properties'', then ''Duplex'' in ''Quick Setup'', click the ''Page Setup'' tab to choose your print options, then ''Page Layout'' to choose to print up to 16 pages on one side of the paper, you can also choose booklet and there are a couple other choices too.

-Exterior won''t show fingerprints easily.

-Automatic shut-off saves energy. (this feature can be turned off)

-Easy-WebPrint EX is much nicer than Microsoft''s snipping tool. However, it only works with Internet Explorer. You can search YouTube to find videos explaining the Easy-WebPrint EX feature. (A hint-if you downloaded Easy WebPrint and you don''t see the toolbar, right-click the Internet Explorer toolbar and select Canon Easy-WebPrint EX to place a checkmark beside it.---If there is already a checkmark next to Canon Easy-WebPrint EX, select Canon Easy-WebPrint EX to remove the checkmark, and then select it to place a checkmark again).

-Large images can be scanned and put together with stitch-assistant. (search for stitch assist in the on-screen manual, choose Scanning Images Larger than the Platen (Stitch Assist) for instructions.)

-Print preview is very useful.

-Separate ink cartridge for each color.

CONS

-USB cord is not included (I didn''t need one)

-If you''re printing a document that contains several pages, you can''t delete a page (in print preview) from the queue. For instance, sometimes a page prints that has useless information on it. I use ''print preview'' & delete those pages from the queue; I can''t delete them with this Canon printer but could with my Epson.

-Can be a little slow before it begins printing the first page

-At this time you can''t purchase a complete bundle of Canon ink cartridges for this printer...depending on the bundle gray and/or the black cartridge/s need to be purchased separately.

My Canon Pixma MG6120 printer uses a lot of ink. I haven''t used the MG8220 long enough to report on its ink usage. I will update my review later with that information.

Prints using Canon ink will last 100+ years & won''t run when they get wet. I haven''t tried aftermarket ink, & will update my review with my results if/when I do. I don''t like to take chances ruining a printer with generic ink cartridges.

The print quality is excellent; scanning is easy. Just wish I could remove a page from the queue in print preview.

I will continue to update my review as I use the printer.

UPDATE:

Yes, this printer uses a lot of ink. I print all my text documents using ''Fast Print''. The text is readable & I assume this setting uses less ink. Also, I continue printing even when a Red X appears above an ink cartridge. I read the message that pops up, then push the print button. When print quality suffers I replace the cartridge.

UPDATE 2/11/13: I received a comment warning me about printing with empty ink cartridges & thought it was worth adding to my review. I normally print a few pages at a time & haven''t experienced this problem.

>>>>Jesse''s comment:

"Be forwarned that continuing to print when a print cartridge is empty causes the printer head to over heat and fry. You will end up with a B200 error and then you get to buy a new printer. A hard lesson learned by me."