Product Reviews

Aimed primarily at small businesses and hobbyists, the new 4800dpi x 1200dpi Bubble Jet i865 inkjet from Canon replaces the i850 released at the beginning of the year. It adds a number of new features, including direct print capability with the growing number of PictBridge-compatible cameras, CD label printing, and a paper tray for 6in x 4in photo-media. What's more, Canon claims this new model is the world's fastest printer in its class, quoting print times of up to 23 pages per minute (ppm) for mono and 16ppm for colour text and graphics, while borderless 6in x 4in colour photos are claimed to take just over 30 seconds.

These print times are not all that different from those of the earlier i850. Indeed, both devices use a similar print head, but there is a difference in the print engine: the i865 includes a new, five-colour, single-ink system using individual cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges, as well as two separate black inks. This additional black, it's stated, gives higher contrast in both colour and greyscale prints, while the standard black is retained for text printing. Canon also claims its system produces improved print quality over its competitors' more expensive six-colour ink systems.

As you'd expect, mono text is exceptionally crisp and well defined, and photos are equally impressive. However, while this new Canon printer is good, we still feel the more expensive Epson Stylus Photo 935 (see Reviews, 3 October 2003, p29) has the edge in terms of photo quality, as it produces better colour accuracy and skin tones. Interestingly, Canon's new top-of-the-range printer aimed at photographers - the 245 Bubble Jet i965 - retains the low-density, six-colour, single-ink system. Nevertheless, the Canon i865's spec is very appealing and a faultless setup,with automatic head alignment meant we were up and running in no time at all.

Carriage costs

The optional 6in x 4in, 20-sheet tray sits in a carriage over the standard A4 150-sheet feeder for printing snaps on demand. This is a useful addition, as it allows you to switch quickly

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between text and printing photos without having to remove the A4 media. This is something HP has been doing with its Photosmart printers for some time, but it drops the capacity of the A4 paper tray to 50 sheets. You have to remember to engage it when needed, otherwise you'll waste a sheet of A4, but all that's necessary is a quarter-turn of the large dial on the adaptor's front and the cassette is lowered into the print path.

Printing is quiet and it's undoubtedly rapid. Our borderless 6in x 4in test photos took less than 60 seconds at best, but this included processing time, too. Print quality, especially colour rendition, improved using the higher-quality settings with only a slight time penalty. We achieved excellent prints in just over 80 seconds, although there was the slightest hint of banding. At the highest resolution, 6in x 4in prints still only took just over three minutes, which is commendably fast. Printing full-bleed colour A4 pages followed much the same example, with prints taking just over two minutes at their speediest to well over nine minutes for a 4800dpi. Even then we still noticed some very slight banding in areas of gradation.

Print settings selected from the driver are laid out simply, but even the advanced options don't reveal the print resolution in use. Still, there's the choice of several monochrome effects, manual colour (CMYK) and brightness adjustments, as well as a Noise Reduction option. The latter works well, but softens images as a result and is best used only when really necessary. Colour-managed workflow includes ColorSync and there's support for Exif Print using either the supplied EasyPrint Software or by direct connection with the camera. Printing in greyscale is one area of improvement in the driver, in so far as it's supported. However, better results can be had printing with the adjustments made from an image editing application, as we found an occasional cyan tint to areas of ultra-fine detail. Nevertheless, for the novice without Photoshop Elements, it's another useful feature.

Take some prints

Printing onto CD-Rs requires an elaborate but simple-to-use adaptor, and is a welcome bonus. Adding to the appeal of the i865 for business users, optional extras include a network adaptor, auto duplex unit, and front-loading paper cassette holding an additional 250 sheets of 64gsm plain paper.

If you want the ultimate in photo performance, the i965 may be a better bet. However, given the very reasonable price and extraordinary range of standard features available on this model, coupled with a fine photo performance, we can still easily recommend the Canon Bubble Jet i865.