The Canon i470D promises a rich feature set that promises to raise the bar for the Japanese manufacturer. We put it under stress to see how well it holds up.The i470D offers plenty, especially for the asking price of AU$399. This Canon has 6- in-1 memory card readers that naturally drive the cost up. However, if you don't need this feature, the Canon i450 is virtually the same printer, only with less flexibility. Otherwise, we're delighted to say the i470D is an excellent choice for the home user who wants good-quality photos.
The i470D steers away from the boxy designs of recent Canon offerings. It has instead opted for a taller and slimmer form factor to reduce footprint. This Canon comes in a white plastic case with a dark blue back that is both lightweight (3.7kg) and compact. For the i470D, the top of the unit is fitted with a monochrome LCD panel and controls to offer printing direct from memory cards.
This model does have some trade-offs, though. It does not have Canon's Think Tanks system that has been present in the Japanese manufacturer's photo direct (desktop) range. It's also missing the choice of an optional colour LCD add-on found on the S530D and S830D. Nevertheless, the lower cost of the inks and the added flexibility of the 6-in-1 memory card readers will offset these compromises somewhat.
The i470D is easy to set up. The handy quickstart guide and installation CD provide clear setup and usage instructions. The printer supports Windows 98 and up; and Macintosh OS 8.6 or later. The CD also comes with a detailed HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) user guide--so you'll need to have a browser installed to read it. Like previous Canon printers, a USB cable is not shipped with the unit--so you have to purchase one before you get started.
Besides the device drivers, the installation program will also install the "Photo Viewer" software. As mentioned earlier, the i470D does not come with the option to attach an LCD screen like Canon's earlier photo direct printers. Photo Viewer picks up the slack by allowing your PC monitor to fulfill this task. When printing direct from memory cards, pressing the "Photo Viewer" button will enable you to browse through the images on your computer screen.
The i470D excelled in photo printing but came up slightly short in the colour text and graphics text. In terms of speed, it finished our 10-page test in about 88 seconds, or about 6.8 ppm. This puts it ahead of the similarly priced and featured Canon S530D. The printer also did well for photo printing, clocking in at 4 minutes, 3.5 minutes, and 3 minutes for A4, 5R, and 4R-sized prints, respectively.
In our tests, text output was adequate, staying legible even down to a 2-point font size, although the 2.5-point font size seemed a little botchy. The i470D's colour graphics also showed visible dithering. However, with the 2picoliter ink droplet size on Canon specialty paper, photos were crisp and colours vibrant.
The Canon i470D is a feature-packed photo printer. Its good print quality and output speeds amount to one of the best photo inkjets for the money. Add in the flexibility of the 6-in-1 memory card readers, and you have a unit that warrants strong consideration.
Canon i470D
Company: Canon
Price: AU$399
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1800 021 167
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