Canon PIXMA iP4850 review

Considering its very compact footprint, the iP4850 offers a full range of features, including auto duplex printing, direct printing onto CDs and DVDs and dual paper input feeds, along with super-fast, ultra-high-quality output.

We liked

Photo quality is dazzling, with beautiful colour rendition, excellent brightness and contrast, and highly flattering skin tones. Reserving the full-size rear paper feed for photo paper up to A4 in size is another bonus, so you can keep the lower input cassette for plain paper.

The iP4850 does a brisk and excellent job of document printing thanks to its mix of pigment-based and dye-based inks.

The printer also features Canon's latest Full HD Movie Print gizmo, so you can print individual frames of video clips captured on Canon cameras via the software that comes as part of the package.

If you're using genuine Canon inks (which we'd always recommend), you also get access to Canon Creative Park Premium, enabling you to download top-quality photos and illustrations for projects such as greetings cards and calendars.

We disliked

Being 'just a printer', rather than an all-in-one, you don't get a scanner for scanning or stand-alone photocopying, and there are no built-in memory card readers or LCD preview screens here. That said, you can still print photos directly from PrintBridge-compatible cameras.

Verdict

If all you want is a printer, as opposed to a multi-function device that can do everything apart from making coffee, the iP4850 is an absolute stunner. Print quality is exceptional for both photo and document printing; running costs are reasonable; it's got a neat range of features, including auto duplex and CD printing; and it's immensely fast. At the price, it's an absolute steal.

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