A photo lab in a box!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Large prints up to 13x19 borderless. Large color gamut thanks to red & green ink.

Cons: Huge physical size, look at the dimensions!

The Bottom Line: 
This printer is wonderful, it prints large quality prints reliably and without complicated adjustments.

Author's Review
My previous Canon printer had passed it's time, well maybe I also itched to upgrade to a printer with a larger paper size to. Either way, things worked out and I got the printer for a great deal, so read on for more!

The Facts:
Model Reviewed: PIXMA Pro 9000
Max. Paper Size: Borderless 13"x19" - And all sizes between!
Ink Colors: 8 (Black, Photo Cyan, Photo Magenta, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, and Green) - Individual ink tanks mean you replace only the inks that run out, not the all of them at the same time. Also a rarity is the red and green inks, they increase the color reproduction and accuracy of the prints.
Dimensions: 26.0"(W) x 7.6"(H) x 14.0"(D)
Noise: 37 dB(A) in the best quality mode
Resolution: 4800 x 2400 dpi - A droplet size of 2 picoliters!

Installation:
When you get the box there will be one thing that will come to mind; "maybe I should have looked at the dimensions before I ordered this!" Once you open the box you will meet this heavyweight of home printers, neatly wrapped and all the moving parts taped shut with easy to remove, and see, orange tape. Included with the box is the power cord, ink tanks, manual, CD-ROM, and quick start guide.

First thing you should do is open the quick start guide for an easy to follow set of instructions on how to install the printer. There are pictures, and detailed instructions, it makes it easy enough for even the most novice computer user. Two noteworthy features of this printer are that the print head is separate of the ink so replacing it is an easy task if it ever is required, and when you properly install the ink tanks they light up red letting you know that you did it right.

The CD-ROM and quick start guide installed the printer with no problems in addition to some Canon software.

Printing:
I am an amateur photographer, and have a Canon 10D camera, this is primarily what I print from. The files are 6.3 MegaPixels (3072x2048 pixels) which yields a 4x6 print with 512 dots per inch(dpi).

I choose several different pictures that I had taken from a portrait, to a multi-colored castle, to a landscape. The paper used was Canon Glossy Paper Plus, and tried to get a feel for the quality.

The prints are beautiful, with colors that are mostly faithful to the original files. A very slight reddish tint was visible in skin tones, but since picture color varies drastically depending on what light they are viewed it, it is not a big concern to me.

I also printed a large picture that had 1500 dpi, the detail in the 4x6 print was amazing, you couldn't even see all of the detail you had to use a magnifying glass to pick out the smallest details. This way beyond a normal resolution that consumers would use, but still very exciting.

Operations:
When you print a little informational window pops up that informs you of ink tank level, and any issues with the printer such as paper out and paper jams. A word to the wise however, the printer warns you when the ink tank level is low, this does not mean that you have to replace the tank, this is only a warning. You only actually have to replace the ink tank when it says the ink tank level is out.

During my several weeks of owning this printer I have had no jams or any other negative issues. Nothing but wonderful prints and ease of use!

Lastly, I am working on some real world timing for how long it takes to print, but am not quite done, so I will update this review shortly.

Conclusion:
This printer is wonderful, it prints large quality prints reliably and without complicated adjustments.

1 1/2 Year Update:
Wow what a year, I have put this printer through the test this year. I have printed everything that you can imagine, and people still can not believe that this came from a home printer. It is wonderful for my wife to be able to print on 12 x 12 scrapbook paper with no issues. To date I still have not had a paper jam, and it continues to perform outstanding.

Writers Note:
The other review for this product are not for this product, it is for a different Canon printer (the i9900). Please read my comment on the other review to find out why his warning is not accurate.