Review on Canon IP8720 Wireless Printer, AirPrint and Cloud Compatible, Black, Compact Design: 6.3 x 23.3 x 13.1 Inches by Travis Chavis

UPDATE 12/22/18: Printer finally dead - but still HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! We've printed a ton - thousands - 4x6, many hundreds 13x19 and thousands more from 5x7 to 11x14. The number of cartridges 139, 251XL for the life of the printer without problems. The printhead has failed and needs to be replaced, but due to the volume of our original system we decided to purchase a different IP 8270 system. We also have a Pro-100 but after owning an 8720 for almost 4 years save your money. There's no noticeable difference in quality, and the 8270 takes up a lot less space and doesn't weigh a ton. UPDATE 2/14/16: We have printed almost 1200 images since purchasing the printer in February 2014 (most 11x14 and 13x19) and have an estimated cost per square inch of between $0.007 and $0.009. So the ink cost (when buying 251 XL ink exclusively from Revain) for 13x19 is between $1.79 and $2.21. Canon Luster paper averages $0.69 per 13 x 19 sheet, while total ink and paper costs range from $2.48 to $2.90 per 13 x 19 sheet. Add another dollar in hardware wear and tear and a 13x19 costs less than $4 at worst. For every 1 PGBK cartridge we use: 3 BK, 8 GY, 6 C, 7 M and 12 Y. Pros: excellent print quality, affordability, color management, ease of use, large format, low cost per square inch. , medium to high speed, color inks are waterproof on Canon photo paper. Cons: Plastic guides/valves. Best use: professional and professional printingDescribe yourself: semi-professional photographerWas it a gift? None (purchased from B&H; ink and paper from Revain) PURPOSE OF PRINTER: To exhibit amateur nature and landscape photographs in our own home and sell limited prints on site. CAMERAS: Canon T1i; T5i; 70D, 7D MkII LENSES: Canon 100-400 II, 200f/2.8 IS II, 10-22 and 17-85 EF-S, 50mm 1.4 and 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 400f /2.8 Mk I. REVIEW: Overall We are very happy with this printer. We are a professional customer having had numerous photo quality HP printers/MFPs over the last 13 years. Medium to high speed. The quality is excellent, although I suspect good quality paper makes a big difference (the Canon photo paper mentioned below was excellent). The ink droplets are very small, the smallest I've seen on a system. The color blending is superb too - see the Bluebird image for an example. Grayscale images are excellent too - much better than HP systems that only use a black cartridge. Interestingly, we flooded the alignment page where the black bled slightly; not blue. We then spilled water on both the full color and greyscale images and there were no streaks or streaks/problems once the print had dried. We've found that printed images are slightly warmer; again, see sample photos. While this is good for many photos, it caused a problem when we tried to print the fall foliage images - however, this is an easy fix in Photoshop. Black and white images print slightly dark - but not so dark that detail is lost like other systems I've used. two thoughts Wireless was a bit of a hassle at first, but based on our setup and the amount of printing, we finally settled on a USB connection. Second, lots of plastic, like most products these days, which doesn't bother me if done right. The body is solid and well built, but the paper guides/flaps to slide the sheets in and out could be better. With dust issues and open/close system, I wonder how long they will last. UPDATE 02/14/16. Two years later no problem. PAPER TYPES: Canon Pro Platinum 8.5x11, Luster 13x19, Plus Gloss II 4x6. UPDATE 2/14/16: Just tried Moab Slickrock 300 Metallic paper and wow! It's like ordering metal prints from a darkroom. The paper is very, very delicate and tears/scratches easily, but the quality is great for home use. After giving the print a day or two, place the print under glass to protect it. flat, no roll, edges or the print head rubs. But if you do it carefully, it works and the results are excellent! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MT0RKS/COMPUTER AND POST-PROCESSING: Windows 7/8.1 (now Win 10) systems with USB, printing from Photoshop and Lightroom CC. TEST SCENARIO In general, we release - process lightly, trying to maintain a realistic photo and HDR only when necessary. Since the Canon iP8720 arrived from B&H in February 2014 we have printed a wide range of post-processed color and greyscale photos on three types of Canon paper. PRODUCT PHOTOS were taken on the T1i, 10-22, with no post-processing (see the photo/product photo gallery at the top left of the page for our photos). The PRINTED PHOTOS used to test the product were taken at lightning speed in Florida (B&W); Flowers from Iowa; Badlands National Park, fall colors from Iowa/Wisconsin and Mountain Bluebird from Yellowstone National Park. Additional test photos not shown include Yosemite National Park, Death Valley National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.