- Auto Image Fix capabilities
- Lightweight and portable
- Multiple paper options
- No media card support
- Some smudging on documents
- No native Wi-Fi
Bottom Line
A great choice for the business road warrior or photo buff, the Canon Pixma iP100 fits in a carry-on but may be expensive considering the accessories you'll need to make it truly portable. It delivers on photo print quality and speed, producing excellent results with brilliant color. Reviewers find this device to deliver great-quality photos from a portable package.
Ease Of Use
Sets up in an instant. With the included instructions and quick start guide, all you have to do to use the iP100 is snap ink cartridges into place, install some software and plug it in. One Amazon.com owner says, "It sets up in an instant as soon as you get to your hotel room -- so easy to use."
The Pixma iP100's Auto Image Fix can correct exposures, resulting in prints closer to what you actually photograph. It's not professional photo editing software, but if you take photos in less than ideal light, you can still improve their look. Auto Fix categorizes your pictures, then adjusts brightness, color and contrast, correcting underexposed faces and skin tones.
Media cards aren't supported, but you can print from most digital cameras or smartphones using the PictBridge interface. You can also print wirelessly from your camera phone with a Bluetooth dongle (*Est. $50). Picture quality and mobility are excellent but the essentials that must be purchased separately can add up fast, which is probably one reason why Laptop Magazine hesitates to recommend the iP100.
Design
Lightweight and compact. This is one of the lightest printers on the market, weighing a mere 4.4 pounds. It can be folded up into a tote bag, backpack, briefcase or even a large purse. Its black accents and rounded edges give the printer a sophisticated feel.
The Pixma iP100 offers a variety of print size options, including credit card, borderless 4-by-6, 4-by-8, 5-by-7 and 8-by-10. It can also print on letter and legal size paper, and on No. 10 envelopes. The paper tray holds about 50 sheets of paper. You can even make greeting cards and use it for scrapbooking projects, all of which makes it more versatile than the Epson PictureMate Charm (*Est. $170) .
Available accessories include a car adapter (*Est. $90) and rechargeable battery kit (*Est. $100), which lasts about three hours on a single charge. Photos can be printed just about anywhere, from your car, a business hotel, poolside or at the lake. A BHPhotoVideo.com customer says, "I use this printer at golf tournaments to print out scores and other reports. The quality is great. [It] will even print scorecards on card stock."
Sample paper is included, along with black and CMYK tri-color ink cartridges. CNET reviewers like the iP100's portability but say a carrying case should be included.
Performance
Just like real photos. PCMag.com editors say Canon Pixma iP100 prints mimic the look, feel and durability of traditional photographs, boasting vibrant color and detail. However, they don't come out completely dry, unlike those printed using the Epson PictureMate Charm. Pixma iP100 photos are water-resistant, but not particularly scratchproof.
Laptop Magazine reviewers are impressed by the speed of the iP100; in tests, it produced a 4-by-6 photo in 49 seconds. TopTenReviews.com calls the print speed of 50 seconds per photo "very fast," although the Epson Charm was timed at 37 seconds. In comparison, the HP Photosmart A646 can produce a 4-by-6 print in 77 seconds.
The iP100 uses a five-ink system with two black inks -- one for sharp text and one to produce rich photos -- and seems to use less than the PictureMate Charm. Still, reviewers are concerned with the heavy use of ink.
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Our Sources: Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Printer Reviews
1. CNET
Review Credibility: Good Yu likes the iP100's aesthetically pleasing design, but wishes it supports media cards or had a Wi-Fi option. Although he makes no comparisons to other models, Yu cites improvements over the previous Canon model, the iP90v. CNET tests printers on a number of criteria including speed and quality, dividing printers into different categories based on primary use. They use the same desktop system for all tests, resetting it completely in between.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100, Justin Yu, April 22, 2008
2. Expert Reviews
Review Credibility: Good The overall quality and design of the iP100 impress Williams, but like other reviewers, he mentions the lack of media card support and Wi-Fi as a drawback. He concludes: "…Pixma iP100's excellent print quality means you have to sacrifice very little for the ability to take your printer with you. This device makes an excellent companion to just about any laptop."
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Review, Simon Williams, Aug. 26, 2008
3. Laptop Magazine
Review Credibility: Good The iP100 "packs superb quality and fast speeds into a sleek, portable shell," says Wollman, but she declines to recommend it because of the price. The Canon MP series offers similar features and quality at a lower price, but if portability is important, she says the iP100 is worth the extra cost. Print speed and quality tests are conducted on several documents at various resolutions.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Review, Dana Wollman, July 3, 2008
4. PCMag.com
Review Credibility: Good Here the iP100 gets 4 stars out of 5 and a Readers' Choice Award after being compared to the older Pixma iP90v. It was also tested against the HP Officejet H470 with QualityLogic's hardware and software, and won handily. Stone is surprised by the iP100's unique paper handling but disappointed in its ink longevity, saying the ink in the H470 lasts much longer. He says the iP100 handles photos better than documents, particularly when the latter are printed with graphics, but notes that it's not designed for business applications.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Printer, M. David Stone, July 1, 2008
5. TopTenReviews.com
Review Credibility: Good The Canon Pixma iP100 wins the TopTenReviews.com 2013 Silver Award with a score of 9.18 out of 10 points. "You get first-rate photos, almost effortless editing and easy portability with this printer," editors say. No independent testing is done; this is just a simple comparison against other printers in the same category including the HP Photosmart C310A and D110A.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100, Editors of TopTenReviews.com, Not dated
6. Adorama.com
Review Credibility: Fair "I first saw this printer when a technician who services some of our equipment used it to print test reports. This guy had it attached to his laptop in his TOOLBOX. I figured that it must have something going for it," says an Adorama.com customer. The Canon iP100 gets less than 10 reviews here, but nets 4.3 stars out of 5.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Inkjet 5 Color Printer, 4x6", with USB Interface, for Mac & Windows, Contributors to Adorama.com, As of February 2013
7. Amazon.com
Review Credibility: Fair More than 200 owners give the Canon iP100 4.1 stars out of 5 here. Owners like its speed and quality for a mobile printer, and cite its potential for use as a business tool while on the road. One user says, "Don't mistake compact for low-quality. The iP100 produces spectacular photos."
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Mobile Photo Printer, Contributors to Amazon.com, As of February 2013
8. BHPhotoVideo.com
Review Credibility: Fair BHPhotoVideo.com reprints some printer reviews from PCMag.com, but also posts original user comments. Here the iP100 earns an average 4.7 stars out of 5 from more than 130 owners. They say it's easy to set up and use, but complain about high ink costs.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Color Inkjet Photo Printer, Contributors to BHPhotoVideo.com, As of February 2013
9. Staples.com
Review Credibility: Fair The iP100 gets 4.3 stars out of 5 from about 40 Staples.com customers, although several mention that it runs out of ink quickly. Owners like the printer's small size and print quality, but wish it came with more accessories like a battery.
Review: Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Printer, Contributors to Staples.com, As of February 2013
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