Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Pixma MP500 Photo All-in-One with LCD Viewer

i had this for two days and returned it. i was running XP and it took 10 mins between prints ie i printed out ten copies via the pc and it printed first instantly the second one came 10 mins later. it worked fine on my bedroom pc so not usre why it was so slow on mine. ive heard othes with the same problem. my previous printer was fine and i did buy a pixma 600 which also was fine so not sure what the incompatability was.

I've had this printer for 18 months and have found it virtually faultless. It looks beautiful and is quiet, responsive and helpful!!!
Installation is a breeze, as is the ink change.

Only down side (which isn't really), is that it prefers Canon cartridges and paper. They are more pricey, (although, if you shop around you can get some good deals) but quite superior and you get what you pay for.

Lovely prints with no hassle. Text is fine too. CD printing great, and easy peasy, as is everything on this machine.

I love my printer. xxxxxxx

Looks good and prints well. BUT clever chips on cartridges make running expensive (canon or 1 other slightly cheaper available), if you run out of 1 colour / black (5 cartridges) you can't print at all until replaced. Don't believe the generic copies which claim you can reuse the chips and ignore the warnings!!

Scanner was excellent until I "upgraded" to Vista - Canon have not and do not seem interested in updating the driver so scanner no longer works.

It's a great printer when it's working. Excellent print quality and simple to use, scanning was always a little temperemental though.
Unfortunately when you start having problems with it (you will) Canon are less than helpful (an English speaking helpdesk would be useful). I was sent the same instructions as offered by the software and a lecture on using refill ink which I haven't done. I asked a couple of very specific questions as well which were ignored.
Do a search before buying and you will see all the problems you may encounter.

I won't be buying from Canon again. Poor product, poor service.

I spent a lot of time reading printer reviews across a range of websites before buying the Canon Pixma MP500. Particularly wanted one where I did not need to replace all the ink cartridges if just one colour ran out - hence the choice of this particular machine.

Although the print quality is excellent and the photocopy facility very useful, I am annoyed at the number of colour cartridges I have had to buy - when I never ever print, scan or copy in colour. The colour cartridges just drain, whether they are used or not, and if a cartridge is empty the printer will not even print in black and white. So where is the advantage in having separate cartridges?

Now two black cartridges have failed mid use and I am told it is a print head problem in the machine.

A company like Canon should have sorted these problems a long time ago. Am about to buy my student son a printer - and it won't be a Canon!