Printer parts

The Canon Pixma iP6700D in its closed state is a compact printer. Once opened it has a two section rear paper feeder which can hold 150 sheets of A4 plain paper or 20 sheets of A4 Photo Paper Pro. The front paper output tray is a triple extension with an extra centre flap. The front paper catcher is well built and should be more than sufficient for everyday light home use. Residing under the paper catcher is a front paper feeder, this will hold a further 150 sheets of paper, on previous models I found this very useful for holding 6x4 photo media. The front feeder is detachable for easy media loading and has a double extension, expand it for A4 media, or collapse it when using 6x4 media. The actual paper guides are not heavy duty and feel quite flimsy compared to the other printer parts. The feeder fits flush with the printer when loaded with 6x4 or empty, with A4 media loaded it protrudes by about four inches, a semi transparent cover keeps the dust out.

Printer in closed position	Front and rear paper trays extended
An extra front flap	Front paper input tray
Remove the front paper feeder to re-load media	A4 media loaded and dust cover fitted.
Rear paper guide	Front feeder guides
The CD/DVD printing tray guide folds down	Load a printable disk into the tray (supplied)

The rear paper guide has a lightweight lock which has to be depressed before sliding into position against the media, this is more than adequate for most home usage. The front paper feeder guides don't have a lock, they are just stiff, but feel more substantial than the rear guide.

Besides paper media, the iP6700D will also print on inkjet printable CD or DVD. A front feeder is enclosed with the printer (North American units may not have this feature). I will devote a section later in the review to cover the use of CD/DVD printing. I should make it clear that you can't use the CD tray as a CD ROM drive, it is purely for printing labels.

The media handling on the iP6700D is very good, although I would have liked to seen heavier duty materials used, especially for the rear paper guide. Given the price of this printer (£149.00), you are getting exceptional value for money, so I guess everything must come at a price.

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