Setting up

With the ink tanks installed the next task is to perform a head alignment. This is an automated process which requires very little user intervention. A sheet of plain paper has to be loaded in the rear sheet paper feeder slot. The cover fits flush with the top surface, which when not in use will also protect the feeder from dust and other objects falling in. A grey paper guide will ensure the paper is held in position. This paper guide is stiffer than on previous Canon printers, which should ensure that it keeps the media squared up. The front paper out tray is accessed by pushing in the front panel, which folds down and a single telescopic paper catcher can be pulled out. It all sounds too simple, I will test it all later.

A top flap opens to reveal the rear paper feed	Load your A4 plain paper
Press the front flap to open	Pull out the paper catcher
Connect the USB cable, Hi Speed 2. and Full Speed	Load paper in the bottom tray for manual alignment

Software installation

You must install the drivers before you can do a head alignment. Drivers are included for Windows XP, 2000, Me & 98, Macintosh OS X v 10.2.1 or later and OS 9. A full Installation (280mb) of drivers and bundled printer software took approximately six minutes. During the installation you are prompted to turn on your printer, the software auto detects the printer. At the end of the installation the printer performs an automatic head alignment. A black and blue chart is printed out and whilst it is being fed out a small red beam reads the swatches. This should be accurate enough even for the most demanding user. If you want to manually set the values then you must instruct the printer that you want to do a manual alignment. Place a sheet of plain paper in the bottom paper tray. Once printed you have to carefully look for the best swatch and enter the grid reference number in the chart that is displayed on screen. The chart took 2 min 33 seconds to print in manual mode and 3 min 20 seconds in auto mode.

Choose Easy or Custom install	On custom select the applications you want
You will be prompted to plug in the USB cable	At the end an Auto head alignment is executed
The Auto Head alignment chart	The Manual Head Alignment chart
In manual mode look for the swatches without lines and enter their co-ordinates in the chart

The USB ports are located at the right side on the rear of the printer, this means the printer can be pushed against a wall or back of desk, ensuring maximum desk space area. I will return to the front paper tray later in the review.

First prints tomorrow