Printer Parts

Before publishing the first prints I will just go over the printer parts. The iP8500 doesn't have all the extra bits that were supplied with the i950, i965, i990 etc. Most of the extra functionality is built into the printer. The 6x4 media holder is now incorporated into the bottom Cassette. The CD feeder unit is incorporated into the printer, you simply post the CD holder into the front slot.

Paper Cassette compact mode	Paper Cassette ready for 50 sheets of A4
Adjustable paper guides	Cassette fitted with dust cover in place

The bottom paper cassette is included with the printer, this can accommodate up to 150 sheets of plain paper (64 gsm). This paper weight is not going to be of any use for quality printing. I would make a guess and say up to 100 sheets of good quality plain paper or 20 sheets of Photo quality gloss paper. The front paper catcher (output tray) can only hold a maximum of 50 sheets. The cassette has two positions; extended and non extended. In extended mode you can load A4 paper, but the cassette juts out from the front - a dust cover is supplied to keep the flies and spiders of your paper, pity this could not have been hinged. The cassette can also be used in non extended mode for 6x4 media etc. Note that media must be placed in the cassette face down. The paper does a U-turn for printing. The cassette is not a sturdy unit, it wouldn't last too long in a professional environment. However, in a domestic environment the build quality will be sufficient. You can select the paper source from the printer control panel, so you could have Photo media in the rear and plain paper in the Cassette. The cassette is a very handy addition.

In addition to normal printing, the iP8500 can also do Duplex printing, this is a built in feature and does not require any accessories. I will try this out later. As a footnote, Canon also have a range of double sided photo quality media. I will try to include this in the review - pending getting a supply.

The rear paper support and single extension	The rear paper jam cover
The CD in slot, built into the printer	Align the arrows and away you go

CD & DVD printing couldn't be easier, just open the front flap and insert the CD tray with a suitable printable CD or DVD. After one of my previous reviews, I received t a few emails from people saying; if you can write on a CD then why can't you play it too?. Just to keep the record straight, this printer will print on a CD/DVD - use your HiFi for your Rolling Stones albums.

Twin USB 2.0 ports	PictBridge and paper feed buttons

.The printer has two USB ports, the top one is for USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and the bottom one is for USB 2.0 Full Speed or USB 1.1. Only use the top port if your computer supports Hi-Speed. If in doubt use the bottom port. The operation panel is simple enough, the top button is the Resume/Cancel button, the bottom button is a Paper Feed switch, use this to change between rear Sheet Feeder and Cassette. To the left is the Direct Print port, use this for a PictBridge or Canon Bubble Jet Direct compliant digital camera or digital video camcorder.

I have been printing photo quality prints for the last hour or so, but would want to see the quality under daylight conditions before I publish them. The quality is very, very good. The pictures will now be on-line on Saturday,