Specifications

FIRST LOOKS HARDWARE
PictBridge/
USB port
Front-loading paper path
for large-format printing
CANON PIXMA PRO9000
Photo Prints Fit for Framing
Almost any ink jet printer can churn out decent
photos, particularly at small sizes. But to get excep-
tional quality, and to print on fi ne-art papers at sizes
up to 13 by 19 inches, you need a high-end printer
built for professional photographers or serious
amateurs. The Canon Pixma Pro9000 may just
fi ll the bill. The Pro9000 packs an eight-color ink
system, designed both to widen the range of colors
it can print and to reproduce the subtle shading that
makes skin tones look realistic and rounded objects
look three-dimensional.
Although it can serve as an all-purpose printer in
a pinch, the Pro9000 is clearly built for photos: The
default paper setting in the driver is for photo paper.
Slower than its rivals, the Pro9000 ran through our
business applications suite at a lackadaisical 25:58
(min:sec), but nobody is going to buy it to output
spreadsheets. And although print speed is far less
important than output quality for photos, it’s worth
noting that, in its price class, the Pro9000 is the
fastest photo printer I’ve tested, averaging 1:06 for
each 4-by-6 print and 2:05 for each 8-by-10.
Photo quality is equally impressive. When tested
with semigloss fi ne-art paper, the Pro9000 earned a
perfect score on almost every point I use to evaluate
color prints. The only shortcoming was a slight tint
on a monochrome photo. I also printed our standard
Canon Pixma
Pro9000
$499.99 list
LLLLM
PROS Top-
quality color
photos and
graphics.
Maximum
13-by-19-inch paper
size. Choice of fi ne-art
papers available.
CONS Relatively poor
text quality.
For more:
go.pcmag.com/pro9000
photo suite on a range of other papers. With matte
paper, the quality was just as good for color pho-
tos and better for monochrome prints, which were
free of tint. I also printed an assortment of photos
on several of Canon's fine art papers, including
Museum Etching, Photo Rag, Premium Matte, and
Semi-Gloss. I was so impressed with the results that
I plan to frame several of the photos.
Graphics quality is also superior, with no nota-
ble fl aws. This makes the Pro9000 a fi ne choice for
graphic artists. Its text output was a little bit below
par for an ink jet, particularly with more stylized,
non-business fonts, but few people will be using the
Pro9000 to print text.
At 7.6 by 26.0 by 14.0 inches (HWD) and 30.8
pounds, the Pro9000 is larger and heavier than
most ink jets. You’ll need extra room in the front
and back to print on large-size paper, in effect mak-
ing the printer’s footprint 26 by 26 inches. But for
most photo enthusiasts, the Pro9000’s spectacular
prints will be well worth the extra space it takes up.
For photo quality in its price range, the Pro9000
can’t be beat. About its only real drawback is that, if
you print a lot of photos in a single session, you may
fi nd that one or another of its eight ink cartridges
will always seem to be on the brink of needing
replacement.—M. David Stone
46 PC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 6, 2007