Canon Pixma MP980 Printer Drivers Download

Canon Pixma MP980 Printer Drivers Download– The Canon Pixma MP980 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer is a prime example of a photo-centric all-in-one (AIO) that can also function as a standalone home photo lab.

As Canon’s replacement for the Pixma MP970 Photo All-In-One, the Pixma MP980 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer has many advantages. I call these two models photo-lab all-in-ones (AIO). You can use it as an AIO, but you can justify using it as a home photo lab as well without having to connect it to a computer.

In some ways, the MP980 is a direct update to the MP970, sharing most of the same features. It can print, scan, copy, and email—by opening a message on your PC and adding the scanned document as an attachment. It can scan and print directly from 35mm slides and film strips, and print directly from PictBridge cameras and memory cards (but not the USB button), allowing you to preview photos on the 3.5-inch color LCD screen. Both models even lack the same office-centric features, with no automatic document feeder (ADF) or fax support.

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The Canon MP970 uses seven inks: yellow, magenta, cyan, light cyan, light magenta, pigment-based black for text, and dye-based black for photos. The Canon Pixma MP980 uses six: magenta, cyan, dye-based black, dye-based gray, yellow, and pigment-based black.

Changes in the ink system resulted in several important differences between the two generations of printers, including slightly slower speeds for the MP980 and better-looking monochrome photos.

I installed the printer using Windows XP, but according to Canon, it also comes with full drivers and software for Windows Vista, Windows 2000, and Mac OS 10.3.9 to 10.5. Physical settings are standard for Canon printers. Find a place for the 7.9-by-15.2-by-18.5-inch AIO, plug in the power cord, load paper, and install the printhead and cartridges, with separate cartridges for each ink.

Network installations are also pretty much standard for Canon—though definitely unusual compared to most other printers. To install the MP980 for a network connection, you must connect with a USB cable, tell the installation program that you want to use a network connection, and then disconnect the USB cable. This approach requires that the printer be within range of the USB cable when you install it. Then, when you’re done, you can move it wherever you really want to use it.

A more inconvenient problem is that you have to set up the printer to connect via a wireless or wired network. Leaving them alone is not an option. That means you can’t set up the printer to work on a wired network, and then connect it with an Adhoc wireless connection from, say, your notebook, every now and then. It’s not a serious issue, but it makes Wi-Fi support less flexible than it should be.

I timed the MP980 on our suite of business applications (with QualityLogic hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com) at 16 minutes 25 seconds—slightly slower than the MP970, at 3:58 pm, and much slower than the same-priced Epson Artisan 800, at 8:10. I would call the speed on the slow side, but still tolerable. Photo speed is much better, averaging 1:13 for every 4-by-6 and 2:01 for every 8-by-10. The Epson Artisan 800 was slightly faster for the 4-by-6, at 59 seconds, but slightly slower for the 8-by-10, at 2:08.

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The real test for photo-centric printers, however, is the quality of the photos, not the speed. And the MP980 does very well on that score. You can count on almost any inkjet printer today to print photos that are as good as those you can get from your local drugstore. Photos printed on the MP980 are much closer to professional photo lab results, with quality suitable for framing. This comment applies equally to photos I print from my computer, camera, film, and even to prints of original photos, I copy with the printer’s Photo Reprint option. Monochrome photos deserve special attention for their completely neutral grays and very subtle shadows.

Photos should also hold up pretty well. Canon claims a lifespan of 300 years for dark storage (as in the album), 30 years framed behind glass, and 20 years exposed to air. The photos are water-resistant and fairly scratch-resistant, which means you can share them for people to see without worrying about getting smudged or scratched.