Canon PIXMA IP4000 vs IP5000

Ris Goh · 19th January 2005

Anyone using any of the above? Any comments on printout quality?

Price diff about $100 but both using same ink set leh......

thnx!

Neo · 19th January 2005

There's definately differences in the quality of the prints, especially if you're scrutinizing the prints closely. For starters, the iP5000 has 1 picolitre ink droplets (the finest in the market today) whereas the iP4000 has 2 picolitre, so the iP5000 prints are really grainless. In addition, the iP5000 has 9600 dpi resolution, which is double that of the iP4000. So while you may not be able to spot the difference from a arm's length away, you'll certainly see the better prints from the iP5000 when you're holding them up close. At least on my friend's print when he tested on both the printers, we could clearly discern the difference when the prints were held up close.

But if you're not the "microscopic" kind of photographer, the iP4000 will deliver very good results too!

Ris Goh · 19th January 2005

hmm..... any difference in colour details (gamut)? thnx

kahchun · 19th January 2005

Originally Posted by Ris Goh

hmm..... any difference in colour details (gamut)? thnx

The colour gamut for the two printers is similar. Though grainyness level is only noticable when closed up. However, it should be easy to spot that iP5000 is much more sharper in details.

Neo · 19th January 2005

Yup. Agree... technically the colour gamut should be the same, since the inkset is exactly the same.

chenwei · 19th January 2005

qn... usually one A4 print how much ink will be gone? consider to get one but quite scare of the cost for ink and paper.

Neo · 19th January 2005

I usually get about 40-50 pcs before the first colour runs out. When I change the first cartridge, I can see the ink levels left in the other colours through the transparent ink tanks. I'm always amazed at the cost savings of the Think Tanks system.... if not I'd have been throwing all the leftover inks away!

chenwei · 19th January 2005

Originally Posted by Neo

I usually get about 40-50 pcs before the first colour runs out. When I change the first cartridge, I can see the ink levels left in the other colours through the transparent ink tanks. I'm always amazed at the cost savings of the Think Tanks system.... if not I'd have been throwing all the leftover inks away!

hmm... so in overall can i say it is still slightly expensive than printing in lab? for the cost of paper and ink.

darr · 20th January 2005

Originally Posted by chenwei

hmm... so in overall can i say it is still slightly expensive than printing in lab? for the cost of paper and ink.

The ink are different. In any case if you do want to compare literally 4R better to print at the lab, not much price difference but generally better output and definitely longer-lasting. For Super 8R it's really cheap to print yourself, only 50 cents for a sheet.

chenwei · 20th January 2005

oh ya forgot to mention i mean S8R, but the $0.50 is paper cost, does it include ink cost? btw Neo mentioned 40-50 is 4R?

chenwei · 26th January 2005

after checking i still find maybe printing on our own still expensive? i hv no idea how fast the ink will run out for A4 print, Neo the 40-50 is it A4 size? then how fast other colour run out?

who tried IP5000 and IP8500? is the 8 colour system better?

Neo · 26th January 2005

Hi Chenwei,

The 40-50 pcs is for A4 non-borderless. For borderless photos in the highest quality mode, I usually get about 40 pcs for A4, and about 120 for 4R (when I use them to print greeting cards). I estimated that each A4 print costs about $2.50 and each A3 costs about $4, taking into consideration the ink and paper costs.

The iP5000 can produce print quality equivalent to 6 colour photo printer. Compared to 8 colour photo printers like the iP8500 and my i9950, the extra red and green still delivers the additional "punch" not found in the iP5000.

davy · 6th February 2005

Guess the ip5000 oughta produce sharper pictures due to the higher resolution wondering if the ip5000 is worth the extra $$$ or £££.

David Stones review on PC mag site said the 5000 was one step lower in photo quality than the ip4000, a little odd I thought? since he said it was better at pastels and text.

The clue is the time David Stone say's it took to do a print clearly suggesting that it was not set to its highest setting, hence one step lower in photo quality, also Vince from Photo-i will not be doing a review on the ip4000 (so he told me) but has done a review on the ip5000.

Guess the ip5000 is a 'test bed' for 1 pl print heads, strange they did not apply this to the higher end printers.

So I dunno what to do - all I want is an 'all round printer', more card printing I guess than photo and the odd graphic.

Thanks to Neo for directing me to this site.

Neo · 7th February 2005

Hi Davy,

You're most welcome. If you need a good all-rounder printer, the iP4000 will do very well. the iP5000 is more for photo-perfectionists. You can save the money for inks and paper...

davy · 7th February 2005

Thanks for the welcome Neo, think I missed a wee bit out on the last post so I did a little ol' edit.
I've asked Canon for a couple of samples, seem to be leaning towards the 5000 because of the claimed better text quality, but still ain't decided - too many reviews thats the problem, the user's are the ones to ask I guess - Many thanks again.

jsbn · 8th February 2005

Hmm... The best way is to trust ur own eyes davy.

My suggestion, get a text & photo printout frm both printers, take close look and compare side-by-side.

Most print-out defects/differences can't be seen unless u compare side-by-side. Ultimately, go for the one that u like and doesn't weigh down on ur finances.

19th January 2005	#1
Ris Goh Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 750	Canon PIXMA IP4000 vs IP5000 Anyone using any of the above? Any comments on printout quality? Price diff about $100 but both using same ink set leh...... thnx!

6th February 2005	#13
davy New Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gtr. Manchester. UK Posts: 4	ip4000 vs ip5000 Guess the ip5000 oughta produce sharper pictures due to the higher resolution wondering if the ip5000 is worth the extra $$$ or £££. David Stones review on PC mag site said the 5000 was one step lower in photo quality than the ip4000, a little odd I thought? since he said it was better at pastels and text. The clue is the time David Stone say's it took to do a print clearly suggesting that it was not set to its highest setting, hence one step lower in photo quality, also Vince from Photo-i will not be doing a review on the ip4000 (so he told me) but has done a review on the ip5000. Guess the ip5000 is a 'test bed' for 1 pl print heads, strange they did not apply this to the higher end printers. So I dunno what to do - all I want is an 'all round printer', more card printing I guess than photo and the odd graphic. Thanks to Neo for directing me to this site. Last edited by davy; 7th February 2005 at 10:38 PM.

19th January 2005	#2
Neo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 947	There's definately differences in the quality of the prints, especially if you're scrutinizing the prints closely. For starters, the iP5000 has 1 picolitre ink droplets (the finest in the market today) whereas the iP4000 has 2 picolitre, so the iP5000 prints are really grainless. In addition, the iP5000 has 9600 dpi resolution, which is double that of the iP4000. So while you may not be able to spot the difference from a arm's length away, you'll certainly see the better prints from the iP5000 when you're holding them up close. At least on my friend's print when he tested on both the printers, we could clearly discern the difference when the prints were held up close. But if you're not the "microscopic" kind of photographer, the iP4000 will deliver very good results too!

19th January 2005	#6
chenwei Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,290	qn... usually one A4 print how much ink will be gone? consider to get one but quite scare of the cost for ink and paper.

20th January 2005	#10
chenwei Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,290	oh ya forgot to mention i mean S8R, but the $0.50 is paper cost, does it include ink cost? btw Neo mentioned 40-50 is 4R?

26th January 2005	#11
chenwei Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,290	after checking i still find maybe printing on our own still expensive? i hv no idea how fast the ink will run out for A4 print, Neo the 40-50 is it A4 size? then how fast other colour run out? who tried IP5000 and IP8500? is the 8 colour system better?

7th February 2005	#14
Neo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 947	Hi Davy, You're most welcome. If you need a good all-rounder printer, the iP4000 will do very well. the iP5000 is more for photo-perfectionists. You can save the money for inks and paper...

8th February 2005	#16
jsbn Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Planet Eropagnis Posts: 2,977	Hmm... The best way is to trust ur own eyes davy. My suggestion, get a text & photo printout frm both printers, take close look and compare side-by-side. Most print-out defects/differences can't be seen unless u compare side-by-side. Ultimately, go for the one that u like and doesn't weigh down on ur finances.