The Pixma G550 and G650 (G5020/G620/G6020? in USA) are A4 inkjet printers which seem well-regarded and are economical on ink compared to many inkjet printers. Has anyone used these, especially under linux? Are you pleased with the results and happy with whatever workflow you’re using? I’m thinking I might get back into printing with one of these.
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We just bought a G7000 for household printing. Having a hard enough time getting the Windows machines to work (installing drivers seems to work like animal husbandry, have to do it a few times before it takes…).
I like the ink-tank approach, stupid little cartridges on the old printer seemed to require monthly replacement. I haven’t configured my Linux machine yet to use it, so no help there, but I might do that now that there’s someone interested…
I just searched G7000 on Canon USA, it came up with the 7020. I see that has CMY inks. The 550/650 have a fourth red ink which is supposed to improve things.
That’s worrying you’re having hassle with Windows, I thought that would be easy and linux the hard part!
What will you use to print in Windows? - the built-in apps or something else perhaps more technical?
I have a Canon Pixma Pro200, so can’t comment for the ink tank printers, but it works fine under linux with cups. Last resort I have an android tablet which I send the photos to and then print them with canon’s app. Of course you can forget custom paper profiles under Linux(and under the android app) but so far I’ve only used canon’s paper and it works fine. I use an uncalibrated S2721QS and it has been pretty much WYSIWYG.
The only problem is the ink costs, 140-180€ for all 8 cartridges… Still manage to get around 100+ A4 prints out of it. The ink tank may work far better in that aspect.
Unrelated but darktables color assessment mode is magical to access overall brightness and has lead to better prints for me.
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Thanks, I’ll add that to my homework list.
I saw Canon refill bottles (for the 550/650) for around £13 each apparently doing several thousand (small) pics.
Does Gutenprint not support them? (another homework topic)
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I don’t think there is any free lunch the ink is cheaper and not fiddling with cartridges but I believe I saw several reviews/comments that the quality is not that great for photos and its does’t hold up over time. I think there might be some more expensive versions that have special ink that is advertised to last longer in terms of fading out etc… I don’t own one though so I can’t say. I just recall thinking it was a good option and then I got some information that led me not to pursue it…
It doesn’t seem to support the printer yet unfortunately. It would be welcome as third party papers are far more affordable. 20 sheets of A3 Pro Platinum costs 50€ 
Still cheaper than ordering prints online(In my country) but still expensive.
That sounds great, several thousand… Even with reduced print quality it would probably be worth it.
I believe some Epson eco-tanks hold up better as they use 6 tanks instead of the regular 4. Of course they are much more expensive upfront, more so than dedicated photo printers like canon’s
pro 200.
Keith seems like a good source for printer information. I saw a lot of his videos before taking my decision.
Ha I’ve just been locating the same guy, he seems to know what he’s talking about. Here is his conclusion on the 550/650 -
https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-g550-printer-review/#conclusions
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I went I think more from this…
Pigment vs dye inks for photo printers
For letter size printing up to 8.5x11 inches, most recent models follow Canon’s lead of combining a pigment-based black ink for crisp document printing, with four or more dye-based inks for premium photo output on glossy paper. Moving up to wider format 13x19 inch printing, there’s a choice of printers based exclusively on dye or pigment inks.
Very broadly, pigment inks last longer without fading, but dye inks tend to give richer, denser colors and sink deeper into the paper surface. They’re both ‘inks’, but they have different pros and cons, and printer makers will choose one or the other (or combine them) according to what the printer’s designed for. The best photo printer doesn’t necessarily use one or the other – it’s up to you how you want to balance immediate print quality against long-term stability.
And so from some technical reviews I recall that many of the dye based inks can fade quickly…
But like all technology its likely just getting better all the time…
This one sound interesting…with the dual black’s and the ability to sort of clear coat the photo to protect and add gloss…
Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300
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We’re still talking 20/40+ years depending on the ink before fading for dye inks, I don’t think it’s a big problem when it comes to digital photo printing for personal use. I know printers haven’t evolved much over the recent years, but god forbid if we haven’t got much better printers 20 years from now 
For selling prints, black and white, or long term archival, pigment does seem better.
I’m sure that will give great results but I’m not buying anything that uses small expensive ink cartridges.
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The dot pattern with this printer is relatively coarse but not something most people are ever going to spot – during testing I had to keep reminding myself that this is a £200 consumer grade photo printer not a £900 fine art printer.
Seems to say a lot about the printer to be fair, seems like a great choice, specially with such affordable ink.
Google must be spying as usual…
This came up in my inbox out of the blue from B&H 
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I’ve very recently started using the Privacy Badger extension for Firefox. Quite interesting to see how many sites might be tracking you at every move.
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