Canon Pixma G660 Mega Tank Printer
Canon has focused on customers who enjoy printing their images at home. But put off by the high costs of replaceable ink cartridges after catering to the workplace. Users with its MAXIFY series of printers with refillable ink tanks. Serve this market with the new PIXMA G660 MegaTank printer, disclose on April 5, 2022. It’s a cost-effective alternative to Epson’s similarly-specified EcoTank Photo ET-8500 printer. Which we test in June 2021, with six tanks for ChromaLife 100 dye-based inks, utilizes Canon’s FINE print head technology.
We still have a ways to go before we have a “real” picture printer with refillable ink tanks. As we mentioned in our assessment of the Epson ET-8500. The four-ink (CMYK) models from Canon and Epson are inferior due to the two additional ink colors. However, limit the users to A4 as their output size. This results in a maximum print width of 216 mm when using borderless printing. (which isn’t an option for all media types). We’re still waiting for a Canon model with A3+ output. But Epson’s ET-8550 can print on material up to A3+ size (329 mm wide). Which is a step toward the enthusiast user.
It’s unfortunate that neither business makes their most resilient dye-based ink compatible with any of their refillable-ink printers. Since they were first introduced in 2005, Canon’s ChromaLife 100 inks, utilized in the G660, have been around. They advertise this for having a 25-year light-fastness for prints that are behind the glass. Else, a 100-year fade resistance in environmentally controlled dark storage (such as a closed photo album).
The Ink Set
Six 70 mL bottles of ink in the following colors are included with the G660: black, grey, cyan, magenta, yellow, and red. Because the printer must pull some ink up into the ink lines feeding the print head. Installing these inks in their tanks will use up some ink.
Ink costs less than five cents for each print. Canon believes a package of inks should be able to print up to 3,800 10 x 15 cm photographs.
It’s interesting to note that Canon believes most fading results from interaction with gases. In the atmosphere rather than from exposure to light. Both ChromaLife 100 and ChromaLife 100+ inks are claimed to withstand fading for up to 10 years on “unprotected” prints. But as usual, the real fade resistance is just as much a function of the paper. That the image prints on as it is of the inks.
The more recent ink set guarantees 200 years of fade-resistance in a photo album. And, about 40 years of light-fastness for prints placed behind glass. With the ChromaLife 100+ inks on newer papers.
The ChromaLife 100+ inks are consistently more durable than the ChromaLife 100 inks, regardless of the paper. They are used, according to tests conducted by the top authority. Like Epson, Canon chose to use less-durable inks because of marketing considerations and a desire to keep selling its higher-performing inks. Which are only available in replacement (quite small) cartridges, at higher prices.
The printer has a user-replaceable maintenance cartridge, which is an intriguing feature. If it follows Canon’s standard procedure, the printer will warn the user a bit before it requires replacement. The MC-G02 maintenance cartridge appears to cost roughly $15 AUD. But at the time this article was being written. The few resellers that mark it as “out of stock.” It is simple to change; all you have to do is pull the empty cartridge from its slot on the printer’s back towards the bottom and insert the new one.
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