Canon releases new photo printers with software imaging and mobile features

Canon has announced several new photo printers—three all-in-one desktop models and a compact unit—designed for consumers and photo enthusiasts. They feature, in various combinations, wireless capability, Apple AirPrint and other mobile printing functionality, auto-duplexing, and software that lets you enhance images both online and off.

All-in ones

Canon has introduced three new desktop multifunction models that print, copy, and scan—the Pixma MG4220 Wireless, the Pixma MG3220 Wireless, and the Pixma MG2220, a non-wireless printer.

Each has the company’s new FastFront feature that facilitates easy changing of ink and paper from the front of the printer. They can also produce borderless, edge-to-edge 4-by-6-inch photos in approximately 44 seconds at a maximum color resolution of 4800-by-2400 dots per inch (dpi).

For the higher end Pixma MG4220 and Pixma MG3220 models, Canon has included an auto duplex feature to help reduce paper usage. Both also support AirPrint, Apple’s wireless printing utility for mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The MG4220 also has a 2.5-inch LCD screen for easy viewing of menus and images.

Prices for the three desktop models are as follows: The Pixma MG4220 is $130, the Pixma MG3220 is $80, and the Pixma MG2220 is $70. The Pixma MG2220 and MG3220 are expected to be available at the end of July, while the Pixma MG4220 is expected in August.

Compact printer

Alongside the desktop models, Canon has announced the Wi-Fi enabled Selphy CP900 compact photo printer for on-site quick printing while you’re at an event. The unit costs $100. Thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity, users can browse and access images stored on any computer connected to the same wireless network and send them directly to the Selphy for immediate printing.

This printer can produce a 4-by-6-inch image in approximately 47 seconds, which can last up to 100 years, the company says. Users can also print photos without connecting to a computer by printing directly from compatible memory cards or using the printer’s PictBridge connection.

Canon’s Easy-PhotoPrint mobile app for Apple mobile devices can print stored images wirelessly to this printer, as well. The Selphy CP900 offers improved image optimization, red-eye correction, and brightness correction to match colors and adjust image sharpness and contrast. The printer’s scene detection technology can analyze faces, distance, and color.

This Selphy model is 16.5 percent smaller and 14 percent lighter than the previous Selphys. An optional battery and charger are available to ensure continued printing, if external power is not available. It features a 2.7-inch high-resolution LCD screen designed to provide clearer, more precise viewing of images and menus.

The Selphy CP900 is expected to be available in September.

Software and cloud helpers

Canon is providing a new software component for these printers, called My Image Garden, which combines various tools to help users organize photos, create new photo projects, and re-discover photos they may have forgotten.

In addition, the Pixma MG4220 model provides access to the Canon Pixma Cloud Link for easy printing of images and documents stored online. The printer supports Google Cloud Print for printing from Gmail and Google Docs on mobile devices and from the Google Chrome browser for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome computers.

Registered users of Picasa Web Albums can wirelessly access photo albums directly through both wireless desktop printers without a computer. All users will get access to exclusive printing templates such as stationery, envelopes, memos, calendars, and more.

Both wireless models also work with the free Canon Easy-PhotoPrint mobile app, for use with iPhones and iPads running iOS 4.2 or later. The app works with iPhone 3G, 3Gs, 4, and 4S and iPod touch mobile digital devices.

Image Garden

With My Image Garden software, you can organize photos stored on your computer into three categories: Calendar, Event, and People. With Calendar View, you can sort images by date captured. With Event View, images captured at an event can be stored in a separate folder and accessed for sharing. In People View, once a person’s likeness has been registered with the software, it then uses Image Assorting Technology and Face Recognition technology to automatically upload pictures of that person to their own folder for easy access.

The software’s automatic layout function lets you select multiple images, and based on the priority given to each one, an appropriate layout is offered for an overall image. There is also an Automatic Suggestion feature in which photos stored on a computer are automatically gathered into various collages and calendars to appear in a desktop slideshow.

My Art, another software feature, helps customize photos with various templates including collages, greeting cards, calendars, stickers, disc labels and paper crafts.

My Image Garden also features Full HD Movie Print, which can produce clear images of frames from videos captured on Canon DSLRs, PowerShot digital cameras, and Vixia camcorders. The software also features filter effects such as Fish-Eye, Miniature, and Toy Camera.

My Image Garden is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5.8 and above.

The Print Your Days Facebook application, which is Windows-only, offers a way for users to print a single photo or combine a maximum of five images into one collage from their Facebook photo albums.