Canon i455 and i475D Desktop Photo Printers Feature New PictBridge Technology, Carry Estimated Selling Prices of $79.99 and $129.99, Respectively and Will Be In Stores Early September Phenomenal photos fast and brilliant black text even faster are but two of the benefits of the new Canon i455 and Canon i475D Desktop Photo Printers. Successors to the enormously popular Canon i450 and Canon i470D printers, this dynamic duo adds PictBridge compatibility, the newly adopted industry standard for cross-brand direct printing from PictBridge compatible digital still and digital video cameras.(1)

Both the i455 and i475D printers offer a maximum 4800 x 1200 color dpi(2) with microscopic ink droplets thanks to Canon's precision print head design and construction using advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology(TM). Utilizing Canon's revolutionary nozzle system that ejects consistent, prescribed-volume ink droplets in sizes as small as 2 picoliters, these printers deliver professional photo quality results.

The i455 and i475D printers also feature true edge-to-edge borderless printing in 4x6, 5x7 and 8.5x11 inch sizes, and can easily serve as an every day, all-purpose printer with a top speed of up to 18 pages-per-minute (ppm) in black(3) and up to 12 ppm(3) in color. The i455 and i475D printers use Canon's BCI-24 pigment-based Black ink cartridge and Canon's BCI-24 color cartridge.

"We designed the i455 and i475D printers for users who are on a budget that do not wish to compromise on print quality, printer versatility and reliability," states Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ). "These printers reinforce Canon's commitment to providing value, versatility and very high quality products at every price-point."

The i475D Printer Advantage

In addition to the high-definition print quality and high-speed print capability shared by the two printers, the i475D Desktop Photo Printer has the added advantage of onboard media slots that permit direct printing from a wide variety of digital camera memory cards. This added compatibility makes the i475D printer the ideal choice for cost-conscious digital camera enthusiasts. Media formats supported by the i475D printer include CompactFlash(TM), MicroDrive(TM), SmartMedia(TM), Memory Stick(TM) (excluding PRO(TM)) SD Card(TM) and Multimedia Card (TM). Memory Stick Duo(TM), xD PictureCard(TM) and mini SD Card(TM) can be used with the addition of a special adaptor sold separately.

PictBridge Compatibility

Among the significant technological advances found on the i455 Desktop Photo Printer and i475D Desktop Photo Printer is the inclusion of the new PictBridge technology standard. The new industry standard for digital printers, digital cameras and digital camcorders, PictBridge allows the direct printing of images from PictBridge compatible digital cameras and camcorders to PictBridge compatible printers, regardless of brand or manufacturer without the use of a computer.

Software Simplicity

In addition to PictBridge direct printing capabilities both the i455 and i475D printers include Easy-PhotoPrint(4) (an ExifPrint compatible application) and Easy-WebPrint(5) software. The Easy-PhotoPrint software allows users to print high quality digital photographs quickly and easily by automatically sizing digital images to print borderlessly on 4x6, 5x7 and 8.5x11 inch paper solving the aspect ratio dilemma. Easy-PhotoPrint also improves digital image quality by eliminating "photo noise" and enhancing color saturation with the "Vivid Photo" driver enhancements. The included Easy-WebPrint software facilitates printing from the Internet by automatically formatting and scaling the output so that the entire page is printed even when it extends over multiple screens. This time saving and cost saving feature reduces waste and ensures that the selected pages are formatted to print properly without trimming the right-hand margin.

Compatible with both Windows(R) and Mac platforms (Windows XP, Windows2000/ME-Millennium Edition/98/95/NT 4.0 and Mac OS (8.6 to 9.x) and Mac OS X v 10.2.1 to 10.2.x.), the i455 and i475D Desktop Photo Printers also include the PhotoRecord(4) (Windows), Zoom Browser EX(4) (Windows) and ImageBrowser(4) (Mac) image management software, and PhotoStitch(4) (Windows and Mac) that makes composite images from shots taken separately. The Canon i455 and Canon i475D printers carry estimated street prices of $79.99 and $129.99 respectively.