For the Love of Photography: The Joy of Imprinting with Canon's Pixma Printers

"God gave us memories that we might have roses in December." ~J.M. Barrie

When was the last time you actually held photos from your digital camera in your hands?  I can no longer remember. 

Yet when I think back on those days when I had pictures from my film camera developed in the neighborhood photo store, I can still very much remember the sense of excitement from seeing my pictures for the first time, and the sense of fulfillment from actually being able to touch my photos. I first fell in love with photography during my film camera days back in high school. Now, in this day and age of the digital camera and memory card, I am even more in love with photography.  But having my pictures exist in print is something only in the realm of nostalgia but not in reality, for reasons of practicality and convenience. These days, who actually go to the photo store to have their photos printed? Certainly not me.

Then this week, I got an invitation from Nuffnang to an exclusive launch of a line of five new Canon PIXMA printers and was introduced to a beautiful bridge between the world of digital photography and real photographs.

At the exclusive launch of Canon's Pixma printers at the SM North Edsa City Style Annex on October 18.

Until this event, I can honestly say that I have never considered getting a photo printer because I've always thought that the printers themselves were really expensive, not to mention the cost of the ink and the photo paper.

Then that day, I learned about the PIXMA MP287, which is retailing at a surprisingly low price of only P3,495.00 while the next printer in the series, the Pixma E500 is only at P4,495.00. The other printers are in the price range of P6,495 to  P19,295.

These printers are ink efficient and judging from the photos that I actually saw the printers churn out, the quality of the prints is not compromised at all.  The details were sharp and the colors were crisp and beautiful. The PIXMA E500's cost per print is only at P0.74 for each plain black document and P1.74 for colored documents.  I also asked around and was surprised that each 30 sheet pack of 4 x 6 glossy photo paper is only P125.00 or only P4.17 per sheet, while a set of inks for the E500 is only P1,290.  The colored cartridge can print up to 400 pages while the black cartridge up to 800 pages.

The Canon Pixma E500 retails at P4,495

From the cost alone, I'd say that these printers are a a good deal. But they still have added features which make them real value for money. These features include an eco monitor which allows you to track your reduced carbon emissions and paper saved by Canon's Auto Duplex Print feature.  The PIXMA MG8270 (P19,295) and the MG5370 (P8,495) printers are also wi-fi enabled and can even print from Picasa Web Albums without a PC through the PIXMA Cloud Link.  What I especially like are the printers' fun filter effects (blur background, fish-eye, miniature, soft focus, and toy camera) that can be automatically applied to the photos before printing.

What I also found just so cool was that the PIXMA printers have a Full HD Movie Print feature, which allows you to print any frame from videos shot using certain Canon digital cameras. Amazing!

And because these printers are all-in-one, even the lowest priced PIXMA printer has a built-in scanner---perfect for turning my old film photos to the digital realm.

The event also featured the works of the PIXMA brand ambassadors  and showcased the best photos they've ever printed.  The brand ambassadors (Jun Miranda, Per- Andre Hoffmann, and Jo Avila) are talented photographers in their own right and the wall of their photos was very inspiring to a photography enthusiast like me.

Hoffmann's surreal take on Mayon Volcano

Pure innocent joy, as captured by Jo Avila.

I am a Canon girl through and through---from film to digital cameras, over the years, I have trusted Canon's quality and craftsmanship. And now with Canon PIXMA printers, I know I will take my love for photography to a new, and more complete, level.

I believe photography is, ultimately, all about memories. We use cameras to take photos to capture unique moments in time, and we print photos to make those moments last for eternity (or in case of photos printed with PIXMA printers, they can last up to 300 years!). With the prevalence of digital cameras in our generation and our never-ending fascination with Facebook and other social networking sites, I think we have somehow forgotten that having prints of our photos is actually an essential step in the art and process of photography.  Until a photo captured by a digital camera is printed, it only exists as kilobyte in our memory cards and computers. It is different to hold a memory in our hands, in a concrete, tactile, tangible form---somehow making it more real. Photography is not complete until we can actually see and smell and feel and touch our photos, and revel in its lights and shadows.  It is only then that photos are not just prints but become true imprints of cherished moments and memories.

PROMO ALERT. Starting October 15, Canon is giving away Rudy Project Sprint sets (a sports watch and arm band) worth P4,300 for every purchase of a Canon PIXMA E500, a Canon PIXMA printer and a corresponding ink, or 4 Canon Genuine inks. For more information on Canon's PIXMA printers, visit www.canon.com.ph.