The Canon S330 Photo Color Bubble Jet Printer is packed with all the latest technology and performance features you would expect from a high-end printer - but at a surprisingly low price. It is designed to handle the most popular family and student printing projects from super-sharp letters and Web pages to incredible color photos because of its remarkable 2400 x 1200 color dpi resolution.Canon's high-resolution, high-density head is the secret to the S330 Photo's all-round performance. It allows the S330 Photo to produce high quality 2400 dpi images in no time at all. In fact the S330 produces borderless 4"x6" photos in just 80 seconds as well as being able to deliver mono prints at up to 14ppm, and color documents at up to 10ppm. The addition of Quiet Mode and fast USB (Full Speed) support make the S330 Photo printer the most desirable in its class. A compact, sleek design keeps pace with its performance, complementing any desktop.
1 unreliable
My experiences with the Canon S330 have been similar to those of other reviewers here. My S330 worked really well for the first 1-1/2 years, and then the print heads began to fail. The print was fuzzy and ugly horizontal lines appeared. Cleaning the print nozzles did't help. Alligning the print heads became almost impossible as each setting produced a similar wavy result. Need I mention that I have bought an untold number of cartridges -- even when using draft quality printing? Both print heads are shot. After owning this printer for two years, I can either replace the heads or buy another printer. If you can get a new or close-to-new one cheap, then I recommend this printer. If not, then take a pass.
2 Slurps ink
I bought this item nearly two years ago, in part because of a good CONSUMER REPORTS rating of its predecessor, the S 300. It has used up ink tanks so fast, that CR's figures cannot possibly have been right. With after-market ink tanks, and refilling the black ink tanks, I keep that cost down; however, I often have to replenish ink in the middle of jobs that are not all that large. I can see by the condition of the print head that it will fail before long. While print head replacement is a one minute, user doable job, the cost would be prohibitive. I hope I do not have too many new ink tanks on hand when that happens.
This printer does do very fine work, I must say. Still, I plan to try one of the competitors next time.
15 March `05 Update. To deal with more and more frequent clogging of the printhead, I obtained an almost new printhead from another owner whose problems had not been helped by the new printhead. With the newer printhead, my S330 worked fine for a week. Then it began losing some colors, and malfunctioning in a different way with one printhead than with the other. Today, the trash man took my S330 away. The lesson--I think--is that when this kind of product starts acting erratically, one should focus one's attention on wisely purchasing something new!
3 Broken after one year !?!?
Just wanted to add my experience to the many people who, after having this printer for a year, now have a useless, grey-and-blue paperweight.
For the first year, this printer worked great. It was relatively fast, could produce photo-quality prints (but ONLY on Canon photo paper), and the ink was cheap. (And yes, it was an ink-guzzler.) Still, dispite everything -- even the ridiculous noises! -- we were happy. When we bought it, the printer came packaged with our computer; now I understand why it was so cheap.
Now, just over a year later, the black print head does not print clearly. Judging by the other reviews here, this happens often.
While I know this printer was cheap, it's unacceptable that it breaks after a year. I do not feel I over-worked this printer. How can Canon make such faulty products?
Be prepared that if you buy this product, and use it, it will break sooner than you expect. I almost gave this two stars because it was great while it worked. But now, it's broken. What a waste that it's cheaper and easier to buy a new printer, than replace my black print head. I doubt I'll be looking at a Canon printer.
4 Excellent quality for the price
The S330 is a fast, reliable printer with crisp color printing and fast black and white. The color prints are incredible with photos coming out almost (but not quite) crystal clear. (Note: I've noticed that there is a noticable print difference when using regular verses heavy paper when printing lots of color. Use cardstock or photo paper if you want your color print to come out as clear as possible).
Additionally, the cartridges are very inexpensive (I've purchased black and white as low as $4 and color as low as $5) and easy to replace resulting in a very low cost-per-page with ease.
The only complaint I have against this printer is the number of times it cleans the print head. For example, when I printed 70 pages of text it cleaned the head 3 or 4 times during the print. This slows down the speed of printing significantly and also increases the noise level of the machine.
5 Slow, noisy, ink hog
I have had mine for almost 2 years, and it has stopped printing black ink. Obviously time for a replacement, grrr. I never was completely happy with the unit. It constantly goes into a lengthy cleaning cycle before it prints. Very annoying when you want to quickly print off directions when you are late for an appointment. Extremely loud, and an ink hog (though you can buy cheap non brand name replacement cartridges). Print quality when working is near photo quality, and the unit is compact, but I REALLY expected more than 2 years of occasional use. And now I have 10 spare ink cartidges for a printer I need to replace.
6 A COMPLETE RIP OFF!
I was really happy with this printer for the first year (although it got through ink cartridges really quickly) until after just over a year it just stopped working!!! I phoned Canon and they offered to repair it but it would be cheaper to buy another printer. Aparently there is a Waste Ink Tank which fills up after a while but Canon will not supply the replacement part required or the re-set sequence number to get it working again! So in effect it is basically a disposable printer - once the Waste Ink Tank fills up you have to buy a new one or pay the equivilant to get it fixed. WHAT A CON!
7 It WAS great... was
This printer was incredible, especially for the price. It was fast, it was pretty, even made some great funny click noises the reviews said were OK.
But the quality diminished over time. Then I changed a blank ink cartridge, and poof. Nothing, no printing at all. I cleaned the head unit that holds the cartridge. No Go. Suprising, I had a B\W canon for years and years and years, I wasn't expected this.
8 Canon S330 Printer
DO NOT BUY THIS PRINTER!!!!!!!
Little over a year passed with reasonable use and the printhead wore out. This is a pathetic printer and I am extremely angrey with Canon about their pricing of printheads. It is a scandal and a rip off!!
Make sure you do a little research before buying a printer in this price range as I am told that many companies use the same trick.
I gave this printer a 1 star because I could not give it none!!!
9 Canon S330 Color Bubble Jet Printer
I bought two of these printers at the same time. They have both lasted less than year.
Pros: The ink is cheap to purchase for this computer. It prints great pictures. Its pretty fast.
Cons: In about the time of a year, both printers (around the same time) just stopped printing black ink. There is no printer cleaning or deep cleaning that will help the problem. There is no way to fix the problem, unless you buy a print head perhaps, which will cost the same amount as a new printer. I have done my research, and apparantley, this problem has happened to other canon s330 printer users as well. That makes this printer model not worth buying in my opinion. I always do prefer canon to other products however.
10 Canon S330 printer problems
My printer just gave out after 1 year and one week (past warranty). The black ink will not print despite new cartridge(s), cleaning the nozzles, and every other maintenance procedure.
This printer has been fairly reliable in the year. I have used it extensively for photograph printing, greeting cards, address labels and stationary gifts for family. Other than the cartridges running out quickly, I have been happy with the machine. The color has been good for prints and photos.
I am unable to find an online source for troubleshooting, and am of the opinion that a $99. printer although inexpensive, ought to work longer than one year. I hate to dispose of it.
If anyone has any advise, please contact me at Peggy7122@aol.com
Thank you.
11 Great Printer for the price
Bought this printer on here used for $18 plus shipping and it works beautifully. I had previously owned a Canon BJC 250 so I have been partial to Canon products for awhile.
The cartridges were really cheap when ordered online which is crucial to me because I use this printer to print covers for cd's and the print quality is excellent.
The only negative (If you can even call it that) is that it does seem to go thru the ink alittle faster than my old Canon. But since the cartridges are so affordable, they can be ordered in bulk so that shouldn't be a problem.
Overall: Great printer at an excellent value.
12 Good Quality, Fair Value
I am happy with my purchase of this Canon S330 printer, but have found better value printer and printer/scanner/FAX combos available for a much lower price locally. The Canon S330 is reliable, moderately fast and quiet, but it seems to go through ink cartridges pretty quickly (although the cartridges are cheaper than most, especially on Amazon, and easy to replace). Unlike several printers I have had before, when you change the ink cartridge, the printer is good to go, without time consuming print head alignment. This is a good quality printer at a reasonable price and has held up to some consistantly heavy print jobs without fail. I am happy with my purchase, but will definitely opt for the newer, lower priced printer/scan/Fax type accessory the next time I am in the market.
13 Poor quality printer
I purchased my Canon S330 printer in late January of 2003. I used it to print the occasional shipping lable or report, no photos. The print head has failed three times in the past six months. First it stopped printing black right in the middle of a job(it suddenly started printing black again after about 3 weeks.) Then it stopped printing magenta, again, right in the middle of a job. As of January 2004 it stopped printing both black and magenta. After getting a run-around from customer service(telling me the standard "do a cleaning, etc.")I was told I need a new print head, which will cost about $60 plus $40 "labor" to install at a "certified Canon repair center". Of course there isn't one near me and my printer would have to be shipped to one at my cost. It's cheaper for me to just buy a new printer. The only good things I can say about this printer is that it was fast and the ink is cheap.
14 great
Pros: cheap, prints nicely and fast, Ink is inexpensive for this model
Pros: long warm up cycle, kind of annoying.
This printer is all about saving money, I bought 10 off brand ink cartradges from ... for $20, and they work great.
15 Fast Service! Good, basic, economical printer!
I am a die hard Canon printer fan! I have had two Canon printers (BJC 4100 and BJC 4400) and this is the best one so far.
The title says it all, good, basic, economical printer.
The reply to my order was fast, the shipping was fast. The printer arrived complete and in perfect working order. I am enjoying it very much and would recomend this printer to anyone who needs just a "Good All Around Printer" at a very reasonable price + shipping.
16 Okay quality for an okay printer
The printer does print pretty fast and offers reasonable (but not great) quality print outs.
Pro: Includes both Color and B/W ink cart. Low printing cost (cheap ink carts, a BIG PLUS). Supports gray scale printing, good for printing drafts and saving color ink.
Con: Long ink-wasting-cycle, head continue to move even w/o job. Rather bulky (still better than Epson). Insist that I install driver from CD instead of auto install by XP.
17 Low price and works great
Be advised that Low end printers from Canon can't be repaired, they need to be swapped for new ones (if they are still under warranty). Originally bought the S300. Had tons of problems with that model. After 3 swaps due to malfunctions in printers, Canon finally upgraded me, at no additional cost, to an S330. Happy to say that I now have no complaints to report and that this model works well for me. It is quiet and doesn't break down regardless of the thickness of the paper or if I print pictures.
18 Good quality and cheap ink / Works in Linux
This printer works great, the only problem I've found is that when you first turn it on, it has a long click-clack startup routine, like it is cleaning the printhead.
Apart from that, I love this printer, but mostly, I love the cheap ink prices for it. After owning a HP840c, buying ink for this one is really inexpensive.
Also, it works great in Red Hat Linux 9. The reason I mention it is because this is a USB Printer, and was worried about not having the appropiate drivers for Linux, but Red Hat 9 comes with S300 drivers and those work.
19 I LOVE this Printer!
This printer is so easy to use. I had a Canon before but after a long time, it finally gave out. I had my son's HP Apollo. I hate HPs because you have to manually change between the cartridges for black or color. Plus, I never could get the color cartrridge to work right. Canon is so simple. Both cartridges go in together. And the cartridges are SO much cheaper than HPs. With HPs you have to purchase the whole printer cartridge, module and all. I just love this printer! It prints fast. twice as fast, no, even faster than the HP. Canons are also easier to hook up and the instructions are SUPER simple. If your looking for a good printer, look at a Canon.
Even though this was a refurbished item, I still get the warranty for a new item. The quality is much better than the old HP. Goodbye HP.
20 Great printer- when it works
This is a review based on the S300 printer, which appears to be nearly identical to the S330 except for the swoosh on the front panel. I bought an S300 for my MIL based on excellent reviews and the small ink tanks being appropriate for her light use.
FWIW, the Mac print driver is hard to use and buggy (Canon doesn't seem to care much about the Mac market), but that's not the reason for the rating.
The first printer started misfeeding and mangling paper at 8 months, before the first ink cartridge had even been used up (and the cartridges that came with the printer aren't even full cartridges!).
The replacement printer died two months and about 50 pages later.
She's on her third printer, and I'm in the doghouse.
21 Quite pleased
This is our first printer, so we don't have much to compare it to. However, we have been quite pleased with the quality of the text documents and photos that we have printed. One thing that I love about this printer is that there are separate black and color ink cartridges. The only negative comment I have is that it takes a little while (under a minute though) for the printer to "wake up" and it makes some noise while it is waking up.
22 two thumbs up
I just got this printer a few days ago and printed some photos and assignments on it. The photos were colorful and vivid. The quality was great, and it only took a minute to print. However, the blue was a little darker than it was suppose to be. Other than that, you can't even tell that the pictures came from a bubble jet printer. The printer has good speed on black and white pages. One drawback is that the printer is constantly cleaning the print head. It gets annoying after a while. The ink for this printer is relatively inexpensive compared with other printer catridges.
Overall, this printer is a great deal. It's definitely worth its price.
23 Excellent quality, unique printer features
Pros: Quiet mode is just that - quiet. You can specify a time frame for Quiet mode: for instance, all printing done between 10:00pm until 9:00am will be printed in quiet mode. The printer can automatically turn itself on to print, and turn itself off when the print job is done. Print quality is great, and it's fast. The ink cartridges are quite inexpensive (less than [price] each for B&W or color cartridge). Free sample back of 4"x6" Pro photo paper inlcuded for true bordless printing. A printed a photo from a 1.3Megapixel camera and it was as if Kodak processed it!
Cons: It's a little loud in normal mode. This is due to the automatic head-cleaning that occurs before a print job. Paper loader tray handles 100 sheets of paper, but the output tray handles only 50 sheets. Printer applications (there are several) that come with the printer weigh in at over 130MB (but you don't have to install them).
