Canon’s latest bargain basement inkjet photo printer is the Pixma iP2600, at under £30 this is the replacement for the Pixma iP1800 and as such is a basic model with a limited number of features. It misses out such extras as a PictBridge port and memory card slot but is a capable basic prints that can turn out crisp prints you can be proud of, all from a sleek modern design
Design
A lot of work has been put into the design of the Pixma iP2600 and Canon are to be congratulated on a job well done. The smooth exterior, a space saving 5.6×17.4×10 inches is complimented by a glossy black look, with a slightly mirrored finish that looks very sleek sitting on your desktop. A far cry from the usual boring grey plastic body that usually signals an inkjet printer. The output and paper trays both fold into the unit when not in use, creating a sleek box that more resembles part of a high end Hi-Fi system. The output tray has a slightly flimsy arm which extends to catch loose paper, but lacking a stop cap at the end tends to let sheets fly off the end, annoying, but not critical. The minimalist control panel has only two buttons, one acting as a paper feed button and the other doubling up as both a power button and error warning light. The power cord fits into the rear of the printer and the USB port is also located here. It is worth noting that a USB cable is not supplied, so you will have to purchase one as an extra. At this price you cannot expect PictBridge or memory card slots, so all images will have to be sent to your photo software on your PC and printed from there.

Cartridge supplies
Low capacity cartridges are fitted to the Pixma iP2600 when sold. The black PG37 cartridge with 11ml of ink and the three-colour CL38 cartridge with 12ml. These cartridges do not represent the best value for this printer, as they are not filled to capacity. The black PG40 and colour CL41 cartridges are identical in size but are fully filled to capacity. The high yield PG40 black cartridge has 16ml of ink and is available for £14 whilst the CL41 ink cartridge, containing a total of 12ml of ink, 4ml of each colour cyan, magenta and yellow are less than £17. When ordering replacement cartridges for this printer, remember these order codes, as these products will give you the cheapest cost per page printed.

Performance
In speed tests the Pixma iP2600 performed very well. It managed to produce 5.68 pages per minute of black text, which compares well with both the HP DeskJet D4260 and the Lexmark Z845, that are both more expensive printers. The canon also performed well in quality tests, the characters formed were precise with crisp edges and created no blurred areas, in colour graphics tests most documents came out with solid colours and nice even distribution of colour. The only slight area of concern was in portions where gradual colour gradients occurred but these imperfections were barely noticeable to the bare eye and only a perfectionist could grumble.
4×6 photos printed on Canons semi-gloss paper were also impressive. They were not perfect but were well balanced and even, a difficult job for a budget printer.

So with solid printing performance at relatively quick output speeds and acceptable photo prints, the Canon Pixma iP2600 is an affordable choice and is a printer that performs well above its weight, making it probably the best budget buy under £50.