Canon PIXMA iP4700 — Review: Features, Specs

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Overview & Positioning

The Canon PIXMA iP4700 is a dedicated photo-printer / document-printer — not a multifunction (no scan/copy) — that combines high print resolution, high colour fidelity, and moderate speed. Designed around Canon’s FINE print-head technology (small 1 picoliter droplets), it’s aimed at users who want excellent photo prints plus sharp text documents, but without the complexity or cost of all-in-one machines.

Launched around 2009, the iP4700 is now a somewhat older model, but still interesting for certain business scenarios — particularly creative, design, or photographic tasks, or small offices that want a photo-printer separate from general document printers.

Key Features & Specifications

Here are the core technical specs and features of the PIXMA iP4700:

Print Technology

  • Uses Canon’s FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology with droplets as small as 1 picoliter.

  • Supports 5 individual ink cartridges: Pigment Black (for strong text) + Dye-based Cyan, Magenta, Yellow + Photo Black. 

  • Maximum print resolution: 9,600 × 2,400 dpi for very detailed photo prints.

Speed & Output

  • Document (ISO) speed: ~9.2 ipm (images per minute) for black & white, ~8.1 ipm for colour. 

  • Photo print speed: A 4″ × 6″ borderless photo can be printed in approximately 20 seconds. 

  • Automatic duplex: Yes — the iP4700 has built-in duplex printing for plain paper. 

Paper / Media Handling

  • Two input trays: A front tray for plain paper and a rear tray for photo media. 

  • Tray capacity: According to the manual, up to 150 sheets (plain).

  • Supported media: A variety — plain paper, photo paper (various sizes), envelopes, and even printable CD/DVD.

  • Borderless printing: Supported for common photo sizes and A4 / Letter too.

Connectivity

  • USB 2.0: The primary interface. 

  • PictBridge port: For direct printing from compatible cameras / camcorders.

  • No Wi-Fi or Ethernet: This is a local USB printer — no built-in network or wireless.

Cartridges / Consumables

  • Uses PGI-520 / CLI-521 series cartridges (or equivalents) for black, colour, and photo black.

  • Because it uses separate cartridges, you only need to replace the colour you use — more control, but possibly higher ink cost for frequent photo work.

Physical & Power

  • Dimensions: ~431 mm (W) × 296 mm (D) × 153 mm (H).

  • Weight: About 5.7 kg.

  • Power consumption: ~17 W when printing; very low (0.9 W) in standby per official specs.

Software / Features

  • Bundled software: Easy-PhotoPrint EX (for photo-printing, layout, and design) and Easy-WebPrint EX (for clipping web content).

  • CD / DVD printing: Supports direct printing to printable discs via Canon’s CD-LabelPrint.

Performance & Real-World Use

Print Quality

  • Photo quality: Excellent. The small droplet size and 5-ink system allow for very detailed colour prints and smooth gradients. Expert Reviews called the photo output “spectacular.”

  • Text and documents: Thanks to pigment black ink, text is crisp and sharp — usable for business documents, not just photos.

  • Borders and finishing: Borderless printing gives a professional photo feel, especially for 4×6-inch prints.

Productivity & Speed

  • While not the fastest for document printing, its ISO speed is decent for moderate office use.

  • Photo printing is reasonably fast for its class — a 4×6 photo in ~20 seconds is good, though not “instant.”

  • Auto-duplexing helps when printing double-sided documents, saving paper and streamlining workflows for reports or brochures.

Reliability & Maintenance

  • Because it is an older model, finding fresh ink cartridges may become more difficult over time; third-party or refilled cartridges may be more common.

  • The printhead is separate or integrated but designed to last; Canon’s FINE head technology is quite reliable.

  • As with many photo-printers, if left idle for long periods, the iP4700 may need cleaning cycles (especially for dye inks).

Business Use Cases – Where It Makes Sense

Despite being a photo-centric printer, the iP4700 can have legitimate business applications, especially in niche or creative environments:

  1. Photography Studios or Freelancers

    • Print client proofs or final 4×6 / 5×7 photo prints in-house.

    • Create disc prints (CD/DVD) for clients — a valuable feature for weddings or event photography.

  2. Marketing / Design Teams

    • Produce mockups, brochure covers, or marketing collateral requiring high-fidelity colour.

    • Use borderless A4 or photo-paper prints for presentation materials or prototypes.

  3. Small Office Document Printing

    • For teams that need both decent text printing and occasional photo-quality printouts, the iP4700 can be a dual-purpose tool.

    • Automatic duplexing makes it useful for creating small reports, internal brochures, or handouts.

  4. Creative Projects / Print-on-Demand

    • Businesses producing small-run photo prints, custom cards, and disc labels.

    • Craft-based businesses (photobooks, scrapbooking) where high quality colour is needed but volumes are modest.

Limitations & Risks for Business Use

While useful in the right scenarios, there are trade-offs:

  • Ink Cost: Because of its five-ink system, replacing cartridges can be expensive; photo printing in particular will use a lot of colour / photo black.

  • No Network: Without built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet, sharing this printer requires a connected PC or print server; not ideal for multi-user teams.

  • No Scanning: It’s a single-function printer — if you need to scan or copy, you’ll need a separate device.

  • Speed: For very high-volume document printing, it's slower than dedicated speed-optimized printers.

  • Aging Hardware: As a legacy model, finding parts or new cartridges may be more difficult; plus, drivers for modern OS versions may be limited or require workarounds.

Strengths & Weaknesses Summary

Strengths

  • Exceptional photo print quality (5-ink, 1 pl droplets).

  • Good text output (thanks to pigment black).

  • Built-in auto-duplex (double-sided printing).

  • CD / DVD direct printing support.

  • Reasonably compact footprint and modest power draw.

Weaknesses

  • Higher ink cost, especially for photo work.

  • No built-in networking.

  • No scanning or copying functionality.

  • Slower than newer business document printers.

  • Potential scarcity of consumables.

Deployment Recommendations for Business

If you plan to use the iP4700 in a business environment:

  1. Define use case clearly: Use it for photo work, design, or occasional high-quality prints — don’t rely on it as your main text document printer if you have high volume.

  2. Connect smartly: Set it up on a dedicated PC or small print server so others can send print jobs via that PC.

  3. Manage ink inventory: Keep a stock of original Canon cartridges (especially photo black) to avoid downtime and quality issues.

  4. Leverage CD printing: Use the disc printing capability for value-add to clients (e.g., event photographers, multimedia production).

  5. Use duplexing where possible: Encourage duplex use for internal documents to save paper.

  6. Routine maintenance: Run nozzle checks / cleaning cycles at least monthly if idle, to keep print quality high.

  7. Backup strategy: Pair the iP4700 with a fast, dedicated document printer so that design / photo workloads don’t bottleneck other business tasks.

Final Verdict

The Canon PIXMA iP4700 is a specialist printer — not for everyone, but excellent in its niche. It’s ideal for small offices or creative professionals who need quality photo output, occasional CD/DVD disc printing, and solid document printing. It is not optimized for high-volume, text-only workflows, nor for shared networked environments without an external print server.

  • ✅ Recommended if:

    • You run a creative business (photography, design) and want impressive photo prints on demand.

    • You need disc printing (CD / DVD) for client delivery.

    • You want a printer that produces great quality but don’t mind the cost per cartridge.

  • ⚠ Consider alternatives if:

    • Your primary need is fast, high-volume document printing.

    • You require scanning or copying in the same device.

    • You want built-in network printing or Wi-Fi in a multi-user office without relying on a host PC.

Canon iP4700 Driver Download

 Operating System For Windows

  • Windows 10 32 & 64 bit
  • Windows 8.1 32 & 64 bit
  • Windows 8 32 & 64 bit
  • Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
  • Windows XP 32 & 64 bit

Windows Software and Software Informacion

  • Producer: Canon
  • Hardware: Canon iP4700
  • Version: 2.33a
  • Filename: pd68-win-ip4700-2_33a-ea24.exe
  • Updated: September 01, 2015
  • File size: 15 MB 

Operating System For Mac OS X

  • Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan
  • Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite
  • Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks
  • Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
  • Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Software and Software Information for Mac OS X

  • Producer: Canon
  • Hardware: Canon iP4700
  • Version: 11.7.1.0a
  • File name: mcpd-mac-ip4700-11_7_1_0-ea17_2.dmg
  • Updated: September 05, 2017
  • Size of the file: 16 MB

Download Canon iP4700 Driver

Download Canon iP4700 Driver For Windows 32 bit
Software and DriverDownload
iP4700 series Printer Driver Ver. 2.33a (Windows 10/10 x64/8.1/8.1 x64/8/8 x64/7/7 x64/Vista/Vista64/XP)Download
My Image Garden Ver.3.6.4a (Windows)Download
Download Canon iP4700 Driver For Windows 64 bit
Software and DriverDownload
Easy-WebPrint EX Ver.1.7.0 (Windows)Download
My Printer Ver.3.3.0 (Windows)Download
Download Canon iP4700 Driver For Mac OS X
Software and DriverDownload
Mac OS X  10.8/10.9/10.10/10.11Download
Mac OS X  10.6/10.7Download

Driver Download or the Installation for Windows Operating System:

How to install the driver for Canon iP4700:

  1. First, you need to click the link provided for download, then select the option “Save” or “Save as”. Clicking “Save” is for downloading the file. Meanwhile if you choose “Run” or “Open”, the file downloaded will be automatically installed after the downloading process is completed.
  2. For your information, the driver file that you download will be saved in a certain folder that you have set before, especially in the self-extracting form or (.exe format).
  3. The last step is double clicking the downloaded file that has the format EXE file for the decompress process. Then, the installation will be automatically started.

How to uninstall the driver by using Control Panel.

Note: The following steps are for Windows 7. The different versions may have the different settings.
  1. Come to the Start menu, then you need to choose Control panel --> choose the driver and click “Uninstall a Program.”
  2. Wait until a page is appear with the list of the installed program. Then you need to double click the program that you want to uninstall.
  3. At last, choose “Yes” and “Ok”. The uninstall process is completed.

Driver Download or Installation process for Mac Operating System:

How to install driver of Canon iP4700 in Mac:

  1. First, you need the file of the driver. When you have already completed the downloading process, it will be saved in the certain folder. You can see it at the computer settings.
  2. Second, you need to double click the downloaded driver file and mount it on the Disk Image.
  3. The third step is that you need to double click again the mounted Disk Image.
  4. At last, double clicking the packaged driver file. Do not worry, the installation is about to be started automatically.
However, the step-by-step of the installation (and vice versa), it can be differed depend upon the platform or device that you use for the installation of Canon iP4700.The above mentioned, the installation is occurred using Windows 7 and Mac for windows XP or windows 8 is not much different way.

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