The iP6000D photo printer features the Canon Think Tank System™, an intelligent ink-management system that uses individual ink tanks for each color. You replace only the color that runs out rather than an entire, expensive, multi-color cartridge.

This is the sight that greets you when you lift the cover on the iP6000D printer. Canon's 6-color ink system consists of the usual cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks plus a photo-cyan and photo-magenta for a wider color gamut and very photo-realistic colors.

The iP6000D features the PIXMA printhead which employs Canon's FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology. It has 1,536 nozzles, 256 for black ink and 1,280 nozzles for color ink. This printhead uses Canon’s exclusive advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology™, which ejects consistent prescribed-volume ink droplets (as small as 2pl) for smooth gradations, accurate skin tones and rich, vibrant colors.

Not only can the user replace the individual ink tanks, you can also replace the entire print head if necessary. (Replacement print heads are available from Canon Service after it is determined that a replacement is necessary.)   Epson printers require a trip to the service center when they encounter a problem as the print head is permanently mounted.

Optical ink sensors automatically monitor all ink color levels and communicate with your computer--giving you a pop-up message indicating exactly what colors are running low. You can also check the status of the ink tanks at any time using the Status Monitor of the driver as shown above.

Canon's optical low ink detection system prevents wasted printouts by notifying you via the Printer Status Monitor before any ink tank becomes empty, so you'll never unexpectedly run out of ink in the middle of a job again.

A light beam shines through a prism located at the bottom of each ink tank. When there is sufficient ink, the light is detected by the sensor. When only about 20% of ink is left in any of the ink tanks, the light beam is refracted, triggering the sensor which tells the printer driver to display a low ink tank notification for that ink tank.