Canon's bad PR

same experience, different brand, they all seem to leave out the cables nowdays.

I don't know of any printer manufacturer that supplies the cable.

Cables come in different lengths and who is to say how far from the computer the printer will be. Some printers can use both parallel cables and USB etc, I do agree, however, that the sales people should tell you this. They miss an opportunity for a sale as well.

USB cables are available . . .
USB cables are available at the local Pathmark (grocery store) on the East Coast. Possibly, there's only one length being sold at these stores.

On another thread a while back, I believe you mentioned installing a new DSL modem? Did the modem come with both an Ethernet cable and a USB cable? If you are using the Ethernet cable for your modem, you can use the USB cable for the printer. (Just an idea - that would be the case here.)

Good wishes!!! [/color]

Canon's bad PR
You know, Charli, I didn't ask - and they didn't tell. I have a bazillion fat white cables bunched together under my desk, but I have no idea exactly what they are. I've got to get my question-asking act together!

Seriously, I think I'd better call Comcast and find about the ethernet thing.

Anyway, I went over to our local Staples and got a 7 ft cable, and now my nice shiny new printer is working, and I do mean working! It spits stuff out lickety-split and with minimum noise, too.

Intrepid - I should have thought of that - my computer setup is all bunched together on one long desk, so I never gave the varied length needs a thought. It certainly sounds reasonable, but I still wish they had warned me.

Glad you are now up and running. Nothing worse than getting a new toy and then finding that the batteries are not included. :-)

Not to mention that I really needed the printer functioning yesterday. I managed to use another machine this morning, but although it has a nice printer, the computer isn't all that one might wish. However, it all turned out ok, I got the stuff done in time, and everyone was happy.

I guess I can understand your frustration, Tomkitten, and I suppose the sales rep you spoke with was remiss in not advising you of the fact printers don't come with cables. Still, that's pretty much a given; printers mostly don't come with 'em. Used be some printers came with a DB9 serial cable, then DB25 parallel cables more or less became the standard, though some printers could use either, and then bi-directional, high-speed parallel came into the picture, only to be supplanted by today's all-but ubiquitous USB cables, though again, some printers can use either a high-speed, bi-directional DB25 parallel cable or a USB cable, and now, High-Speed USB, or USB 2.0, is coming into the fore. Meanwhile, there are printers which connect with FireWire, the newer FireWire 800, or EtherNet or its newer kin, GigaBit Ethernet, and some now even conect wirelessly, via WiFi (802.11a, b, and/or g - not necessarilly cross-compatible), or less commonly, Bluetooth, as well as the much older IR, or Infrared. Not much point including a cable which may or may not be supported by the computer to which the printer will be attached, may or may not be the proper length for the user's environment, and/or which may or may not suit the user's preference or requirement in any number of ways. And it would be sorta impractical to include all the cables supported by the printer, in various lengths, on the off chance one of them would be the one the user wants/needs - you don't wanna pay for a buncha cables you're never gonna use, just to get the one that suits your purpose, do you?

But yeah, the sales rep shoulda mentioned that, for sure. Im sorta surprised, though, that you didn't notice the nearly universal "Cable must be purchased separately" disclaimer which is a typical component of most printer overview web pages or catalog layouts. When you research a product, read ALL about it, even the fine print. You'll avoid some inconvenience if you make that a practice.