just noticed you mentioned that you were not using the recommended cannon inkset but an off brand.
that can make a significant differnce on yer print output!
The icc pfofiles for different papers included within your cannon printer drivers are developed for use with a specific type of ink. If you use a different ink your results can be totally different. the way to get around that is to get a n icc profile generator (eye1 for instance) that way you can run test patterns on the different papers you'll be printing on ..scann them and develop specific icc profiles for those specific paper/ink combinations...
ahh the joys (and pains) of color management