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Reviews related to : Canon Printers
Canon have products covering the entire range of printing requirements, specialising in high-quality photo quality products. Backing up their expertise in this area is their history in high quality cameras.
It's been a while since I have looked at a printer (as opposed to an All In One or MFU) and even longer since I have looked at a basic entry level offering. Both those criteria are fulfilled by this small unit the Canon iP 2702.
The Canon iP 2702 printer measures 44x25x11cm with the lid closed. The lid forms the paper tray at the rear (insert sheets face forward) this adds 13cm to the 11cm height. However you need another 8cm of clearance to place any A4 sheets in the tray. So should you be thinking of placing this on a shelf you need 44x22x32cm overall space. It weighs 3.4 kilos.
The Canon Pixma iP4700 is an up-market inkjet printer in the higher price bracket and should not be compared with the budget printers that can be bought for less than £40. It is a stylishly designed versatile machine that delivers realistic colour prints as well as crisp black printed documents. It is easy to use and, as well as offering duplex printing, can print on CDs and DVDs. Consequently, it will come high on many people’s wish list.
When closed it is just a rectangular black box 44 x 30 x16cm high with the paper cassette protruding from the front by some 9cm. Overall, it is black in colour, with a partly matt and partly brightly polished finish, so that it would not even look out of place in most homes. Both the paper cassette and the rear paper tray each have a capacity of over 100 sheets.
Despite its squat size I doubt this All In One from Canon will ever pass the lounge police. Perhaps it is the silver grey colour but more likely the black band around the top edge; however as a man what matters to me is quality and performance.
The Canon Pixma MP990 multi-function printer measures 44x39x21cm. There is a small lift up lid 17x8cm that sits towards the front centre of the scanning lid. There are a total of twelve buttons that sit under it (including the ubiquitous five position joystick) and on the reverse of the lid a TFT 9x7cm. The TFT opens to a position around 15degrees beyond vertical to allow reading from a whole range of angles.
As part of its range of new printing devices, Canon has released the PIXMA MP560. This is an All-in-One model featuring print, scan and copy functions. This PIXMA unit has Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and is being aimed at the small office / home user.
Removing the unit from the packaging reveals a black and silver box with rounded corners measuring 450 x 365 x 160mm (W x D x H). Power and USB connections are located at the rear of the device, as is a secondary paper input option giving you the opportunity to have two different types of paper loaded ready for printing. The main paper input is via a tray that slots into the front of the unit. Both paper inputs are rated as being able to hold 150 sheets of paper.
This is perhaps the complete All In One as not only does it scan, copy and print but it can be used via USB or Wi-FI, so should the ‘lounge police’ object it can be stored away from the PC and live out of view in a cupboard.
The Canon Pixma MP560 measures 43x31x16 the last figure is without A4 stored in the vertical position in the back, but as the only need to have photo paper in that tray the main workhorse can be the underneath tray to print letters and documents from. I had one major complaint with the previous Canon All In One and that was the cartridge size (it was two cartridge) and they were tiny.
As part of its new season range of printing devices, Canon has released the Pixma MP490 All-in-One unit.
Unpacking a new product can sometimes be like a voyage of discover. In the case of a PIXMA MP490 from Canon, I was convinced that the mains power lead and ink cartridges were missing – that is until I opened the paper output tray and discovered them packed inside. Thinking about it, this was a sensible arrangement as it keeps all the relevant components safely together.
This is a reasonably priced four ink (two cartridge) All In One unit. However it is really designed for light use simply because of the small size of the ink cartridges. Output quality is good the only drawback is the ink cost.
It is 43x32x16cm when closed, with A4 paper stored in the rear vertical tray it adds 20cm to the last figure the height. It is light grey (almost cream) in colour with a single black band around the top of the sides of the unit. On the right side of the top is a lift up panel that hides six buttons and the ubiquitous five position joystick these are the user controls. The back of the panel is the 5x3cm TFT that displays any information for the All In One.
Another Multi Function unit (it has Fax) silver grey with a broad black stripe around the top edge, so sad to say it will never pass the lounge police. However as an office machine there is little wrong with it.
The Canon Pixma MX860 measures 48x35x7cm when closed. If you store A4 paper in the back vertical tray this adds close to 20cm to the height. You will probably need another 10cm clear at the front to the 35cm depth when printing. Space required might be 50x45x30cm this would allow you to place books on the flat-bed if say you sighting point were a shelf. This is a five ink five cartridge unit. Printing the nonsensical 200 word document produced 12PPM in custom (set to speed) mode.
Having recently told you about an HP OfficeJet that is black with white sides, this offering from Canon their Pixma MX320 is white (cream) with a black collar around the top. Like the HP it is a multi function unit meaning apart from printing, it can copy, scan and fax.
The Pixma MX320 is 43x38x30cm with A4 paper in the input tray at the rear and the last figure allows the landscape flatbed to be lifted 10cm to allow items to be slipped in for scanning. However there is also a page feed that means it could happily sit on a shelf as it weights around 8.5kilos. There are a total of 28 buttons on the front lip as well as a two line LED display in the centre.
Another quality inkjet AIO (All In One) from Canon. When closed it looks like a grey box with a black trim round the top edge. However lift the small lid at the front and a large TFT is revealed together with the buttons to control it.
The Canon Pixma MP980 measures 44x38x19cm when closed, insert A4 paper in the rear tray and the last figure the height increases by 20cm, that is also enough to insert anything on the flatbed as it will enable the landscape lid to be lifted to around 45 degrees. The 9x7cm TFT display can be adjusted to anything just over 100 degrees from horizontal meaning if you are viewing from above or below you should be able to get a clear view.
A colour laser printer with an RRP of less than £200 surely is worthy of further investigation. The size is not that large something that earlier printers could not say and it prints quite quickly without colour pages printing at ¼ speed.
The Canon i-SENSYS LBP 5050n is 38x4325cm and as printed pages are delivered face down on the top of the unit no extra space is required. It weights around 18kilos so should be easily moveable if required. When I removed it from the box I noticed there is a cardboard sling that makes removing it easy.
This is a multi function unit (as it has fax capabilities) but it can be used in a more normal on/off mode that certain of these types of units cannot. It is cream with a black top and sad to say even with the ADF folded it has no chance of passing the lounge police.
The Canon Pixma MX330 measures 44x50x20cm and is cream/black. I am always puzzled why manufacturers still bring out multi function (as opposed at All In One) models out for the home market as I know very few people who still use the fax function. First the print speeds. I normally use the Custom mode adjusted to fast as the timing method but here there is also a fast mode and in my tests this was just as fast as the custom mode but gave a nearer black image.
A rather nice sleek looking unit with no outwardly visible controls or entry/exit points. This unit does print rather nicely and it scans and copies well. The only problem I can possibly see for this unit are the ever vigilant lounge police.
The Canon Pixma MP620 measures 43x31x18cm when closed. Add another 6cm to the last figure the height when you open the flip up display that also hides the twelve buttons to control the unit. Add 11cm to the second figure the depth when the paper receiving tray opens at print time. Add 21cm to the last figure should you insert A4 photo paper in the back flip up tray. So in use for photo printing the footprint is 43x42x39cm.
While many users will be content with the scanner module that forms part of an All-in-One device, better quality can be achieved with a standalone model.
Adding to its range of standalone flatbed scanners, Canon has released its CanoScan LiDE 200 model. This colour image 48-bit scanner offers a resolution of 4800 x 4800 dpi that can be expanded to 19200 dpi through the use of software as part of a feature set designed to tempt those users wanting better quality than is usually available from the scanner unit forming part of a multi-function or All-in-One device. Opening the box reveals four components.
Canon has recently made some changes to the line-up of its PIXMA range of products. One of these changes involves the entry-level All-in-one device. This position is now taken up by the PIXMA MP190 model.
It is mainly silver but sad to say still unlikely to pass the lounge police, this is a neat and tidy All In One unit and little bigger than a standalone printer. It features the recently introduced idea of a built in tray underneath for documents and the rear tray for photographs.
When closed the Canon Pixma MP540 measures 44x35.5x15cm, the depth increases to 59.5cm when both the front receiving tray and the rear photo paper tray are opened the height goes up to 30cm. To the right of the landscape scanner cover is a separate portrait action lid that lifts just beyond 90 degrees to show a 4x3cm TFT screen and on the base it reveals 14 buttons, when using it from the PC the only one likely to be needed is the on/off.
I find it surprising that it is 11 months since I have reviewed an ink jet printer, by that I mean a printer as opposed to an all in one or a multi function unit. Unlike most inkjets it has two proper trays so you have far more control from the computer.
The Canon Pixma iP3600 inkjet printer measures 41x33x15cm with the rear upright tray closed, open the tray and add A4 paper and you add 22cm to the last figure the height. Sad to say it is black apart from a silver stripe so it is unlikely to pass the lounge police. The power lead on the left back and the USB recessed on the right back edge do not protrude so no extra space is required behind the unit.
A 15x10cm (post card) sized printer, however instead of the normal box shape this is rather like a radio or cassette player as it has a built in handle and is a very thin shape the card (printing stock) handling is unique.
The Canon Selphy ES30 measures 22cm wide 23cm tall and 12cm deep. You will need maybe 10cm clear in front of the unit as the card stock is turned in mid air from its landscape stored position to its portrait printing position. It weights less than 2.4kilos even when it has a full pack of 50 cards stored inside. This can be connected to a PC using a standard USB cable or direct to a camera using Pict Bridge both these sockets are towards the base of the left side.
Whereas Canon uses the i-SENSYS brand name for its laser multifunction devices, when the all-in-one device makes use of inkjet technology then the brand name changes to PIXMA.
In the case of the Canon PIXMA MX700, this product has been designed to deliver fax, print and copy functionality to the small office or home environment. Following the standard arrangement, the flatbed scanner unit is positioned on top of the inkjet printer. Adding further to the height of the PIXMA MX700 is an ADF (Automatic Document Feed) unit.
While colour does give documents eye-catching appeal and helps emphasize points of importance; not all documents require this feature.
In many cases a well laid out document in black and white is all that is required to get a message across to interested parties. As a result monochrome printers, especially of the laser variety, have an important role to play in the creation of certain types of documents. The Canon i-SENSYS LBP3360 falls into this category. Designed more to give a feeling of solidity rather than an overall stylish appearance, the LBP3360 is a boxed-shaped unit.
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