Canon Pixma MX860 All-In-One InkJet Printer
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- Black Print Speed: 8.4 inch/min
- Color Print Speed: 5.6 inch/min
- Output Type: Color Printer
- Technology (Detailed): Inkjet
- Printer Type: All-In-One Printer
- All-in-One Functions: Copier Fax Machine Scanner
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Held off on buying a Multi-function printer. So glad we did!
Pros
Excellent price with 5 full-yield cartridges, with fast output.
Cons
For some buyers: size, weight and that it's not a workhorse printer.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Everytime my husband uses this printer he thanks me for finding just the right one for our family's needs.
I waited a year to buy a mulit-function printer. What was I looking for?
1) Wireless capability
2) Scan photographs and documents (flatbed or autofeeder)
3) Fax (flatbed or auto-feeder) (250 fax page memory capacity)
4) Copy (flatbed or auto-feeder)
5) Print in color
6) Built-in card reader
7) Inexpensive
8) Peform quickly
9) Decent quality for the price
Installation: The printer is packaged well. There are several places inside the printer where packing material was placed to avoid movement in transit. Had a techie friend of my son's install the printer on a network which took about 2 hours, from unpacking to setup and connect on 3 networked PCs (one hardwired PC, one wireless laptop, one wireless PC).
Note: If setting up for WiFi, plug in a USB, then install the CD and follow the install instructions on screen. Other reviewers have commented that using the printed manual for WiFi hookup is not recommended.
Figuring out what changes were needed in Comodo's firewall setup to use the printer on an in-home network took the most time.
Registration: No problems until I tried to find the serial number. The website was not helpful since an image did not appear. The image in the manual is misleading. Lift the scanner cover and you'll find the serial number in the middle of the scanning surface, rather than farther to the edge than described in print. The numbers are in a very small font and tricky to read if you have bi-focals.
Location: The printer is a monster that completely covers the surface of an end-table. We have a large glass-top computer table with only small speakers, the monitor and keyboard on top. The printer would devour most of the open work space. Don't expect this printer to fit on your work surface.
Functions:
Fax speed is fast. With one phone line though, we have the fax line plugged in only when transmitting. If left plugged in, the fax tries to receive incoming phone calls. We haven't investigated if this can be prevented or if there is a switch on the printer to avoid this problem. We don't fax often enough to be concerned.
Scanning photos or documents doesn't require much of a learning curve. I'm new to scanning and the on-screen instructions made it easy to learn quickly. So far I have no complaints with the quality of photos I scanned.
Beware: this scanner has excellent eyesight! If specs of dust are on your photo or the scanning surface (especially the dust you can't see), the nasty buggers appear in your digitized file.
Because there are a lot of crevices on the outside of this printer and several internal moving mechanisms, we've kept the printer covered when not in use. We have cats that like to be near us while working on the computer and that fine cat fur always manages to get everywhere we don't want it.
Copying and Printing: The printer arrives with 5 full-size cartridges: 3 color and two black (one used only for color printing with color inks), and for the overall price, it's a great deal! There is an audio signal when the printer is out of paper. Another plus if you happen to be initiating a print function from another room. The 150-sheet print tray looks inadequate, but for our needs it's fine. This model does not come with an additional tray option.
Duplexing is a nice feature and the auto feeder holds 35 sheets.
I have not printed any photos yet, although some sample 4x6 photo paper is provided. Other reviews mention that it's best to use Canon photo printer as other brands may curl.
Best advice about ink usage is if you don't need color or best quality, don't use it. My husband uses this printer for printing and faxing for his business, our high schooler for color printing text and images for presentations and homework and I use it for scanning photos and documents. We've already replaced a black cartridge and re-ordered color cartridges to be ready for replacement since we bought the printer in July, 2009. Level indicators on the LCD screen visually indicate when a cartridge is getting low.
Price, Quality and Performance: Excellent for home or business if you're not looking for a workhorse printer to run 60% of a workday! For a $150, 5 cartridges, 5 functions, and decent speed, we think this printer was a bargain!
The printer case is a thinner plastic, painted to look like brushed nickel, but what isn't these days for this price? There are a lot of moving parts so the printer does take some prep time to warm up or shift 'gears' when a function is requested. Once that happens, the speed to complete any task is a matter of seconds.
The LCD display is a nice feature since it communicates concise text to convey the message. So far no obscure errors that don't mean anything have appeared.
Functions that haven't been used yet or enough to comment:
1) how fast the printer completes multiple print requests from multiple users.
2) quality of photo scanning experience with scanning.
3) how well the copier creates reduced or enlarged copies
4) how well the copies handles various types of paper media
5) If we can successfully use the printer on a network of 1 PC (Windows 7, and wireless laptop and PC with Windows XP).
A recent upgrade to Windows 7 on the PC hardwired to the modem, has caused some problems. One of our PC requires an upgrade to the wireless equipment and hasn't arrived. We haven't successfully re-connected all three computers to use this printer with one of them using Windows 7 now via the network as we had in the past. Will keep you posted after we remove
and completely reinstall our network on all three computers.
6) Whether printer jams become a problem (so far have not had any).
Up until now our experience has been with an HP1020 laser printer (our workhorse if we need it; although not wireless) and an HP Inkjet 932 (now just a printer we'll use until it quits).
In comparison to either of the printers we already have, the MX860 has definitely surpassed our expectations.
1) Wireless capability
2) Scan photographs and documents (flatbed or autofeeder)
3) Fax (flatbed or auto-feeder) (250 fax page memory capacity)
4) Copy (flatbed or auto-feeder)
5) Print in color
6) Built-in card reader
7) Inexpensive
8) Peform quickly
9) Decent quality for the price
Installation: The printer is packaged well. There are several places inside the printer where packing material was placed to avoid movement in transit. Had a techie friend of my son's install the printer on a network which took about 2 hours, from unpacking to setup and connect on 3 networked PCs (one hardwired PC, one wireless laptop, one wireless PC).
Note: If setting up for WiFi, plug in a USB, then install the CD and follow the install instructions on screen. Other reviewers have commented that using the printed manual for WiFi hookup is not recommended.
Figuring out what changes were needed in Comodo's firewall setup to use the printer on an in-home network took the most time.
Registration: No problems until I tried to find the serial number. The website was not helpful since an image did not appear. The image in the manual is misleading. Lift the scanner cover and you'll find the serial number in the middle of the scanning surface, rather than farther to the edge than described in print. The numbers are in a very small font and tricky to read if you have bi-focals.
Location: The printer is a monster that completely covers the surface of an end-table. We have a large glass-top computer table with only small speakers, the monitor and keyboard on top. The printer would devour most of the open work space. Don't expect this printer to fit on your work surface.
Functions:
Fax speed is fast. With one phone line though, we have the fax line plugged in only when transmitting. If left plugged in, the fax tries to receive incoming phone calls. We haven't investigated if this can be prevented or if there is a switch on the printer to avoid this problem. We don't fax often enough to be concerned.
Scanning photos or documents doesn't require much of a learning curve. I'm new to scanning and the on-screen instructions made it easy to learn quickly. So far I have no complaints with the quality of photos I scanned.
Beware: this scanner has excellent eyesight! If specs of dust are on your photo or the scanning surface (especially the dust you can't see), the nasty buggers appear in your digitized file.
Because there are a lot of crevices on the outside of this printer and several internal moving mechanisms, we've kept the printer covered when not in use. We have cats that like to be near us while working on the computer and that fine cat fur always manages to get everywhere we don't want it.
Copying and Printing: The printer arrives with 5 full-size cartridges: 3 color and two black (one used only for color printing with color inks), and for the overall price, it's a great deal! There is an audio signal when the printer is out of paper. Another plus if you happen to be initiating a print function from another room. The 150-sheet print tray looks inadequate, but for our needs it's fine. This model does not come with an additional tray option.
Duplexing is a nice feature and the auto feeder holds 35 sheets.
I have not printed any photos yet, although some sample 4x6 photo paper is provided. Other reviews mention that it's best to use Canon photo printer as other brands may curl.
Best advice about ink usage is if you don't need color or best quality, don't use it. My husband uses this printer for printing and faxing for his business, our high schooler for color printing text and images for presentations and homework and I use it for scanning photos and documents. We've already replaced a black cartridge and re-ordered color cartridges to be ready for replacement since we bought the printer in July, 2009. Level indicators on the LCD screen visually indicate when a cartridge is getting low.
Price, Quality and Performance: Excellent for home or business if you're not looking for a workhorse printer to run 60% of a workday! For a $150, 5 cartridges, 5 functions, and decent speed, we think this printer was a bargain!
The printer case is a thinner plastic, painted to look like brushed nickel, but what isn't these days for this price? There are a lot of moving parts so the printer does take some prep time to warm up or shift 'gears' when a function is requested. Once that happens, the speed to complete any task is a matter of seconds.
The LCD display is a nice feature since it communicates concise text to convey the message. So far no obscure errors that don't mean anything have appeared.
Functions that haven't been used yet or enough to comment:
1) how fast the printer completes multiple print requests from multiple users.
2) quality of photo scanning experience with scanning.
3) how well the copier creates reduced or enlarged copies
4) how well the copies handles various types of paper media
5) If we can successfully use the printer on a network of 1 PC (Windows 7, and wireless laptop and PC with Windows XP).
A recent upgrade to Windows 7 on the PC hardwired to the modem, has caused some problems. One of our PC requires an upgrade to the wireless equipment and hasn't arrived. We haven't successfully re-connected all three computers to use this printer with one of them using Windows 7 now via the network as we had in the past. Will keep you posted after we remove
and completely reinstall our network on all three computers.
6) Whether printer jams become a problem (so far have not had any).
Up until now our experience has been with an HP1020 laser printer (our workhorse if we need it; although not wireless) and an HP Inkjet 932 (now just a printer we'll use until it quits).
In comparison to either of the printers we already have, the MX860 has definitely surpassed our expectations.
