 Eats Toner and Hard to Set Up In Windows 7 |
| Review Date: August 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: John Frankosky, Portland, OR |
I have had this printer since November 2009. I have Windows 7 on two computers and could not get the printer drivers/software to work with both 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 7 (and I am a computer techie.) After a week of trying to install the drivers/software (with the disc supplied and updated downloads from Canon's support site) I had to pull out an old net book computer with Windows XP to get the printer to finally work. Way too much frustration with the initial setup. To this day Windows 7 is still telling me to install updates for the fax feature (which I do often but still Windows 7 thinks it needs to be installed.) Very bad initial impression.
But, my biggest frustration is the toner is gone quickly. I print maybe one or two sheets a week, if that many. I have Windows printer setup to print in Gray Scale as I rarely need to print in color. I have only printed two pictures in color this whole time. Still my color ink cartridges have depleted color ink without printing any color documents. The black ink also goes very quickly. I print in standard mode as I do not need fine print. Very dissatisfied with the way the printer uses color ink without printing in color and how quickly it uses black ink without printing a lot.
I have also tried to scan to a USB flash drive that you can plug into the printer. When I plug it in the printer says it recognizes it, then when I scan to the USB device it tells me there is no USB flash drive plugged in. I really wanted this feature.
The only positive I have is that it does duplex printing very well. On multiple page print outs I almost always choose to print both sides to save paper. This works very well on the printer. I also like how the printer paper printout tray will automatically open to output paper if I have closed it previously.
I bought this printer as a gold box deal and loved the price compared to other wireless printers. But, the installation problems were a big headache (which I can live with), but the way it eats color ink without printing in color, and eats black ink two to three times faster than my old HP inkjet makes this printer a costly purchase mistake. Sorry Canon, this will be the last printer product I purchase under your name. You need to care more about the consumer than to find ways to make more profit with toner. |
Save Time (and the planet).
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| Review Date: August 24, 2010 |
| Reviewer: S. Burton, |
Well, It's cheap and fairly high quality. It's amazing what you get for 150 bones today. This multi is no exception. With the correct paper it will print nice color images. The fax and scanner work adequately for their part. However... If you're buying this for the fax capability keep reading.
The problem with ink-jet technology; they make their money on the ink. Most savvy buyers know this. I know this. I have an ANCIENT HP Laserjet 4+ I bought from ebay WITH a toner cartridge for about $40. I used it with the included toner for a few years then bought a new one for about 80 bucks. That toner cart will last forever. I still have the printer. I bought this because I needed a fax and wanted to print the odd photo.
I am not here to complain about the cost of the ink or how quickly these printers exhaust their ink supply. Again these are known tradeoffs for the ultra-low price of ink-jet devices. I am here to complain about the fact Canon has purposely crippled this device to sell more ink. In the process they are also wasting my time and killing the planet. How? Stay with me:
The printer will receive faxes to memory and store them on-board in electronic format. --Nice feature.
The printer will scan documents and output a PDF which you can bring to the computer in several ways. --Nice feature
The printer WILL NOT allow you, in any way, to view a fax in electronic format. It wont generate a PDF. It won't store the fax on a USB/SD/Connected PC, it won't show you a preview. It FORCES you to print the fax or at least the first page of the fax. It CAN handle faxes electronically but it wont because Canon wants you to buy more ink!
In my case, I have a need to receive faxes and keep them in electronic format for easy storage and reference. This means I have to print EVERY fax I receive, take it from the printer's output tray and put it right back in device to scan it back in to the printer. This is an example of forced waste that I don't appreciate.
I emailed Canon, they verified that the device will not allow you to retrive the fax in electronic format. It's obvious that Canon does this to force you to print and use ink for the fax functionality. I think that sucks so I can't recommend this device.
I am now going back to an efax account. If you have a similar need regarding electronic files/faxes, I'd recommend buying an even cheaper, non fax device. Save on the phone line, save on the printer cost, save on the ink and save the planet a little tiny bit. |
great printer
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| Review Date: August 24, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Zoirusha, NY |
I work in a small research lab, and use the machine for printing out papers, scanning gels and photos and technical documentation.
I think it is wonderful - at least in comparison to an HP piece of junk I bought it to replace. The duplex feature is amazing - it never messes up the order, the pages never come out smeared (as was the case with my old printer). It has a bunch of pre-set modes for ink usage and such, and you can also program your own (which I have done). The menus are not cumbersome, so it is easy to change the settings on the fly. Print quality is great even on the lowest ink usage setting - and is simply wonderful when you use a "standard" or "high" quality setting. Paper is conveniently fed either from the cassette or from a rear tray. Scan quality is great.
Since I don't pay for cartridges, I can't really say whether it is economical. I have just printed 6 copies of a 200-page document (mostly text) on a "standard" setting and used 5 "big" black cartridges and 1 "small" black cartidge, and also had to replace magenta (but probably because it was already running low when I started printing). I like that the cartridges have a transparent window in them - so you can see that they are actually completely empty when you throw them out!
Another minor thing I like: when you install a new cartridge, it doesn't require that you print a test page - I hate waste!
Overall, highly recommend! |
GOOD PRODUCT
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| Review Date: August 23, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jordan Merchant, |
GOOD PRODUCT
INK DRIES OUT TOO FAST WHEN NOT IN USE, EASY TO SET UP, GREAT WIRELESS
AS A SCANNER IT USES TOO MUCH SPACE ON COMPUTER FOR SOFTWARE, BUT WORKS WELL AND EASY SETUP |
Ensure you get an extended warranty
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| Review Date: August 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: CJinMD, Maryland, USA |
| Purchased this printer at a discounted price and it stopped working within one week of installation. Ensure you get the extended warranty if you get one of these. |
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Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Photo Printer
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