Canon Pixma MX512 Review: Nice Output, Pricey Black Ink - johnsonexacce

At a Glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Automatic duplex printing
Automatic papers feeder

Cons

Inefficient control board
Pricey black ink

Our Finding of fact

This competent, low-volume multifunction printer offers good output and pelt along, but costly black ink and some aim oddities are drawbacks.

The $150 (as of April 16, 2012) Canyon Pixma MX512 inkjet multifunction printer (copy/fax/print/skim) is a piece of a motley bag. Print timber–by from color graphics on plain report, which suffered from an excess of orange–seemed very hot. Output speeds were easily fast enough for a headquarters, and the unit sports Wi-Fi besides as an automatic duplexer. On the other hand, the control panel is incompetent and soiled ink is expensive.

We had no problem setting up the Pixma MX512, which offers triple-threat connectivity–USB, ethernet, and Wi-Fi. Canon provides its usual stable driver and software bundle, which includes OCR and many exposure-publication features. MS, MS Couple, Established Whole number, and USB/PictBridge ports are provided for offloading scans and direct exposure printing. The Windows printer properties dialog is exceptionally symptomless laid-come out of the closet, placing all the basic options connected the intense lozenge. (The Mac dialog follows the same inefficient multipage template that Apple forces along everyone.)

But while its software is nicely premeditated, the Pixma MX512's instrument panel has a Rube Goldberg aspect thereto–and that's being a little harsh on Rube's designs, which, though comically convoluted, are not confusing. Among the control panel's foibles are three intermittently used function buttons, an unpaired-feeling four-way rock 'n' roll musician, an inefficient layout that requires too much paw motility, and a keypad whose numbers are backlit only when requisite–though the buttons have none other use. The like-priced Canon Pixma MX410 has a far better control panel design though IT still suffers from the ternion dubious function buttons. Still, the 2.5-in nontouch LCD display is nice to have.

The Pixma MX512's paper treatment features are adequate for light use, with a 100-sheet paper tray, automatic duplexing, and a 30-flat solid self-locking document self-feeder for the scanner. However, scanning is single-sided only. The output tray is curiously designed: It's chunky, so that paper hangs o'er the edge and is stopped by the catch extending from the input tray below information technology. This arrangement works all but of the time, but occasionally a tack printed in the unit's speedy draft mode testament sail to the floor.

The Pixma MX512 uses Canon's 240 and 241 series ink cartridges. The PG-240 and CL-241 cartridges that come in the box are very low-capacity–delivering just 180 pages apiece–and they are currently non for sale in the United States. The replacement black ink costs are well above intermediate, just replacement colourize can be relatively inexpensive. The PG-240XL Extra Large fatal cartridge ($21) lasts for 300 pages, which works out to a pricey 7 cents per page. Meanwhile, at 6.3 cents per Page, the 600-paginate PG-240XXL ($38) black cartridge International Relations and Security Network't much cheaper.

The unified-colorize (three colors in extraordinary cartridge) CL-241XL costs $30 and lasts for 400 pages, surgery 7.5 cpp. Added to the XXL black that comes to a comparatively low-cost 13.8 cents for a quaternion-color page. Of course, the cost per page will growth if you don't use the three colors evenly, as you must replace the unified-color magazine when extraordinary of them runs out, even if plenty of the other two colors' ink remains.

If you've read PCWorld's other Canyon inkjet reviews, you won't be flabbergasted to read that our test prints of the Pixma MX512's colouration graphics had an orangish tint. This emphasis adds warmth to many subjects and the effect is quite subtle happening glossy pic paper, but along plain paper the spray-tan look that some human faces acquire can be annoying. Black person textual matter looked excellent–crisp and sharp–as did monochromous graphics, though the last mentioned had a purplish tint on plain paper and bordered connected reddish brown with glossy paper.

The Pixma MX512's speed South Korean won't take your breath away, but it usually won't have you drumming your fingers in anticipation, either. Monochrome pages (text and some graphics) impress at nearly 7 pages per atomlike on some the PC and Mac. Convention-size photos written at 2.6 ppm on plain paper and 1.1 ppm happening glossy paper. Full phase of the moon-page photos took 4 minutes to print, which is rather drawn-out even for a low-cost MFP. Our test scans and copies posted times that were a bit quicker than average.

Canyon makes some very nice multifunction printers, but the accompany's efforts to reinvent the board cook the Pixma MX512 more irksome to use than it should atomic number 4, and the pricey black ink testament dig up your bottom origin. The Blood brother MFC-J825DW has the same selling Mary Leontyne Pric, but offers cheaper inks and more features.