Canon reveals new range of inkjet printers and MFPs

 

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Posted on 19 Aug 2009 at 17:35

Canon's inkjets are a regular fixture in Shopper's Editor's Choice recommendations and have traditionally won the lion's share of awards in our printer group tests. Canon has just announced a new range set for release in September, including the MP270 and MP490, entry-level MFPs with recommended prices of under £80.

These aren't over-burdened with features, but even the £69 MP270's basic specification of 4,800x1,200dpi maximum print resolution and 1,200x2,400dpi scanning is pretty decent, although it's the only MFP in the range without a built-in colour screen. Both use just one black and one tri-colour ink tank, though, which means that print costs may be higher than more expensive models that use single-colour ink tanks.

The MP550 and PIXMA MP560, which cost £129 and £149 respectively, have colour screens, scroll wheels, an 1pl print head nozzles that apply ink to the page with great precision. The MP560 also has 802.11g wireless networking. These two models will probably represent the sweet spot between purchase cost, running cost, features and quality.

That said, if you've got more to spend, Canon has more to offer you. At £169, the MP640 has both wired and wireless networking, duplex printing, DVD printing and two paper trays. The MP990 is even more expensive as a somewhat wince-inducing £329. It's aimed at photo printing enthusiasts and has an extra grey ink cartridge and a massive 3.8in screen.

If you prefer to use a separate printer and scanner, Canon's single-function A4 printers are great. The latest addition is the £109 Pixma iP4700, with four ink colours and a resolution of 9,600x2,400dpi. This appears to be a improved version of the Best Buy winning iP4600, so should be great for inexpensive home photo printing.

Finally, Canon has departed from its photo-printing theme with the Pixma iX7000, an A3 business inkjet designed to produce commercial-grade prints on plain paper. Most of Canon's A3 printers have been oriented towards photo printing, so this is a new direction for the company. However, at £399, it's significantly more expensive than most of HP's popular A3 Officejet printers.

All the inkjets' print speeds will be quoted in images per minute (ipm) in accordance with new testing standards (ISO/IEC 24734). The standard requires that a specific set of documents are printed at the printer's standard quality. The figures this produces are more representative of real-world use than the older pages per minute (ppm) measurements. Print speeds in ppm are designed to be as fast as possible. They often use low-quality draft settings and ignore the time taken to print the first few pages. This allows manufacturers to quote incredibly fast speeds, sometimes over 30ppm, for even the slowest of printers. These results can't usually be reproduced in the real world, while all ipm figures we've seen have accurately reflected the results of our own print speed tests. Canon has been using these figures in their inkjets since earlier this year, in MFPs like the MX 860.

Author: Kat Orphanides