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Canon Pixma MG6450 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £100
inc VAT

A great inkjet MFP, although we'd have expected better paper handling for the price

Canon’s new Pixma MG6450 is a mid-range multifunction peripheral (MFP) with a bias towards creative home use. It replaces the MG6350, with the most obvious difference being that this model is slightly cheaper and is available in black, white or a strange metallic plum colour.

Like its predecessor, this MFP does without a fax modem or automatic document feeder, but there is support for wireless networks. Set up Wi-Fi networking, and you’ll be able to take advantage of Canon’s support for Google Cloud Print, Apple AirPrint, network printing from the company’s own mobile apps on Android or iOS, and printing by sending content to the printer’s unique email address. Further direct printing and scanning options take advantage of the all-in-one’s built-in memory card slot and 7.5cm colour screen.

Canon Pixma MG6450

The Pixma range has always been stylish, but it feels like the good looks of the MG6450 come at the expense of practicality. Access to the print heads and ink cartridges is through a narrow slot accessed by lifting up the entire control panel section; it’s neat, but there’s limited access so it can be hard to get cartridges lined up properly at the rear. While we had the same criticism of the outgoing MG6350, we liked that model’s practical touchscreen system. For the MG6450, Canon has fitted a screen and directional button controls. This is a little less elegant and intuitive than the previous model’s touchscreen, but it’s reasonably functional, if occasionally inconsistent.

Canon Pixma MG6450

Unfortunately, there are worse problems when it comes to this MFP’s paper handling. While there’s still automatic duplex (double-sided) printing, there’s now only a single paper tray that appears to be captive in the base of the printer. The front panel has to be kept open when it’s loaded with A4 paper, which could allow dust onto the stack over time. This problem is common to several of Canon’s lower-end Pixma models, but at £100, we expected the MG6350 to have better paper handling.

During our first print test the output tray didn’t seem able to contain A4 paper, allowing printed sheets to teeter over its edge like the bus in the Italian Job. Only after further examination did we uncover a paper stay concealed in the forward edge of the input tray, which extends to form a stop for printed pages over-running the output tray above. It’s a similar system to that used on several cheaper Pixmas, but while it works reasonably well it again seems rather basic at this price.

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Basic Specifications

Rating****
Maximum native print resolution4,800×1,200dpi
Max optical resolution1,200×2,400dpi
Output bit depth24-bit

Quoted Speeds

Quoted speed, mono A415.0ipm
Quoted speed, colour A49.7ipm

Tested Print Speeds

Time for two 10x8in photos 1.08m 51s
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.012m 40s

Physical and Environmental

Standard printer interfacesUSB, 802.11 b/g/n wireless
Optional printer interfacesnone
Size148x455x369mm
Weight6.4kg
Noise (in normal use)42.5dB(A)

Paper Handling

Maximum paper sizeup to A4
Maximum paper weight300gsm
Standard paper inputs1
Standard paper input capacity100
Maximum paper inputs1
Maximum paper input capacity100
Duplex (code, cost if option)Yes

General

Printer technologythermal inkjet
Supported operating systemsWindows XP/Vista/7/8, Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, iOS, Android, Windows RT
Other inkjet features7.5cm colour screen, Wireless PictBridge, cloud printing
Other inkjet optionsnone

Buying Information

Price£100
Consumable parts and prices£11 each
Price per colour A4 page5.1p
Quoted life of supplied black cartridgePGI-550PGBK (pigment black) 300 pages, CLI-551BK (dye black) 1,795 pages (est), ISO/IEC 24712
Quoted life of supplied colour cartridge(s)CLI-551C cyan 345 pages, CLI-551M magenta 306 pages, CLI-551Y yellow 347 pages (ISO/IEC 24712)
Quoted life of supplied photo cartridge(s)376 black, 125 cyan, 131 magenta, 127 yellow photos
Warrantyone year RTB
Supplierhttp://www.argos.co.uk
Detailswww.canon.co.uk

Print Quality

Number of ink colours5
Number of ink cartridges5
Maximum number of ink colours5
Maximum number of cartridges5
Quoted photo durability30 years
Quoted photo durability sourceCanon

Tested Scan Speeds

Full scan area preview12s
A4 document at 150dpi14s
A4 document at 300dpi46s
6x4in photo at 600dpi1m 19s
6x4in photo at 1200dpi4m 11s

Tested Copy Speeds

Time for single A4 mono copy 1.021s
Time for single A4 colour copy 1.030s
Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0N/A

Photo Features

PictBridge supportNo
Borderless printingup to A4
Direct (PC-less) printingYes
Supported memory cardsSD Card, Memory Stick PRO/Duo
CD printingNo

Copy Features

Maximum number of copies99

Fax Features

Max mono fax resolutionN/A
Fax memory (maximum mono pages)N/A