Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless Printer

Canon PIXMA MX860 on Manufacturer site User Reviews: On Amazon.com On Cnet.com On Newegg.com Check prices for Canon PIXMA MX860 on Shopzilla

Pros:

1. USB cable included.
2. Crisp, intuitive menus: very easy to navigate and follow. Things are where you think they will be.
3. There are two “go” buttons, one for color scans/copies/etc. and one for b/w, instead of having to change the settings every time (between color or b/w)
4. Canon PIXMA MX860 is quiet.
5. The Auto Document Feeder is especially nice for copying or printing. It handled 10-20 pages fine without problem. ADF 2sided – 2sided copying is a great time saver.
6. Text quality is nearly laser sharp, it is easily sharp enough to be used for business letters.
7. Software that works well.
8. Scanning straight to PDF is very good one.
9. The Pixma MX860 is a nice looking device, the interface is clean and very “tech” looking.
10. Good printing speed .
11. Reasonable price.
12. The dual paper feed is great. You can keep card stock or envelopes in the rear for printer pics/envelopes and regular paper in the cassette.
13. Photographs have good tonal gradation and overall appearance, however they don’t equal those from a high-end printer that’s specifically designed to print photographs. The difference, though, is slight.
14. Paper output tray automatically opens if closed when printing starts.

See larger image Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One office Printer (Office Product) List Price: $199.99 USD New From: $219.99 In Stock Used from: $94.00 In Stock

Cons:

1. Internal paper tray doesn’t handle photo media.
2. No wireless faxing.
3. The networking tool doesn’t work like a print server, you have to install specific cannon software on each computer – even if it’s on the same network it need the special canon sub-network installation.
4. The printer will not print at all if any one ink cartridge is empty. There are five ink cartridges and they all must have some sort of ink to print.
5. No paper manual.
6. Can’t produce proper copy of documents with margins less than 0.25 inches. Borderless copy doesn’t help. Partial Solution: If you have an 8.5×11 document with small margins that you want to copy, scan to PC first and then reprint, otherwise your margins will be partially cut off.
7. Can’t print from USB keys.
8. No document preview on copy and scan on the LCD.
9. High cost of inks.
10. Main black ink cartridge is small.
11. Small paper tray.
12. Duplex scanning and duplex copying does not work with multiple pages.
13. OmnipageSE not included starting with this model.
14. When manually entering a number to send a FAX you have to enter it TWICE to confirm it each time unless you store it in autodial.
15. The MX860 is physically large – pay attention to the dimensions if you’re short of space.
16. No negative scanning attachments .

Other user insights:

Wireless set up: use the manual setup through the USB connection if you have any security on your wireless network.

You DO need to follow the setup instructions carefully (it’s not complicated, but follow each step properly and you won’t have any issues), but once it’s all setup, wireless printing works flawlessly.

You can only use one network – wired or wireless – at once.

Fax set up: If you have any intention of using the fax capability – beware. You have 4 options for setting the fax up for incoming calls: one for Fax only and 3 options if using both as a fax and telephone. If set up in a telephone priority mode, you MUST be home to start the fax machine manually or it will ring no answer. If setting up in a Fax Priority Mode, the fax answers on the 2nd ring even if there is no fax and will not allow any phone in the house to pick-up EXCEPT the phone that is connected to the fax machine.

Solutions:

1. Get distinctive ring from the phone company (no thanks to that added monthly expense or
2. Buy a complete new cordless phone system for the house (7 units needed) and hook the base unit up to the fax machine.
3. Another reader has advised that if an answering machine is hooked up to the phone outlet on the fax machine, that the fax will answer after the answering machine has picked up. The key here is the answering machine HAS to be hooked up to the fax.

Professional verdict:

Canon’s Pixma MX860 color inkjet multifunction printer is a nicely equipped, moderately priced ($200 as of May 5, 2009) machine that would serve a small office well. Its older cousin, the Canon Pixma MX700, is faster and a little cheaper, but has fewer features. Read review on PCWorld.com

The Canon Pixma MX860′s auto-document feeder, large LCD screen, and quick print speeds are sure to increase your productivity, but it also includes plenty of software to nourish your creative interests. At $199, this multifunctional printer earns our recommendation. Read review on Cnet.com