Price (at time of review): $149.99
Key Specs
| Ink jet USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, PictBridge, optional Bluetooth 8.5x14 2400x9600 600x600 2400x4800 optical; 19,200x19,200 interpolated no 2.5 inches 6.9x 14.5x17. 7 inches 18.7 pounds |
Review
Review Date: November 2008
Canon pulls out all the stops with its $149.99 Pixma MP620. This all-in-one printer offers every connection option under the sun, better-than-average print quality, and a few surprising extras.
With its black-and-gray finish and rounded edges, the MP620 doesn’t look like a typical low-cost printer. At 18.7 pounds, it’s also heavier—and potentially sturdier—than many competing models. Although the built-in 2.5-inch LCD is small, its 230,000 pixels convey a fair amount of information. The scan preview is detailed enough to help you judge how the image will be positioned on the printed page. The scrolling selection wheel makes navigating the menus easy. Highlights include the ability to initiate a scan from the printer and route the scan to a memory card, USB-attached flash drive, or networked computer. Another nice touch: The paper output tray automatically opens when you print or copy.
Canon offers a full slate of connection options for the MP620. Out of the box, it supports USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and PictBridge. Canon’s optional $49.99 BU-30 adapter adds Bluetooth compatibility to the mix. If you have an older digital single-lens-reflex camera (dSLR) that uses CompactFlash cards, you’ll appreciate the fact that Canon has included support for CompactFlash in the MP620’s three memory-card slots (17 formats are accepted in all).
With so many options, installing drivers can be confusing. Partway through the software installation, you’ll have to choose between three connection options that aren’t well-explained. Fortunately, the manual is a better guide; it contains a flowchart with step-by-step instructions for the different network-connection setups. The MP620’s print engine has a native 2,400x9,600 color resolution and 600x600 black resolution. The scan engine has a 2,400x4,800 optical resolution and 19,200x19,200 interpolated resolution (yes, take that claim with a grain of salt). Scans are input to 24-bit color but processed out to 48-bit color. The MP620 doesn’t have fax capabilities.
This printer uses five color ink tanks, which helps you save on ink costs. The inks are rated for up to 300 years when stored in an album or 30 years when displayed in a glass frame. Unfortunately, we were not able to determine the cost per page because the MP620 uses a new line of replacement ink tanks. At press time, Canon didn’t have an estimate as to how many pages can be printed with a tank of ink.
For all its features and connectivity options, the MP620 isn’t exactly a speed demon. Overall, the speed is right in line with its price (just a little faster than the $129 HP Photosmart C4580), but that doesn’t mean we’re satisfied with it. Our 10-page document with a mix of text and images clocked in at 2 minutes and 41 seconds, while the 20-page text document took 3 minutes and 31 seconds. A 4x6-inch photo printed in 1 minute and 4 seconds on photo paper using the best-quality setting. After switching to regular paper and the regular-quality setting, the photo printed in 31 seconds. The unit’s copy speeds were more typical—48 seconds for color and 33 seconds for black-and-white. A full page of black text scanned in at a fast 14 seconds. Compare that with the admittedly more expensive $299 Epson Artisan 800, our current Editors’ Choice, which managed a 10-page document in 1 minute and 20 seconds and copied a black-and-white document in just 12 seconds.
When we used the regular-quality print setting, text was legible down to 3.5-point type, though the individual letters were slightly pixilated. The text was also a tad too light, especially in color. We liked how the MP620 handled text when printing in high-quality mode, though print speeds slowed to a crawl. Our 10-page test document jumped from 2 minutes and 41 seconds to a whopping 17 minutes and 9 seconds when we switched to that mode. Some printed images had intermittent dark lines using the regular-quality setting. We were much more impressed with the high-quality print setting, which produced laser-quality text and near-flawless reproduction of graphics. On regular paper, our color photos were well-saturated and lifelike. On photo paper, the colors were even richer and showed an increased sense of depth, though some photos displayed a bit too much contrast, which tended to squeeze out detail.
Overall, this is a strong printer in terms of connectivity, photo quality, and photo longevity. If speed is a priority and you can swing $300, we highly recommend the Epson Artisan 800. But if $150 is all you want to spend and you don’t mind the wait, the Canon Pixma MP620 won’t disappoint.
Price (at time of review): $149.99
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