Canon Pixma MX310 All-In-One InkJet Printer

I actually had not planned on purchasing a new printer when I upgraded my computer to one that operated on Vista. I was actually quite happy with the performance of my HP 5610 deskjet printer. I had used it for many years with only several gripes. However, after making the switch to Vista, I learned that the "Printer Assistant" no longer worked, and I was unable to keep track of my ink levels. There were several other utilities that I no longer had available to me. A trip to the HP website revealed that they were only giving moderate support for this printer as far as drivers go, and I would not be able to see the full abilities of this printer again. It was time to make an unscheduled upgrade to my printer.

My needs were actually very simple, since my photo printer is a Canon ImagePROGRAF iPF5000 large format printer. This would take care of all my photo needs, so I just needed something that would be able to carry out utility printing, and letters. I went directly to HP to see what they had to offer since I had received such great service out of my previous HP. What I found really discouraged me. The build quality had suffered over the years and the printers now felt very flimsy and cheap. I had read some not too positive reviews about them as well. Personally, I had suffered from jams and multiple feeds from my last HP's so I decided to look elsewhere.

What I found was the Canon line of PIXMA printers. These were in my budget, and got consistently high reviews. The one I decided on was the MX310 all in one printer. My decision was made rather simple as my flatbed scanner was suffering from the same driver problems as my printer (although not quite as important). The MX310 allowed me to replace that scanner which I used both as a copier and scanner. There was also the added benefit of the fax capability with the Canon. I could have spent just a bit more money and purchased the next model up which had more color inks, but since photo work was not the need, this one with three ink colors and a black cartridge would do the job.

How Has it Worked Out?

I'll start by saying that the installation took about 45 minutes, although I was not watching the time. The physical setup is not bad, but will take a little while. Canon is very good about packaging their printers, and uses a lot of tape to keep all the doors and panels in place during shipping. The ink cartridges are easy to snap in. There is a lot of software that has to be installed with this printer to make use of all the functions, as well as the drivers. Everything went without a hitch and I was making test prints within the hour.

What I discovered is the text printing is very good, and near laser quality. I print my own business cards at home, and this was one of the first things that I did with the printer. The results were actually quite a bit better than the HP I had used previously. I utilize a single red line with my logo that suffered from a little ghosting when printed on the HP. The Canon made it nice and crisp, and everything looked to spring off the card. Print quality in "draft" mode is very good and on par with the "high" quality of the HP.

Copies work wonderful, which brings me to a neat feature of this printer that I would not have expected in the $120.00 price point. There is an automatic feed tray on the top that will feed single sheets across the platen to make the copies. While not near as fast as the big photocopiers found in large offices, the speed of this will be just fine for the home office. If you choose to position the document on the platen in a certain way, this can be done by lifting the top cover and laying the sheet down manually. Print quality is just as good when doing copies as it is printing straight from the saved file. It will copy in both black and white and in color. Canon states that you can make direct copies from a photograph onto photo paper with great results. I cannot confirm this, but imagine it is a fair possibility.

The fax machine is a bit of a bugaboo with this printer. If you leave it plugged into your main land line, you had better be quick to pick up the phone or the fax machine will kick in. This is a known issue and Canon has not done anything to fix the "problem" as of yet. I am not sure just how much of a problem this really is to tell you the truth. The fix is very easy, and is one that I have head Canon is telling customers with the issue. I just leave the phone jack unplugged when I do not need to use the fax. This is very easy for me as I will fax only a couple of times a year. However, even if I were faxing several times a day, I don't see this as being a deal breaker.

There OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software that is bundled in the package which does a great job of providing scanned images of files that can be edited in a word processor. While I haven't used this feature yet, I can see the benefits of it. I can also scan pictures, and other documents up to legal size for use in various programs on the computer.

Final Thoughts...

Is this the perfect do all printer? Probably not. Does it have its limitations? Of course. Does it work for me in a small office setting? Absolutely! What this printer does for me is a little bit of everything without tying up a lot of space. Its footprint is a bit bigger than the HP, but I now have a large section cleared where my scanner used to go, and the stand alone fax machine I had for a time...well, let's just say I have a big chunk of desk space back...enough to leave a laptop hooked up full time.

I am pleased with the quality of the print, and it has done a lot to instill confidence in Canon as a total imaging package. I can't speak on how this printer does with a "true" photo since that is not what I produce with this printer. However, after printing some advertising materials I am impressed with the color rendition of this printer. With only three colors available, it almost rivals my HP with six colors.

That brings me to the inks. I have heard that this printer goes through ink rather quickly. I can agree with that to a point. I have noticed that the color cartridge seems to be dropping in volume pretty quick after the printing of my advertising materials. However, it should be noted that much of this printing had similar colors, and the software measures the remaining ink levels from the lowest color. What I mean is, by printing lots of one of the colors, the other two might still be nearly full, but the cartridge is spent after that one color empties out. If I were going to be doing lots of color printing, or photo printing, I would want a printer with more ink tanks for less waste. This was a consideration I knew about before purchasing the printer and felt I could live with it. I was right...the black cartridge has held up very well over many document prints and copies.

Realistically, the ink capacity might not be that bad of an issue. I have been printing for about two months now and am only a bit lower than half on the color cartridge, and still have about 2/3 left on the black one. These cartridges can be picked up at Wal Mart for around $20.00 each. I keep one each in my cabinet as a spare for when one runs out. If the cartridges were more expensive, I would have a problem, but this really isn't that bad...and similar to what I was paying for my HP inks before.

I would also like to mention that this printer is a bit more involved to use than the HP, but despite all of the buttons and switches on the control panel, it is very easy to learn. I have been able to use all the functions except for the fax machine without referring to the manual. Most steps are actually prompted on the LCD display.

I think that this printer is a great choice for a document/utility printer in the home office, or small office setting. It is quick for what it is, and has great quality. At around $120.00 it is a strong value, and competes very well with the HP's that I have used in the past (when their quality was something to be proud of. The few little issues (fax line, and lack of color ink tanks) precludes me from giving this printer a five star rating as this could be very important to the buyer. However, for my needs, and my expectations, the Canon MX310 is a five star product all the way!