A few years ago, I received a Canon Pixma MX310 All-in-One Printer as a graduation present. I have owned one for several years and would like to take this moment to share my opinion on the printer’s worth to establish a buying suggestion.
The MX310 handles printing, scanning, copying and faxing. I am familiar with all of the printer’s components except for the Fax feature. I will talk about each feature individually and then discuss a few other printer considerations.
Printing with the MX310 is a snap. The software and manual are comprehensive and simple to get through and I was able to successfully connect the printer and print off a test document within minutes of opening the printer. Printing is reasonably fast and doesn’t seem as prone to jams as other printers on the market. Ink usage is rather high, unfortunately, and the ink cartridges cannot be refilled like many other popular models. Replacement ink is not badly priced online, however, where it can be found for as little as $22 from a reputable dealer like 4inkjets. For the tech geeks, it prints up to 600×600 dpi in monochrome at 22 pages/minute and 4800×1200 dpi in color at 17 pages/minute.
Copying is also easy. The document feeder holds up to 30 pages and the automatic feeder (ADF) works well. As would be expected from the quality Canon brandname, the copies and very crisp and clear. Professional-quality stills are approximated extremely well by copying photos onto professional-quality photo stock.
Scanning produces similar high-quality results. The scanning feature, however, has always given me cause for an issue. I always have trouble shfiting the printer into scanning mode. Sometimes I have to press the scan button several times and just sort of wait for the printer to decide when it wants to go into scan mode. After the scanning is complete, the quality, however, is great.
My experience with the fax is nonexistent. From what i’ve read online, reviews seem to be mixed. People like the 20-number storage capacity, but don’t like how few options it has. Frankly, I would suggest looking elsewhere for reviews about the fax if you really care about its capabilities.
The largest complaint I have with the printer is its awkwardly large size. The printer is gigantic. It sprawls over half of my desk! I can’t fit my laptop on my desk if the printer is on it. The printer also makes a lot of noise. The cartridge will probably still have around 30-40 pages of printing left in it when the low ink-refill light comes up. I don’t know if this in intentional on Canon’s part, but it’s not very eco-friendly.
Pros: Produces high-quality products, functions quickly and without jams.
Cons: Uses a lot of ink, can’t use ink refill kits, difficult to find space for.
Final verdict: 3/5. Although the printer has high prodcutivity, I just can’t afford to keep replacing ink at the rate I do, and the large size makes it difficult to fit onto a desk. It’s a good printer, but I will be looking for smaller, more efficient models when I buy my own.
Try inkcartridges.com for great deals on cheap ink cartridges.
