Canon Pixma MX340Printer Review

Canon's newest PIXMA is a 4-
in-1 printer (print, scan, copy
and fax) readily available
for under £90.
Just like most of the latest
PIXMA models, the compact
MX340 is nicely styled in
cream and black, and with
the in and out trays shut it
won't occupy very much
space on a cabinet,
measuring 458 x 415 x
198mm and weighing close
to 8.6kg, which definitely
will not put your back out
whenever lifting it into
place.
This is obviously designed to
become a small business,
light use printer intended
for places of work which
don't need to create big
quantities of documents. On
top there exists a helpful
automatic document feeder
that is for up to 30 sheets
plus the primary input tray
at the rear keeps no more
than 100 sheets. The control
panel under the ADF has big,
obviously labelled buttons
plus printing instructions
may be issued directly, via
the mono, two-line LCD
menus or by way of the
provided software on your
computer.
Even though there is no
media card reader, a USB 2.
port is available near the
output tray intended for
servicing flash cards or
PictBridge digital camera
transfers. Maybe
unpredictably with this
price group, the MX340 has
Wi-Fi in addition to an
Ethernet connection, though
establishing the Wi-Fi link
calls for a LAN cable to get
you up and running. The
manual comes as a hard
copy and is also
incorporated on the
provided set up disk
together with Canon's
standard group of MP
Navigator and Easy-
PhotoPrint software.
When it comes to print rate,
Canon's promises are more
exact as compared to the
vast majority. Black text
documents of draft quality
managed 7ppm (in contrast
to the said 8.4ppm),
although this falls to 2ppm
at good quality. 10 x 15cm
pictures came up spot-on
the advocated 43 seconds
even the very best quality
reached a good 1 minute 20
seconds. A4 sized pictures
required merely 1 minute
50 seconds at the standard
level, climbing to 3 minutes
35 seconds at the highest
setting, and A4 copies
zoomed out in 55 seconds.
Even though the MX340's
performance in general is
impressive (the greatest
resolution is 4800 x
1200dpi), ink cartridge
consumption plus print
quality tend to be far less
stunning. In contrast to a
great many other All-in-
Ones, you will find simply
two ink cartridges: black,
and that is pigment based,
along with a dye based
colour cartridge which
brings together colours to
make black on non-text
output.
Black text documents are
very clear, sharp and bold
however photographs
possess a clearly yellow hue
while copies emerge
noticeably darker than the
originals. Additionally, the
furnished black cartridge
has only a 220 page life,
plus the colour has 244
pages, therefore you'll likely
need to invest in more
expensive high-yield, but
better value, alternatives.
Small businesses searching
for an affordable all-in-one
printer inclusive of fax
functionality will probably
be bowled over by the
PIXMA MX340's versatility,
Wi-Fi connection and speed
of operation, even though
its ink consumption is costly
and its colour quality
variable.