All-In-One Printers

I have used an Epson for several years, being loyal to the brand, but have grown intolerant of the printing quality. No matter how much I calibrated the printer, I still go blue streaks everywhere for normal printing. Very frustrating.
'
The PIXMA MP280 has satisfied that need. It comes with a bunch of bells and whistles, but I was looking for something I would use every day to print, scan and copy, something to replace my Epson printer and Epson scanner (two separate components). This fit that need very well.

The price would lead you to believe that its quality is not very good. However, unless you're a photographer or graphic artist who requires really high resolution output onto really good paper, this is a fine addition to the office.

With that said, here are some notes:

First, you need to supply your own USB printer cable for this device. The printer does not come with one. Personally, I find this to be a huge miss. No... Read more

Pros:
- Sleek design
- Able to raise scanner top
- Automated paper output door
- Fast print speed for an inkjet
- Only uses two ink cartridges
- Easy set-up
- Cool printing/ scanning programs included

Cons:
- No usb cable included
- Loud printing noise
- No screen
- Uses ink fast
- Ink is slightly expensive

Overall:
Great printer for its price.

Using a PC, total set up time was about 30 minutes from unpacking to printing the first page. But it started out badly:

There was no USB Printer Cord in box, so if I didn't have an extra around the house, I wouldn't have been able to hook this up to my computer. There should have been a note that this would not be in the box, not just an omission of what IS in the box.

Ink cartridge insertion was very easy. I must say, btw, that I have a Canon PIXMA 1P4700 Premium Inkjet Photo Printer, and can easily compare the two. Insertion of the cartridges on the 4700 was very simple as well which is why I was interested in its "baby brother" for just fast, easy, ordinary print.

Color output - satisfactory. This printer is made for everyday printing, not hanging museum-quality prints on the wall. Does a nice job. But printing color pages was outrageously slow - only about 2 pages per minute. Ugh. The 4700 prints 9600 x 2400 dpi. This MP280 does a max of 4800... Read more