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Reviews: Color Laser Printers
Canon ImageClass MF8170C
B&W Pages per Min.: 16 • Color Pages per Min.: 4 • Max. B&W dpi: 1200-by-600 • Max. Color dpi: 2400-by-600 • Max. Scanning dpi: 1200 color / 600 B/W • Tray Capacity, pages: 375 • Price When Reviewed: $999
Canon ImageClass MF8170C (Front)
Canon ImageClass MF8170C (Front)
75.6 Good
Last updated
November 10, 2005
Test Center Reviewed by
Lisa Cekan
Pros
  • Excellent scan quality
  • Produces sharp and dark text
Cons
  • Middling network support
Pricing: Very Inexpensive: $999 (11/10/2005)
Performance: Fair: 68
Features: Fair: 63
Design: Very Good: 81
Pricing
Very Inexpensive: $999  
Performance
Fair: 68  
Text Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
Tested Text Speed (ppm) 10.6 
Three-Page Word Document (secs) 29.1 
Ten-Page Word Document (secs) 56.77 
Text Output Quality Very Good 
Color Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
Tested Color Speed (ppm) 1.9 
Two-Page Excel Document (secs) 55.96 
Three-Page PowerPoint Document (secs) 83.2 
Color Photo (secs) 50.34 
Color Output Quality Very Good 
Color Photo Printing (Glossy Paper, Best Settings)
Color Photo Quality Very Good 
Grayscale Printing (Plain Paper, Normal Settings)
One-Page Grayscale Graphic (secs) 23.57 
Grayscale Output Quality Very Good 
Lineart Printing (Plain Paper, Best Settings)
Line Art Output Quality Very Good 
Scan Tests (in seconds)
Preview Scan, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi 17.8 
Preview Scan, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi 17.79 
Preview Scan, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi 17.67 
Preview Scan, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi 17.79 
Final Scan Time, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi 17.4 
Copy Tests
One-Page Copy (secs) 21.63 
Copy Output Quality Very good 
Features
Fair: 63  
Memory (in MB)
RAM Installed 128 
Maximum Amount of RAM 128 
Dimensions
Dimensions 20.1 by 20.2 by 25.2 
Weight (pounds) 79.4 
Vendor Rated Speeds
B&W Pages per Min. 16 
Color Pages per Min.
Resolutions
Max. B&W dpi 1200-by-600 
Max. Color dpi 2400-by-600 
Language & Emulation
Printer Emulation Type GDI 
Interfaces
Parallel Port No 
Serial Port No 
USB 1.1 Yes 
USB 2.0 Yes 
Ethernet Yes 
PictBridge No 
Drivers
Macintosh No 
Windows 98 Yes 
Windows NT No 
Windows 2000 Yes 
Windows XP Yes 
Power
Maximum Power Draw (watts) 960 
Standby Power Draw (watts)
Multifunction Printer Specs
Scan Area (inches) 8.5-by-11.7 
Max. Scanning dpi 1200 color / 600 B/W 
Maximum Enhanced Scan Resolution (dpi) 9600-by-9600 
Scanning Image Sensor Type CCD 
Scanner Type Color flatbed 
Maximum Scan Color Depth 24-bit 
Maximum Scan Grayscale Depth 8-bit 
Fax Resolution (dpi) 406-by-391 
Fax Memory (pages) 256 
LCD Type Mono 
Paper Handling
Number of Input Trays, Standard
Number of Input Trays, Maximum
Tray Capacity, pages 375 
Maximum Sheets With Optional Paper Trays 375 
Manual Feed Slot No 
Maximum Paper Size Legal 
Output Tray Capacity 100 
Auto Duplexer No 
Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years) One 
Parts Warranty (years) One 
Weekday Support Hours 16 
Saturday Support Hours 10 
Sunday Support Hours
Toll-Free Support Yes 
Vendor-Supplied Data (in Pages)
Monthly Duty Cycle 30000 
Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category Readers rate Canon better than average in practically every reliability and support category. This stellar performance is even more impressive when you consider that Canon aced our last R&S survey too. 
Reliability of brand's products in this category
Reports of products arriving with problems Better than Average 
Reports of products with any significant problems Better than Average 
Reports of problems that render a product unusable Better than Average 
Buyers' rating of products ease-of-use Better than Average 
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category Better than Average 
Service & Support Quality
Time spent holding for phone support Better than Average 
Overall quality of vendor's phone support Better than Average 
Reports of problems unresolved after contacting service Average 
Overall quality of service Better than Average 
Design
Very Good: 81  

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