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Canon Pixma MX850 All-In-One Printer (31 PPM, 9600x2400 DPI, Color, PC/Mac)
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More…- Spec Navigator
- Printer Type
- Media Handling
- Vendor Rated Speeds
- Platform Support
- Dimensions
- General Features
- Green
- Resolutions
- Copying
- Scanning
- Faxing
- Warranty & Support
Media Handling
| Maximum paper size, height | 23 inches |
| Maximum paper size, width | 8.5 inches |
| Minimum paper size, height | 5 inches |
| Minimum paper size, width | 3.5 inches |
| Maximum sheet capacity with standard tray | 150 sheets |
| Media sizes accepted |
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| Paper handling support |
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| Standard input sheet capacity | 150 |
| ADF sheet capacity | 35 |
Vendor Rated Speeds
| Black-and-white print speed | 31 ppm |
| Black-and-white copy speed | 31 ppm |
| Color print speed | 24 ppm |
| Color copy speed | 24 ppm |
| Color photo print speed | 21 ppm |
| Maximum fax speed | 33.6 Kbps |
General Features
| Functions |
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| General features |
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| Interface connection |
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| Media slots |
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| Included network card |
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| PictBridge compatible | Yes |
Resolutions
| Black-and-white horizontal resolution | 600 dpi |
| Black-and-white vertical resolution | 600 dpi |
| Color vertical resolution | 2400 dpi |
| Color horizontal resolution | 9600 dpi |
Inkjets Print Photos Well, And Decent Looking Text, Too
Inkjet printers like this one are commonly used in a home or student setting as well as in a small office. Printing photos is their strongest suit, although they can also print decent to good-looking plain text. For the best results, you usually need to use specially coated papers.
Inkjet printers spray ink through microscopic nozzles arrayed on a print head. Because the printhead has to move back and forth across the page, inkjets can be slow--especially when printing those nice photos.
Ink type affects print quality. Dye-based inks (color dissolved in liquid) tend to create better-looking colors, but they’re less light- and water-resistant. Pigment-based inks (solid color particles suspended in liquid) create images that are more durable but not quite as colorful. Some inkjet printers use both: a pigment-based black for crisp text quality, for instance, but dye-based colors for better-looking graphics.
Ink cartridges come in two basic designs. The colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) can come in a unified “tricolor” cartridge or in separate cartridges. There’s always a separate black. The tricolor cartridges are more compact, but they’re also wasteful because you have to replace the entire cartridge whenever you run out of any one color. Some printers offer additional colors, such as light cyan or light magenta, to widen the color palette.
Creates a Wider Color Palette By Using a Wider Array of Ink Colors
This type of inkjet printer uses the basic four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) plus additional colors to create a wider color palette. The additional colors could be a second black (one pigment-based, one dye-based), or light cyan or light magenta, for example. Regardless of the number of inks available, differences in ink type and marking technology will affect how printed colors look.
The first three colors come in either a unified "tricolor" cartridge or in separate cartridges. Additional colors are usually separate, and black is always separate. The unified cartridges are more compact, but they’re also wasteful because you have to replace the entire cartridge whenever you run out of any one color.
Fax Capability Saves Space in Small Offices
This printer can also be used as a fax machine, a feature you'll find on some multifunction models. If you frequently send faxes, having a device that does both can save space in a small office. This printer may have just one phone jack for faxing, or two so it can also be used to place calls via a handset.
If faxing features are important to you, pay attention to fax-page and speed-dial memory -- 100 is the common capacity in both cases. Also look for fax transmission speed, resolution, and perhaps the ability to fax to networked computer.
Document Feeders a Big Convenience If You Scan Lots of Multi-page Documents
This multifunction printer contains an automatic document feeder (ADF) for feeding multi-page documents through the scanner. While users who make an occasional copy of a photo or document could get along with a plain old flatbed scanner, an ADF is essential for users who scan, copy, or fax a lot of multi-page documents. ADF capacity varies widely, from as little as 10 or 15 pages to 50 or more pages on higher-end machines, so consider the typical length of your documents when you look at this feature. Most ADFs can scan only one side of a document at a time ("simplex"); if you scan a lot of two-sided ("duplex") documents, a duplexing ADF would save you a lot of time.
Compatible with Macintosh and other Apple systems
Printers such as this model are compatible with computers designed by Apple, meaning it has at least one appropriate connection type and also has drivers written for the Mac OS X operating system.
Compatible with Microsoft Windows Operating System
Printers such as this model are compatible with computers that use the Microsoft Windows operating system, meaning it has at least one appropriate connection type and also has drivers written for Windows.
Compatible with Both Apple and Windows Operating Systems
Printers such as this model are compatible with computers designed by Apple that run either Mac OS X; or computers that use Microsoft Windows. In addition to having at least one appropriate connection for each computer platform, it should also come with drivers written for both operating systems.
Be Skeptical of Color Print Speed Claims
A printer's stated color print speed (expressed in pages per minute, or "ppm") should be taken with a grain of salt. Vendors often use contrived methods to arrive at such numbers. For instance, they might print in draft mode, which is faster than the default mode most people use. Or they'll exclude the first page out from a document's total print time, because its slower exit reflects the processing time needed to create the document image for the printer. Or they might send raw data straight to the printer, bypassing any application or PC processing time. The PC World Test Center uses dedicated testbed PCs and real-world applications to reflect actual use as closely as possible. We also time the document "from click to clunk" -- from the time we click the "Print" button to the time when the last page falls into the output tray.
Take black-and-white print speed times with a grain of salt
A printer's stated monochrome or "black-and-white" print speed (expressed in pages per minute, or "ppm") should be taken with a grain of salt. Vendors often use contrived methods to arrive at such numbers. For instance, they might print in draft mode, which is faster than the default mode most people use. Or they'll exclude the first page out from a document's total print time, because its slower exit reflects the processing time needed to create the document image for the printer. Or they might send raw data straight to the printer, bypassing any application or PC processing time. The PC World Test Center uses dedicated testbed PCs and real-world applications to reflect actual use as closely as possible. We also time the document "from click to clunk" -- from the time we click the "Print" button to the time when the last page falls into the output tray.
Scan and Enlarge Photos, Slides With Little Degradation
This scanner's optical scan resolution is high. In addition to scanning regular documents or photos at actual size (300x300 dpi or 600x600 dpi suffice for such tasks), it can also use these higher resolutions to scan something as detailed as photo or slide film and enlarge it digitally with good results. The image-file size also gets bigger, of course, so make sure you have enough storage space.
Ethernet Connection Ideal for Networking
This printer offers an Ethernet connection, the standard for networking in an office environment. Ethernet comes in many flavors, but all offer plenty of bandwidth, making it ideal for handling the traffic for anything from a handful to hundreds of users.
USB Interface Connects Quickly and Easily to Your Computer
This printer uses USB (Universal Serial Bus) to connect to your computer. Connecting a printer via USB is very easy; just remember not to do it until the installation routine tells you to -- or risk having to start over.
The original USB version 1.1 was slow: 12 Mbps (megabits per second). USB 2.0's faster bandwidth of 480 Mbps is plenty for a standalone printer.
If You Use a Sony Camera, Print Right From Its Memory Stick
This printer can read and write to Sony's proprietary flash memory devices called Memory Sticks, and with an adapter, could also support variants such as Memory Stick Pro, Duo, Pro Duo, and Micro. Few non-Sony devices use Memory Sticks, however, the company is so large that there's still a good chance you might need to read data from one someday.
Got an Olympus or Fujifilm digicam? Print Right From the xD Card
This printer has a media slot that accommodates xD-Picture cards, one of the removable storage devices used by (mostly Olympus and Fujifilm) digital cameras.
Allows Photos to Be Printed Right From Your Camera's SD Memory Card
This printer supports Secure Digital (SD) cards; the most common storage card format used by digital cameras. MiniSD and MicroSD cards can be read by using a basic adapter. A newer standard, SDHC (HC as in "high capacity") is not backward compatible, so the slot may not read these cards. The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It's also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.
If you use SD cards to store photos, you can insert the card into this slot to start printing photos (instead of hooking up your entire camera via a cable). Make sure that whatever printer you buy accommodates the storage format you use.
Print Photos Right From Your Compact Flash Memory Card
This printer has a media slot that accommodates Compact Flash (CF) cards, one of the removable storage devices used by (mostly digital SLR) cameras.
PictBridge Support Allows Printing From Camera to Printer -- No Computer Needed
This printer contains a PictBridge port, which looks identical to a USB port (and can sometimes be used for USB flash drives) but is designed specifically for connecting a PictBridge-compatible camera to the machine using a special cable. This is convenient for accessing pictures from your camera using the camera's own interface and software; however, a printer with a PictBridge port probably also has a media slot to accommodate your camera's storage card.
Average User Reviews for Canon Pixma MX850 All-In-One Printer (31 PPM, 9600x2400 DPI, Color, PC/Mac)
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
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Reviewed by: Grayhair
Duration of ownership: 7 Months
Strengths: Built in duplexing including for faxing, great text good photos.
Weaknesses: Really do not like the network setup, works ok but not that fast. Big
Overall: This is a replacement for a MP780 that got hit by an electrical storm, totaly satisfied. One minor problem when I first got it it seems that there was a problem with some of the printheads originally shipped. I had to clean the blact cartridge if the printer was not used everyday. Contacted Canon support on line via chat, determined it was the print head and sent me a free replacement in two days. Flawless since.
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: chris4u
Strengths: very good features, but..
Weaknesses: ..using the colour inks for grey and black makes it incredible expensive!
Overall: customer support from canon confirmed that..! Hard to believe: if a customer prints in black you for sure expect that the big black ink catridge is used, but no.. so these guys scams their customers. I m very dissapointed, had used canon products for years - but no more in the future..
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Reviewed by: aloha1_808
Strengths: Fast print speeds; excellent color reproduction; lots of features.
Weaknesses: Pricey; large and heavy; instruction manual could be clearer; no usb cable included
Overall: Set up the MX850 to replace a HP6310 I was having lots of problems with. The MX850 was much faster than any HP I've had in the past. I taped a color swatch to a paper and copied it. The machine was able to distinguish between the area covered by the tape and the unobstructed area. Fax speed was fast. Haven't had time to explore all of the features, but I'd recommend this unit without question. Best AiO I've had so far.
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Reviewed by: Sudhakar2k
Strengths: Simply put this machine is a great printer, copier, scanner, and fax machine. It also connects to home networks via an ethernet cable easily. It has a great variety of features and very few flaws.
Weaknesses: The main problem i have had with the machine is that it cannot differentiate between incoming telephone and faxes.
Overall: This all-in-one printer/copier/scanner/fax does a good job in every aspect. The printer is a high quality one and as good as any stand alone inkjet printer i have used at home. The Copier also works splendidly, although the copies come out a little lighter that i would like (requiring manual adjustments to darken each time). I haven't used the scanner that often, but when used the images were acceptable. Sames goes with the fax. There are some weaknesses with the printer. First the machine has trouble differentiating between an incoming telephone vs fax automatically. This requires me know in advance if a fax is coming, and i have to change the machine to "fax priority mode" to receive the fax. All other times i leave the machine in "telephone priority mode" so the fax machine doesn't pick up the call. Manually switching modes to recieve faxes (and not telephone calls) gets to be annoying. A second problem with the machine is that the flat bed scanner/copy/fax only accepts letter size paper. So if you want copy/scan/fax legal size paper you're out of luck. There is 2nd way to copy/scan/fax through a document feeder at the top. I don't know if that accepts legal size paper. Although there some weaknesses, this is still a great all-in-one printer. It has a lot of features, and does each one of them well. It has many features you don't find in other AIOs like a duplex printing, and network capability. The AIO is incredibly easy to setup on your home network. It connects to my wireless router via an ethernet connection, and i can print from the 3 computers around my house, although a USB connection is required to set up the printer initially. This printer uses 5 ink cartridges, (two black, and three color) and replacing all of them will set you back around $50. If you are patient you will find this printer on Amazon.com or Newegg.com for around $150 and at that price this all-in-one printer is an absolute steal.
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Reviewed by: caseyahenry
Strengths: Outstanding text quality, built-in duplexing and automatic document feeder, two paper trays, Mac (Leopard) compatibility
Weaknesses: Big and heavy, networking/sharing support could be improved, photo quality not fantastic
Overall: I purchased the MX850 as a replacement for a similar HP Photosmart 3310 that I had been using for several years with my Mac and Windows PCs. I was generally satisfied with the HP; it included built-in wireless networking and had outstanding photo quality. After upgrading to OS X 10.5 Leopard, however, the HP model was rendered useless for anything other than basic printing on my iMac, even with drivers updated for Leopard. I was very happy, therefore, to find that Canon's MX850 works flawlessly with my iMac running Leopard. The first thing you notice about the MX850 is its size; it's considerably larger and heavier than my HP multifunction printer. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you'll want to take note of the dimensions and make sure you have room for this device before purchasing. This is likely due to the added functionality Canon has squeezed into the device. It includes an auto duplexer, automatic document feeder, and two paper trays (one at bottom front and one on the back). If you frequently scan multi-page documents, print double-sided materials, or switch between two types/sources of paper, then this machine will undoubtedly prove very convenient. Printer output is very good, with a few caveats. Everyday printing is very speedy, and the text output of the MX850 is fantastic, giving some laser printers a run for their money. There is one caveat pertaining to duplex printing which causes duplex-printed text documents to appear dark gray instead of black. In order to reduce bleeding through on double-sided documents, the printer uses only colored inks (no black) for double-sided printing. If you prefer to print most of your documents using black ink only (which I would recommend in order to conserve the expensive colored inks), know that you won't be able to do so when printing in duplex mode. Unfortunately, the photo quality of the MX850 is not as outstanding as the text quality. It produces nice-looking (even frame-worthy) prints on photo paper, but you won't mistake them for professional prints. This is the one area where the Photosmart beats the MX850 hands-down. The other features of this device also work very well. Scan quality is very good, and the automatic document feeder makes it very easy to scan multiple-page documents. Fax capabilities are built in as well, and I was pleased to note the inclusion of speed dial and a standard telephone-style number pad for inputting numbers. The MX850 also includes network connectivity in the form of an ethernet port, but it would have been nice to see built-in WiFi networking included as well. Even though Canon includes fully-featured drivers for both Windows and Mac OS X, it's not possible to attach the device to a Mac and share it with Windows PCs (I was able to use Bonjour printer sharing and a generic driver to allow my Windows PCs to print to the device, but you don't have the ability to scan or to set or use any advanced device functions such as the duplexer or print quality settings). The MX850 is clearly designed with a home office environment in mind, as its advanced document-handling abilities and unexceptional photo quality suggest. If you're looking for a full-time photo printer, then you should look elsewhere; but if your scanning and printing needs routinely call for excellent text quality, convenient duplexing, scanning multipage documents, and the flexibility offered by two paper trays, then the MX850 will fit the bill perfectly.
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Reviewed by: vee08
Strengths: Works well, no excessive software to install, network connectivity.
Weaknesses: Supposedly uses color inks for two-sided printing, even for black and white documents. A little bulky.
Overall: Great printer so far, easy to setup with a ton of features. Have been using it to scan two-sided documents and it's blazing fast. Two paper feeders are great as I can load photo and copy paper and switch between the two on demand.Canon software is quite slim, unlike gigabytes of "stuff" HP printers require.
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