Intro.

I was in the market for a printer to replace my old HP Deskjet 3845, its ink was empty so I thought it's wise to add a few $$ and get a newer/better one specially as I needed a new scanner too. My main concern in a printer is the output quality and price. Features like built in memory reader or large LCD etc.. don't matter to me because I wont use it, so reading reviews and asking friends and here on Neowin I felt like the Canon MP210 is the one to get at the $65 mark for an All-in-one device.

Product specs and features

Canon PIXMA MP210 @ Canon website

Package contents and photos

- Pixima MP210 All-in-one inkjet printer.
- Cartridges: PG-30 Black, CL-31 Color
- Power Cord
- Document/warranty/installation kit and 2 CDs.

As usual, no USB cable is included, so you will need to buy one too (standard printer USB2 cable).

(click on the image to see the full size)





Hardware Installation

It was easy, you take it out of the box (duh!), install the cartridges using the very simple instructions printed on the device body, install the drivers then connect the cables and you're ready to go.

Driver and Software

My PC runs Windows Vista SP1 RC 64-bit which may be a challenge to some printers but it's not the case for relatively new ones and the MP210 was no exception, though I didn't check the installation CD and grabbed the drivers off Canon website. The installation process was straightforward and trouble free.

Operation Notes

- The printers comes with small capacity cartridges, but it can take the larger ones (PG-40 for black and CL-41 for color).
- It has a feature called "Quiet Mode" which allows to reduce operating noise for night or silent operation.
- Printing noise is in the normal range but the scanner is noisy while previewing (though it's fast).
- Device takes some time to startup, around 20-30 seconds.

Output quality

For the printer: I'm very impressed, the print/color quality is much better than my old one (HP Deskjet 3845). I tried also to print a photo on a Canon glossy paper and I must say that I didn't expect a $65 printer to provide such a great output quality! I'd say it's a lab quality photo print if I like to stretch things up, but to be exact, very near to it!

This is a glossy print from the MP210 at the highest quality settings, and rescanned at 1200dpi using the MP210 too:



For the scanner: Nothing fancy, the scanning quality is great and I have nothing to complain about.

Scanning software interface (ran from inside Photoshop "File > Import > Canon MP210", output directly to a new document):



Download a PC Magazine cover scanned at 600dpi un-resized and un-edited (4796x6441 - 14.6 MB):



Verdict

I like the MP210, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an all-in-one device in the $65 price tag, and can sacrifice the LCD/memory reader and other advanced features in order to get decent quality and speed for a bargain.

Thanks

Printers nowadays are cheap and nice, what kills you are replacement cartridges.

going color laser is now the cheapest way you can pick up a HP 2600n on sale for like ~$250 sometimes

I like your photos.

Great review. I'm in the market for a new printer as well, and will deffinetely take this review into consideration.

Welcome all

Nice review. I just got the MP160 model for under $50 and I'm very happy with it. I think this one has a usb port too. Not like I'd ever use it.

A friend of mine has the MP160 too and it's how I know the world of cheap AND quality Canon all-in ones It's very similar to the MP210, the later only has improvement on the noise and speed side (tiny improvement), though they don't share the same design. But the MP160 comes with the larger ink cartridge already Good choice .

Great review. How is the Mac compatibility?

nice. i've been looking for an all-in-one. do you have any examples of the scans? also, does it have special scanning software or can you scan into a program like photoshop?

Thanks. Canon site states: OS Compatibility: Windows Vista™, Windows XP/2000 and Mac OS® X v.10.2.8 to 10.4.x. I don't have a Mac around so I can't really test compatibility with Leopard, sorry.



I just updated the "Output quality" section of the review with both samples from print and scan, including the software

thank you. the scans look great!

What a coincidence, I just received a Canon MP210 by amazon this morning.

Good quality and cheap! Although in your photo example the print has color level changes.

Congratulations.

Congratulations



Yes, there's a small color difference but totally expectable in this price (or may be it's the paper quality?), it's not a big deal for me since I don't print professionally, just for casual use Thanks Ayman.

Nice quality for this price. Same model in our town is cost $100 USD or more.

nice .