Canon PIXMA MP230 Review - Canon PIXMA MP230 is aimed at people who don't need a top-spec MFP. You can't install it on a network or use it to print photos from a memory card, it won't send faxes and it doesn't even have a proper paper output tray. Instead, it's a compact no-nonsense device that focuses on basic prints, scans and copies. At less than £30 it sounds like a bargain.
The Canon PIXMA MP230 is tiny by MFP standards and it feels incredibly light, but it looks and feels basic rather than cheap or nasty. At the rear is a simple flip-up paper input tray which, when not in use, folds forward into a recess on the scanner's lid to stop dust getting into the printer. The scanner lid is thin and a bit flexible, but its hinges feel strong enough, and are engineered to allow perhaps 5mm or so of extension so that it can close on thick originals such as a magazine.
The scanner bed itself tilts up to give access to fit the ink cartridges, while at the right of the top panel are a set of simple controls and LED indicators to cover the essential functions, although we couldn't see how to make multiple copies at a time. In use this is quite a noisy MFP, with the print heads making quite a loud scraping noise as they pass repeatedly over the page.
The scanner is also appreciably louder than most, making a coarse racket as the head is positioned. Inkjets and scanners are usually quieter when working at higher quality settings where the heads must move more slowly, but the Canon MP230 is even noisy when printing photos at its highest quality setting. We can't remember the last time we tested a printer that couldn't print photos without borders, even on 6x4in paper.
The good news is that nothing else is missing. The Canon PIXMA MP230 Printer Drivers for printing and scanning, which means that it's easy to churn out jobs with typical settings, while more advanced options aren't too hard to find. For such a cheap printer the results were impressive. On plain paper, text was black and crisp while colours were solid and true without significant banding. We were also impressed with the sharp focus and accurate colours in scans, although the maximum 600x1,200dpi optical resolution rules out anything too creative or detailed.
Cheap printers often cost a lot to run, but with the Canon PIXMA MP230 this is only part true. At 3.5p, the black component of printing mixed pages is quite high, but the 4.9p colour component isn't bad, leading to a reasonable 8.5p per page cost overall. This isn't a great MFP for photo prints or scans, but it's perfect if you need a cheap and cheerful all-rounder as long as you don’t need Wi-Fi, this is a great printer.
Canon PIXMA MP230 Specifications:
Printer
- Print Speed (up to): 4 x 6 Borderless Photo: Approx. 40 seconds, Black:ESAT (Black) Approx. 7.0 ipm, Color:ESAT (Color) Approx. 4.8 ipm
- Number of Nozzles: Color: 1,152 / Black: 320 / Total: 1,472
- Picoliter Size (color): 2 and 5
- Print Resolution (Up to): Color:Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi, Black:Up to 600 x 600 dpi
- Paper Sizes: 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes
- Paper Compatibility: Plain: Plain Paper, Canon High Resolution Paper, Super High Gloss: Photo Paper Pro Platinum, Glossy: Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, Photo Paper Glossy, Semi-Gloss: Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss, Photo Paper Pro Luster, Matte: Matte Photo Paper, Envelope: U.S.# 10 Envelope
- Printer Features: Auto Photo Fix II, Calendar Print, Document Printing, Full HD Movie Print, Fun Filter Effects, My Image Garden, Photo Printing, Quiet Mode
- Output Tray Capacity: Auto Sheet Feeder: 100 Sheets
Copier
- Copy Speed (up to): FCOT(Color) Approx. 30 seconds
Scanner
- Scanner Type: Flatbed
- Scanning Element: Contact Image Sensor (CIS)
- Max. Resolutions: Optical:600 x 1200 dpi, Interpolated:19,200 x 19,200 dpi
- Color Depth: 48-bit internal/24-bit external
- Max. Document Size: 8.5 x 11.7
General
- Other Features: FINE Cartridge Hybrid Ink System, Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology, Quiet Mode
- OS Compatibility: Windows 7, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP1, Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3 32-bit, Intel processor and Mac OS X v10.5.8, 10.6, 10.79
- Standard Interface: Hi-Speed USB
- Software Included: Setup Software & User's Guide CD-ROM PIXMA MP230 Printer Driver Easy-WebPrint EX My Image Garden Quick Menu.
- Dimension (W x D x H): 17.5W x 13.0D x 6.0H
- Weight: 11.6 lbs