Canon PIXMA MP 530 Office All-in-One

reviewed by Robert Pritchett

I figured HP’s All-in-One we reviewed earlier could use some competition. I wanted to get a unit that has an automatic sheet feeder. And I don’t do a whole lot of photos, since I don’t really have a camera I can call my own yet.

With the MP530, instead of a bunch of memory card ports, there is a USB port in front for PictBridge connectivity for digital cameras. Instead of a Color LCD display for previewing pictures, there is an LCD display so copying and faxing can occur without being connected to a computer.

This machine does double-sided copying with sheet feeds either from the Automatic Document Feeder 30-page tray in front on the bottom or from the feed bin in the back. The top unit is not removable for large object to be copied, but it does lift up and does have an automatic sheet feed for copy or scan. Scans do 1200dpi and 48-bit color.

Faxing is from 33.6 Kbps in color or Black and White, takes 40 speed-dial codes and 150 incoming pages.

There is a combo-CD that has driver software for both Macs and non-Mac systems. The OCR app is the lite version of the OmniPage app from ScanSoft instead of the I.R.I.S. app that HP uses. I wanted to use the OmniPage Pro X app, but couldn’t get it to install over the LE version and Tech Support was not helpful. The OCR software does work well. And like HP with all the “invented here stuff” for interoperability between printer and computer, Canon also has their own proprietary interface with the MP Navigator. I’m guessing MP doesn’t mean Military Police, but perhaps rather, Multiple Printer – just a guess…

To open the system to see what is inside, the front has to be lifted from both sides. Deep in the bowels of the machine is a place for a solid-state printhead that has 1,856 nozzles for 9600x2400 color dpi. It sits below 5 Ink tanks that run $50 USD for a 4-pack (CLI-8) of B, C, M and Y (or a Photopack of those along with 240 sheets for the 4x6 glossies for $69 USD). A twinpack of the PGI-5BK (black tank) runs another $30 USD and so there are really two black reservoirs, plus 3 other colors, unlike the 6 colors over in the HP we reviewed earlier. Think heavy on print, copy, scan and fax and light on color printing. There is a place to do 4x6 glossies, but color photo printing doesn’t seem to be the real reason this $200 USD printer was created. I find that a bit odd coming from a company who’s reputation is pretty high in the digital photography world. But again, Canon has a plethora of printers. A veritable conucopia of Canons.

What is really, really cute is that there are LED glow light functions in the ink well handles, indicating they are good to go after being properly seated. When the red lights come on for each ink tank, they are seated properly.

It would be nice to figure out what the price per page is, but I don’t. C|Net guestimates about 2 cents per page, which is a lot less than the HP All-in-One (was something like 26 cents per page). And unlike some competitors, there are inkjet refill kits available; http://www.atlanticinkjet.com/ink-cartridge-refills-Canon-MultiPASS-MP530.asp that can reduced that cost per page down to an unbelievable 1 cent per page! On the other hand, I do know it prints fast. Real fast. Like one page every 2.1 seconds fast. I could get used to that. Faxes go at 3 seconds per page using the G3 modem with memory capacity to handle up to 150 incoming pages and if those are printed, total page print is about 300 pages before refilling both the tray and the bin. There is a button on the front panel to do that switch.

Unlike the HP AIO, the front control panel juts out and stays out. Just don’t try to use it as a handle for lifting the incredibly heavy lid to get inside the machine, okay? And the lower paper tray doesn’t slide in and out as easily as it probably should, so use it on a flat surface.

To get similar features as found in the HP we reviewed earlier, the MP830 comes closer to that level of functionality with an LCD display.

Prints? Acceptable. 9600x2400dpi is acceptable , isn’t it? Yeah, I thought so. By the way, what is a picoliter anyway? Glad you asked - http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci927661,00.html One millionth of a millionth. Many printers can do 2 to 25 picoliters. This one does 1 picoliter.

Now, if the printhead goes south, where do we get replacements? It doesn’t look like these are “consumables, like paper or ink. I’m guessing mail-order. The Apple inkjet from the early days (front end of the 1990s) cost over $300 for one print head and 4 were required.

Really, for $200 USD for an All-in-One, this is pretty darned good! I still remember paying over $2K for our first Apple color inkjet printer that only did one thing and not four back in 1993. A price that is 1/10^th and does 4 times as much? Yep, it’s worth it.