Customer Reviews

Canon Pixma MX310 Office All-in-One Inkjet Printer (2184B002)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

This is the 2nd Canon Multifunction I have owned. I previously had the MP390, which I thought was an excellent machine. The MX310 is superior and is worth every penny of the price ($99.99 on sale at BB) The print quality (text) is very good. Light earthtone colors appear to be somewhat washed out, but overall the color print quality is very good. The print is the fastest I've seen in a mutifunction. The fax was easy to set up. The copy function is quick with good copy quality. I have not had the opportunity to scan. This machine has a Tri-Color ink cartridge. I would prefer individual cartridges; however, at the price of the machine, I can live with the combo. The one reason I swear by Canon is their tech support, which has consistently been excellent. I had trouble with the driver install on the MX310. The tech support person was on the line within 10-15 seconds and was the most professional, polite and KNOWLEDGEABLE tech person I ever talked to. She actually made me feel as if I was important to Canon. The MX310 is a great value for the price, with typically good Canon quality.

This printer is pretty fast compared to my other Canon printer, a Pixma MP460.
It comes as specified on the Canon website for the MX310 model with a black and color ink cartridge, so the other reviewer must refer to a different model, stating that it only comes with one ink cartridge.
I tried out all functions and am very happy with the results at this price ($89 at amazon).
I have only one phone line, however did not have the same problem the other reviewer referred to. I set the fax to telephone priority and my answering machine will pick-up after 4 rings without interference from the fax.
The software installed without a hitch on my computer with Windows Vista.
The reason I did not give 5 stars is that the manual is very vague. I had to try out a few menu buttons to get the right settings without being able to find precise instructions in the manual.

I picked this up a week ago, and couldn't be happier. Set up and installation were extremely easy (I use Windows XP), and didn't take much time at all. I've used each function, and found them all to be effortless. Very easy to use printer, and for the price, I'm stunned with what you get here. Print quaility is fabulous, too - whether printing pictures or papers. Other reviews mentioned preferring a paper tray, and I'd agree, but then again the size would be bigger if a tray were added, and I love the size of this (smaller than many other all-in-one's). I wasn't sure how I'd like the paper holder, since I'm used to a tray, but it works just fine, and holds plenty of paper. It's quiet, easy to use, and just what I was looking for. I previously owned an HP all in one, and find this Canon much easier to use, with better quality printing. Highly recommend!

The Canon PIXMA MX310 is designed to be used by one or two people in a small office that requires only a few small print/copy/scan/fax jobs per day. In that realm, it performs very well. Having print, scan, copy and fax functions in a single device simplifies operations and saves a lot of desk space. If you need to handle larger print jobs (more than 10-20 pages a few times a day) or handle envelopes and small paper sizes efficiently, this may not be the device for you.

PROS
1. Attractive machine; looks good in my office.
2. Performs well as a printer, copier, scanner and fax - saves lots of desk space if you need all of these functions.
3. Good-quality output.
4. Works well with Windows.
5. Handles faxes nicely on a voice-priority telephone line.
6. Customer support was helpful.

CONS
1. Relatively noisy during operation; makes lots of strange noises before every print job.
2. Awkward paper handling: a) No permanently enclosed paper tray. b) Output tray on the front panel must be opened before printing occurs. c) By default, printed pages come out in reverse order. You must check the setting "Print from last page" to overcome this. d) Printing envelopes requires you to adjust a non-intuitive "Paper Thickness" lever that is hidden deep within the belly of the printer.
3. User manual could be more friendly.

UPDATE
I downgraded my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars because this printer consumes print cartridges way too fast!

This all-in-one is compatible with my Mac running Leopard 10.5, which is the main reason I bought it. A pleasant surprise is how great it makes scans - either on the platen for high-quality photos, or through the automated document feeder (ADF). It also makes great copies and crisp prints of written documents.

My one disappointment is with the fax feature: as with other reviewers, I'm having problems with the fax starting to pick up the moment people call in, even if we answer phones quickly and even if the scanner is set to "telephone priority" as the instruction manual recommends. (I'm also disappointed at how sketchy both the printed manual and the desktop help file is on faxing in general.) So I'll need to keep the phone line disconnected from the machine unless I'm expecting a fax. (I can't afford to get a second line for my fax.)

So if faxing's important to you, look elsewhere - but if you want a good-quality printer/scanner/copier that has an automated document feeder this is a good choice.

I deleted the review of when I first received the printer in which I gave it 4 stars. Since then, I was able to install and configure Canon's previous flagship, the MX850. This couple with the extra time I've spent with my MX310 was enough for me to lower it by one star, and tell you why.

I got this printer because I needed a fax machine. I tried to consider all Canon multi-functions, but their website is no help. Their Product Comparison feature is as useful to deciding which product is right for you as looking at detailed pictures of printers and their prices. Actually, that would be more useful. Judging by the information featured on the site, I figured that I didn't need the more expensive printers because I wouldn't use their extra features.

I'm happy with the print quality; happy that it doesn't jam like my old HP used to; happy that I can finally fax those pesky fax requesting insurance companies. The scan quality seems a bit lacking, but I've never used a scanner before so I can't be sure.

Here's one of my main issues with the product. Setting up the fax machine was not an easy experience. The screen on the Multifunction used to configure the fax machine isn't very intuitive. After using the MX850, trust me on this -- get a multifunction with a color LCD screen. The booklet wasn't the easiest to understand and the instructions were all over the place; I even had to visit a PDF Manual in the computer to properly set it up.

My other major complaint is on the software. Why do I need four different scanning programs? That's not nice. If I was someone who didn't know much about computers, I would get confused and frustrated about which one I should use. I don't like that they put such little thought into the consumer.

Another thing about the software is how it installs in the itself in the start menu. Why can't it just create a single folder and put all the things that have to do with the printer in there? It doesn't do that; it installs, even the manual, in a different folder in the start menu. It was nice of Canon to add clutter to my start menu.

These issues were very annoying when I first got it, but once everything was sorted out, I was happy overall. That is until I used the LCD screen on the MX850. It's now painful to use my small primitive monochrome screen when I think of what I could be using instead.

Wait, the review isn't over yet. There is one issue that I noticed on MX310 and the MX850 - difficulty in receiving faxes. These printers have a hard time distinguishing a voice call from a fax call. Even on Telephone Priority, they answer voice calls with the fax and then hang up on the person when it notices no fax info. When receiving a fax, they mistake it for a voice call. I'm still trying to figure this out. It will probably result in a call to Canon.

Update 9/20/08:
Sometime in August, I started to notice lines in my prints. I tried cleaning multiple times and even a deep cleaning cycle, but nothing happened. While its distracting, I can still read my documents fine.

Update 12/4/08:
After putting in a new black ink cartridge, the lines went away.

This is mt first Canon after going through a few HP printers for my home and SOHO use. I finally justified the purchase of an all-in-one, and this one does it really well. I read many reviews including quite a few HP models and one Brother.

Brother was the first one to go out. Even though the Bother had the network printing capability, the reliability and operating system compatibility turned out to be an issue based on my research. It might have worked, but why take the chance?

As for HPs. I've been mostly lucky with my HP printers so far. Keep in mind that getting my hands dirty by transplanting the guts of a notebook AC adapter to replace an HP printer's AC adapter is not a hassle, but fun to me. Yes, that happened, and I used an old HP deskjet after that surgery for years without a hickup. Anyways, no more HPs, as I already have a second one, and it looks like HP all-in-ones have reliability problems.

The Canon AIO is just great. Scanner is very good compared to my old Epson (which was promptly donated). You can adjust the DPI, and the software that comes with it is (get ready for a surprise) is quite useful! What a change after suffering useless HP software over the years. I love the ADF, and I use it a lot more than the platen to scan bunch of documents. No problems with any of the features so far.

There are two things I rarely miss on the Canon: network printing, and auto-reverser for double-sided printing. Hey, at this price, I don't get to complain, and quiter frankly, I don't expect it at this price range. The quality is excellent, and there are more features than I neeed. Remember you trips to the library to xerox paper copies in the grad school, and remember those fancy copy machines 10 years ago? Yeah, this has more features than those *fancy* copy machines.

I bought this about a month ago and it works like a charm - I use it to copy, fax, and print. The way to make it work right is to follow the instruction EXACTLY. If you don't have the know-how or the patience (it may take several hours), get someone to do it. If you take just one move out of sequence, you'll be in trouble. But, if you run programs and plug things in in the correct order, you will be rewarded with a finely tuned piece of equipment. This is definately NOT plug-n-play! Set it up when you have nothing to do some weekend.

The pros:

The scanner is GREAT. Sending faxes is very easy. Receiving is not so easy, but I don't do much of that anyway. The printing is easy and very high quality. Printing envelopes seems a little annoying (requires a little adjustment of the settings), but it works fine for how frequently I do it (once a week or so).

Cons:

They'll get you on the ink cartridges. Alot of places can't refill the cartridges for some reason. Additionally, this requires BOTH black AND color to print ANYTHING (even if you want to print just black, you need both in the printer).

Additionally, the UI is not the easiest, changing settings can be a little tricky and requires some trial and error every time I change it.

First, this IS a fax, printer, flatbed scanner, and copier unit. I find that too many of the item info sections don't specify whether a unit has a fax included for sure or not.

I love that the MX310 takes only ONE color cartridge instead of the 3 or 4 that most units are moving toward now. The tech support line reps have been quick-answering and friendly. For the most part, the 310 is easy to use. Make sure to check the "Use Scanner Driver" box (and set further settings), or you will get grainy/low quality scans despite seeing the "300 dpi" setting on one screen.

I did a lot of research online and talked with my salesman as well, and I'd highly recommend this product. I paid around $129 for mine before tax.