Customer Reviews

Canon Pixma MP520 Photo All-On-One Inkjet Printer (2178B002)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

It has both front and rear paper feeders. I can load two types of papers and/or envelops and select the source either with a button or through computer. This is the very best part. What I hate about HP printers: they all have only front feeder. Because front-fed papers must go a 180 degree sharp turn around, they are never able to do trouble-free envelop and double-side printing. Prints always miss top or bottom, because paper is fed either too fast or too slow, absolutely no consistency. If you print large international mailing labels/forms, you know what I mean. Paper jam is your routine with HP. Canon has no such problems at all, at least with its rear feeder.

It uses 4 separated ink cartridges for all 4 colors. With those 3-in-one cartridges, I was always scared to print graphics, because one color always went faster and the entire cartridge must be thrown away. Now I can just replace a single color and I can physically see ink level!!! Even better, these cartridges are very easy to refill. I must admit that the color cartridges popped out by themselves and I think I'll call Canon like the other reviewer. With HP, cartridges are built with print headers, making them very expensive, difficult to refill and, if doable, for few times only before the printer head got clogged and must be replaced.

More expensive Canon all-in-one, such as MP530, MP830 and MX700, are all way too huge! This one is still quite big compared to printer-only models, but I still can put it on my desktop fine. Because it is not so tall and has a flat top, I can put my stationary plate on it; so it is big but does not waste the space.

Cheaper Canon AIO, such as MX300 and MP470, all use the stupid cartridges like HP and you'll pay much more on ink! Before you buy a printer, make sure it uses at least 4 individual cartridges. For Canon current models, it means "8" series cartridges (CLI-8C/M/Y).

I can't list all the good points, just these are enough: only $110, lowest cost on ink, rear feeder (& front!) and not huge. It does all the things for me and it does them all well at the lowest cost. For some people, what it does not do: fax and CD/DVD printing (only for special and more expensive blank disks).

The very similar MP610 can print CD/DVD with an optional CD tray that you can buy from eBay or make your own. MP610 uses one more extra ink, a dye black for color printing for better contrast. MP520 uses only one pigmented black ink that's good for water resistance but slightly less ideal than dye ink for photos. Overall, MP610 produces doubled resolutions over MP520, which really does not matter to me as MP520's resolutions are already superb and it's 4 lb lighter, slightly smaller and $100 less than MP610 and one less ink tank to deal with.

MP610 can also do automatic duplexing while this MP520 can do it manually only. Auto duplex is very cool, but it is very slow compared to manual duplex, so you may end up seldom use it and miss nothing with a MP520.

So, if you do lots of top-quality photo and/or CD/DVD printing, then go with the MP610. If you need fax, add a MX300 just for that function for only $58 from Walmart; don't buy the MP530 etc. - they are huge! If you don't print much, MX300 is the one and the only one you need. Otherwise, stay with MP520. In any case, never go HP. Don't go Epson neither because their integrated printer heads (non-removable) tend to clog and no way to replace or fix. If a Cannon printer head (removable) gets clogged, you can easily take it out and clean it with a bottle of compressed air. I know what I'm talking about.

I had weird requirements. I use this printer at work and print out a lot.
1. I wanted a printer that didn't annoy you with boxes that came up telling you that it's printing. I can hear and I know when I hit print without a box coming up! This printer does not annoy me at all! You hit print and it just comes out .. PERFECT!
2. I wanted a printer that didn't have complicted software that would fail. Again -- you just print and it comes out. I've noticed that when I cancel print jobs, they actually cancel!!! It doesn't freeze up or anything!
3. I wanted a print cartridge that lasted a while. I print mostly black. This one has 4 print cartridges with different colors. I used to replace ink constantly with my last printer. I haven't changed any ink on this one yet. That's a miracle in itself.
4. I wanted a printer that printed fast and didn't had to warm up for 20 minutes to print. This one does warm up when you haven't used it in a while but no 20 minutes ... Just a little noise here and there and it starts up. After that things spit out amazingly fast.
5. I wanted a printer that could manage to copy faster than it would take me to get up and go to the copy machine. This one works pretty darn fast especially if it is alreay warmed up. It starts printing before it is even done scanning. I like.
6. I wanted the buttons to work independantly of the computer. I wanted to be able to copy without finding some application to do it on my computer. This one does. You can even pick color or black copying and still just hit 2 buttons. I hit the start for black/white copy two times in a row and it spits out.

And I noticed a bonus feature. I can actually choose if I want to load paper from the back or the front! I was amazed because I figured out I could load envelopes in the back and the regular paper in the front and not have to reload the two depending on what I was doing! I could hardly believe my eyes!

I noticed that the cheaper models use a different ink and that ink uses up quicker. If ink usage is your concern, I would buy this one -- The cheapest with the best ink. ENJOY!

I love this printer. The only weird thing is, just a few days after I started using it, one of the cartridges kept popping out of its cradle, so I would get a "ink cartridge not recognizable" error. I called Canon and they promptly sent me another cartridge, saying it was the culprit. A few days after that, the cartridge NEXT to the one I had problems with started doing the same thing. I called Canon again, and they sent me a replacement. That was several weeks ago, and I've had no other problems. It just seems strange to me that that happened. Anyway, other than that, I love the printer.

This machine is rated just behind two other Canons in last month's most popular Consumer Magazines, and even though it has been selling at a higher price than the MP610 (the #2 rated printer), it's still the best bet for many individuals--especially those who don't have a lot of extra space and don't plan to use the printer primarily for photography.

The advantages of the 610: 1. Faster printing; 2. Lower cost per page; 3. Larger monitor screen for editing photos; 4. Duplex printing; 5. Two black cartridges to insure richer, deeper colors.

The disadvantages of the 610: Its mammoth size and weight. No way I can use it on my desk as a regular printer, so speed and duplex printing are moot points. Moreover, 5 cartridges (including two blacks) is simply too many--it's impossible to keep them even close to equal in their expiration dates.

If you have the space, and if photography is a hobby, pick up the 610, but for many of us the 520 is the better bet. Either way, these machines are big loss leaders for Canon, coming with print cartridges equivalent to a third to half the price of the machine itself. The printer is a bargain, not worth getting overly fussed up about--the cost of ink is another matter, though,

I selected this printer based on a recent Consumer Reports review, which rated it #1. After reading the Canon web site and other reviews, I thought it would be wireless since Bluetooth was mentioned. To my surprise, you need to purchase a separate USB Bluetooth plug-in to be wireless! Otherwise, this printer is working very well.

I have a graphic design business and had an Epson Stylus Color 3000 which can print banners and 13x19 output. My need to print oversized output is nil now since most people will review proofs by PDF via Internet. I researched printers on AMAZON.com and decided on this one.

I LOVE IT. This printer is great. I have plan paper loaded in the back, and my stationery loaded in the front. I can print invoices so quickly. Doesn't seem like paper feed will become an issue on this printer (as it had with the EPSON) because of the way the printer is designed. Also doesn't seem the "charge" the ink each time you turn it on like the Epson did.

Its scans are very good quality and produced very quickly. My daughter is graduating from 8th grade. We had to supply photos for a slide show. I scanned some baby photos and they look absolutely awesome. Comparable quality to my former, slower flat bed scanner.

If you'll be doing a lot of photocopies, you might want to consider another unit, because this one takes about 1 minute to make a photocopy (I think it scans, then converts to a print file, then prints).

This printer was also a cinch to install. Be sure to buy a USB printer cable because one is not included with the printer.

This is an exceptional printer for the price. Moreover, the supplies are reasonably priced. Just be sure not to purchase the CLI-8 4 pack of ink wells (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) as the black in this pack is not the one used for the printer (this ink showed up in the recommended purchases on my screen when I was purchasing the printer). You need the PGI-5 black for this. At the time I purchased them, it was actually cheaper to purchase all the 3 required CLI-8 inks (I bought extras of each to have on hand) separately rather than buy the CLI-8 3 pack.

I have an Canon MP500, the closest thing to this that is now sold I think. It has one negative feature I think buyers of new Canon machines need to look out for. It has five ink cartridges of which two are black. A low ink warning comes on for each cartridge when it still has many weeks of ink left for my usage level. Even though I set the defaults to print black and white only, all of the ink cartridges quickly reach the waring level, so you are looking at a low ink warning that you must acknowledge most of the time even though plenty of ink is left. It is very irritating. You can of course keep plenty of expensive cartridges on hand and change them out frequently at some considerable cost, or you can put up with the irritation.

This printer is perfect but your probably saying why.
Let me explain.
1)First of all this printer uses ink tanks. Not ink cardtriges. So what do you get? You get ink that lasts almost forever compared to the other one. Get this one instead of the cheaper model. Your going to save money thanks to the ink.
2)The ink tanks on this lasts forever compared to the ink cartrigdes.
In all I you want an effienct, fast, printer and scanner loaded with quality and features look no further.

This is my third Canon printer and have been a long-time fan. This model doesn't disappoint. The only drawback is the need to use Canon branded ink cartridges. I have used generic cartridges in the past with good results, but the chip in the cartridges puts and end to that practice. Hopefully someone will figure out how to bypass the chip. But the printer/scanner is great.

Epson, I expected, contained a streak of altruism in their business plan. However after just over 2 years a perfectly workable printer ceased to function---the LED display disappeared which made the thing impossible to program. I also found myself repacing ink at an inordinate regularity so I began to do my homework.
After weeks of study, and review reading, I chose my Canon Pixma520. Seemed that I could find none who would knock the product and many who regaled its virtues.
The price was right, many underscored the lengnth of time that ink "tanks" lasted and simplicity seemed to be the watchword.
So far after two months, I have found that I made the correct choice. The printer, easthethically, is a proud addition to my office and has been a pleasure to operate. I do a great deal of digital picture taking using Picasa as my photo storage. The transfer to and from the printer is simple and seamless. The image quality is very good. The transfer, from printer, to computer via memory card, since the slots are so well placed, is a pleasure to operate.
As for availability of ink---that seems to be a slight burr in the saddle of all the printer manufacturers. Don't be surprised when you feel you have to get a loan, at the bank, to purchase the OEM ink. With a little searching I found a company with the hauntingly interesting name, Carrot Ink.com, who will save me a great deal with refill kits.
One word of caution. When to receive your purchase and attempt to load the driver you may find the instructions a bit ambiguous. I was forced to eMail questions regarding Canon's instructions. Expected to receive answers in 24 hours like Epson---Scuse me! Canon came back, immediately with the solution. That's customer service!

Am I happy and satisfied with my purchase from Amazon and Canon---YOU BET!!!!!!!!!!!!