![Canon PIXMA TS6420a All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer [Print, Copy, Scan], Works with Alexa](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61x6KTFR8yL._SR75,75_.jpg)
![Canon PIXMA G620 Wireless MegaTank Photo All-in-One Printer [Print, Copy, Scan], Black,Works with Alexa](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31W+8GDKNLL._AC_.jpg)
I've owned an HP color LaserJet for quite some time now, but the only problem is that is streaks. Something is wrong with the fuser/toner cartridges and despite me getting a local printer/copier technician to look at it, he thinks it can't be fixed. Not wanting to spend any more money trying to get it repaired, I'm just holding onto it until the toner runs out.
But recently, my my wife is planning on going back to college. Back to college means writing papers, printing out stuff, and all that jazz and she needed a printer that didn't have a huge streak going down each sheet. On top of that, she wanted a printer that was capable of copying/scanning. Having procrastinated for a while now, I did notice that another Canon Pixma (PIXMA MG6220) was the Gold Box Deal of the Day. That printer retailed $199.99 but was on sale for $59.99. Instead of pulling the trigger on it, I decided to wait until she woke up. Unfortunately, that printer sold out lightning fast. When I checked back, some kind of Toshiba laptop was the replacement product. She was upset, but told me to keep an eye out for another deal. Luckily, I checked Amazon that night and saw this printer (PIXMA MG5320) replaced that Toshiba laptop. The only difference is that it was the model down and was $2 cheaper. Not willing to lose out on it, I pulled the trigger.
[ COMPARISONS ]
Comparing the whitepaper documents on the MG5320 vs the MG6220 I lost out on earlier that day, they seem to do the EXACT same thing (print speeds, DPI, duplex printing, etc) with the exception of 4 things:
1) 5 individual inks vs 6 individual inks (the MG6220 has the gray cartridge)
2) a non-touch screen vs touch screen (big whoop)
3) No Ethernet (WiFi Only) vs Ethernet + WiFi (oh no)
4) No Google Cloud Print Ready vs Google Cloud Print Ready (I have easily bypassed this to make it available on my printer).
So for 3 out of 4 functions missing, was it worth $2 (gold box price difference)? Yes. Is it worth $50 price difference (if you bought it retail)? Probably not.
[ SETUP ]
From unboxing to setup completion, it took me about 35 minutes. That setup includes removing all the tape/wrapping, putting in the ink cartridges in, powering it on, connecting it to my PC via USB, and then running the calibration steps required before actual printing. Since I connected it via USB, I have Windows 7 and it automatically recognized the printer and set it up for me. Of course, my wife likes having those diagnostic tools/software that comes with printers, so I installed that on my computer. I will say it's not as bad as past software/tools from previous printers I owned (Lexmark & HP). It's less bulky and the software is less intrusive. It's less "bloatware" than other bloatware drivers that usually accompany printers.
As long as you have Wifi in your home, setting it up is a breeze. All you need to know is your wifi network's SSID and the password. That's it. Type those in correctly and it will join your network and allows you to utilize Google Cloud Printing, Airprinting, printing over the network.
[ PRINTING ]
In terms of printing you have the option of regular paper (on the bottom tray) or photo paper (on the top tray). There is a CD tray for printing onto CD/DVDs/etc (you must have a printable CD-R/DVD-R). So as long as you buy those disc, you never have to buy one of those label stickers.
Printing on plain paper (I just use generic copier paper for my HP Laserjet) is as good as printing with an inkjet gets. If you're wanting crisper text, you need to invest in paper that doesn't bleed as much. Remember, I'm going from a laser printer (which fuses toner) to an inkjet that sprays ink onto paper. Obviously my Laserjet looks crisper, but I can fix that by getting higher quality paper.
Photo printing is awesome. With the printer came a sample pack of about 10 4 x 6 sheets. If you're wondering what it is specifically, it is the Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, 4 x 6 Inches, 100 Sheets (2311B023). Having printed photos dozens of times at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, the quality of the photos are as good as ones you get professionally done. HOWEVER, there are a few things I need to point out.
1. This printer is a 9600 maximum dpi printer. The higher the dpi when you print photos on photo quality paper, the higher the detail.
2. When you print photos, you need EXCELLENT quality photos AKA straight from the digital camera or high megapixel camera. My wife tried to print a couple photos she pulled from Facebook. They looked absolutely horrible due to the compression that Facebook does by default unless you check the option to upload in high resolution. This option is *ONLY* available on Facebook's webpage. The mobile versions do not allow you to do this. Because of that, the majority of floating facebook photos out there are not in high quality. Again, the artifacts (square blocks, uneven colors/detail) from compression (like the photos on facebook) will be very very visible when you print on high resolution and/or photo paper.
Other printing features (such as templates) are bundled in the application (on the setup CD) and also on built into the printer itself. Such templates include the following: calendars, photo albums, lined papers (such as notebook paper, graph paper, checklist paper, agendas, etc).
[ OTHER FEATURES ]
Google Cloud Print - This is fairly a new technology and even myself, a frequent user of Google technologies, rarely use this. I just don't see it as useful to print to my home printer when I'm not home unless I really needed something printed. Regardless, this model printer says it doesn't support Google Cloud Print, but there are ways around it if you set it up on your Google account. Of course by doing that, you have to leave your PC on and always connected to the Internet.
Apple Airprint - Having 2 iPhones and an iPad in the house, printing from the Apple devices makes printing more accessible. Because this printer supports Airprint, it automatically shows up on your Apple devices as long as you set up the PIXMA printer on your local home network AND your Apple devices are on the same network.
[ COPYING / SCANNING ]
Scanning is pretty good. We scanned a couple photographs just to test and it seemed to be good quality. It's really easy.
Copying is a snap. You put the document on the scanner, close the lid, and then press to either copy in black or color. Not much easier than that.
[ IMPORTANT NEED-TO-KNOWS TO SAVE INK ]
Not sure if they were engineered this way (I've seen other Canon printers in the past do this), but by default, regardless of if you print in black only (say a report for school), black colors come from mixing your color cartidges together. So when you read reviews that this is an INK HOG, it's because those reviewers don't know how to set up the printer. Actually I blame this with Canon, because the average consumer would not realize this. To remove it, it's a hassle, but it's a major step if you want to save $$$ on ink. I will attempt to put the link directly here BUT, Amazon removes external links. The link is here: [...]
If this is the case, then just go to Canon's website. Look for the PIXMA printer and then go to Support. Type in "black" in the support search box and the document you want to look for is "Print using black ink only". Long story short, to turn it off, it's a combination of two settings:
1. Media Type must ALWAYS be Plain Paper. Otherwise you'll use up all your colors to make up black.
2. Grayscale Printing must be enabled.
That's it.
Lastly, I would suggest you not turn this printer off and NOT use the power save feature. When you do, it goes through the standard cycle of cleaning the heads and prepping the printer for print. EVERYTIME the printer does this, it wastes a little bit of ink. So you have to ask your self, do you want to save on electricity or do you want to save on ink (remember ink is about $45 - $50 a pack unless you want to buy them individually for $13 - $14 each). Of course there are 3rd party ink cartridges, but I haven't blown through my original set yet, so time will tell.
Conserves energy compared to similar products.
As certified by
EPEAT
EPEAT certifies electronic products based on sustainability impacts across their lifecycle including requirements for energy efficiency and end of life management. An EPEAT registered product can also meet optional more ambitious criteria including reduction of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs). Products meeting 50% - 74% optional criteria are "Silver" and those meeting 75% or more are “Gold".
Certification Level
SILVER
