Canon Pixma MX860 Printer Driver Download

Canon Pixma MX860 Printer Driver Download– When it comes quality records and photographs, Canon keeps on driving. Printing pictures over Wi-Fi is delayed with the MX860, but if you’re looking for a wireless all-in-one that can print, copy, scan, and fax–and prefer quiet operation over a sleek design– the $199 MX860 is the one. Your best bet.

Design

Especially compared to the Kodak ESP 7 and HP Officejet 6500, the MX860’s design looks dated. First, it’s huge, even for an all-in-one printer, at 19.4 x 17.1 x 8.9 inches. The matte gray exterior is perfect for a small office, but the glossy black finish of the ESP 7 and Officejet 6500 will blend easily in a home office. While the letter-size paper tray on the MX860 is quietly tucked into the printer, photo paper, and smaller paper must be loaded in the vertical tray on the back of the printer. While the design itself is functional, it adds a clunky feel to the MX860’s appearance.

The printer console has a small 2.5-inch LCD with a five-way navigation pad, a numeric pad (especially for faxes), stop, color, black-and-white buttons, and function-specific buttons for copying, faxing, scanning, etc. cards.

Canon Pixma MX860 Setup

Setting up an MX860 Wi-Fi connection takes more steps than a Lexmark X7675. We first had to connect the printer to our computer via USB and click through a series of windows in the onscreen wizard. We also had to scroll through a series of menus on the printer itself to verify the WLAN settings. Even the instructions in the attached booklet include a complex flowchart of what pages you should read. Depending on the type of connectivity you’re trying to achieve (Ethernet and USB are options too).

Print Performance and Speed

While printing, we tested both over a Wi-Fi network and a USB connection (you can also use the Ethernet cable to connect it to your router or access point, if you prefer). Our test documents included:

• A two-page Word document.
• A six-page PowerPoint presentation, including photos and color graphics.
• Two images, printed on 4 x 6 and 8.5 x 11-inch photo paper.

Over Wi-Fi, it took 30 seconds to print a Word document, 3:01 to print a six-page PowerPoint document, and 54 seconds to print a PDF. It took an average of 1:26 and 2:35 to print a 4 x 6 and 8.5 x 11-inch photo, respectively. Overall, the MX860 ranks second to last among the five wireless all-in-ones we tested, with an average Wi-Fi print time of 1:41 (compared to an average of 1:36).

This time increases when we print the same document via USB instead of Wi-Fi. The test took 24 seconds (Word doc), 50 seconds (PDF file), and 2:48 (PowerPoint presentation), respectively, with average print times of 1:09 for 4 x 6 prints and 2:19 for 8.5 x 11-inch photos. The average start time remains at 5 seconds for documents and about 30 seconds for photos. The MX680’s 1:30 average USB print time is slightly better than the 1:32 average, placing it in third place in this round for USB printing speeds. Both the Epson Workforce 600 and HP Officejet 6500 are significantly faster.

Print quality

While the MX860’s design and setup are rough around the edges compared to other $199 all-in-ones, its image quality beats it. Our 12-megapixel photos taken with our Nikon D90, which we printed on 8.5 x 11-inch photo paper, were sharp and glossy; we would not hesitate to place one of these prints in the frame. While someone with a keen eye might notice that the MX860’s photos look oversaturated next to the ESP 7 (which is also beautiful), we’d prefer to frame these more striking colors than the accurate but flatter ones the ESP 7.

When presented with other tasks, the MX860 produces consistently good image quality. Our black-and-white text documents never look faded. We’re pleased to see that our color PowerPoint presentations, which include many graphics and images, look less lined than other printers, especially the Lexmark X7675. Finally, while not perfect, PDF documents’ fine print looks less dirty than the X7675 or even the Kodak ESP 7.

Canon Pixma MX860 Ink

Printer black ink costs $14.99 to refill ($41.99 if you buy a three-pack). Unlike other printers, such as the X7675, the MX860 has three colored inks (cyan, magenta, and yellow), which you replace separately. They are $12.99 each, or you can buy them together for $47.99. That brings the cost per print to 19 cents for color prints and 5 cents for black-and-white documents.

More functionality

Like other all-in-ones, the MX860 has an implicit duplexer for paper saving, two-sided printing, and a scan goal of 2400 x 4800 dpi. Copiers have a standard decrease/extension scope of 25 to 400 percent. The fax machine can store up to 100-speed dials, which is standard, but the limit for 250 pages of incoming faxes is high. The paper tray holds 150 sheets, which is higher than the 100-sheet capacity of the ESP 7 and Workforce 600 but smaller than the 250-sheet tray of the HP Officejet 6500.

Software and Warranty

Using the Canon Solutions software, you can scan or import photos or print anything from single pictures to albums to stickers. There’s also a One-Click to Photo Print option, but that doesn’t make the photo printing process easier or faster than if you chose the standard photo printing option. In either case, you’ll go through three screens: selecting an image, paper and print size, and a layout. While the interface is more rugged (think Windows Explorer’s menu tree) than the Kodak software and doesn’t include editing features, it’s still easy to navigate.

Decision

Suppose you can live with the conservative, bulky design and slightly complicated setup of the Canon Pixma MX860. In that case, you’ll find it offers decent document printing speeds over Wi-Fi and the best quality of a $199 business all-in-one printer. The MX860 remains a strong choice for its image quality.