Final Take On The Canon Pixma MX310

One of my graduation presents a few years ago was a Canon Pixma MX310 All-in-One. I would like to share my take on the printer’s quality and features, having owned it myself for a few years now.

Faxing, printing, scanning and copying are features offered by the MX 310. I have used all the features rather extensively except for the fax component. I will address each in turn and then talk about some other considerations.

The print feature on the MX310 is excellent. The installation software was easy to comprehend and I was able to connect the printer and print a few test documents within minutes of opening the box. Printing is reasonably fast and doesn’t seem as prone to jams as other printers on the market. The ink usage is fairly high, unfortunately, and the cartridges cannot be refilled, but replacement ink is modestly priced and can be found online for as little as $22 at a reputable dealer like 4inkjets. For the tech geeks, it prints up to 600×600 dpi in monochrome at 22 pages/minute and 4800×1200 dpi in color at 17 pages/minute.

Copying is also easy. The ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) is reliable and holds up to 30 pages comfortably.. Quality, of course, is great, as would be expected from Canon-branded anything. The copying of photos to high-quality photo paper results in photos that are almost impossible to pick out from professionally-developed stills.

The scanner is of similar high quality. I do have an issue with the printer, however, when it comes to scanning. I have a lot of trouble getting the printer into scan mode. Sometimes I have to press the scan button several times and just sort of wait for the printer to decide when it wants to go into scan mode. After the scanning is complete, the quality, however, is great.

My experience with the fax is nonexistent. Online reviews seem to be mixed. People like the 20-number storage capacity, but don’t like how few options it has. Frankly, I would suggest looking elsewhere for reviews about the fax if you really care about its capabilities.

The biggest problem I have with the printer is its large size. The printer is gigantic. It extends over most of my desk! I can’t fit my laptop on my desk if the printer is on it. The printer is also very loud. Also, when the printer indicates it is low on ink, there are actually 30-40 pages left (from my experience). It’s not very eco-friendly, and I hope it wasn’t intentional on Canon’s part.

Pros: Quality prints, efficient functioning.

Cons: Uses a lot of ink, can’t use ink refill kits, difficult to find space for.

My final rating is 3 stars out of 5. Even though the quality and productivity are excellent, the cost to replace the ink and the large physical size is damning. It’s a good printer, but I will be looking for smaller, more efficient models when I buy my own.

Try inkcartridges.com for great deals on cheap ink cartridges.