Canon Introduces New Flagship Pixma Multifunction
25th Jan 2008 – Canon's Pixma multifunction range has a new flagship: the Pixma MX850. This new all-in-one printer is priced at $279.99 and includes print, fax, scan and copying features, including double-sided copying; it includes an auto document feeder that can do dual-sided scanning automatically, and duplex printer output that can print on both sides of a piece of paper.
The printing engine of the MX850 is based on a 9600 by 2400 dots per inch resolution printing head with 4608 nozzles that can dispense as little as one pico-liter of ink. As well as conventional paper, the MX850 can also print onto Canon's new Photo Paper Glossy II paper, and Canon claims image quality that rivals photo labs.The MX850 also features a 2.5-inch LCD screen that allows it to act as a stand-alone printing device; ports are provided for CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SD Card and XD-Picture cards, as well at a PictBridge compatible USB port.
The MX850 uses 5 separate ink cartridges; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, plus a Pigment Black. Canon did not supply any details on how long each cartridge might last, but the individual cartridges are priced at between $14.25 and $16.25 direct from Canon.
Canon claims a print speed of approximately 21 seconds for a 4 by 6 borderless photo print, or 31 pages per minute (approx. 1.9 seconds per print) for black and white documents, or 24 pages per minute (approx. 2.5 seconds per print) for color documents.
For scanning, the MX850 can scan at a maximum resolution of 4800 by 9600 (which can be software interpolated up to 19200 by 19200) in 24-bit color. Canon did not release any details of the scanning speed, but they did claim a copying speed of 1.9 seconds per page in black and white and 2.5 seconds per page in color. the auto document feeder can hold up to 35 pages, and, as previously mentioned, can handle two-sided documents.
The Fax features include support for color faxing and a 250-page memory, plus 100 phone number memory and autoamtic group dialling for sending a fax to multiple locations at once. Ethernet support is also included, allowing the printer to be used in a small office network by multiple users. The MX850 is available now for a recommended price of $279.99.
