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Controls/Buttons/Dials (8.00)
The Canon mini320’s controls are simple and can be taken in at a glance. The dominant feature is the 2.5-inch LCD screen, which sits in the center toward the top, just in front of the rear paper tray. The screen rests flush against the panel’s surface for storage and traveling, and it can be tilted nearly 90 degrees up to adjust for best viewing angle. Two buttons on the panel below the screen correspond to the items that appear at the bottom of the main menu and other screens.
The controls are arrayed in a symmetrical pattern directly in front of the LCD screen. Each button is labeled with an icon and the name of its function. The Easy-Scroll Wheel, Canon’s handy device for menu navigation, sits in the center of the buttons and recessed below the surface of the panel. It consists of a central spinning circular dial that allows scrolling through menus. The main menu screen shows six main items in an oval design, which spins when the scroll wheel is spun; the desired item is chosen with the OK button in the center. Like an mp3 player, the wheel can be used to scroll through menu lists, and so can the directional arrow buttons arrayed around the wheel.
A small, white Back button immediately to the left of the wheel allows users to escape backward out of the menu one step at a time. The large, silver Home button sits just to the left of the Back button for easy access to the main menu. The Navi button brings up a guided menu of select functions. The Power button sits to the left of this.
Three buttons sit to the right of the Easy-Scroll Wheel, with the silver Print button as the symmetrical companion to the Home button on the left. In between the Print button and the Easy-Scroll Wheel lies the Copies buttons, which allow users to set the number of copies by increasing or decreasing the amount with the individual plus and minus buttons. Directly above the Print button sits the Stop/Reset button for canceling print jobs.
The Open button in the front left corner releases a latch that opens the top cover and front tray. The Power lamp sits in the opposite corner at the front, lit blue when power is on and all is well.
Menus (7.00)
The mini320’s menu design makes for easy navigation, aided by the bright, clear, display screen. Common selections for calendar printing, frames, photo index printing, multiple images per sheet, and others are included.
The Navi button is a shortcut button for commonly used functions. Create your own item provides three options, including Create stickers with selected photos, Create framed photo, and Create 5x7 size photo calendar. Print photo from memory card gives several layout options for performing this function. Special photo print provides easier access to the setup for printing directly from a camera or wireless device than the option under the Settings menu item. How to load paper is a filler item, except for first-time users. Canon might have done better to include a commonly used maintenance task in this menu, such as nozzle check pattern or cleaning the print head.
Canon Pixma mini320 Menu
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Menu Item
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Sub-Menu Item
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Description
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Create Item
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Calendar print
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Sticker print
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Framed photo print
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Slide Show
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Presents images on card as slide show
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Select and Print
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Advanced (Editing)
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Auto image fix On
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Manual correction
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--Date
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--File No.
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--Red eye correction (On or Off)
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--Vivid photo (On or Off)
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--Photo optimization pro (On or Off)
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--Noise reduction (On or Off)
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--Face brightener (On or Off)
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--Image optimizer (On or Off)
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--Brightness (slide-bar adjustment)
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--Contrast (slide-bar adjustment)
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--Color hue
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--Effects (None, Sepia, or Simulate illustration)
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Layout Print
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Borderless x2
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Bordered x2
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Borderless x4
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Bordered x4
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Borderless x8
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Bordered x8
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Half, borderless
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Half, bordered
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Half, borderless (w/lines)
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Half, bordered (w/lines)
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Album x4 (photos right)
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Album x4 (photos left)
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Special Photo Print
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ID photo size print
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Print all photos
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Photo index print
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Captured info print
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Prints EXIF data in margin
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DPOF print
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Settings
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Maintenance
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Nozzle check pattern
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Cleaning
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Deep cleaning
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Auto head align
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Manual head align
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Head alignment print
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Roller cleaning
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Bottom plate cleaning
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Device
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Print Settings (set ink drying wait time)
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Wireless print settings
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PictBridge settings
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Other settings (Date display, Read / write attribute [Read only, Read/Write], Slide show setting [High or standard image quality])
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Language selection
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Reset setting
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Size / Footprint (6.64)
The Pixma mini320 compact photo printer is indeed small, lightweight, and portable, but certainly not the smallest in this category. It’s actually on the heavier side, at 5.4 pounds, similar to the Epson PictureMate Snap and the HiTi S400. Its overall score in this test was actually most similar to these two printers, although the other two are more vertically oriented. Dye sublimation printers are generally more compact and score higher, despite the larger paper trays. The HP Photosmart A440 printer dock and others in this series is one of the smallest, lightweight inkjet printers on the market.
The mini320 is a very portable printer, with a sturdy carrying handle and the option to purchase a rechargeable battery. Only some compact printers have this option, and no compact photo printers come with a battery as standard equipment.
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