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Imaging Devices

Best Photo Printers Revealed – Jan 2013 (Part 2) : Canon PIXMA MG6250

1/17/2013 9:16:18 AM

We downloaded and installed the latest versions of drivers for each printer, then ran nozzle check routines and cleaning cycles where required. We then carried out print head alignment procedures to ensure optimum accuracy.

Test prints were created from a range of landscape, portrait and black-and-white photos, printed at a variety of settings, both in standard colour settings and using optional colour adjustments and photo enhancement features offered by the various printers. Print speeds shown in our comparison table were measured for borderless 6x4-inch prints at normal quality settings, and for borderless A4 (and A3+ where available) prints in high quality mode. The cost per A4 print includes each manufacturer’s genuine ink and high-quality glossy paper. However, these  are only approximate figures, because costs can vary depending on the density of ink required by different prints.

We also printed our official printer test chart on each of the machines. This tests a printer’s colour reproduction and ability to deliver smooth graduations between subtle colour variations. It also checks for accurate step changes in greyscale tones. Patterns of fine lines test the accuracy of print heads as well as the combined accuracy of the transport systems for the both paper and print heads.

Equipment know-how: features to look for…

What’s under the bonnet? Let get inside inkjet printer technology

 
What’s under the bonnet? Let get inside inkjet printer technology

What’s under the bonnet? Let get inside inkjet printer technology

·         Resolution

Inkjet printers generally offer high-resolution printing at 4,800x2,400dpi or more. This enables extremely fine detail in images to be reproduced, as well as very smooth graduations in tones and colours.

·         Multi-function

A4 printers with ‘all-in-one’ functions have become popular. You can expect the addition of a CIS scanner, colour LCD screen and multi-format media card slots. Some add a built-in fax facility that operates independently of your computer.

·         Ink range

A3+ printers tend to be based on larger numbers of inks, which can increase the gamut for colour printing. Extra grey cartridges enable higher-quality black-and-white phot printing with less risk of unwanted colour casts.

·         CD/DVD printing

A CD/DVD tray is useful feature to have, so you can print direct onto white-faced CDs and DVDs. It’s available on all of the printers reviewed in this test, enabling you to give a professional finish to CD-based portfolios.

·         Direct printing

All-in-one printers generally do good job of enabling plentiful adjustments when printing direct from memory cards. This is done using onboard controls and a menu system that’s displayed on the LCD screen.

·         Interfaces

A USB 2.0 port is available on all the printers here, while some also feature a wired Ethernet port for network printing. Wi-Fi is becoming more common, for easy printing form laptops and other devices around the home.

Under the hood: resolution

Considering that you only need a resolution of about 150dpi (dots per inch) to create a 2 high-quality photo print, why is it that most inkjet printers offer extremely high print resolutions of between 4,800 and 9,600dpi? The answer is that each individual dot of colour on an inkjet print is actually made up of many smaller dots, which are laid next to each other on the page.

As well as each droplet being almost microscopically small, extremely high precision is required by the transport systems for both the cartridge and the paper.

As well as each droplet being almost microscopically small, extremely high precision is required by the transport systems for both the cartridge and the paper.

The tiny droplets contain the various, separate colours of ink. This is because ink is opaque rather than transparent, so different colours can’t be laid on top of each other or mixed together. As well as each droplet being almost microscopically small, extremely high precision is required by the transport systems for both the cartridge and the paper.

Canon PIXMA MG6250 $218

A truly multi-talented A4 printer

This Wi-Fi all-in-one printer is both full of refinement and extremely versatile. It boasts both pigment-based and dye-based black inks, the former of which makes it ideal for printing documents with really solid, black text. Photo output is of very high quality and the printer is generally very speedy in use, making it a great all-rounder.

Canon PIXMA MG6250 $218

Canon PIXMA MG6250 $218

Little luxuries include auto duplex for double-sided printing, direct printing onto white-faced CDs and DVDs, and a lightly intuitive touch panel. The panel’s icons only light up when they’re active, making standalone photocopying and printing tasks particularly intuitive. All in all, the Canon is very easy to live with.

Conveniently, you can keep your plain paper stashed away in a slot-in lower tray and reserve the upright rear feeder solely for photo paper. The addition of a grey dye-based ink cartridge, almost unheard of in A4 printers, brings the prospect of high-quality black-and-white photo printing as well as an extended colour range.

“Landscapes look wonderfully vivid yet entirely natural, while skin tones are simply beautiful”

The cartridge line-up includes a PGI-525 pigment-based black ink, along with dye-based CLI-526 cartridges for cyan, magenta, yellow and black

The cartridge line-up includes a PGI-525 pigment-based black ink, along with dye-based CLI-526 cartridges for cyan, magenta, yellow and black

Performance

Colour rendition is very accurate and tonal fidelity is impressive, from the deepest lowlights to the brightest highlights. Landscapes look wonderfully vivid yet entirely natural, while skin tones are simply beautiful. There’s a lightly greenish cast to black-and-white photo prints in the standard setting, but it disappears if you switch to high quality.

A ‘greyscale’ print mode is also available, which uses only the black and grey cartridges. However, while the MG6250 outputs borderless A4 colour prints in just under two minutes, the normally super-fast performance slows to a crawl in greyscale mode, taking five minutes 21 seconds in the top-quality setting.

Apart from the pigment-based black cartridge, ink capacities are relatively small. Even so, running costs are nevertheless the lowest in the group. The MG6250 is also the cheapest printer to buy, making it a bargain if you don’t need to stretch to A3+ printing.

In detail… Canon PIXMA MG6250

Rich in features and easy to use

·         Touch panel

The control panel us particularly intuitive, surrounding a colour LCD

·         Dual paper trays

The slot-in lower paper tray enables you to reserve the rear tray solely for photo paper

·         High-res

Printing is based on a class-leading 9,600dpi, and the built-in scanner offers 4,800dpi

·         Direct print

Direct photo printing from memory cards includes auto-fix, red-eye reduction and cropping options

In detail… Canon PIXMA MG6250

In detail… Canon PIXMA MG6250

Ratings

·         Digital camera

·         Features: 5 stars

·         Image quality: 4 stars

·         Build quality: 4 stars

·         Value: 5 stars

·         Overall: 4 stars

 

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