Print Quality (4.5 out of 5): Great print quality even with small font size. Produces good color or grey scale photos, and good presentation printouts. Print speed is as specified (around 22 ppm for black), but when I tried to print a large report with a couple of hundred pages, the device struggled a lot to finish the job. After every 30/40 pages the machine takes rest for 2-4 minutes to cool down. This is not a heavy-duty printer, and it is for home use only.
Print Cost (4.5 out of 5): Similar models of Brother printer costs less in printing, but this canon device is not bad. The standard black toner costs around 4c per page while the high yield toner can cost less than 2.5c per page in eco mode. The standard black toner that came with the printer was able to print 1700+ pages, and a new high yield toner cartridge (Canon 054h XL black) that I purchased later was able to print 3500+ pages in eco mode. It is annoying that the printer shows low ink warning once ink level gets below 50%, and with this warning I was able to print around 1500 more pages full of text in eco mode. The warning simply does not make any sense. So, forget about the warning and keep printing.
Scan (3 out of 5): With max resolution of 600X600, the scan quality is not impressive- both with the flat-bed scanner or with the auto document feeder (ADF). I was able to set the resolution to 1200X600 from the remote manager, but scan quality did not improve much. Scanned fonts come out dull and not sharp. Good thing- the auto feeder can hold 50 sheets (letter or legal) and can scan both sides in a single pass with a good speed. It is okay for day to day scanning, but for sensitive official documents I still prefer some scanner app installed on my android phone. Unlike these apps, the scanning software included with this Canon printer does not have any post-processing intelligence. Lastly, the flat-bed scanner portion is unnecessarily 3 inches thick (compared to HP MFP M428fwd or M283fdw)- making the device look large on my desk.
Copy (5 out of 5): Fast and crisp print, both from flat-bed scanner or from ADF. ADF can print both sides in single pass pretty fast. ID card copying is also good.
Email, Fax (4 out of 5): It’s a relief that hard copies can directly go into your email directly from the printer. But the setup process is not easy, and may require an expert hand. I haven’t tried fax.
Setup and Connectivity (4 out of 5): Software and Wi-Fi setup are straight forward. Printer quickly wakes up from sleep once command is sent to printer through Wi-Fi. The remote manager is a great help, with which you can use your web browser from your computer to remotely monitor ink levels, see usage logs (for print, scan, mail or fax), and control all different settings without touching the printer itself. That’s something cool!
Touch Display (3 out of 5): LCD touch screen is not sensitive, most of the time I have to touch twice or press hard for the same action, the user interface on the LCD screen is not well-organized, and some of the very common settings are not readily available. However, you can customize some of it from remote manager.
Overall (4 out of 5): With less than 300$ budget, if you are looking for professional quality printing in black, decent color print, Wi-Fi and email connectivity, and average scan quality- everything of office in a single home device, you should get this. I am happy with the purchase.