I purchased my Pixma Printer several months ago, and initially, I was thoroughly impressed with how straightforward it was to set up and start using. For everyday printing tasks, it performed admirably, and I was quite pleased with my purchase.
However, I recently encountered a couple of minor issues that, while not deal-breakers, were a little frustrating. The first arose when I attempted to print a photograph using the rear paper tray, as opposed to the standard front cassette tray. While the print quality for the photo of my granddaughter was acceptable for my needs, I struggled to get the sizing right. The printer seemed to automatically crop the image, cutting off her feet in an undesirable way. I chalked this up to user error and assumed I needed to familiarize myself more with the settings for rear tray printing.
The more significant frustration occurred when I tried to revert to printing from the front paper tray. Despite reloading paper into the cassette and ensuring the printer settings were set to ‘automatic tray selection,’ the Pixma printer stubbornly refused to recognize there was paper available. I spent a frustrating half hour troubleshooting. I cycled the power, meticulously reread the user manuals, and attempted to cancel and restart the print job multiple times. I even scoured online resources, hoping to find a solution or explanation in forums or FAQs, but to no avail.
Eventually, in a moment of exasperation, I tried sending the print command from my iPad in a different location within my house. To my surprise, it finally printed! However, it printed single-sided, even though I had specifically selected double-sided printing in my settings. Since then, the printer has been working seemingly fine again.
Despite these two hiccups – the photo sizing issue with the rear tray and the paper recognition problem with the front tray – and the lack of clear guidance in the manuals on switching trays or understanding print command compatibility, I would still recommend and repurchase this Pixma printer. The primary reason for my continued positive outlook is the refillable ink system. Being able to buy large bottles of ink and refill the tanks myself is a significant advantage. It drastically reduces ink costs and the annoyance of constantly replacing small, expensive cartridges.
Overall, in comparison to other printers I have owned, this Pixma printer is superior. It operates reliably about 98% of the time, and the print quality is more than sufficient for my home business requirements and general household printing needs. The refillable ink feature alone makes it a winner, outweighing the occasional minor frustrations I’ve encountered.
