Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 228
 very nice printer November 24, 2009
E. Lin (nyc, ny)
size is definitely a minus. its very big for a inkjet printer. It doesn't allow you to save scanned images to your PC if if have it set to WiFi. I ended up having to save it to a memory card. Print speed is a bit slow, especially when it has to warm up from just turning it on.
Canon MX869 Canon All In One Printer at Amazon November 24, 2009
Ralph Weston (Austin, Texas)
The Canon MX 860 has been a pleasant surprise thus far. It is very easy to use and its print quality is excellent. The fax, copy, and scan functions are very easy to use and function well. I have previously owned all in ones by HP and never tried another brand. However I am sold on the Canon as an excellent all in one for home office and personal use. The price is right also and it is wireless so it works fine with my network.
Great Features - Above Average Print - Install is NOT Mac-ish November 24, 2009
John Gaver (Houston, TX)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I would have given this printer 5-stars, except for the decidedly un-Mac-ish install. The packaging is solid, but easy to unpack. The hardware setup was a snap. But, when I got to the wireless network setup, I ran into several problems that tend to put off Mac users. But, Mac users should not despair. I found the "magic bullet." Just keep reading.
Before going any further, let me state that I am an IT geek. If there were a way to make a lawnmower print, I am the one who could probably do it. Also, I am running Snow Leopard (OS-X 10.6) on both of the Macs that are going to use this printer, over the wireless network.
That said, the network install for the MX-860 was anything but easy. The installation was definitely NOT what Mac users would call plug & play. It was more like PC plug & play. In other words, you have to run a special installation program and jump through a few hoops, in order for it to recognize the printer and you even have to reboot, afterwards. How 1980's is that?
But, it gets worse. The software that came with the printer was NOT Snow Leopard compatible. Oops! But, at least it informed me of that issue, when I tried to run it. Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late, although I didn't know that, at the time. Once you get that far, the printer gets something in its memory that it won't easily forget.
HINT for Snow Leopard users:
DO *NOT* USE THE SOFTWARE THAT CAME WITH THE PRINTER!!!
DOWNLOAD THE LATEST DRIVER FROM THE CANON SITE!!!
You might even want to shred the disk that comes with it - then melt the shreds - then bury the slag in different parts of the yard. 8^) OK. That's a little much. But you get the idea. DON'T USE THE FILES ON THE INSTALL DISK! DON'T EVEN TAKE THE DISK OUT OF THE SLEEVE.
After that, I went to the Canon site and downloaded the printer driver install disk image (.dmg) file and ran that one, thinking that was all that there was to it. However, it failed to detect the printer on the network. So, using the printer menu, I reset the printer to factory defaults and tried again. Still no luck. After several more attempts, I called Canon and went through the same thing again. When it still didn't work, the Canon rep had me again use the printer menus to reset the printer network settings to factory defaults. Then, he had me do the one thing that I had not previously tried.
>>>THE MAGIC BULLET<<<: Immediately after reseting the printer to factory defaults, I turned the printer OFF and unplugged the power cable from the back. 30 seconds later, I plugged in the the power cable and turned on the printer. It seems that if you don't do this power cycling dance, resetting to factory defaults is NOT complete.
Once again, I ran the install program and everything went right and I was printing in no time.
I also had to download the Canon MP Navigator EX 2.1 software from their site, in order to get the scanner to work. But, that was a snap, too. This isn't the scanner driver. That was already installed, with the printer driver. This is the actual application software that you use, each time you want to scan something.
Next, I copied the two downloaded files to my other Mac and ran the installation program on it, using the included instructions. Since I had not tried to run the original software that was provided on the CD, on that Mac, the installation went off without a hitch.
Both Macs now print and scan, either single sided or double sided.
Final notes:
1) There is a print head alignment that you should run, right after you install the ink cartridges. I have been told that if you skip that, your print output may look fuzzy. I did it and my print looks great. In fact, I used a photographer's loupe to examine the test printouts, so the alignment would be spot on. It is.
2) The Canon site is not too clear on what files you need for Snow Leopard. The two files that Snow Leopard users need to download are:
mx860sosxns10ea7-3.dmg (Divers)
mpnexosx212ea8-2.dmg (Software)
Conclusion: Great printer for Mac Airport users, if you can put up with the un-Mac-ish, PC style install. Even the install is not bad, if you don't make the mistake of trying to use the install disk that came with it. I am impressed with all the features and quality that they packed into such a low priced and relatively small printer. No. It's not really small. But, considering that it will copy and scan multiple, double-sided, legal pages and then print them on two sides, all without user intervention, it's a relative dwarf. It just needs a more Mac-ish install.
Great for Macs, but setup is a slight tricky November 22, 2009
N. Agarwal (Cedar Falls, IA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this printer recently for use as a replacement for my aging Photosmart. This was the first time I bought a Canon and the first time I invested in a multi-function printer. Currently, I have a mid-2007 MacBook with Snow Leopard, so I will write this review from a Mac user perspective.
Packaging
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The printer is packed firmly between molded styrofoam and wrapped very well in plastic. Be prepared to spend a few minutes removing all of the "orange" tape that is used to secure plastic wrappings on the printer and secure any opening parts. It may seem like an inconvenience, but I was very pleased at the fact that Canon took the extra effort to make sure that the risk of damage during transport was minimal. Here's the best part, almost all of the packaging is recyclable - including the plastic. Unfortunately, my community cannot recycle styrofoam, but everything else that was in the box can be recycled.
Set-up
=====
Inside the packaging, you will find detailed instructions that clearly explain how to install the software for both Windows (XP & Vista) along with Mac (Tiger & Leopard). I want to point out that Canon includes a separate printed guide to installing the printer on a Mac. I would suggest you use this guide rather than the other guide which is printed in color. In addition to the instructions, you have a setup CD that will work on both a PC or Mac. If you choose to install the software on a Mac, please be aware that you need to be logged into an administrator account. On my Mac, I have 2 accounts. One account is an admin account and the other account is just a regular account. If you try to install the Mac software on a non-admin account, it will not work.
If you are plan on installing this on your Mac with Snow Leopard, things are a bit tricky. Here's how I went about setting up this printer on my MacBook with Snow Leopard.
1) Visit Canon USA support website and download all of the software updates for the Mac OS X
2) I installed all of the software updates (English ones) - It's not very clear which ones you need and don't need, but I installed them all
3) Make sure that you install the software using an administrator account
4) I would suggest that you ensure that MP Navigator is installed on your Snow Leopard machine so that you can use the scanning function
5) Follow the normal Mac setup guide that is included with the printer.
Initially, the printer has to be setup via USB (USB cable is included in the box) and every machine that you want to be able to print to the MX860 needs to have the software installed. The software is actually very well designed and not bloatware. Once the initial setup is complete via USB (your printer will still not function 100% at this point), it will then ask you how you plan on using your printer. This is where you can tell the software that you plan on using the printer wirelessly or with a wired LAN connection.
Should you decide that you want it to be wirelessly connected, it will go ahead and "measure" signal strength, ask you for the SSID of your wireless router access point, and a password if you have one. The printer supports WEP & WPA/WPA2. It just will NOT support WPA-Enterprise. Once your printer is configured, you no longer need a USB connection. If you want to setup the printer on other computers, just set it up using the software you downloaded for Snow Leopard. There is NO need to hook the printer into the other machines via USB. For Windows users, just use the enclosed CD and follow the on-screen instructions. The software will ask if you want to configure the printer for initial use or if it is already configured.
So as you can see, the initial setup on a Snow Leopard machine is slightly tricky, but not impossible. I do recommend that after you install your printer, do a Software Update as there is a good chance that Apple will push a Canon driver update. Go ahead and install it.
Printing
======
Overall, my impression of the printing is amazing. I was very pleased with how the print quality rivals that of many laser printers and bests that of my Photosmart. I was amazed at how fast the printer prints too. I did print a photo (8.5" x 11") and I was blown away at how crisp the colors looked. When I look at the printed image on photo paper, it is impossible to tell if the image was printed on a photo printer at home or in a lab. I do want to point out that duplex printing will be slower. How much slower? It is significantly slower, but the fact that this printer can do duplex printing at this price point more than makes up for it.
Scanning
=======
I did do a bit of light scanning (I've only had the printer for less than 3 days) and I was impressed. However, I feel that a dedicated scanner has better results. I did not have a chance to try out duplex scanning, but the top loading tray makes it so much more convenient to scan a 10 page document.
Fax
===
Sorry, I don't use faxing.
Conclusions
=========
As a Mac user, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I know that if I still had Leopard, initial setup would have been a breeze. My only gripe is that the instructions do not do a good job of telling you that you need to use an administrator account to install the software. Furthermore, it is NOT Canon's fault that they did not include Snow Leopard software. It is more than likely that the printer I have was made well before Snow Leopard was even available. However, I have to hand it to Canon for making the software available to users on their website.
If you use Snow Leopard, do not hesitate to purchase this printer, however, be prepared to spend an extra 15 minutes downloading additional software. I highly recommend this printer! For the price and the features (duplex printing for almost $150), this printer - to me at least - is a no brainer.
Nice machine overall but ink tanks smaller than MX850 November 21, 2009
Robert (phx, AZ)
If it turns out to be reliable then the deal is good being that there are many features, I had an MX850 which died prematurely and thought the ink tanks would be the same... This was a small and helpful reminder about what happens when you ASSUME things!!! Unfortunately they've made the ink tanks smaller so they'll have to be replaced more often - thus >> $$$. Overall the machine is fast, not flimsy, features are up to date, plentiful and more than I'll ever really need anyways.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 228
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