Sections
- Page 1 Canon PIXMA iX6850 Review
- Page 2 Performance and Verdict Review
- Page 3 Print Speeds and Costs Table Review
Verdict
Pros
- High quality photos
- Twin-button WPS setup
- Prints from 15 x 10cm to A3+
Cons
- No USB or memory sockets
- No duplex print
- Large footprint when open
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £154.00
- A3+ print
- 5 inks (photo and pigment blacks)
- Smartphone and tablet print
- 1000 page black ink cartridge
- 14.5ipm black print speed
What is the Canon PIXMA iX6850?
Inkjet printers which can handle paper up to A3 (13” x 19”) are still thin on the ground. Following Canon’s labelling scheme, the PIXMA iX range is for business printers, where the PIXMA iPs are photographic. The PIXMA iX6850 is a straightforward, but fast, wide platen printer for well under £200.
SEE ALSO: Brother MFC-J6520DW Review
Canon PIXMA iX6850 – Design and Features
Closed, the PIXMA iX6850 looks like most Canon inkjet printers, though wider. It’s high-gloss top is still a fingerprint magnet and its slightly domed top still suggests some kind of Japanese lacquered box.
There are three push-buttons at the right hand end of the front panel, for power, paper feed and wireless setup. Two of them are illuminated with white LEDs and the other with a blue one. There are no memory card slots nor a USB socket, though this is understandable for a printer with no LCD display to use for selection.
SEE ALSO: Epson Expression Photo XP-950 Review
When opening the printer for work, its desktop footprint increases dramatically. A panel in the top cover flips up and two extending sections telescope out from its top edge. Similarly, a section of the front panel folds down and behind this a three-section telescopic output tray with a fold-over end pulls out, more than doubling the footprint.
Canon PIXMA iX6850 – Cartridges and Software
Lift the top of the printer up and the five ink cartridges slide into view. There are four dye-based photo inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and a pigmented black for plain paper print. All clip into position, with red LEDs to show when they’re properly seated and to flash when ink is low.
Software bundled with the Canon PIXMA iX6850 includes Easy Web-Print, useful for capturing the whole of a Web site for print and My Image Garden, which is a fairly basic image editor. For separate download, there’s also Easy-PhotoPrint for Android and iOS, so you can print wirelessly from mobile devices. When we tried this with a Samsung Galaxy SIII smartphone, it searched for the printer and connected without a problem.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
