Canon PIXMA MG6350 – Print Speeds

Canon claims the same speeds for the PIXMA MG6350 as for the MG5450, with 15ppm for black print and 10ppm for colour. Even on a good job, when the printer just gets on and prints, these look optimistic.

We saw a speed of 9.7ppm on our 5-page text print, rising to 11.2ppm on the 20-page test. These are still respectable, but as with the colour print, where we saw 4.9ppm for a 5-page document, they’re not consistent.

The printer is forever priming and cleaning its print heads, usually before starting a print job, which can extend the print time by over 30s from a ‘best case’ run. The duplex performance, where we saw 4.0 sides per minute, is a little better than before, with a shorter wait between front and back side print.

Canon PIXMA MG6350 – Print Quality and Costs

The print quality, as we’ve come to expect from Canon printers, is very good, with smooth, densely black text and bright, eye-catching colours, even on plain paper. A photocopy loses some of the intensity of those colours, but is still more than acceptable.

Photo prints are smooth and accurately coloured for the most part, though we did notice a slight yellow cast in some of our test shots, on this particular review sample.

Ink cartridge prices vary considerably from month-to-month and we couldn’t match the prices we found when testing the MG5450. You also have to factor in the cost of the grey cartridge, even though this is used very sparingly in normal print.

However, we calculate page costs of 3.1p for black print and 9.5p for colour, which are both on a par with similarly priced rivals, so you’re not paying heavily for the extra ink in the mix.

Should I buy a Canon PIXMA MG6350?

In function terms, there’s not a lot of difference between this machine and the Canon MG5450. Both have twin paper trays, CD/DVD print, card slots and a large LCD control panel.

The MG6350 does have touch controls and a grey ink cartridge for improved black-and-white print, but the main reason for buying is more aesthetic than anything else. The white case and cartridge cover may look like gimmicks, but do add a certain style to the machine.

Aside from Canon’s Pixma range it’s worth considering the Epson Expression Premium XP-800, or, if you have a bit of extra cash to spend, the HP Envy 120.

Verdict

The Canon MG6350 undoubtebly possesses some great usability and style features, but Canon really needs to sort out the cartridge management on its range of latest generation photo all-in-one printers. Having to wait half a minute or more before printing starts just isn’t acceptable.