Canon imageCLASS MF236n All in One, Mobile Ready Printer, Black

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It works, but I had to call tech support to get it working (had to re-install the driver software and make a few tweaks). Also, I had wrongly assumed this printer was wireless and it is not. Ill keep it, but it was maddening to find that out. The printer works great now that its hooked up, but lordy, lordy, the documentation is AWFUL. 1980s style, and obviously translated from another language. I consider myself mildly technically adept, but I couldnt even figure where to start. I finally just gave up on the manual, plugged the darn printer in, and winged it (with help from tech support). I think Ill be happy with this printer, though: it prints great, and with the cost savings by not having to buy any more HP ink, it will pay for itself within 6 months.

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Works great. Unpacking the thing was frustrating---instructions for removing the shipping blocks inside the printer were confusing. You must lift parts of the printer out in order to remove the orange shipping blocks and crap. I knew when I ordered it that you had to provide one of the cables yourself, not a big deal. Owners manual leaves out quite a bit of instructions on doing normal things, so you have to commit some time to playing with it. For example: the screen icons for document, scan etc. have a learning curve to them. I recommend it despite the manual. No more ink drying out when not used for long periods of time. Loading the paper is crisp and easy, and it works well with address labels too. Scanner works flawlessly and easily despite the lack of instruction in the book(you must select the photo icon instead of "Document" icon). When I first tried to scan a document, I kept getting an install error---by chance I hit "photo" and it works every time. Go figure! If it wasnt for the manual, Id give this 5 stars.

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from BPS on September 2, 2017 Good value, terrible software setup I would have given more stars but the setup was horrible. This was a replacement for an HP M1522nf All-in-one Laser Printer that had served me well for probably 10 years or more. The good: Careful packaging, compact printer. Easy to unpack and physically set up. Print quality is good. First page out is fast. Control panel is relatively intuitive The bad: Software setup, driver installation, etc. was horrible. Issue 1 - Out of the chute it wants you to be a local administrator (this is on Win 7 Enterprise, SP1). Even though I am a member of the Administrator group, I had to create a Local Computer Admin user and log in as that. This after calling Canon Tech Support and being told they "had no idea, must be a Windows issue..." Searched Google for the error and got a dozen hits before finally coming upon the local administrator lead. Issue 2 - even after installing the software (download from Canons support site ), I couldnt scan. Turns out I needed to download the MF Scan Utility separately. Issue 3 - Trying to add to Google Cloud Print - Dont bother with the printer control panel route on the printer, nor with going to your Google settings to add. Use the web interface for the printer (browse to the Printer UI at the assigned IP address so - Printer_IP_Address/m_network_cloudprint and manage it from there Issue 4 - See attached photo. Some piece that was broken off when I unpacked the printer. Everything works so Im disinclined to return the printer but opens the question as to whether there is further damage that will manifest itself later. Stay tuned for updates on that... Issue 5 - The printer control panel ( I am referring to the physical panel on the printer itself) rotates up nicely so you can see what youre doing but you have to hold it up with one hand while pressing buttons with the other as it doesnt lock up in place. A minor annoyance but would be nice. Maybe that piece that broke off...? Bottom line - Would I buy this again? Right now I would say a qualified Yes given that I now know the issues. Time will tell after I use it for a while. The price was good, print quality and overall usability is good once past the setup issues.

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I recently purchased the Brother DCPL2540DW so I feel like I am compelled to compare it to this Canon Image CLASS MF236n. With Amazons current "deal" the price is only 14 dollars apart with the Canon being only slightly more expensive. The regular price is half again as much as the Brother. However the Canon has faxing capabilities, but is not a true wireless. True wireless are standalone printers that only need to be plugged in the wall for power like the Brother printer does. You can make the Canon a wireless functioning printer though if you have it plugged into a hard wire Ethernet, and then use the wireless capabilities of your home router/network. I just like the flexibility of built in wireless with no need to hard wire the network into it. The fax feature exclusive in this shootout with the Canon only provides standby faxing, and allows you to use your PC to send a fax through it, but you cant receive a fax via PC. I have always been annoyed at printer fax machine eating up ink when they receive every single junk fax. However with the low cost of laser toner it doesnt become so much of an issue, and it is better than running a fax modem with a computer running all of the time in order to receive faxes. This brings up two issues. One is the cost of the toner, and the other is how much electricity the printer uses on standby. The toner from Canon of course is ideally engineered for the printer. There is an aftermarket toner currently coming in a dual pack that is way cheaper. After reading through the reviews I see that with the highly rated aftermarket toner they noticed that for printing a bar graph chart for example there was some unevenness in the full black areas, but regular text did not show such anomalies. Secondly the standby wattage is only 2W or less in energy saver mode, so having a printer in standby mode to receive faxes is an economical alternative. In max print speed the Canon comes in a 24ppm, and the Brother at 30. First page print on the Canon is 6 seconds and 8.5 seconds on the Brother. The print resolution on the Canon is 600 x 600 DPI and the Brother it is 2400 x 600. The same numbers apply to the scan resolution with the Canon at 600 x 600 and the Brother at 600 x 2400. The Brother software allows you to adjust the resolution level up to 2400 with several incremental steps in between so you can optimize the clarity of the scan and save on used storage space. By the way, and this is a biggee, I was using an expensive 25ppm IBM scanner to scan all of my invoices for the year in order to do my taxes. I got tired of storing all of the boxes of previous years going back at least 6 years. So I scanned, shredded, and backed up digitally. Well both of these printers have built in auto-document feeders that do the same thing, and do it superbly. So no need to go out and buy a specialty scanner to have this kind of capability. Mind blowing. The Canon has 256 MB (shared memory) and the Brother has 32 MB standard memory. The Canon boasts up to 15,000 pages per month, with a recommended monthly print volume of 500 to 2,000 pages. The Brother lists up to 10,000 pages per month with a recommended monthly print volume of 250 to 2,000 pages. The standby wattage on the Canon in sleep mode is only 2 watts, and 5.3 on the Brother. So in comparison between the two it really is a tossup depending on what your needs are. The Brother has true wireless so you can plug it into a wall outlet anywhere, not needed a wired Ethernet or USB connection the way the Canon does. The Brother also has a higher print and scanning resolution which is adjustable, but it only has 32 MB of memory whereas the Canon has 250. That is important if you plan on doing a lot of scanning, or printing a lot of backup print jobs. Currently they both are boasting about the same percentage of 5 star reviews using the comparable Canon since this model is a new release. The Brother at 58%, and the Canon at 59%. Of course if you need faxing capabilities the Canon is the only one between the two that has that.

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Would not print on Avery LASER labels. I put the same labels in my Brother laser and there was no ghosting or splatter. Canon support told me to go buy other labels. Thank goodness I found this defect the first week I had the printer, so I could send it back.

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Great monochrome laser printer so far, all the options that I need for my home office. Black looks so much better than white/gray. Warms up fast, much faster than my commercial heavy duty laser printer at work. Setup was easy, install some new drivers and then just plug it in. Make sure you install the drivers on your PC before you plug it in however. Windows will attempt to install the wrong drivers and you will have issues. The copier makes good copies, but only in black and white. I have not used the scanner yet but Im sure it will work just as flawlessly and in color. My last Canon printer I got 10 years out of, and I fully expect to get a similar life from this. Seems solid.

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I bought this to replace a Canon mf216n that had expired from use. The 216 was great and the 236 appeared to be more or less the same. The new and improved software has a major flaw that renders it useless for someone who scans a lot of documents: You cant specify the file name at the time of scanning. All you can do is set the prefix, like IMG_ or SCAN_ and then the software appends the date to the prefix and thats the file name. Scan 10 or 20 documents in a sitting? Better remember what order you did it, or have fun opening each to see what it is, then change the name. Either way, youre handling it 2x. Seems trivial, until you have to live with it. Canon, how could you screw up such a basic part of the user interface? Id be happy if I could go back to the old MF Toolbox software, but no such luck. The improved user experience is mandatory. Decent laser printer, but totally unsuitable as a small business office tool.

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This printer is a beast. If you are looking for a black and white printer to handle volume in an office setting, this is your pick. I was pleased enough with this product for my law office, that I have now ordered 3 more. I will be moving the total number to 6 in the very near future. The scanning speed is also great for such an inexpensive product.

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My Pixma was a dutiful friend for the last few years but eventually, it gave out and it was time to buy another printer. I gave up on replacing it after reading all of the terrible reviews on Amazon for many of their inkjet models. I decided to go with this laser printer for basic home office use and do color printing at my local shop. I was very concerned I might experience several of the issues listed by reviewers about this model. Im happy I read those reviews because it saved me time and stress! Installation Installation took me under an hour, including unboxing the item and removing the tape. I connected my printer via USB to my Windows desktop. I chose a custom installation for the drivers and excluded everything but the basic app. Printing Prints quickly and beautifully. No issues with waking up from sleep mode (wakes up immediately). No issues with paper registration because I opted out of the additional software that bloats your computer. Display No issues with the display panel. Very easy to see and use. Scanning and Faxing I have not tried these features yet. Weve abandoned using scanning via the printer and prefer to use Adobe Scan from our phones instead. I find it quicker and just as good as a typical scanner for imaging basic documents and bills. I will, however, try these features in the next few weeks and update my review! Size and Weight This is a tall unit, around 14", and has some weight to it. Not surprising since its a laser printer. Toner Pricing Oh boy, I was not prepared for how expensive the Canon toner is! Its about $72 on Amazon. I realize this is normal for laser printers but I havent used one in so long I had a moment of sticker shock. There are non-Canon cartridges for this printer for a third of the price; however, Im all about peace of mind. There are bad reviews about using non-Canon cartridges and equally bad reviews about the Canon cartridges as well. After a bit of research, watching out for expired toner is important in terms of ink yield and error messages for Canon toners. My recommendation is to read the latest reviews and buy from a vendor that has good stats. That may increase your chances of getting a fresh cartridge! Beware! The bottom of this printer will scratch your table or shelf! If youre concerned about scratches, attach felt pads to the bottom of the printer prior to placing it on your furniture. Overall, this was a great buy. Im very happy with it and will update my review as we move along. Its a good price and works well. Be sure to read the reviews before you buy and dont bloat your computer with the add-ons!

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Ive had this printer for a couple of weeks now. It replaced an older, clunkier Canon. The setup was relatively pain free. Ive been using it connected to my network via ethernet. My PCs have had no trouble finding it as a printer or scanner. My only gripe is the auto feeder for the scanner. Documents dont come over perfectly aligned. But its not a deal breaker at all. And as weird as it sounds, this thing is pretty. Its really black and has almost decorative etching on some of the panels. Definitely less of an eyesore than my previous white monster.

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