Canon TS6120 Wireless AIO Printer, White with PGI-280XL, CLI-281 4 Pack and PP-301 (5X5)

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The TS6120 is my third inexpensive Canon inkjet all-in-one home printer over the past six years. All three have similar size and mechanics, and Canon has had at least a decade to perfect the components. So while I cannot guarantee that the 6120s useful life will be identical it seems likely that will be the case. Accordingly I will provide a first-hand summary of the performance history of this basic design. With moderate home office use, about 200 sheets per month, they have worked fine for about three years and then without warning stopped working. They probably are repairable but the low cost of a replacement and any added features on a newer model make repair a poor option. Like the earlier ones this 6120 was easy to set up and the wireless connection for my Mac and print access from smart devices ( iPad, iPhone, Android) is pretty straight forward. Once I added the printer to my old ArcSoft PhotoStudio 4 for Canon package I was able to acquire images with the scanner, make the scans, and do basic editing to the acquired images. The dirty little secret of inkjet printers, however, is that the manufacturer makes their money not on the copier but on replacement ink cartridges. By your third purchase of replacements you will have more invested in OEM ink cartridges than in the copier itself. Canon rolls out new cartridges with each series because it allows them to enjoy a monopoly for a few months until generic cartridges make their way into the market. Even then it is not until several generic manufacturers are in competition before prices really come down. Bottom line is that if you don’t need the latest features on the newest models you can save a substantial amount of money by purchasing a model that has been out for a year or two. My first Canon used a 225 - 226 five-cartridge tank system, my one second one used a 245 / 246 two-cartridge tank system. The TS6120 uses a 280 / 281 five-cartridge tank system. There is no interchangeability. So you can see what is driving product development in the printer industry. I think the five-tank system prints slightly better color but you also spend more time replacing the tanks. Five tanks don’t really save you much money over two tanks as the three individual color tanks are used up at about the same rate. Although little of my printing is in color, the ink in the color tank(s) is mysteriously drawn down, just not as fast as the black tank(s). Apparently a small amount of the three primary colors is being mixed to produce black.

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I dont like to write bad reviews, but I really, really hate this printer. I swear at it daily. I had a Canon MP610 for years and loved it. Very reliable until the day it died and did everything I needed for my home office. For some reason I thought this was a similar printer. I guess I should have known that the cheaper price meant cheaper product. It shuts itself off, so you have to turn it on all the time. It is so incredibly slow that I cant imagine what it is doing-- sometimes I forget that I sent something to the printer by the time it finally prints. It has burned thru ink cartridges even though I dont use it heavily. I sometimes have inscrutable error reports on my screen even after it finished printing... will probably get rid of it soon to end the aggravation.

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I have the older model of this printer, and this newer model is basically the same. There are a few small improvements, like the rear loading paper tray, but all in all this is just as advertised: a compact all in one printer/copier that works for light usage. It is definitely not meant to be in office machine printing things regularly; it’s a home device for printing off the occasional homework assignment. If you are doing a lot of printing, you will find yourself running out of ink fast. The Wi-Fi connection works well, and I have not yet had a problem connecting it to any device I have tried to connect it to. On the design side, these printers definitely need a little caution. Because they are meant to be folded between uses, the printer isn’t always going to be ready to print; the front panel needs to be folded all the way out, and the printer tray pulled out, in order for it to function. Having to get up and go to the printer every time you went to initiate a PRINT makes having a wireless printer a little less convenient. Still, it is small and fits nicely in shelf spaces were bigger printers might not. And for somebody who doesn’t need a dedicated full-time printer, this should do nicely.

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This is much better than the Canon Office Products PIXMA TS5020 BK Wireless color Photo Printer with Scanner & Copier, Black which is a disaster in design. This printer is much better. However, I dont care for the tilting up control panel nor the fact the the foot to receive the paper is really narrow. Main concern is that after six months on the market there are no 3rd party replacement ink cartridges for this printer. You are left with either getting gouged from original cartridges from Canon, OR go the manual refill route and then being unable to see ink levels because Canon has chipped the cartridges just to defeat/frustrate economical users who would rather spend their money on something else than overpriced ink. Im going to give Canon one more chance and get an MX922. If that one is a fail, Im done with Canon completely. No more printers, no more cameras, no more video equipment, etc.

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This is my fourth Canon printer and the only one Ive been disappointed in. Ink is hard to find at any reasonable price. The product design is awkward to use. Simplicity and efficiency sacrificed for appearance of sophisticated controls. Purchased at Amazon. Update (January 2 2017) Constant problems. I purchased Canon cartridge to replace the ones that came with the printer but now depleted. The printer will not recognize the cartridge and continues displaying an error sign. The printer will not function. Canon printers were my favorite, but this model sits like a brick on my desk. Worthless. Will attempt to determine if warranty will cover.

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I love being able to print from my phone, but agree with the other reviews about the annoying problem of having to pull down the door to print. The print quality is excellent however!

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After reading all the reviews I am shocked at how awful this is. I have a mac & the one user who wrote about the network issues is correct. It constantly has connectivity issues & Ive gotten it to print 1 out of every 20 attempts. It shows its connected, but doesnt print & doesnt even give my a message, just sits in limbo. Its not me, it works for one minute then decides not to print the exact same file a minute later. Usually it takes unplugging it & plugging it in again. Also, it DEVOURS ink cartridges. No wonder its $99 for the printer. I spent $120 just getting a set of cartridges. Rip. Off. Boo. Boo. Boo. Too bad because the quality is fantastic when it does decide to print.

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180922 Got printer message that there may be a fake cartridge (right after latest syringe refill) and will not allow printing... may need to get a new printer. Learned lesson... check price of ink before purchase printers. 180506 Still no secondary ink cartridge suppliers that can find. And looks like they cut the printer price substantially... wonder why; and doubt if they will give us a partial refund. Am trying replacement ink and syringe refill. A little tricky, but so far so good, and will update stat if changes and/or after next refill session. 171124 The printer is fine, a bit complicated, but the ink is EXPENSIVE. Canon changed the cartridges so the secondary market needs time to develop a supply while Canon charges more, for a 2-round ink replacement, than the printer. Replacement cartridges about $68.00 (x2 = $136) at Canon site. May be more economical in the interim, and less wasteful, to get another backup printer using old style cartridges. Taking most of printing to Kinkos or going virtual (pdfs etc) until secondary ink market catches up :)

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I hate this thing so much - it drives me crazy. It is unbelievably slow, and is always confused; I’ll be printing from the inner tray, with plenty of paper and it will suddenly quit and saw there is “no paper in the top feed” and won’t start again until you switch the paper to the back. It says the ink is low when it’s not,it tries to print on both sides of the paper unless you specifically tell it not to, every time; it’s complicated and untrustworthy. If I had kept the box, I could have returned it. My old HP was so simple and fast - I miss it!

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When working, this printer was pretty stiff competition for our washing machine; would the laundry be done before the printer would finish the interminable clicking, grinding, adjusting, beeping that carried on before printing - especially if the printer had not bee used for some time (we print somewhat infrequently). It has always been maddeningly slow, but it did print. Now there is the no paper inn the tray message, despite a full tray. I removed the tray, tidied up the paper, re-inserted the tray - carefully, since I doubt that the plastic this thing is made of would stand up to a strong wind - and tried a few more times.....with the same result. Ok...there may be no paper, but there are a lot of thin, white, flat things in there that receive ink. I kept getting the message: "...Refer to the code using your smartphone to access the online menu"....I did not have a smartphone at hand, and there is no where to go from here of you do not have a smartphone except to turn off the printer. I know....we should have gone by the reviews. Well, we needed a printer, and we did what many others do when purchasing something with a marginal-at-best assessment: we had hope. Our fault, no excuses......But this does not take away from the fact that a printer that has been used perhaps 25 times since its purchase is having these problems. I wish we could at least make printing great again......

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