Canon PIXMA MX886 All-In-One Printer - An Office Thoroughbred

Introduction

Now You See It, Now You Don't

For the uninitiated, the PIXMA Black series consists of the company's home and office inkjet solutions (both standalone photo printers and business AIOs) that are encased in a redesigned black housing. We've seen some of the offerings last year, such as the MG8170, MG6170, MG5270, MP497 and iP4870. The MG6170 even won our Editor's Choice for Best Color Inkjet AIO.

The new MX886 which we've here is the latest AIO addition to the PIXMA Black family. The signature mirror-black finish is still present, along with a new dual function panel. The implementation is simple enough: the appearance and function of the keys change based on the mode selected. For example, the navigation keys appear when you want to print or copy a document, but are replaced by numeric keys when you want to send a fax. And when the AIO isn't turned on (or in idle mode), the keys do not light up at all - unobtrusively blending itself with your office decor.

In terms of paper handling, the MX886 accepts up to a total of 300 sheets of plain paper - 150 sheets each for the rear tray and the front cassette. It comes with an auto duplex unit that lets you print or copy on both sides. The 35-sheet auto document feeder (ADF) also allows automatic scanning and copying of two-sided original documents. Another thoughtful addition is the Reserve Copy function. You're now prompted to place the next document to be copied on the scanner glass even before the previous copy has completed printing.

The MX886 comes with a 33.6 Kbps fax modem. It uses the Super G3 standard and is able to transmit an A4 size document in three seconds. It can store up to 250 pages of incoming faxes, and comes with security features such as Fax Number Re-Entry and Check RX Fax Info. The former requires you to enter the number twice before a fax can be sent, while the latter is able to block outgoing fax if the dialed number and the recipient's registered number do not match. It can even reject incoming faxes based on a caller's number.

Thanks to the PictBridge-enabled USB port and multi-card slots, photos can be printed using the MX886 without going through a computer. Images and PDF files (the latter created using the Scan to Memory function or the MP Navigation EX software) residing on a USB flash drive can also be printed directly using the USB port. In addition, a Full HD Movie Print feature lets you print individual frames from HD movies captured by compatible cameras; while an onboard Auto Photo Fix II improves image quality automatically before pictures are printed.