Computer Shopper - UK (2020-10)

ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 31

WECANUSUALLYdependonCCanon’srange

of Pixma inkjet multifunction perripherals

(MFPs)tothrowupatleastoneBest

Buy-winning device,but the curreent crop has

been something of adisappointmment.In

particular,wethoughtthatthePixmaTS5350

(Shopper388)andTS6350(Shoppper384)

bothseemedlesswellspecifiedtthantheir

predecessors.Whilemid-rangePPixmas

previously occupied asweet spott,the

TS8350sitsnearthetopoftherange;

perhapsthesweetspotmovedupmarket?

DIRECTAPPROACH

Upmarket certainly describesthis MFP’s look.

It’s made fromtypicallyglossy bllack plastics,

livened up by arelatively tasteful chrome

strip at the base.The front panellis

dominatedbyahuge colour touchscreen,

sorelymissed lowerdownthe range.

There’s an SD cardslotfor direct printing,

but perhapsmoreimportantly, the

touchscreen helps this MFP supportawider

range of cloud servicesand features.

Other feature highlightsinclude automatic

duplexprinting, andascannercapable of

2,400x4,800 dots-per-inch imaging: four

times the detail you’d get fromthe typical

1,200x2,400dpi. There’s also asix-colour print

engine, with the usual cyan, magenta,yellow

and black inks supplemented by apigment

black and photoblue.Canon still

doesn’tkey its inktanks to prevent you

mixingthhemup,bbutatlleastthheprinter

won’tworkwiththeminthewrongslots.

We’renot sure why Canon bothersincluding

adriver disc any more,given that it mostly

directs youtoawebsite where you’ll

downloadthe drivers you need.

Once up andrunning, theTS8350 proves

to be apredictablygoodprinter.It’snot

especially fast, with black text arrivingata

stately11.4pages per minute(ppm).Colour

graphics were slower thanweexpected, too,

reaching only 3.3ppm. At topquality,6x4in

photos took more than twominutes each.

Scan speedswere much more competitive,

however,with an A4

scan needingjust 15

seconds or so,even

at amoderately

detailed 300dpi.

A1,200dpi photo

scan wascompleted

in one minute.

Mono photocopies

took 13 seconds,

while colour ones

needed 21 seconds.

If outright image

quality is your priority,

the PixmaTS8350 will

put asmile on your

face.Itproduced

razor-sharpblacktext,

and punchy graphics

with bold colours. As

you might expect from

its six-inkengine,

photoswere brilliant,

displayingadynamic

range and subtlety beyond four-ink

alternatives. Scans were also impressive,

allthhoughhweweresurpriseddthhatwecoullddn’t

distinguishthedarkestcoupleofshadeson

ourtestpattern.

ATWHATCOST

With sixinks, two of whichare barely usedon

plain paper,it’s hardtogiverepresentative

running costs forthe Pixma TS8350.Using

ISOfigures forthe pigment black, cyan,

magenta andyellow,and Canon’s estimates

forthe dyeblackand photoblue,costs work

outatareasonable 9.5p per fullcolourpage.

However, the black componentaccounts for

afairly steep 3.4p of this.

Many technology priceshavecrept up

in thewakeofthe coronavirus pandemic

and, unfortunately,the Pixma TS8350 has

followed this trend. While stillagreat MFP,

it’s become rather expensive,which denies it

aplace among the very best.

SimonHandby

CANON

PixmaTS8350

★★★★★

£170•From wwww.printerbase.co.uk

MULTIFUNCTIONALPERIPHERAL

VERDICT

The Pixma TS8350 is agreat hommeMFP,if

expensiveforwhatyouget

⬆ThhePixma TS8350’’soptions allllow you to outputhhighh-quallity prints

SPECIFICATIONS

Mono speed

Mixed graphics

speed

Monopage cost

Colour page cost

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 82 forperformancedetails

TECHNOLOGYThermal inkjet•MAXIMUMPRINT

RESOLUTION4,800x1,200dpi•MAXIMUM OPTICAL

SCAN RESOLUTION(OUTPUT BITDEPTH)2,400x4,800dpi

(24-bit)•DIMENSIONS141x373x319mm•WEIGHT6.6kg•

MAXIMUM PAPERSIZEA4/legal•WARRANTYOneyear

RTB•DETAILSwww.canon.co.uk•PART CODE

3775C008AA

11.4ppm

3.3ppm

3.4p

6.2p