2019-09-01_Computer_Shopper

32 SEPTEMBER 2019 |COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 379

YOUMIGHTNOTbe expectingmuchfrom

an inkjet printerthat costs less than some

inkjet cartridges,but don’t be tooquick to

writeoffCanon’s Pixma TS205. There’s no

denyingthat it’s basic; it’s easier to mention

that it has aUSB port than to detail the lack

of networking,scanner,display, duplex

printingor other features.

Still, it’s under £30, and if you’re realistic

with your expectations,the TS205 is unlikely

to disappoint.It’s very light, and there’s a

flexibleand approximatefeel both to its trays

and covers and the waythe print cartridges

slot intoplace.The paper input and output

trays are basic, and there’s no lip at the end of

the latter,sopages can begin to overspill by

the end of longer print jobs. Withoutnetwork

access,there’s no scope forcloud servicesor

printingfrom amobile device.There’s also no

memorycard slot, so if you want to print

photos, you’ll need to do it via aPC.

CLATTERINGCLASS

Start printingand you’re struck by two

simultaneousrealisations:that the TS205 is a

slow printer,and that, despitethis, it’s rather

noisy.Its paper feed mechanismclatters away,

while the print heads move across the page

with wheezymonotony.Itmanagedapeak of

7.5pages per minute(ppm) on our 25-page

mono letter test, and droppedto just 1.6ppm

when printingcomplexcolour graphics.

On 6x4in photopaper,each print took

aroundtwo-and-a-halfminutes.

Print quality is quitegood, however.

On plain paper it’s amatch formost mid-

CANONPixmaTS205

★★★★★

£26•From http://www.ebuyer.com

BUDGETINKJET PRINTER

range inkjets,with sharp,black text, and bold,

streak-free graphics.Photoprints have a

warm colour bias, which can work well on

skin tones but won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Althoughphotos don’t match the detail

levels of the best printers, they’re more

than good enoughforoccasionalprints.

PLENTYINTHETANK

The TS205 comes with standard

cartridgesgood for180 pages in

black or colour.ToCanon’s credit,

the printer wasn’t runninglow on

ink after our standardtests, which

on asingle-functionprinter

amountto about 80 pages of text

and graphicsplus six borderless

6x4in photos; we’ve seen more

expensiveprinters exhausttheir

ink before we finish. That said, our

tests usuallyincludeat least three

A4 photos, but the TS205 doesn’t

supportprintingon A4 photo

paper.Annoyingly,however,itwill

let you configureand send the job,

which then producesan error.

After the suppliedcartridges

are exhausted, you can buy XL

black cartridgesrated at 400

pages, and XL colour items rated at 300. With

these,running costs are 9.2p per mixed black

andcolourpage:hardlycheap,butsurprisingly

reasonablegiven the cost of the printer.Less

reasonableisthefactthattheblackcomponent

is 3.9p per page,which is as high as it gets.

The Pixma TS205 is strictly frill-free,

but forless than £30 it can turn out great

results withoutridiculouslyhigh running

costs. If you won’t print lots of black text,

don’t mind abit of noise,and can live with

slow results,it’s easy to recommend.

SimonHandby

⬆The TS205’sprint optionsare severely limited, but that’s hardly

asurprisegiven the printer’s rock-bottom price

VERDICT

Itmaybebasicandslow,butifyou’reaftera

cheapprinter,thePixmaTS205isabargain

SPECIFICATIONS

Monospeed

Mixedcolour

speed

Monopagecost

Colourpagecost

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

Seepage108forperformancedetails

TECHNOLOGYThermalinkjet•MAXIMUMPRINT

RESOLUTION4,800x1,200dpi•DIMENSIONS

131x426x255mm•WEIGHT2.5kg•MAXIMUMPAPER

SIZEA4/legal•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•

DETAILSwww.canon.co.uk•PARTCODE2319C008

7.5ppm

1.6ppm

3.9p

5.2p

Printqualityisquitegood.On plainpaperit’s amatch

formostmid-rangeinkjets, withsharp,blacktext,

andbold,streak-free graphics