Computer Shopper - UK (2019-12)

PRINTERS

ISSUE 382|COMPUTER SHOPPER|DECEMBER 2019 75

THEPIXMATS6250is amid-range model
from Canon’s latest line-upof home inkjet
multifunction peripherals. Like the restof
the range,it’s compact and smart, and
wouldn’t look outof place nextto astack of
considerably more expensive audio-visual kit.
It comes in two colours: the black TS6250
pictured here,and the whiteTS6251.
This MFP is aimed at home users, with a
bias towards creative tasks. While there’s no
faxmodem or automatic documentfeeder
formultipage copies, you can connect and
share itover awireless network, working
easily from PCs and mobile devices, andeven
printing from or scanningto the cloud. In the
base,plain paper is stored ina100-sheet
cassette, while you can keep photopaper
and other media stocked inasecond trayat
the rear; just rememberto push the guide
rollers down after you’ve loaded it.

SCRATCHTHAT
The TS6250 isn’t the quietest inkjet in use,
with printing characterisedby aslight
scraping noise as the heads moveover the

CANON Pixma

TS6250

★★★★★

£100•From http://www.printernet.co.uk

VERDICT

AsmartyetstraightforwardMFPforhome
use–andit’snottooexpensive,either

page.At1 2.7ppm, itstext printing isfast

enough, but lags slightly behind the best in

class. It’sasimilar storyforcolour graphical

prints, which worked outto 3.9ppm, andfor

our two 10x8in photos, whichtook nearly 11

minutes. However,ato nly around 40 seconds

each, borderless 6x4in photos were veryfast.

Tested over ashort range,line-of-sight

wireless connection, scans were swift at slow

resolutions, but slower at 600dpi and above.

Our 1,200dpi 6x4in photoscan took 1m 40s,

around twice the timeof some competitors.

Photocopies were quick enough,asingle A4

page needing 12 seconds in black and white,

and 22 seconds in colour.

As we’ve cometo expect from most Pixma

devices, the results were very good. Scans

preserved the full rangeof detail in light and

dark areas, and were sharplyfocused with

accuratecolours. On plain paper,text was

bold and crisp,and graphics were punchy with

strong colours. As with many inkjets, this was

less the case with duplex prints, where the

TS6250 uses less inkto reduce bleed-through,

and to prevent ink smearing as the paper is

flipped over and re-fed. On coated paper,

photos were generally impressive,but we

noted alittle grain and some subtle

blotchiness in the blue skyofo ne test subject.

DOUBLEDARK
The TS6250 usesafive-colour setup,
combining dye-based black, cyan, magenta
and yellow inks with an additional pigment
black. The latter is used only on plain paper,
while the dye black is used onlyforphotos.
Calculatedforthe largest XXL size ink tanks,
running costs are perhaps slightly higher
than ideal, at 8.7p per colour A4 pageof text
and graphics. The black componentof this is a
considerable 2.9p.
Overall, this isastrong MFPforthe home,
particularly if you’re mostly interested in
creative work such as scanning and printing
photos. It’sfairly well specified, costs only a
fewpounds more than the similar Brother
MFC-J491DW, and produces strong results.
With the caveat that it’salittle priceyto
run and isn’t especiallyfast, we’re still happy
⬆The Pixma TS6250 lacks an ADFforscanning, but duplex printing helps with multipage documents to recommend it.

This isastrong MFPforthe home,particularly ifyou’re

mostly interested in creativework