The replacement black ink costs are well above average, but replacement color can be relatively affordable. The PG-240 and CL-241 cartridges that come in the box are very low-capacity–delivering just 180 pages apiece–and they are currently not for sale in the United States. The Pixma MX512 uses Canon’s 240 and 241 series ink cartridges. This arrangement works most of the time, but occasionally a sheet printed in the unit’s speedy draft mode will sail to the floor. The output tray is oddly designed: It’s short, so that paper hangs over the edge and is stopped by the catch extending from the input tray below it. The Pixma MX512’s paper handling features are adequate for light use, with a 100-sheet paper tray, automatic duplexing, and a 30-sheet automatic document feeder for the scanner.

Still, the 2.5-inch nontouch LCD display is nice to have. The like-priced Canon Pixma MX410 has a far better control panel design though it still suffers from the three dubious function buttons.

Among the control panel’s foibles are three intermittently used function buttons, an odd-feeling four-way rocker, an inefficient layout that requires too much hand movement, and a keypad whose numbers are backlit only when needed–though the buttons have no other use. (The Mac dialog follows the same inefficient multipage template that Apple forces on everyone.)īut while its software is nicely designed, the Pixma MX512’s control panel has a Rube Goldberg aspect to it–and that’s being a bit harsh on Rube’s designs, which, though comically convoluted, are not confusing. The Windows printer properties dialog is exceptionally well laid-out, placing all the basic options on the main tab. MS, MS Duo, Secure Digital, and USB/PictBridge ports are provided for offloading scans and direct photo printing. Canon provides its usual stable driver and software bundle, which includes OCR and many photo-publishing features. We had no trouble setting up the Pixma MX512, which offers triple-threat connectivity–USB, ethernet, and Wi-Fi. On the other hand, the control panel is inefficient and black ink is expensive. Output speeds were easily fast enough for a home office, and the unit sports Wi-Fi as well as an automatic duplexer. Print quality–aside from color graphics on plain paper, which suffered from an excess of orange–seemed very good. The $150 (as of April 16, 2012) Canon Pixma MX512 inkjet multifunction printer (copy/fax/print/scan) is a bit of a mixed bag.

Canon mx512 printer how to change ink