I picked up this printer for $87.87 to replace a couple of old wired laser printers that I had lying around. This was great purchase. The printer is somewhat large and bulky but it has to be given its feature set which include a full flat bed scanner with an automatic document feeder. The printer took about 45 minutes to install including removing all of the internal packaging including orange tape inside of the printer, installing the cartridges, software, and wireless access. The printer looks great with large buttons, an LED display, and attractive blue lights including a large WiFi logo on the front of the printer that glows blue when its connected. This is a practical feature that also nicely complements the other blue glowing lights on the machine's display.
The software was also easy to install. I did not expect to need to connect the printer to my PC via a USB cable as part of the installation but this resulted in seamless network detection that did not even require a password or any settings -- these were grabbed directly from my PC via the setup USB connection. My installation was lengthened somewhat by Windows Update which downloaded and installed some additional drivers for the printer's connectivity and various features. During this part of the install process, I was shown a message that the printer could not be detected. I ignored this message and after Windows Update was complete the message went away automatically and the software completed installation. The process leaves you with a printer and fax driver from the Windows print to menu that is accessible from any application, as well as a moded desktop icon that you can click to open a submenu of other icons to use some of the printer's more advanced features. I chose not to install the added web printing features because they are for internet explorer, which I find bulky as is and do not use often. When I printed out a test page the text was less clear then I am used to from my old laser printers. Those may be better for printing large amounts of black and white pages, but that is bad for the environment anyways and I like having a colored, wireless printer with advanced scanning and related features. I recommend this printer to anyone looking for a fully featured wireless solution for occasional printing. Just make sure you have a sturdy surface to place the printer as I am currently looking for something better then my shaky Ikea dining table.
When I moved the printer from a dining table to a part of an old desk that I think may have actually been designed for use as a printer stand, there is no more shaking when printing. This probably goes for any printer -- do not put on a cheap dining table. And two features of the printer that are really nice -- the front door, paper output tray, pops out when printing, so you can keep the output tray closed at all other times, which is much nicer in my opinion. Also, the WiFi icon lights up in blue when connected to the network, and then flashes when receiving data for printing over the network, which looks cool and is very helpful. The printer actually looks very nice with its glossy black and neon blue lights especially when closed. My old laser printers were very unpleasing to the eye.
Another update to this review concerns what to do when you want to connect your printer to a new network. I had to do this because I replaced my router and now have a new SSID and password. I fumbled around a bit with the manuals and various applications but what you really need to do is just download the most recent driver for this printer and your system. Run that, and you will be given the option to install the printer on the network or locally like with the first time you setup the printer. If you select network then you will be prompted to connect the printer to the computer using a USB cable. It will grab the new network settings for your machine, tell you disconnect the printer, and you are done.
Addendum 4/9/11 - I recently discovered that you can use the printer over wireless even from a PC that is on a different network (e.g. different SSID) from the printer. Run the installation drivers, select the wireless printing option, and attach the USB cable when prompted. If the installer does not find a printer on the PC's own wireless network, it will give you a list of other access points for the printer to connect to, and you can select an SSID other than the one to which the PC is connected. Disconnect the USB cable when prompted, and wait for the driver installation to finish. You should now be able to print to the printer on its alternative SSID from the PC on its original SSID. Canon Pixma MX410 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer (4788B018)
It's true! The Canon MS-410 Wireless printer is easy to set up and get started! I was in need of a multifunctional printer to include a fax and wireless features. After quite a bit of research, I found this one to be just right for my needs. The one thing I've not figured out is how the printer goes into sleep mode. The blue lights are very bright 24/7! Otherwise, I'm very satisfied with the product. I'm especially happy with the wireless feature which works perfectly! - Canon Multifunction - All In One Printer - Multifunction Printer - Pixma'
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