Review: Canon PIXMA MP830 review multi-function device

The PIXMA MP830 sits at the top of Canon's range of multi-function devices (MFD) and with a price of over £200 it needs to have some useful extras.

In fact, it does pretty well on the specification sheet with dual paper trays, double-sided print and double-sided scanning from the automatic document feeder (ADF). There are also full fax facilities and a comprehensive set of memory card slots.

The Canon PIXMA MP830 is a sleek and robust looking machine, styled in silver and black, with the ADF feed tray folding out to hold 35 pages.

It's unusual for an MFD to be able to scan both sides of a page in one operation, though more usual to be able to print on both sides (usually called duplex printing). The PIXMA MP830 can do both, though duplex printing takes four times as long as single-side printing.

Below the scanner, at the front, is a large control panel with a number pad for fax dialling, individual keys to select the operating mode and to start copy jobs. In the midst of these controls is a 6.1cm colour screen, allowing images to be previewed from memory cards, as well as displaying the MP830's menu system.

Paper can be fed from a near-vertical tray at the rear or from a cartridge, which slides in from the front. Each takes up to 150 sheets of plain paper and can also be used with smaller photo paper sizes. There’s also a CD/DVD carrier that slides in, rather awkwardly, from the front for printing directly to disc.

Print quality was generally very good, with clean, sharp text and solid graphics. Photos come through natural and well-detailed, with good colour rendition of bright and pastel shades. The only hiccup is with double-sided prints, where text shows some speckling, with the nap of the paper coming through.

Print costs for the five ink tanks – there's pigmented black for more permanent text print, as well as a dye-based black for photographs – gives page costs of 2.4p and 36p for black and colour pages, respectively. These are quite dear, but are directly affected by the prices you can find for ink and paper, so it's worth shopping around.

Also consider
Epson Stylus Photo RX520
Overall: For those printing photos but also requiring a scanner it's a good deal, but the sub-par text printing means it's not suitable as an office printer
Rating: 4
Price: £230

Brother MFC-440CN
Overall: The 440CN gives you all you need for the home or small office at a very reasonable price
Rating: 4
Price: £180

All multi-function device reviews

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A solid piece of office equipment with flexible paper handling and print facilities.

The well laid-out control panel is easy to navigate, even with a lot of options available.