Something unambiguously positive today: I’ve got a Canon Pixma MP610 printer that makes me very happy. The MP610 is, in most respects, a typical and serviceable all-in-one inkjet photoprinter. It does its thing well enough – I’m not enough of a printer geek to get into its specs – but its real greatness lies in its design.
Closed!
The best thing about this printer is that, when not in use, you can close it up s.t. its exterior is smooth and unbroken. This makes it very easy to keep clean. Most printers are little Tora Boras for dust and dirt; they have so many convoluted surfaces that they seem to trend inevitably towards the grimy. Not this one.
Envelopes
This printer will print envelopes. In my experience, printers are a little hit-or-miss on this question; some work, some don’t, and the printer’s ostensible features are only a loose guide as to what it will do in practice. The MP610 works great; you just flip open the rear tray, press the feed switch, put in your envelopes, and away you go.
Cassette
The MP610 has a nice little (closed) paper cassette in its belly. It’s of reasonable capacity, and, again, it’s safely hidden away from dust and dirt. This is a nice feature for me; I can go weeks without printing anything, and don’t like the idea of debris being dragged through my printer by the top sheet of paper.
Overall
The MP610 is a great printer. Whoever designed it did a great job. If you’re looking for a printer, I wholeheartedly recommend it.
