There are many different routes to take when buying a printer. You can spend a lot on a high quality machine, you can spend a little on a piece of junk, or you can find a printer that offers quality and a lot of features for a low price. Well if it’s a Canon Pixma MP170 all in one printer you’re looking for then you are most likely going to have to opt for a used model.
But from the MP170 we can gauge the development of the Pixma MP series which has had many new editions. This model is now discontinued so if you’re nostalgic and really want one because of some distant memory involving one then the Canon PIXMA MP170 as a used model is available at $75.
Starting Point
The MP170 has a decent resolution up to 4800 x 1200 dpi and a speed of 22ppm black and 17ppm color. It can spit out a 4’’ x 6’’ borderless print in 55 seconds. At this point canon was using a 1472 nozzle print head with ink droplets of 2 picoliters and 5 picoliters. From that starting point let’s see how far the Canon Pixma series has progressed.
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Later Versions
There have been too many newer editions to mention them all, but skipping a few at a time we move forward to the monitor improvement in the series. On to the Canon Pixma MP210 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer seems little unchanged. same speed same resolution and the scanner has the same resolution as the MP170 at 600 x 1200 dpi optical and 19200 x 19200 dpi interpolated.
So what’s new? Not a lot, apart from the look and the fact that they are easier to find new. Available online for $110, so I bet your glad you never grabbed the used MP170 for $75. Copier speed remains unchanged at 22cpm and 17ppm color.
But wait, the 4″ x 6″ borderless print now spits out in 46 seconds. So there is a little progress even if slight.
Leaping forward again the to the Canon PIXMA MP250 Inkjet Photo All-in-one Printer little change but this model can be found at under $60. So let’s go further forward all the up to the Canon PIXMA MP490 Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer and a few small changes are detected. Most of the features are the same but now an addition of a 1.8 LCD screen and a new Auto Fix system. A borderless 4” x 6” now taking 43 seconds to print.
Many Editions Small Changes
So it goes with many manufacturers where they bring out many revised editions with minimal changes. From their point of view, it keeps the market fresh and a new printer always attracts attention even if there is little change.
However over the years, advancements have come. In some cases, this changes many things namely the price. Then among the improvements, they squeeze out another budget model in the same series. It really pays to follow the lines as they are all easy to find on the Canon site.
Know your budget and work backwards starting with the latest and see how far you need to go before you find a model in your budget range. It’s tedious but you may be missing the very printer you dreamed of at the price you hoped it would be. Then take it to Amazon and compare the price against Canon’s retail value. The saving you can make will surprise you or at least in most cases.
Up to Date
From beginning to end, there are around 40 Pixma MP models. That’s a lot of printers to look at but as much as you have the patience it would be worth it. As I said the changes do come and by the time we have graduated to the Canon PIXMA MP640 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer major additions have been added.
Now we are talking Built-in Ethernet Connectivity, 3” LCD screen and auto duplex. Those 1,472 print nozzles has increased to 4,416 and a huge resolution of up to 9600 x 2400 dpi color although for black it remains at 600 x 600 dpi. Sheet trays are similar and it’s a little quicker. What’s also gone up is the price as the extra features are not free. You can expect to pay around $240 for this model.
There is also the MG series to continue for multifunction as with such as the Canon PIXMA MG8120 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-in-One Printer with Maximum 9600 x 2400 color dpi. This of course is a little more at around $240.
But we are moving away from the original topic of the discontinued MP170 which started the article, but the point being: just because a good old printer like the MP170 is hard to find, don’t despair as just following the upgrades improves the availability and often has less bearing on the price as you would expect. Canon makes a lot of all in ones at fair prices and although it’s tedious, do your homework. Work backwards from around the Canon PIXMA MP490 Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer at around $90.
Or grab the Canon PIXMA MP495 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One, a wireless all in one which is terrific value at under $60.
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About James Wikkee