Canon PIXMA G620 Review
The Canon PIXMA G620 is one of the leading printers we've tested for value, at only 12 cents per page. This storage-tank printer produced high-quality images and was reasonably easy to set up and use. It can print a maximum width of 8.5 inches and a maximum length of 47 inches. Any individual seeking to print a high volume of photos will certainly be extremely pleased with the operating costs, which is why we crown this model one of the most effective photo printers around.
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| Canon PIXMA G620 - canon.com |
The Canon PIXMA G620 truly shines at printing a large number of photos without breaking the bank. The ink container layout suggests you do not need to adjust ink cartridges, and that the ink will certainly last a long time. This is an excellent benefit if you plan to use your image printer extensively.
The G620 scored above average in the color print examination. Our testers consistently said that every one of the color photos presented "great detail." The photos were normally fairly crisp, with stunning, vivid colors. A few of the pictures leaned a bit toward magenta, yet all were still acceptable. It is worth noting that pictures of individuals with lighter skin had a yellow-colored tone, for which we deducted some points.
Compared to the highest-quality printers, the G620 had a bit of fuzziness on large-print histories. But for the most part, we found that the highlights printed well and the details were clear. To analyze the degree of clarity up close, we viewed the numerous images produced by the PIXMA G620 under a microscope. Click the images below for a close-up view of the fine details created by the G620.
Black and White Prints
For this section of the test, we look not only at grayscale accuracy but also at overall photo quality, clarity, and how well it matches the image. The G620 still succeeded here but lost a bit more in terms of high-quality performance.
For the black-and-white test, the Canon G620 scored above standard; however, a few models did better. We discovered this printer could produce a wide range of grays, though there was a little green in some large gray areas. That said, the basic top quality, clearness, and accuracy were great, as you can see in the picture listed below.
Publish Capabilities
The Canon G620 is very versatile, as it can accommodate a range of paper sizes. It can print on paper approximately 47 inches long, but the max width is 8.5 inches. This is fine for many uses, yet we were dissatisfied with the inability to print on anything larger than 8" x 10".
The G620 stands out for its snail's-pace print speed. It was among the slowest printers we checked, with a 4x6" photo taking 2.5 minutes. That's more than double what most other printers deliver.
Depending on your use, print time may not be a problem, but if you need to ensure a high-volume output in a short period, this printer may not be the best choice.
Set-up
The G620 was surprisingly simple to set up. This is an ink-storage-tank printer, so you do not need to tinker with ink cartridges. Instead, just open up the fill terminal and pour ink directly into the reservoirs. The ink bottles are designed to mate snugly with the printer, so you don't have to worry about making a mess or unintentionally overfilling. Overall, we found this procedure to be much less unpleasant than using typical hand-staining ink cartridges.
Upon unboxing, you will certainly need to mount the print heads and fill up the ink tanks. This is an easy action, but it still takes a couple of minutes. We appreciated that each shade had a special groove pattern to prevent you from inadvertently placing the wrong ink in a given tank.
It took about 25 minutes to get this printer set up and ready to roll, plus an extra 10 minutes to complete the software setup steps. There is a setup application for this printer, but you can also connect via Wi-Fi, Hi-Speed USB, or Wireless PictBridge.
Setting up and using the Pixma G620
The Pixma provides a USB 2.0 port for connection to a single computer and 802.11 b/g/n WWiFi for cordless networking to PCs, Macs, or Android or iOS smartphones and tablet computers. You also get Wireless PictBridge for publishing from certain Canon digital Wi-Fi-tronic cameras and video recorders.
Canon also includes a variety of mobile apps and utilities, including Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service for Android, Canon Print and Easy-PhotoPrint Editor apps, Pixma Chat Print, Pixma Cloud Link for smartphones, Canon Print Service for Android, and the Canon Creative Park application.
Most of these names speak for themselves. Pixma Chat Print, for example, isolates and prints chat discussion threads. Pixma Cloud Link connects to your favorite cloud websites, allowing you to publish to or check individually or in batches. The Easy-PhotoPrint Editor app supports all four major systems-- Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS-- and does exactly what its name suggests.
With Easy-PhotoPrint Editor, you can apply filters such as red-eye elimination or convert color pictures to grayscale. You can also create and manage photo albums, either in the cloud or on your computer.
However, the Pixma G620 does not let you print from or save to flash memory tools such as USB thumb drives or SD cards. The Epson ET-8500 and ET-8550 both support numerous flavors of flash cards and drives.
