Canon Pixma MP240 review

We first reviewed Canon’s Pixma MP240 in What’s New, Shopper 255.

We’re including it here because it’s still cracking value. Everything from its construction to its sharp prints belies its price. It uses a tri-colour cartridge plus a cartridge of pigmented black ink for standard document printing, but even this gives print costs only slightly higher than Epson’s BX300FW.

Its standard-quality print speed of 5.6ppm is quick enough for most tasks. Document quality was excellent, with sharp, smooth-edged text. Colour illustrations were bright and accurately shaded. Even in draft mode, which prints at a fairly swift 7.5ppm, text was clear and well defined. Photo quality was sharp and light colours were accurate, although dark shades slightly lacked intensity because the printer has no photographic black ink.

Both colour and mono copy quality were excellent, with clear reproduction of text and accurate colour and shading. Many budget MFPs are limited to nine photocopies in a single run, but the MP240 can be set up to 20.

The ScanGear scanner software has been simplified, but all the usual Advanced Mode features are still present, from software-based dust and scratch removal to tone and shadow correction. By default, the scanner interface closes after each scan but can be set to remain open.

You can also retain the preview image between scans. The 1,200dpi maximum resolution is higher than that of most budget MFPs, but the integrated Contact Image Sensor (CIS) scanner is best suited to scanning photos for the web or documents for archiving. Colours and shading were accurate, though.

Print costs of 7.9p per mixed-colour page are slightly higher than the other inkjets here, and the tri-colour cartridge has to be replaced if you run out of any one colour. However, the MP240’s incredibly low price and excellent print quality make it our favourite low-price inkjet MFP. If you don’t print often but still want good-quality prints and accurate scans, this is a perfect choice. It’s our Budget Buy.