Canon Pixma MX455 review

Canon’s PIXMA MX455 is a small inkjet multifunction peripheral (MFP) for home offices. It can scan, print, copy and send and receive faxes. It doesn’t have a wired Ethernet port, but it can connect to a wireless network for sharing among several users. The only feature we miss is automatic duplex (double-sided) printing, but the driver will help you do it manually.

The MX455 isn’t as flashy as some PIXMA models, but we like its refreshingly no-fuss design. There’s no memory card reader and no colour display, but we found the simple LCD screen and dedicated function buttons less confusing than the context-sensitive screen-and-button system found on many mid-range PIXMAs.

The scanner lid incorporates a 30-sheet automatic document feeder, and is secured by hinges that extend upwards to let the lid close flat when scanning thick originals on the platen. Initially, the single paper input tray seems longer than necessary and the output tray too short, until you discover that printed pages come to rest across both. It’s an odd arrangement, but it works perfectly well.

Canon claims a 9.7ppm maximum speed for this printer, and it came very close in our tests; reaching 9.3ppm over 25 pages of black text at the default quality. Oddly, switching to the driver’s Fast mode actually slowed the performance slightly to 9ppm. Text was crisp and dark black on both settings, but not quite perfect, with a very subtle horizontal tear on a couple of lines.

Graphical prints on plain paper were excellent, with strong colours and no obvious grain or banding, but they didn’t print quickly; Canon claims a 5.5ppm colour speed, but we measured just 2.2ppm over 24 pages. Photocopies seemed slow, too. A 10-page mono copy using the ADF took three minutes and 36 seconds. We waited nearly eight minutes for the same job in colour, but at least the results were good. Photos were quicker, with good quality, glossy borderless postcard prints taking a minute and a half each.

Canon’s print interface uses quick settings for simplicity, but more options are available

We experienced slow scanning over a wireless connection: a 300dpi A4 scan took 51 seconds and a 1,200dpi photo scan almost four minutes. Over a USB connection the same jobs took just 19 seconds and one minute. Fortunately, scan quality was up to Canon’s usual high standard.

Canon’s scan interface hasn’t changed in years, but it’s one of the best

This MFP gave consistently very good, albeit slow, results, but its running costs should be around 6.7p per page if you use the larger of two available sizes. That isn’t the lowest cost, but it’s an excellent figure for a cheap device, which helps make the MX455 a convincing Budget Buy.