Update 2 5/1/2018: If your computer and devices cannot find the printer after you've installed it, it's probably your router reassigning a new IP address for you printer. Go into your router settings and assign a static IP address for the printer, then reinstall the printer. Your devices won't lose connection to it again.
Many people have asked if my review is for the MF634. Yes it is and it was $244. The price is still about the same. If you see a higher price of $300+, then it's because amazon ran out of stock and it automatically switched the price to the next supplier that's selling. Their price is higher. Just wait until amazon restock and you'll get it for under $250.
Update: If you have a problem with features like scan to USB memory stick, then it's not broken. You have to unlock it in the settings. It makes sense because it is a very common feature in offices these days to prevent people from scanning and saving the docs to memory sticks. My office does the same thing. You can only scan and send it to your computer so everything stays secured and only employees of that office can use it. I can see that for home users, this is not needed.
Intro:
Mankind's worst enemies have always been the printers. It works most of the time when all you want to do is print something you can easily read on the screen but rather have it on paper because you're an old stuck-in-your-way disgruntled office worker. That or you just like to smell the death of bleached dead trees. That is your only redemption when it comes to vengeance towards printers and unfortunately only the trees paid for it. When you need to get that TPS report printed out, or when you need print out your Power Point presentation notes for your speech, it will give you endless network errors, jams, and won't recognize any paper you put in because it can. That is why I Rage Against The Machine incorrectly. But sometimes I do feel like printers are the government. New printers always made extravagant promises that made you think it will solve all your problems and then failed to deliver in practice. The features are often gimmicky or just don't work like it should. After countless updates and reworked drivers, it still failed to deliver your paper properly in full much like how I am expecting my Social Security checks when I retire in 30 years. Can this be the new machine that can trump them all or will it be cancer all over with driver updates that feels like remissions?
I paid $244. i wanted an AIO with duplex print and scan. I needed it to have a small foot print and an easy to use large LCD screen. I don't want an HP or Epson in this category due to my previous problems with them. Brother is out of the question that this range as it is just not as good. However, Brother is a great value for sub $150 laserjet printers and very reliable/cheap to operate.
Quick FYI. For those looking at this printer, you're probably looking at the M277dw as well. Both are very similar in price and specs. However, 2 major differences stood out.
1. The HP does not have duplex scanning
2. The HP has a 3in screen, which is ok at best
3. The HP cost $100+ more
Ok that's 3. And to be frank, even if the HP was the same price, I still wouldn't pick the HP. In my opinion, there are literally no available product that is competitive to this Canon AIO under $350. Its closest competitor is actually the bigger version of this, the MF731cdw, that can be found priced between $360-500.
Why do I pick the Canon printer? That's simply because of duplex printing AND scanning. If you ever had to scan double sided prints manually with a single side scanner, it takes about 3-5x the time and 2x the error/jam rate. In addition to that, it is usually considered a feature worth $50-100. That is what I typically see in pricing for the past 10 years. As far as printing quality, Canon and HP shares many of their tech through licensing. That is why you typically see them both having about the same print quality. So why pick the more expensive printer with less features and cost more just to do about the same? This is not about brand, this is about getting your money's worth. Now if you're looking for a heavy duty office printer with plenty of available service contracts options and warranty peace of mind, pick HP despite the cost difference. But this printer is for a home office or very small office and I doubt it would be worth it as by the time it needs service, there is a new version that cost just as much as the labor for service you needed.
Install:
Easy to install. You no longer need to plug it into a computer to set it up initially. Just plug it in, fire it up, and go through a few simple steps on the screen of the printer. The toners are already installed. It will print a sheet of rainbow colors and ask you to scan it so it can calibrate. Then you go through networking. Wifi works fine and hasn't dropped the connection yet. Although initially, it had problems being recognized by the Canon App. It fixed itself after about 30 minutes and now it works fine.
As far as computers go, I didn't have to install anything. Windows 10 recognized it immediately without installing drivers provided by the DVD that was included. My iMac and macbook also picked it up via Airprint without any problems. Again, no software install by you needed. This is about as close to plug and play as you can get for a wireless printer.
I had the printer update its firmware with a few taps on the screen. Again, you don't need to go through the complicated process like every printer I've ever had (and I have plenty) of connecting it to your computer, then download the software and do funky stuff. Sure it's not that complicated but it's annoying, takes way too much time, and add another app onto your computer that you barely use. You used to have to use a different app to update the firmware and another to update the driver. Now, you can say good bye to all that and I'm glad Canon went this route.
The app also allow you to scan a QR code on the screen for it to find the printer on your network. Pretty neat feature to make install easier. The QR code apparently contains the wifi information like IP address and stuff. Helps if you have multiple printers on the network.
Prints:
Color pictures actually looks pretty good. I still wouldn't use it for framing photos. However, it is significantly better phtoto quality than my old Epson WF7610. Of course, it is nowhere near as good as my Pixma Pro 100. Here are some pros and cons
1. The colors are actually very vivid like Canon claimed. This is a first for AIO printers that I've experienced as they are usually dull even with calibration.
2. Unfortunately, although it is vivid, the colors are not accurate.
3. Regardless of what photo and format you send to the printer, they all end up looking like compressed JPEG pics.
4. Comparing it to my Pixma Pro 100 side by side, there are very noticeable differences on how the printer blends the colors, color accuracy, and the amount of color gradients. Even for black and white photos, it isn't photo quality.
5. But it is still the best AIO laserjet printer by far that you can buy for under $300.
Please note that if all you do is print overly processed and compressed JPEG pics from your phone camera, then I doubt there are much differences between this and a real pro printer mainly because of the quality of the photo. The pro printers will still print better but the margins are much lower.
Black and white prints are good and the blacks are deep. Much deeper blacks than the Brother laserjet and the Epson as well. I guess the downside to that it may use more of your toner. However, the deeper blacks makes prints much easier to read.
Print speed is what I expected from an office printer. I didn't exactly time it but it seems to be spitting out my prints about 10 seconds after I hit print. Just enough time for me to walk over and pick it up. 19 page per minute is pretty typical office printer speed. If you've never had a problem with it before, it isn't going to be a problem now. Canon's main advantage is the 12 sec or less first page output. The Brother printer took much longer and so did the Epson.
Both the Epson and Brother printers are noisier. I'm not sure if this is due to age. However, the Epson shakes a bit when it prints and it's just annoying. The Canon makes plenty of noise but it is a steadier more soothing noise. Overall, the Brother printer makes the same noise, just slightly louder.
Electric draw. Many people don't realize how much energy a laserjet takes to print. The Brother printer would start up and you can see the lights on the same circuit goes dim for a split second. The Canon didn't exhibit that problem. I don't know why or care to find out. However, I would imagine they require about the same energy to heat up the ink. If I was to engineer around this problem, I would have a capacitor to store energy for that short burst of high energy draw. That way you won't have a surge of energy draw from your circuit. The Brother laserjet was a cheap $120 printer so I'm guessing no point in building in that extra capacitor.
Features:
It has everything you need except NFC. You can print from your phone, computer, or tablet if you want. It supports Google print, airprint, windows print, etc... with minimum setup. I tried it all, it worked. I printed a photo straight from my Photo App on the iPhone.
You can plug a USB stick in and print stuff from there. The large LCD screen makes it easy.
I wish it had an SD card reader but it seems the newer printers don't include it anymore.
This Canon's output tray, if you can even call it that, is bad. You can tell just by looking at the picture. Although not a big deal, it's annoying when you go to grab your prints and sometimes need several attempts.
Value:
Ok, let's get this one straight. Just a few years ago, getting a decent high quality laserjet for $250 is a phenomenal deal. But if you want duplex printing and double sided scanning that works well, you're paying $400+. Today, we can have it all for about $250. That's crazy considering when laserjet used to be $500+ not that long ago. Maybe I'm getting old and my memories of having to go to the library to print still lingers. That harsh noise of the printer sounding like it was stabbing itself as it prints in resolutions so low, you can literally see the pixels. It's 2017, and it's the year printers stopped giving us nightmare. All you need is about $250.
Back to my original question. Is this the much needed printer revolution or another rage inducing machine? It is neither. There really isn't anything new here. However, it does work well. This printer is just keeping promises printers made 10 years ago. While that is kind of a revolution in itself over the usual disappointment, there are no real defining feature that I can call a revolution. Unless working properly is a feature. But I digress, it is a great printer at a great price and I voted for it with $244 dollars or approximately 5,546,974.00 Vietnamese Dongs as of the current exchange rate.
It's rare I would ever recommend any printer except a cheap Brother laserjet simply because it's cheap, reliable, and doesn't try to wow you with stupid feature that ends up only in disappointment which later morphs into a mix of rage, fear, uncertainty, and doubt. However, if you are looking for a small foot print office grade reliable fully featured AIO printer that works, perhaps throwing down the extra ~$100+ over that cheap Brother Laserjet is a good idea. Here are a few scenarios when you know you can afford this Canon over a cheap $120 Brother laserjet:
1. When you've graduated past ramen noodles for dinner and can afford a smartphone with more than 16GB of storage.
2. When you've "elaborated" your resume to brilliant status and landed a job that elevated from poverty to middle class level where tipping over 15% at a restaurant doesn't make you feel like the waiter is rich compared to you.
3. When you go to a baseball/basketball game still sitting on the upper deck, but you actually have a beer and nachos in your hands instead of pretending you're so into the game that those things don't matter.
4. When you play with your dog because you want to play with your dog, not because you're too broke to do anything but play with your dog.
5. When you no longer call customer service over a bill regularly because you "forgot" to pay just this one time so please don't charge late fees.
6. When the phrase "gas money" never comes out of your mouth anymore.
7. When turn down RSVP for birthdays but still sent a present
I ended with 7 because 7 is a lucky number. According to Chinese proverbs, 7x7 = 49. Half Life 3 is confirmed to launch on the 49th of this month. If you are rich, then I don't know why you are buying this printer. There are bigger better ones for rich prices. If I was rich, I would have a stand alone printer in my basement not connected to my network so it is unhackable. Then I would hire a butler and send him to the printer with a usb stick and print directly from it. I would only use parchment paper. My printer could only be fed parchment paper manually one at a time. The butler has to tie my prints with a red string forming a perfect bow tie served on a tray lined with the grainiest ostrich leather in taupe.
FYI, it's really easy to unbox if you read the instructions on the box. It's really heavy so it's the best way. Trust me, I took it out the hard way by lifting it. There are only a few pieces of tape holding the double box. Once you cut it, it just kind of unfold and you have the printer sitting right there. No need to struggle. Canon thought of everything but I he-man it and now my back hurts.
I received it promptly and was delivered in good condition. It is quite heavy and it is best handled by 2 people. The installation was easy if you follow the installation guide carefully. I have a IMac computer and the disc with the software is for a PC. The Canon USA web site allows you to download the software for the MAC and the installation of the software was easy. Connecting to my network was as simple as it can get. It was all automatic. I was blown away by the print quality and found the speed of sending files and printing faster than my Brother laser printer had been.It is relatively quiet and very easy to use. The scanning software is easy to use and the scanning accurate. I haven't tried to print envelopes as yet but my Brother printer always wrinkled the corner of the envelopes. I downloaded the printer manual and it is quite extensive so I just keep it as a file.I did have to contact Canon Support regarding a warranty card as it was not included in the package (the warranty is 3 years) so they registered the printer with the phone call. One word of warning, when I googled Canon support, many sites were listed that sound like they are part of Canon. They want to charge for their service. Make sure you go to Canon USA site for downloads or help.
Ok, I feel compelled to write this review. This printer is a game change for a small office / home office. Sets up IMMEDIATELY, all computers on the LAN can find it (no klugey set up downloads drivers etc), scanner works IMMEDIATELY, double-sided single pass, and you don't run out of toner in 2 seconds like these POS inkjet-types which have ZERO place in any office env in my opinion. I am a techy and this is one of the best out-of-box experiences I have had. Also, it fits on top of a regular filing cabinet! sticks out a little, but the feet are solidly on there. highly recommend!
I really like the features of this All-in-One especially the ability to scan both sides from the auto-feeder. The one thing I am very disappointed about is you can't "assemble" a pdf by choosing some, but not all, of the scanned pages. With my old Canon I was able to scan a big pile of papers with the auto-feeder and then make a bunch of pdfs by choosing which pages in the preview window to include in each pdf. It greatly minimized the continual back and forth between my laptop and the Canon. I was not able to find a way to do that with the MF634Cdw.
I had a fairly new inkjet printer. I don't print often and the print heads dried out. I bought a kit to clean them. What a mess. Then after it was done I did print head maintenance. Then the piece of junk told me the ink cartridges were empty and had to be replaced. I had just put them in a few weeks before it clogged and did not print much. I decided I wasn't going to waste any more money on the inkjet. I found this Canon Laser and it works great. No more ink, no more mess. Even though it cost more, it will be cheaper in the long run.
Feature Product
- Includes 3-year limited warranty With 100% U. S. Based service and support team provides friendly, expert help for every level of experience
- Print at speeds of up to 19 pages per minute, with your first print in your hands in 12 seconds or less
- Single-pass, duplex scan-scans both sides of your document in a single pass. Operating temperature: 50-86°f. Color depth 24-bit
- Easily connect your mobile devices without a router using Wi-Fi Direct connection
- Hi-capacity toner options keep up with your printing needs and limit toner Replacement interruptions
Description
The all-in-one, Canon color image class MF634Cdw offers easy to use features such as the intuitive 5-inch color touch panel, various mobile solutions, a single-pass, duplex scan feature and comes with a 3 year limited warranty. Your professional quality color documents are printed at speeds of up to 19 pages per minute in both color and black and white with a quick first print time of 12 seconds or less. Get high quality, crisp and bold color business documents as well as photos using V2 (vivid and vibrant) color technology, which increases image sharpness and color vibrancy. The intuitive 5-inch color touch panel allows you to navigate through the menu seamlessly. The wide screen and color display is user friendly and easy to read. The MF634Cdw has wireless connectivity, and also has built in Wi-Fi direct connection capability, enabling easy connection to mobile devices without a router. Pairing your mobile device just got easier - simply scan the QR code function on the MF634Cdw using the Canon print business app to connect wirelessly. Enjoy a variety of easy to use mobile features. Manage device usage and color access for up to 300 IDs, using Password protected department ID management. Print from and scan to USB. The MF634Cdw provides generous paper capacity to keep up with your fast paced business output needs. With the front-loading 150-sheet paper cassette, 50-sheet duplexing automatic document feeder, 1-sheet manual feed slot, your paper handling requirements are covered. The single-pass, duplex scan allows you to scans both sides of your document in a single pass through the duplex, automatic document feeder. The MF634Cdw uses less than 1 W of energy in energy Saver mode, helping you save money on energy costs. High-capacity toner options keep you printing longer, with limited toner replacements so you can keep pace with your busy output needs. Transmission time - approximately 3 seconds.
I've been impressed with this printer so far. It's very fast and was relatively easy to get set up and connected to my network. The documents it outputs have crisp blacks and vibrant colors. If you're looking for photo quality, don't buy a laser printer. For office documents and presentations with some photos and graphics, it's excellent quality and looks very professional.
This Canon Color imageCLASS MF634Cdw - All-in-One, Wireless, Duplex Laser Printer (Comes with 3 Year Limited Warranty) is a CLASS ACT all by itself. Canon being a company that has produced excellent ink-jet Photo-Printers for years, has now shown its true imageClass MF634Cdw as a MAJOR FORCE to contend with! Canon provides all the necessary printing requirements needed by anyone. 2 sided DUPLEX printing (to save the trees), 2 sided DUPLEX scanning that requires only one pass, WIRELESS SCANNING from printer to my desktop computer (that was registered with Canon printer). Look Mom, NO WIRES connected between Canon printer and my desktop! Canon printer is on my home network along with my Brother laser (black only) printer. Since this Canon has been installed , I have not experienced any problems. I read previous reviews concerning this MF634Cdw printer and as I have seen in the past, many NEGATIVE REVIEWS are written and due to OPERATOR ERROR(s). Reviews are also written by someone who has very little experience connecting devices to home networks or setting up a new printer. I can print from any room in my home using my 3 laptops (Win 7 and Win 10 OS), 1 desktop (Win 7 OS), 1 iX (iPhone), and 2 iPads Mini 4. (Those who experience network problems may be using a router with problems to begin with.) Yes all routers are not created equal.
This Canon MF634Cdw laser output is superb, sharp and shows up as Photo Quality - as far as I am concerned, along with other friends who have looked at the laser output printouts! I have printed 70+ 8x10 color photos and they all look terrific. I have used Canon High Resolution Paper and have a difficult time detecting the difference between "plain paper" and the High Resolution paper, PRINTING. This laser printer is "something else"! You must see it to believe it!
No question, I would buy a 2nd Canon MF634Cdw without giving it a second thought.
Canon printer is large in size and needs 2 people to move it around and install it into place. My Canon sits on a 2 drawer steel filing cabinet, filing cabinet sits on the floor. I agree paper tray is small (a slight inconvenience), but all the included features are 5 STAR Rated including the laser color printouts that I consider -- Photo Quality, however another person might not agree. It is a given that ink-jet printing will produce the best Photo Quality printouts. However ink-jet printing takes time from start to finish. With this Canon printer, 1st 8x10 laser photo took 19 seconds to print, the 2nd copy took about 10 seconds to print for total time of 29 seconds. Printer started from its "sleep position" and took 29 seconds to print 2 laser colored photos. This Canon is as GOOD AS IT GETS...Believe it!
I wanted a non-inkjet printer after having an older HP ink jet printer. The older printer (e.g., 10 years) I had was fine, but it would clog up, mainly due to the fact that I didn't print very often. It finally gave up and so after doing a bunch of reading and reviewing, I decided to look seriously at a color laser.
I settled on the Canon, primarily due to reviews, brand and price. Here is my early experience:
1) VERY easy to set up. I only used the LAN interface and didn't set up for FAXing (never want to do it and it isn't near a POTS telephone line).
2) Setting up printing from the LAN was super easy. I have both Windows 8 and 10 machines. After downloading and installing the drivers, printing was a breeze. My wife, who hated printing before, loves the fact that she can be connected on the home WiFi, print and it just comes out. The only real complaint I had was the security settings are designed for a small office versus a single user. I had to find online the system admin ID and password on-line (7654321 for both) and then go into the setting to enable the USB port for scanning. Not a big deal, but a bit of a pain - pretty minor in my opinion.
3) Fairly big unit (see photo). Not a criticism, but just the reality.
4) Unit is "noisy" - NOT loud - when it's printing. It sits right next to me at my desk, so you notice when it's printing; however, not enough to disturb a phone conversation. Since I don't print very much, it sits in sleep mode most of the time (i.e., essentially silent).
5) There is NONE of the ink issues I used to deal with. Before I would sometimes have to clear the cartridge to get a decent print and ALL of that went away.
6) Display is super easy to navigate and the unit has a web portal you can bring up too for configuration.
I just installed this Canon color laser printer today, and early results are very good. Printing is fast (relative to an ink jet). Text print quality is excellent. Photo print quality is much better than I would have expected from a laser printer.
But... While scanning quality is also excellent - there is a VERY significant shortcoming in Canon's Windows-based MF Scan Utility. (I suspect the Mac version has the same issue.) A basic "Save As" function is not available. In other words, you cannot browse to a folder to save a scanned document. The software does allow you to set up pre-defined folders, but each destination folder (or sub-folder) must be explicitly defined in advance. You cannot, for example, pre-define a folder called "Receipts" and then expect to browse to a sub-folder called "Utilities." Each destination folder must be defined, and is displayed in one very long list. This quickly becomes impractical if you're saving to several different folders.
But there is good news. A Canon support specialist confirmed this limitation, but also told me any TWAIN-compatible scanning software would work. Within minutes, I downloaded and configured a free scanning utility called NAPS2. It works like a champ, and has many more scanning options, a much clearer user interface, and faster performance. With this software, scanning quality and flexibility are outstanding.
In summary, this seems to be a very good multi-function laser printer at a good price. But if you do much scanning, definitely download a TWAIN-compatible driver.
Excellent quality color printer. MUCH higher quality than any printer I've owned in the last 20 years. Simple setup, never "falls off" the wifi signal like so many other printers I've owned, extremely vivid color prints with excellent quality, simple, one-pass duplex printing. The black cartridge still says it's 50% full after 11 months of printing. My inkjet printers always needed more ink after around 4 months, even with "XL" cartridges. Toner cartridges are pricey - around $40 each, but if they last a year and a half they're much cheaper than inkjet ink. Even if toner was the same price as ink, I'd still be thrilled because it's such a better quality print.
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