The Canon PIXMA MP210 is an all-in-one jobbie, which means it’ll print, scan and copy all from one box.  There are several advantages to this approach:

1. It’s cheaper than buying all the components separately
2. It saves space, because although it’s significantly bigger than a normal printer it is smaller than a printer and scanner side by side
3. It will copy (in black and white or colour) without needing to be connected to a computer
4. Fewer cables are necessary (1 power cable, 1 USB to computer)

Of course, there are also significant disadvantages too, which are worth at least bearing in mind:

1. If the scanner part fails it can’t be replaced – one would need to either buy another scanner or replace the whole thing with a new all-in-one, at the expense of a working printer
2. As above for the printer part
3. The MP210 actually uses the scanner to adjust its print head alignment (it prints a test sheet, you mark something on the printout, put the sheet into the scanner, it scans it and finds where you marked it, and adjusts itself accordingly), which is very clever, but I’m not sure there’s a manual option in case the scanner fails

Overall, though, I’m pleased with it so far.  The print quality is very good, arguably better than my previous Epson was (which is to be expected, it is new after all), and is pretty quick too.  I haven’t tested the scanning much yet, but the copying function works well, in B&W and colour.  It looks nice too.  Mmmm, shiny.  It’s also got PictBridge, which should allow me to plug my camera straight in and print directly without the computer; I don’t think I’d use that function, but it’s nice to know it’s there.

The only disappointing feature really is the LED display it has for feedback.  The model up from this (the MP220) has a funky two-line LCD display which gives meaningful messages, this one just has a 9-segment LED that displays a letter or number.  That means the messages it gives are somewhat incomprehensible, and you need to refer back to the documentation (which is only available on the computer, and not supplied in hard copy) to figure out what it’s telling you.  Not exactly ideal, but I guess it’s a cost-cutting ‘feature’ that Canon deemed was acceptable.

So now I’ve just got to figure out what I’m going to do with my old printer.  Probably just stick it in the garage with the previous Epson printer and let it gather dust until such a time as old broken printers become valuable antiques… I can dream, can’t I?

My first Epson printer was second hand, boxy, slow, and not brilliant quality. That was eventually replaced with a new, more compact model, which served me well for several years until it decided it wanted to retire – without warning or explanation it stopped working, and after much Googling I discovered that cause was an internal counter that had reached its maximum, and the only solution was to send it to an Espon dealer for them to reset it. The cost of sending it to them outweighed the cost of a new printer, so that printer just got stuffed in a box and forgotten. The replacement was slightly bigger, slightly more expensive, and lasted half as long; it’s developed a problem with one of the print heads, whereby the cyan comes out in no particular pattern and ruins every printout that uses colour. I’ve tried cleaning the heads, and got through almost half a cartridge of ink with not a sign of improvement. Since the heads themselves can’t be replaced, that printer has also been taken offline now.

So, the decision has been made that Epson are no longer serving me as well as they used to, and it’s time to move on to a new provider. A visit to the eBuyer web site yielded a promising result, which I duly snapped up – a Canon PIXMA MP210. Not only does this print, but it also has a built-in scanner, making it one of those clever all-in-one solutions that shops like to sell to small offices and individuals who think it’s going to revolutionise their life in one fell swoop. I’m under no such delusions. I know what I want, and I know what I’m going to use it for. If I’m honest I probably won’t use the scanner part very often at all, but given that it’s no more expensive than a normal printer I couldn’t resist. And it’ll work with my Mac, which is more than can be said for the cheapy-cheap-cheap scanner I bought a while back which needs to be used with my PC. And of course the MP210 will work as a standalone copier too, which may come in handy once in a while.

So, that’s a new printer-scanner-copier in the post, due to arrive “within 5 working days”. I’ll let you know how I get on with it. Hopefully it’ll last a bit longer than my Epson printer did…