Canon ImageClass MP4690 – Multifunction Laser Printer For Small Offices

Pros

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 comes with an incorporated duplexer, in-built ADF and Ethernet networking. The printer also offers decent speed for copy and grayscale scan and finally it can scan to a USB flash drive or a file server.

Cons

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 delivers slower print speeds than the similarly priced competition; its scan-to-PC function is a tad clunky and the printer doesn’t have the capability to block Junk faxes.

Introduction

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 comes loaded with all the accouterments of a superb quality small office printer. This multifunction laser printer offers plenty of catchy features for small work groups, like the printer is network-ready and is affordably priced at $400. Unluckily for Canon, the Dell 1815dn comes loaded with the same amount of features and offers prints at decent pace, for the very same price tag of $400. Though, the Canon MF4690 has one thing working in its favor, and it’s the ability of the printer to scan documents on to a file server on the network. If that feature is more important for you than the speed of Dell 1815dn, then go for the Canon MF4690, or else the Dell 1815dn is a lot better option.

Design

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 is a compact multifunction printer intended for small offices and work groups. The ImageClass MF4690 measures 15.4 inches wide by 17.4 inches deep by 14.6 inches tall, and weighs just less than 32 pounds. The scanner lid on top of the printer conceals an A4-size flatbed scanner of the printer, but you still can make legal-size scans with the help of top-mounted automatic document feeder.

The printer has a 250-sheet paper cassette tray, which can be adjusted for holding legal size sheets residing at its base. The dust cover for the cassette is removable, which makes it easy to load the cassette right in the middle of a print job. The output tray for the printer has a pull-out arm which can be used for collecting long sheets.

The control panel for the printer is decently organized and is clearly labeled. The printer has a two-line text LCD, which keeps you updated on the status of the hardware components and lets you peruse the menus. There also are eight programmable one-touch buttons for the frequently faxed numbers, in addition to some other fax-dedicated buttons. You can switch between copy, fax, and scan tasks easily with a push of a button, or can call up the settings menus, the system monitor or the toner gauge. The printer has an alphanumeric keypad which facilitates typing the fax numbers and e-mail addresses, and the out-and-out copy buttons to call up the common options such as reduce/enlarge collate/two-on-one copy and image quality. The printer only has the USB 2.0 port for connecting all sorts of USB storage devices.

System Configuration

Starting price: $329.80 – $470.00
Manufacturer: Canon USA
Part Number: 1827B001
Printer Type: Laser – Monochrome
Operating System Supported: Microsoft Windows 98 , Microsoft Windows ME , Microsoft Windows XP , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows Vista , Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Apple Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later

Dimensions (W x D x H): 15.4 x 17.4 x 14.6 in
System weight: 31.5 lbs
Fax Features: Answering machine interface and Dual-line fax capability
PC Connection: Hi-Speed USB
Included Accessories: Telephone line cable, Power cord, Document tray, Destination labels and Starter cartridge 104
Microsoft Certifications: Certified for Windows Vista

Performance

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 has all the features that make it suitable for small office or work group, such as built-in networking. The printer can copy, print, fax and scan, and you even can scan to a file server of an e-mail. The printer comes with an ADF, using which you either can copy or scan documents with multiple pages.

In terms of performance the ImageClass MF4690 was seen lagging behind some of its rivals in the black print test, but the same was not the case with grayscale copies and scans. The MF4690 printed black text at the rate of 14.70ppm and delivered black graphics at the rate of 14.51 pages per minute (ppm). The same was the case in some of the other tests as well, and while the MF4690 lagged behind its rivals in some print test, it outrun then in other tests.

The good thing here is that the quality of the text prints appeared decent on a whole with nice, profound black and sharp characters. Though, upon closer inspection we found some minor flaws in the black text. The same was the case with the grayscale graphics print as well. On a whole the print quality delivered by the printer was decent and acceptable from the small offices and work group.

The grayscale scans from the printer were overly dark, and had severe compression in the dark end of the grayscale.

Support

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 gets one year standard warranty from Canon; although you can ask extend the warranty by paying a little extra. For extra support, there is the toll-free telephonic support from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. The online support includes a Web based form sending an e-mail to the technical support. Other online support includes firmware updates, driver/software downloads, FAQs and a knowledgebase for the customers who wants self troubleshooting.

Word from the Experts

The Canon ImageClass MP4690 is a multifunction laser printer for small offices and workgroups. The Canon ImageClass MP4690 offers a lot of bang for the buck, but suffers from slightly sluggish speed, and the Dell 1815dn offers all the things at a faster speed and at same price.