Reviews4,313 Reviews

All Reviews > Hardware > Multifunction devices

December 10, 2008

Canon Pixma MP540 review

Product Code: 2919B008AA

Those with an eye on image quality would do well to opt for the Canon Pixma MP540, a multifunctional inkjet photo printer.

Nobody with an interest in the multifunction inkjet printer market can fail to be impressed at how many models are available for considerably less than the £50 mark. But, in all honesty, many of these products flatter to deceive. After all, what's the good of spending even £40 if the product makes an unimpressive job of printing - and takes a long time in which to do that job. With that in mind, those with an eye on image quality would do well to cast their sights just that bit higher and opt for the Canon Pixma MP540.

From the first moment you set eyes on the Canon Pixma MP540, there's a feeling of all round class that you simply wouldn't expect from a multifunction inkjet printer costing around £67.

From its pristine silver curves, to the neat control panel hidden away behind a secret panel, or the way the output tray automatically drops into place when the Canon Pixma MP540 sets off on a print job, this MFD has the feeling of quality.

It's pretty well featured too. The slick colour TFT gives you easy access to a slew of functions, and the Canon Pixma MP540 uses a cunning scrollwheel for fast progress.

Visit Business Advisor for the latest business IT news, reviews, tips and tricks - plus sign up for our unique and FREE business IT newsletter

Visit PC Advisor's dedicated Printing Zone for the latest printer reviews, plus news, blogs and forums, and our unique printer price comparison service

You don't get Wi-Fi at this price, but the Canon Pixma MP540 is otherwise well kitted out with memory card slots and PictBridge for direct printing from a camera. Perhaps the most surprising feature is that the Canon Pixma MP540 has two paper trays - one dedicated to photo paper. This allows you to split your time between photos and plain A4 without having to constantly take paper in and out of the paper tray.

The Canon Pixma MP540 isn't the fastest of printers. Indeed, at 2.4ppm for a colour photo in standard mode (as opposed to 3.1ppm for the cheaper Epson Stylus SX200), it's bordering on the sluggish given the price.

However, the quality is very good, with crisp definition on text (standard quality is available at 6.6ppm) and strong colours in images. The highest 9,600x2,400 quality modes offer considerable depth at 0.5ppm (1.6ppm for text). The Canon Pixma MP540's scan facilities are equally high in quality, and produce faithful results in good times.

Buy it now: click here

VERDICT >
1 | 2 | NEXT >

Independent customer reviews from

Canon Pixma MP540 scored:
8.9 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 57 reviews:

01 Jan 2009 Anonymous verified purchaser

9

Good Points

I bought this printer for my wife to print off the many pics that we have recently taken of our new baby. The MP540 has a fantastic range of features and is very simple to use. I bought this printer on the basis that my wife could input her SD card from her digital camera and use the colour display to print off many different sizes and copies as she likes. The software was easy to install onto her laptop (that runs Vista) and is very user friendly once linked up.

Bad Points

The only bad point was that the printer does not have Bluetooth connectivity built in but isn't major problem if like me you have a dongle.

27 Dec 2008 Mary, Durham

8

Good Points

compact on-screen information as all canon products bought-this does not disappoint

Bad Points

bottom paper tray can be slightly difficult to pull unless machine is placed at very front of table

See more Canon Pixma MP540 reviews on Reevoo.com

Best Prices

£91
Go»
£123
Go»
Prices, delivery and availability at 2 retailers
Go»

User Reviews

Saturday, 17 January 2009

Reviewed by stejsmith

Star Rating: rating of 5

Duration of ownership: 6 weeks

Strengths:
Fast printing, excellent quality (as good as my old Pixma ip4000), cheap!

Weaknesses:
Can't find any power-saving options (eg automatic turn on and off); scans seem a little noisy, though this may be me doing it wrong!

Overall Evaluation:
An excellent value-for-money product that gives great results. Highly recommended.

Keep up to date by adding PC Advisor Reviews to your iGoogle home page or Google Reader

What is this?

Subscribe to PC Advisor now and claim your FREE gift

Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

% of PC Advisor readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

What tasks can your smartphone do that would have traditionally been done on a laptop?

119 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @SmartphoneFocus

web browsing, search facilities, voip, email, word processing everything RT @Graham_D_C

Mainly email but getting better at spreadsheets etc, RT @IDGdan

Total reviews: 4,313

Click here to buy now

See product specs

expert rating

Build quality

4/5

Features

4/5

Value for money

4.5/5

Overall

4/5

expert rating

PC Advisor Reader Ratings

5/5

Canon Pixma MP540

READER REVIEWS


Google


Recent reviews

Reviews index


Latest reader reviews

Latest reader reviews


Top news

News index


Latest blog entries

Blogs index


Sponsored Content

  • Take the internet to new places with the Nokia N800
    Communicate how you want to, where you want to with instant messaging, email and internet calling. View movies, browse the internet wirelessly and watch TV on the high-resolution screen and listen through high-quality stereo speakers with headphone jack.
    Buy now