So, I finally got tired of the HP all-in-one printer that I've been having trouble printing with for several years, so a few weeks ago I bought a new Canon laser multifunction printer.
I've been using HP for many years, starting with a Deskjet 500C in 1995, with the exception of a brief stint with the disastrous Samsung Color Laser. But this time, the ship finally set sail.
Earlier this month, HP started pushing subscription services to people. This means you have to pay a monthly fee to rent a monitored printer. As if on cue, my old Officejet Pro 8710 finally ran out of color ink cartridges and refused to print at all, even in black and white.
In other words, the old stuff is out (in the recycling bin) and the new stuff is in. The 20kg Canon Imageclass MF645Cx Laser MFC has been available for a few years now, with prices starting at S$699 S$558 Two weeks ago, that sealed the deal.
Yeah, laser is a bit of an overkill, but for me the most important thing is high speed full duplex, single pass scanning, which is not common. For example, sometimes I need to scan things like my mom's hospital bill or my company's bank statement, and this feature really saves me time.
I was also planning on choosing Brother's inkjet or laser-based MFC, but in the end I decided on price and scanner functionality.
However, I have bad news. Like many MFCs, the Canon Imageclass MF645Cx has many features aimed at large offices that home office users may not need.
If you've ever had to set up a good old Xerox or Canon copier, you'll know what I mean. It requires a large number of menus and submenus, dozens of settings, and often requires a manual.
So if you're like me and you're a home office user who bought a complex MFC like the Canon Imageclass MF645Cx, here are some settings to consider to make your life easier.
1. Set your own admin password
It's understandable that a shared MFC in an office would require an administrator password for security. Still, the simple starter kit that comes in the box doesn't specify a default one (head scratcher).
To change settings, you must first log in to your machine. The system administrator password here is 7654321. Yes, it sounds silly, but this information should be found in the online manual.
Once you log in, please set your own system password to ensure security. Additionally, this allows you to make other important settings.
2. Prevent Wi-Fi from going to sleep
Canon MFC is energy efficient and that's a good thing. However, if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, it will take a while to “wake up.” There is a waiting time when you send a print job from your PC or mobile phone.
To resolve this, you can set this Wi-Fi power saving mode to Off so that the MFC remains connected to Wi-Fi even when other features go into power saving mode. This means that the print job will be printed as soon as it is received. Here are the steps.
3. Automatic paper size selection
Even with this, the Canon Imageclass MF645Cx does not print automatically like most home office printers. There are two paper inputs, a small sheet feeder and a document drawer (a large pull-out tray), and you have to select the paper size on the screen each time, which is a bit annoying.
If you primarily print on A4 paper, you can skip this additional step. We tell the machine what kind of paper we have in the drawer here, and then we tell it here to automatically select that drawer as the paper source without asking the user. It will save you a lot of trouble!
4. Allow scans to be saved to USB drive
By default, when you try to scan a document and save it to a USB drive connected to your printer, you receive an error message that says “USB memory is restricted.”
Yes, this kind of thing doesn't happen with regular home office printers/scanners, so it's frustrating. To allow this on the Canon Imageclass MF645Cx, security restrictions must be set to Off.
Detailed instructions are provided in Canon's online manual. Similar restrictions apply to your PC, so if you want to scan directly to your PC, you will need to set the restrictions to Off.
remove the difficult parts
Sounds like a lot of work? Admittedly, if you're buying a printer for a home or home office user, which typically doesn't come with detailed office-grade security settings, you'll have more issues to deal with than usual.
However, once you get past these quirks, the Canon Imageclass MF645Cx performs well with fast print and scan speeds, and of course, laser-quality print output.
Are you a Canon Imageclass MF645Cx user? Please also share your tips and experiences in the comments!