The home office landscape has evolved significantly in recent years. Gone are the days of bulky, expensive machines dedicated solely to printing. Today’s users demand versatility and affordability, and all-in-one printers like the Canon PIXMA TS7770A aim to deliver just that. This in-depth review will delve into the TS7770A’s capabilities, exploring its strengths and weaknesses to help you decide if it’s the perfect fit for your home printing needs.
Canon PIXMA TS7770A Review
Compact Design and User-Friendly Interface
The TS7770A comes with a surprisingly compact design for an all-in-one printer. It easily fit on my desk without feeling cramped, and the lightweight build makes it convenient to move around if needed. The tilting touchscreen display is responsive and user-friendly, with clear menus and easy navigation. Setting up the printer was a breeze – connecting to Wi-Fi was quick, and the on-screen instructions were straightforward.
Automatic Document Feeder: A Game Changer
One of the biggest selling points for me was the automatic document feeder (ADF). As someone who does multi-page document scanning from time to time, the ADF saves me a tonne of time and effort. No more manually feeding each page! The process is smooth and reliable, handling stacks of paper efficiently.
Scanning Quality: A Bit Disappointing
While the ADF functionality is fantastic, the scan quality itself was a bit of a letdown. The default Document scan mode seemed to remove too much detail, leaving text looking slightly blurry and colours appearing somewhat inaccurate. However, a hidden gem is the Photo preset! Switching to this mode significantly improved the scan quality, capturing finer details and delivering more faithful reproductions of the originals. It’s a bit strange that the Photo mode offers the best results for documents, but a helpful tip nonetheless.
Printing Performance: A Mixed Bag
The TS7770A handles black and white documents at a decent pace, making it suitable for everyday printing needs. However, colour printing takes noticeably longer, and there’s a slight delay before the first page starts printing. On a positive note, photo printing surprised me with its speed – it’s almost as fast as some laser printers! The paper capacity of 200 sheets is sufficient for most home printing tasks, though heavy users might find themselves refilling more frequently.
Print Quality: Great Colours, Room for Improvement in B&W
The TS7770A shines in terms of colour printing. Text appears crisp and vibrant, with accurate colour reproduction. Photos come out quite decent though the colours are a bit washed out. I tried to counter this by boosting the saturation and overall vibrancy of the picture and reprinting it. This resulted in the colours being much better on the reprint but it inadvertently caused details to be lost which is a little weird. This goes to show that, while the TS7770A is capable of printing photos, it shouldn’t be the go-to printer for it.
However, black and white printing is a bit of a weak spot. While text is generally clear, there’s a slight graininess in coloured areas, and those faint vertical lines I noticed during scanning also appear in black and white prints. Selecting the high-quality mode eliminates these lines, but at the cost of significantly slower printing speeds.
Mobile App Integration: A Convenient Feature
The Canon PRINT app proved to be a valuable companion for the TS7770A. Printing photos and documents directly from my phone is incredibly convenient, and the app also allows for scanning using the printer itself or even my phone’s camera. It’s a handy tool for capturing documents on the go and saving them digitally. The Canon PRINT app is available now on Android and iOS.
The Verdict: A Good Option for Occasional Use
Overall, the Canon PIXMA TS7770A is a decent all-in-one printer for home users with moderate printing needs. The automatic document feeder is a real time-saver, and the user-friendly interface makes it easy to operate. The print quality is excellent for colour documents and photos, but black and white printing could be better. However, the low page yield of the black ink cartridge can lead to high running costs.
Who would I recommend this to?
- Home users who scan multi-page documents frequently.
- Users who prioritise occasional printing of photos and colour documents.
- Budget-conscious users looking for an affordable initial purchase price (be aware of potential high running costs due to ink).
Who might want to look elsewhere?
- Users with high-volume printing needs due to the low black ink yield.
- Users who require professional-quality black and white printing.
- Users who prioritise lightning-fast printing speeds, particularly for colour documents.
Final Thoughts
The Canon PIXMA TS7770A is a good choice for home users who prioritise scanning functionality and occasional printing of photos and colour documents. The automatic document feeder is a clear standout, streamlining multi-page scanning. The user-friendly interface and mobile app integration add to the convenience factor.
However, be mindful of the low black ink yield and potentially high running costs before making a purchase decision. If you require frequent black and white printing or prioritise lightning-fast speeds, you might want to explore other options. Ultimately, the TS7770A finds its sweet spot with budget-conscious home users who value the convenience of scanning and appreciate high-quality colour printing for occasional use.
A Few Unexpected Quirks
During my experience, I also encountered a few unexpected quirks with the TS7770A:
- Paper Tray Surprise: While the paper capacity is advertised as 200 sheets, it seems to struggle with certain thicker photo paper types. I found that using the rear feeder with photo paper yielded better results to avoid any potential jams.
- Quiet Mode Mishap: The Quiet Mode is a welcome feature for late-night printing, but be warned – it significantly slows down printing speeds. On a couple of occasions, the printer seemed to get stuck in Quiet Mode even after I disabled it, requiring a restart to get back to normal printing speeds.
- Touchscreen Sensitivity: The touchscreen display is generally responsive, but occasionally I found myself needing to tap an icon a couple of times for it to register.
These quirks are minor and may not affect everyone’s experience, but it’s good to be aware of them before purchasing the TS7770A.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the Canon PIXMA TS7770A is a decent all-in-one printer for home users with moderate printing needs. It excels in specific areas like scanning with its automatic document feeder and vibrant colour printing for occasional use. However, it has drawbacks such as low black ink yield, potentially high running costs, and some minor operational quirks. If you prioritise frequent black and white printing, high speeds, or automatic two-sided scanning, this might not be the ideal choice. But for budget-conscious users who value scanning and occasional colour printing, the TS7770A is a solid option.
The Canon PIXMA TS7770A retails for RM1,365,50 and can be purchased through the Canon Malaysia e-store. You can also find the printer on Shopee for slightly less at RM1,282.
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