Canon has almost always been synonymous with quality, both in its cameras, as in the case we are dealing with, in its printers. This has led them to be placed in the high range of the printing market, both in the domestic and professional sectors. This is the case of the Canon i-SENSYS MF735Cx, a compact multifunction device, which stands out for a printing speed of up to 27 pages per minute, a large 12.7 cm touch screen and macros that we can program to speed up all kinds of tasks.
Both for its price and its technical characteristics, this multifunctional color printer is designed to fit together with other devices in small/medium offices, ideal for workgroups of up to ten people.
A fast device
With a print speed of up to 27 pages per minute, there is no doubt that we have a fast device at hand. However, taking into account that most of the documents that are printed in an office do not reach this amount of pages, in our used we usually give more value to the printing time of the first page, an aspect in which traditionally the laser has faltered in its comparison with inkjet equipment.
In this sense, with an average of 8 “for printing in black and white and 12″ in color, we were surprised by the good work of Canon, accustomed as we were until not long ago to times that could exceed 20”.
As for the copy, the best of this multifunctional is undoubtedly its ability to scan two-sided, a point that differentiates it from the bulk of the equipment that is presented in its same range and that according to our tests, responds in a remarkable way.
Photographic quality
As it is usually the brand of the house, Canon is committed to the maximum photographic quality. In this field, we find a device capable of printing up to 1,200 dots per inch when we opt for the maximum photographic quality, although the usual is that office work does not exceed 600 dpi. Of course for high resolutions, we recommend the use of a quality paper.
Big screen … something wasted?
The Canon i-Sensys MF735Cx offers a large touch screen of 12.7 cm, from which we can manage almost any aspect of the device. On the positive side, the bet that has been made from Canon for printing menus, traditionally unnecessarily complex for the “uninitiated”, are simpler and more intuitive.
The effort is certainly appreciated and it is true that with respect to other equipment of the brand itself, it has been improved. However, the Japanese company has yet to improve in usability, since simple and practical screens are interspersed with other complex (not to say obtuse) that require reading the instruction manual.
On the other hand, immersed as we are in the SaaS era, it would have been appreciated that like other firms, it would have opted for the integration of third-party services, either OneDrive, either Dropbox, Google Drive or similar. And not only to print, but perhaps more importantly, to scan documents.
WiFi Direct and wireless printing
There is no denying that Canon encourages its users to print remotely. In addition to WiFi connectivity, it incorporates iOS AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, its own printing app (Canon Business Printer) and support for NFC and WiFi Direct. Of all these options we insist once again, the user will end up using the simplest, which in the case of mobile devices are still iOS AirPrint and Google Cloud Print.
Both NFC and WiFi Direct seem to make sense in print equipment only that… unless company limits the use of WiFi, they do not. First NFC leaves out of this market to Apple devices and Android, if we really want to use it we must install on our phone the application provided by Canon (Canon Business Printer), something that, with few exceptions, few users are going to bother to do.
The case of WiFi Direct is even more bloody. Really useful when connecting with a router through WPS, it ends up having little sense to print, since it forces us to connect our device to the WiFi network of the multifunctional. We do not doubt that it can be useful in certain scenarios, but for most users, it is not very practical.
Secure printing
The Pleasant surprise has been however to include in a device of these features secure printing options. This type of options, such as the PIN printing offered by this equipment are common in devices intended for large companies, but not so much in the SME field.
Having the possibility that our printing work is not available to “indiscreet eyes” is always welcome and of course, it is a plus for users who work with sensitive information.
Conclusion
The Canon i-SENSYS MF735Cx comes to small offices betting on quality in a very compact and compact size. Its high print quality and speed make it a highly recommended device when we have a considerable documentary work flow (in work groups of up to ten people) and in our tests, it has responded in a remarkable way in demanding conditions.
In it, however, we would have liked to take better advantage of its connectivity options, as well as greater integration with third-party services, especially in a field of SMEs in which SaaS is gaining more and more prominence. However, it is grateful for its commitment to security and an interesting utility that is little used by many manufacturers, such as the scanning of double-sided documents.