The pandemic has changed the way Malaysians work. The work-from-home model, in particular, has become increasingly popular as companies move towards continued operations while maintaining the safety and health of their employees.
Whether at home or in an office, any decent setup requires a multifunctional device that delivers on scanning and making copies. Enter the Canon Maxify GX6070 inkjet all-in-one printer.
One might baulk at the initial outlay, but the Maxify makes perfect sense if your work requires printing anywhere from 300 to 2,500 pages a month. Anything less and you would be better off picking up an affordable inkjet printer; any more and you should look into renting an industrial-capacity machine instead.
Easy on the eyes, even easier to use
The GX6070 might be small compared with a full-size photocopying machine that most offices rent on a monthly basis, but it is not short on functionality.
Setting it up is a no-brainer. Although it comes with a USB cable for easy connection to a PC, one of the main reasons for picking this up is to take advantage of its wireless connectivity.
If your workspace is compact enough to share one Wi-Fi network, then the GX6070 would be a perfect fit. But if you prefer to remain tethered, it can also be connected via Ethernet.
Turn it on and you can set up your Wi-Fi connection via the 7cm LCD touch panel on the front. The only frustration here would be keying in a password full of symbols; it is akin to “typing” it out using your smart TV remote control.
Once you are connected, just add the printer on your workstation, wait for the relevant drivers to be downloaded and installed, and you are good to go!
A USB Type-A port located in the front lets you print from and scan to a USB flash drive. You will also be able to print from and scan to cloud folders via the LCD touch panel.
Among the supported services are Canon’s very own Pixma/Maxify Cloud Link, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, OneNote, Box, and Evernote. Firmware updates can be downloaded and installed as and when they are available.
There is even a “Transport Mode” that can be selected, which minimises any danger of leakage when the printer is being moved by closing the ink valve and turning the device off.
So, is it any good?
Canon has made it easy for users to refill the GX6070’s ink tanks. The low cost per page is achieved through the use of ink stored in bottles as opposed to the traditional modus operandi, cartridges.
The provided tanks are large enough to pour ink into, and the GX6070 ships with a full set of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to get you started right out of the box. The transparent tanks themselves make it easy to tell whether they need refilling at a glance.
Canon claims the GX6070 is able to print up to 14,000 pages before the ink runs dry. Of course, only long-term users will be able to verify this, but it would not be surprising if the actual number of printed pages is lower than the quoted figure.
The GX6070 has good paper handling, with a 250-sheet letter-size drawer and a rear tray that can hold 100 sheets of legal-size paper, letterhead, labels, and other occasionally used sizes, including photo paper.
To be able to choose from simplex or duplex output – that is, printing on one or both sides of the paper – provides even greater flexibility.
Scanning and making copies is a painless process. Just lift the top cover and place the document/photo, close it, press the corresponding button, and voila!
Print quality
What, then, of its fundamental purpose – the printing? While the GX6070 does not achieve the sharpness of a laser printer, it is good enough for the everyday user.
Printing a 250-page, black-and-white PDF in duplex configuration took about 30 minutes, and everything worked flawlessly without any paper jams.
But how does it fare when it comes to colour printing? The initial pages of a full-colour comic were perfect, but going into the fifth page onwards, the dreaded banding effect can be seen, albeit faintly. Still, only perfectionists will be alarmed by this, as you get decent printouts regardless.
Photos, on the other hand, are disappointing even when printed on Canon photo paper. 4R photos came out grainy regardless of whether they were in black and white or colour. If you are into photo printing, then the Pixma or Selphy range would do a far better job.
Bear in mind, though, that the GX6070’s primary purpose is for a business environment; churning out pretty photos is not its strong suit. Occasional documents and photos in colour are nevertheless delivered satisfactorily.
All in all, the Canon Maxify GX6070 lags behind its competitors in terms of printing speed, but it has enough under its hood with decent paper handling and speed for a small-office setup.
The relatively compact form factor also makes this a great personal printer if you have the cash to spare.
The Canon Maxify GX6070 retails for RM2,299. Click here for more information.
This is an independent review and is not sponsored by Canon. The views expressed are the writer’s and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Edwin Kee dreamt of being a pro-gamer only to have circumstances mould him into a programmer in a past life. He has since moved on to write about consumer electronics and other topics. Check out his blog at manatau.com.