CANON IMAGECLASS MF3240 TONER CARTRIDGE

Canon ImageCLASS MF3240 Review

Overview:

The Canon ImageCLASS MF3240 offers everything an office needs, all in a single desktop package. A true 4-in-1, the MF3240 offers laser printing, copying, scanning, and a built-in fax.  Designed for the personal and small office, connected to a PC via USB 2.0 the multi-function can print in 1200 x 600 dpi resolution at speeds up to 21 pages per minute. 

Pros:

The Canon ImageCLASS MF3240 weighs in at 25 pounds with a square 18” footprint. Its 14½” height makes the 4-in-1 able to sit atop any desk. However, standing over the unit to make multiple copies and faxes may prove uncomfortable for taller people.

Canon’s ImageCLASS has some impressively fast warm-up times. Printing can start as fast as 8 seconds, with print speeds up to 21 ppm.  Printing resolutions for the MF3240 range from the optical 600 x 600 to the digitally-enhanced 1200 x 600 dpi. At maximum resolution, the multifunction keeps text sharp--even at 6-point font sizes--and does a decent job with printing graphics in B&W. A USB 2.0 port allows the MF3240 to connect directly to any PC.

The MF3240 does not have a document feeder, using an 8½” x 11.7” scanning platen to support scanning of single documents and books. Copies and prints come out below the control panel in a recessed area.

This multi-function has a cassette paper tray, capable of holding up to 250 legal-size sheets up to 32 pound bond weights. Heavier papers, envelopes and transparencies can be inserted through the multi-purpose slot.

The ImageCLASS multifunction has three different copy exposure modes to handle from text to photo reproductions. The magnification can be automatically or manually changed from 25% to 500% in 1% increments, or in 5 pre-set “jumps”.  Up to 99 single-sided copies can be made at speeds up to 21 pages per minute.

Although a monochrome printer/copier, the MF3240 scans in full color at resolutions up to 9600 x 9600 dpi.  The scanner can use traditional TWAIN or Microsoft’s WIA drivers.

Using a 33.6Kbps modem, the fax function can send up to 20 pages per minute. The control panel has 8 programmable buttons for 1-touch speed dialing. Up to 256 incoming and outgoing faxes can be stored in the MF3240’s memory. Software is included to allow Windows computers to send faxes from their terminals to the 4-in-1. It offers the typical fax features like broadcasting and junk-fax restriction,  but the fact that a fax is even included is enough for me.

Cons:

Anybody who needs to make copies of legal or realty documents should not buy the MF3240. As mentioned earlier, the platen is only large enough to copy and scan originals that are letter- or A4-sizes only. However, you can print out in legal-size.

While fine for home use, the 250-sheet paper tray is woefully undersized for office use. Even a small office can go through a ream of paper in a single day. It’s also common for offices to buy paper in 500-sheet reams, if not a 10-ream boxes. For all you office-folk out there: How many times have you taken a ream of paper from the supply cabinet to fill an empty printer, only to find the printer’s tray only has the capacity to hold half that amount? Now here’s the $24,000 Question: What usually happens to the rest of that ream? By the end of the day you’ll see the remaining ream somewhere near the printer, sheets pulled haphazardly by people who needed just a couple of blank sheets. By the time the printer needs to be refilled again, the state of that paper is now so uneven and disheveled it’s likely to jam in the printer. A second add-on tray is available as an optional purchase, but it’s still limited to a 250-sheet capacity.  Having a tray that you can dump an entire ream of paper into would be an option any office would invest in.

The software package only caters to Windows machines. The Optical Character Recognition software and document manager are great tools to have, but anyone using a Mac or Linux will need to look elsewhere for a different 4-in-1.  IT administrators may have a challenge adding the ImageCLASS to be shared across a network as well.