CANON IMAGECLASS D320 TONER CARTRIDGE

Canon ImageCLASS D320 Review

Overview:

When it comes to multifunctional devices, the Canon ImageCLASS D320 is truly bare bones. With no fax modem and no scanning software, the unit is a 2 in 1 printer/copier combo that, with its slow print speeds, would be best suited for a very light user who requires some very basic hardware.

Pros:

The Canon ImageCLASS D320’s copy resolution is good, being selectable in quality up to 1200 x 600 dots per inch. With a resolution this high, copies from the unit will definitely come out looking nice and crisp. The unit shows its true colors as a stand alone copy machine by having print resolution that is even lower than its copy res. This is almost unheard of considering that the hardware is obviously capable of printing at the higher quality, but the print feature is more of an afterthought in this device and could be as easily overlooked buy consumers as it was by Canon. Make no mistake, when you buy this device, you’re getting a copy machine.

The unit includes 4 MBs of internal memory which allows for some digital copying features. Most specifically, its 2 on 1 mode is quite handy for those making a stand alone copy of two pages that are to be shrunk down to print onto a single piece. With the unit’s good copy quality, this is a good way to save money on paper when printing less important material.

A 10 sheet bypass tray is a welcome additional to the Canon ImageCLASS D320’s fairly standard 250 sheet paper tray. With the inclusion of the bypass tray, special media types such as envelopes and letterhead can be loaded and ready in the machine without the standard letter or legal supply being disturbed.

While the first copy out time does not break the 10 second mark and lands right at 11, the unit does offer a very fast warm up time of about a single second due to instant-on type technology. For users who usually keep their copy machine off, this time saver could actually make the Canon ImageCLASS D320 faster than much higher end machines that require long warm up times.

Cons:

The Canon ImageCLASS D320’s print speeds are notably poor. Copies can be made at only 15 copies per minute when using letter sized paper and 12.5 copies per minute when using legal sized. The print speeds suffer from the same sluggishness, making the device undesirable for those printing any type of large volume. Unless the user’s work intentions are to very slowly make a volume of copies that outweighs what a simple inkjet could handle, it would be best to just go with the inkjet in this case.

The unit is a little large at 32 pounds, especially for a device that does so little. Its heavy footprint also makes it cumbersome to keep on a desk, especially with the awkwardly protruding output tray. If you’re looking for anything more than the most basic of laser copy machines, you’re going to have to look elsewhere.