Canon imageCLASS MF8280CW - Print Quality Matters

Canon's latest imageCLASS printer is big and bulky, but produces some amazing prints

We've seen a number of large multifunction printers come through our labs in the past couple of months, and that trend isn't stopping any time soon as Canon has graciously sent us one of their latest and largest imageCLASS printers yet in the form of the Canon imageCLASS MF8280Cw multifunction printer.

Canon imageCLASS MF8280CW Multifunction Printer

Unboxing and setting up the MF8280Cw will most likely require more than one pair of hands as the printer is huge. Being a multifunction printer, the MF8280Cw is capable of print, copy, scan and fax. Despite its intimidating size, navigating the printer's features and options is as easy as pressing the directional buttons beside the MF8280Cw's seven-inch LCD display.

Unboxing and setting up the MF8280Cw will most likely require more than one pair of hands as the printer is huge

That being said, being such a big printer, the MF8280Cw comes with a host of features, including wireless printing via Canon's own Android and iOS apps, Google Cloud Print and even Apple's AirPrint. It also has a USB port which allows you to use a USB flash drive as a print source, as well as a medium for you to save your scanned files.

It also has a USB port which allows you to use a USB flash drive as a print source, as well as a medium for you to save your scanned files.

The MF8280Cw's paper feeder is capable of handling up to 150 sheets of paper, which is not that much when you consider how big it is. On top of that, it's not very fast either, with a first time out of about 12 seconds and an overall 14 pages per minute print out time. Yet another little niggle we had with the printer is that it is quite noisy and seems to drone before and after printing until it eventually stops.

The MF8280Cw's paper feeder is capable of handling up to 150 sheets of paper, which is not that much when you consider how big it is

That being said however, for all its little faults, the MF8280Cw is near flawless when it comes to print quality. Printed documents look sharp with nary a rogue ink smudge in sight, and dries almost as soon as it hits the output tray. For an office printer, it is also capable of printing excellent photo-quality prints, and you can easily set the print setting for the appropriate paper via the LCD panel on the MF8280Cw printer itself.

Printer Specifications          ·         Printer Type: Color Laser ·         Print Speed: Up to 14ppm (1-sided plain paper letter)1 ·         First Print Time: 18 seconds or less (letter)2 ·         Printer Language: UFR II LT (Host-based) ·         Print Resolution: Up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (2400 x 600 dpi quality) ·         Maximum Print Size: Up to Legal ·         Print Modes: Watermark, Toner Save, Page Composer, Poster ·         Print Memory: 256 MB (Shared) ·         Copier Specifications        ·         Copy Type: Color Laser ·         Copy Speed: Up to 14cpm (letter) ·         Copy Resolution: Up to 600 x 600 dpi ·         Original Type: Text/Photo/Map ·         Halftones: 256 Levels ·         Warm-up Time: Approximately 23 seconds ·         First Copy Time: Approximately 19 seconds3 ·         Recovery Time: Approximately 8 seconds ·         Maximum Number of Copies: 99 copies ·         Reduction/Enlargement: 25 - 400% in 1% increments ·         Zoom: 25 - 400% in 1% increments ·         Copy Size: Platen: Up to Letter ·         ADF: 5.5" x 5" to Legal ·         Copy Features: Collate, 2 on 1, 4 on 1, ID Card Copy, Frame: Erase ·         Copy Memory: 256 MB (Shared) Fax Specifications    ·         Modem Speed: Up to 33.6 Kbps (Super G3)4 ·         Fax Resolution: Up to 406 x 391 dpi (ultra-fine) ·         Transmission Time: JBIG (approx. 3 seconds) ·         Memory Capacity: Up to 512 sheets5 ·         Speed Dials: 19 one-touch speed dials, 181 coded dials ·         Group Dialing: 199 destinations ·         Sequential Broadcasting: 210 destinations ·         Receive Modes: FAX Only, Manual, Answering, Fax/Tel Auto Switch ·         Fax Features         Remote RX, Dual Access, Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection, Error Correction Mode, Auto Redial ·         Activity Reports: Activity Result & Activity Management ·         pC Fax: Sending only ·         Fax Forwarding: (FAX -> FAX) Scanner Specifications        ·         Scan Type: Color Contact Image Sensor (CIS) ·         Color Depth: 24 ·         Scan Resolution: Up to 600 x 600 dpi (optical), 9600 x 9600 (interpolated) ·         Scan Size: Platen: Up to Letter ·         ADF: 5.5" x 5" to Legal ·         Compatibility: TWAIN, WIA ·         Output File Formats: PDF(Compact), PDF, JPEG, TIFF ·         Scan Features: Scan to USB ·         Pull Scan: USB and Network ·         Push Scan (Scan to pC): USB and Network Paper Handling Specifications       ·         Standard Paper Source(s): 150-sheet cassette plus 1-sheet multipurpose tray6 ·         Document Feeder: 50-sheet simplex6 ·         Paper Output: 125 sheets (face down) ·         Paper Weight: 16-58 lb. bond (cassette), 16-58 lb. bond (multipurpose tray) ·         Media Sizes: Letter, Legal, A4, A5, B5, B6, Statement, Executive ·         Media Types: Plain Paper, Heavy Paper, Recycled, Transparency, Label, Envelope, Index ·         Envelope Capacity: 10 envelopes (cassette) , 1 envelope (multipurpose tray) ·         Envelope Types: Com 10, Monarch, DL, C5, B5 Connectivity and Software Specifications            ·         Standard Interface(s):       USB Device 2.0 Hi-Speed, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wireless7 ·         Wi-Fi Access Mode: Infrastructure Mode ·         Wi-Fi Authentication Methods       : Open System, Shared Key, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK ·         Wi-Fi Encryption Modes: WEP (64/128 bit), TKIP, AES ·         WPS Easy Setup Support Methods: Push-button mode, PIN code mode ·         Mobile Functions: Canon Mobile Printing9, Google Cloud Print™10, Apple AirPrint™11 ·         Network Functions: Print, Copy, Scan, Fax, PC Fax, Print/Scan to USB ·         Embedded Web Server (Remote UI)       : Yes ·         Web Browser Support for Remote UI      : Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher, Safari 3.2.1 or higher ·         Print Protocols: LPD, RAW, WSD-Print (IPv6) ·         TCP/IP Set of Application Services: DHCP, BOOTP, RARP, Auto IP, Bonjour(mDNS), DHCPv6 (IPv6), HTTP, HTTPS, POP before SMTP (IPv4,IPv6), ARP+PING, WINS (IPv4) ·         Network Management Protocols: SNMPv1, SNMPv3 (IPv4,IPv6) ·         OS Compatibility: Windows® 8, Windows 7, Windows Server® 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista®, Windows Server 2003, Windows® XP, Mac® OS X 10.5.8 & up, Linux (Print only) ·         Cable Included: Power Cord (USB not included) ·         Bundled Software: Printer driver, Fax driver, Scanner driver, MF Toolbox, Presto! PageManager Environmental Specifications         ·         Power Consumption Max: Approx. 900W ·         During Operation: Approx. 400W ·         Standby: Approx. 23W ·         Energy Saver: Approx. 2W ·         Typical Energy Consumption: 0.4kWh General Specifications         ·         Dimensions: 17" (W) x 19.1"(D) x 16.9"(H) ·         Unit Weight (without/with cartridge): 52 lbs. (w/o cartridge), 57.3 lbs. (w/cartridge) ·         Package Weight: Approx. 67.2 lbs. ·         Cartridge Type: Cartridge 131 Black (Yields approximately 1,400 pages) ·         Cartridge 131 YMC (Yields approximately 1,500 pages) ·         Cartridge 131 H Black (Yields approximately 2,400 pages) ·         *Yields based on ISO/IEC Standard ·         LCD Display: 7-line QVGA Color LCD ·         Duty Cycle: Up to 30,000 pages per month ·         Department ID Management: Yes, Up to 300 ID's ·         Security: IEEE802.1x, SNMPv3, HTTPS, IPSEC ·         Languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese ·         Warranty: 1 year limited exchange/carry-in warranty8 (Extended warranty available)