Canon PIXMA TS6420a Wireless All-In-One Inkjet Printer review: the perfect all-rounder for your home office

This review looks at the Canon TS6420a, also known as the TS6350a in the UK or TS6360a in Australia. If you’re wondering what the ‘a’ stands for at the end of the model name, it means this model doesn’t have Bluetooth. However, everything else in this review will be much the same for the TS6420 (USA), TS6350 (UK), and TS6360 (Australia).

The best all-in-one printers combine a printer with a built-in flatbed scanner for scanning and copying. They’ve become popular for homes, schools, and small office spaces, bringing these commonly needed functions under one roof. Canon hopes its PIXMA TS6420a will stand out from its competition with its dual paper feeds, an automatic output tray, WiFi, five separate inks, automatic 2-sided printing, and a 1.44” OLED display. Let’s get to testing to see how it stacks up against the best compact printers and if you should buy one…

Canon PIXMA TS6420a: Setup

Setting up the Canon PIXMA TS6420a on your Wi-Fi network is best done through the Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY app for iOS and Android devices. It’s very easy, and when completed, you can print to it from other Apple and Android devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network without downloading additional software.

Printing can be done wirelessly or via a USB-B-type cable, though the latter isn’t included in the box. Some Canon printers feature a memory card reader, so you can print directly from your camera, but this has been left out.

Some budget printers don’t feature a screen and only have a simple LED light to indicate any issues. In our experience, this can make it tricky to diagnose faults and troubleshoot. However, the 1.44” OLED screen on the TS6420a is a joy. It displays helpful information that makes troubleshooting problems much more manageable. It’s too small to view images, so previewing photos has to be done on a computer or smartphone, but it's perfect for providing information and helpful hints.

The TS6420a has two paper feeds. The front feed is a cassette that can hold up to 100 sheets of plain A4 paper, while the rear tray can also hold 100 sheets of A4 plain paper or 20 sheets of photo paper. Automatic two-sided printing is a great time-saving feature if you plan to print lots of documents. It also features an output tray that automatically extends, which feels futuristic the first time you see it happen, though it is a bit of a gimmick. Auto paper width detection is also boasted.

• Score: 8.5/10

Canon’s PIXMA TS6420a: Design & features

As an all-in-one printer, Canon’s PIXMA TS6420a can print up to A4 size with a maximum resolution of 4800x1200 dpi. It can also produce borderless 10x15cm prints, and its built-in scanner has a maximum resolution of 1200x2400 dpi.

A five-ink system is implemented with Magenta, Cyan, and Yellow color inks, standard Black, and additional Pigment Black for rich, deep shadows and crisp, sharp text. Canon claims its prints are good for 100 years with its ChromaLife 100 hallmark. The cartridges also use Canon’s FINE technology, which means the cartridges have the inkjet nozzle built-in to each ink cartridge so that you get a fresh one with each new cartridge, which helps keep maintenance down.

With two paper trays, you can load the front cassette with 100 sheets of plain A4 paper, the rear input tray with another 100 sheets of A4 paper, or 20 sheets of glossy photo paper. This is handy if you print regularly and use different paper types, as you can fill both paper feeds with other media, set it and forget it, and then replenish either supply when needed.

The TS6420a can print automatically on both sides, which saves time and is more environmentally friendly. Canon says that the two-way paper feed allows for experimenting with new creative projects. It’s also compatible with iron-on transfers and double-sided matte paper.

• Score: 8/10

Canon PIXMA TS6420a: Performance

The Canon PIXMA TS6420a's print quality was impressive. The extra pigment black ink cartridge helped the text appear sharp, rivaling that of a laser printer.

We also tested printing photos on Canon Matte and Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II. Both delivered excellent results, with the quality set at its highest. As you’d expect, colors looked more vibrant, with deeper blacks and sharper-looking details on the glossy paper, so this would be our preference for printing high-quality photos. It is a bit of a shame that it can’t print A4 borderless photos, as this would have been the icing on the cake, so A4 images have a thin white border around the edges.

Canon’s claims of 10 images per minute for color or 15 images per minute for mono were quickly dispelled - perhaps the images were smaller or set to lower quality in Canon’s testing. However, we still found print times to be respectable. A full-color A4 image on matte paper at the highest quality took 1:15 mins, while the image set to best print quality took 1:50 mins on glossy paper. An A4 document consisting of text was set to the best quality and also took 55 seconds, while a double-sided newsletter with a mixture of words and pictures set to the best quality took just over two minutes to print.

• Score: 8/10

Canon PIXMA TS6420a: Price & value

When writing, the TS6420a had an RRP of $159.99 but was offered at Amazon for $69. It comes with a one-year warranty from Canon in the USA or a two-year warranty in the UK.

It uses five separate ink cartridges: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black, and Pigment Black, for crisp text and deep shadows. Canon’s standard C, M, Y, BK 581 inks cost $15.99 and are said to last for about 99 images, making it about $0.16 per photo print. The standard PGBK pigment black cartridge is mostly used for documents producing crisp text, it’s a bigger cartridge that costs a little more at $17 though is said to last for about 200 pages, working out at $0.09 per page.

There are also XXL inks available, these cost $30 for each of the standard inks, and claim to last for 322 pages, making it $0.09 per photo print. The XXL version of the PGBK cartridge costs $30 and is said to last for 600 pages, working out at around $0.05 per print. So, the XXL cartridges tend to work out at a bit better value if you can afford them. However, it’s worth noting that your mileage may vary, especially if you don’t print frequently and need to use lots of ink to clean the ink nozzles if they become clogged.

You can also find XL cartridges between the standard and XXL cartridges. They provide better value than the standard inks but yield less than the XXL options.

We found the best photos were printed using Canon’s Photo Paper Plus Glossy II with razor-sharp details and punchy colors. However, you pay a, which produces a razor-sharp top-quality product as a 20-pack cost this top-quality product costs a premium: a 20-pack, making costs $0.80 per page.

• Score: 8.5/10

Canon PIXMA TS6420a: User reviews

We searched for online reviews to see what customers who bought this printer had to say about it. Overall, reviews were very positive for the Canon PIXMA TS6420a. It received 4.2 stars on Argos, and 86% of customers said they would recommend it.

“Bought this printer when my previous trusty Canon MP560 refused to print more than one page at a time and then pretty badly. The setup was simple, although it took me some time to figure out how Canon's Smart Phone app works. Speaking of which, once I got my head around it, printing photos is effortless. I don't even bother logging onto my PC to print photos anymore. I can do it with a couple of clicks on my iPhone! The starter ink cartridges that came with the printer have been going strong for over a month since my purchase. There are also plenty of alternative, cheaper ink cartridge suppliers that make running this printer's in-life costs very reasonable. Overall, it was one of my best buys this year. Well recommended.” 3-star review, Argos

Overall, Canon’s UK store reviews were once again very positive, with 225 customers giving it an average of 4.3 stars. However, negative complaints were in the overwhelming minority. Users found the printer challenging to set up when we examined the negative comments.

“Bought this printer to replace an HP which had “clogged up” after 7 years of otherwise problem-free usage. I found this Canon relatively difficult to set up and comparatively slow to print compared to the HP. However, it seems like a great printer with no other problems.” - 3-star review, Canon Store UK

Would I buy the Canon PIXMA TS6420a?

As you’d expect from an all-in-one printer, Canon’s PIXMA TS6420a can do it all - delivering crisp text, fantastic photos with a scan and copy function, as well as a whole raft of other desirable features, including automatic double-sided printing, an OLED LCD and a user-friendly app that is a pleasure to use.

One downside is that the build feels slightly flimsy in places like the rear input tray and the front-loading paper cassette. That said, it is very budget-friendly for the price, so it’s a small compromise we’d be happy to make.

Print times were modest, but the quality of the documents and images we produced were more impressive. Text was super sharp, almost rivaling a laser printer, while photographs looked vibrant and super sharp, with a fantastic range of depth and colors. This is particularly true when using Canon’s proprietary glossy paper, which is a bit pricey but worth the result.

One issue with inkjet printers (not exclusive to the TS6420a) is that you must use them regularly to prevent the print heads from clogging. A blockage can affect print quality, and expensive ink can be used to flush it out. However, if you plan on printing many documents for school, university, or work or photos for family albums or your photography portfolio, then the TS6420a would be a great option.

All-in-all, there’s a lot to love about Canon’s PIXMA TS6420a, from its intuitive and easy-to-use app to the extensive range of features squeezed into a compact unit, with top text and photo printing to boot!