Anyone spending north of £200 on an inkjet printer is in search of some serious all-round quality, and Canon's range-topper doesn't disappoint. Still, with quality lower down its line-up, is the MG8250's advanced performance really necessary? 

Photographer's dream?

Absolutely. The MG8250 has a flatbed scanner atop that can deal in both slides and negatives. And how - an optical resolution of 4800x9600 pixels is able to extract an enormous amount of detail, with some impressive colour and detail even from ageing shots. If this feature is useful for digitising archives, that huge sensor also means pin-sharp scans of printed photos and peerlessly crystal clear photocopies; scans take a mere 12 seconds (using the auto-scan feature within Canon's Easy-PhotoPrint EX software) and photocopies just 21 seconds (using the manual controls on the printer itself) respectively. 

Other photographer-friendly features include a card reader hub that deals in SD, Memory Stick and Compact Flash formats. 

Its photo-centric intentions are also underlined by the size of its sole paper tray, which is capable of holding only 105 sheets of A4, though there's also a rear tray and an adaptor in the box that allows printing direct to blank discs for multimedia projects. 

Wireless set-up

Naturally for a range-topper, WiFi connectivity comes as standard on the MG8250, and thankfully it's an idiot-proof set-up. Those without wireless can rely on Ethernet LAN to link it to a broadband router, with the third option being a tried-and-tested USB cable direct to a PC or Mac. 

Looks-wise the MG8250 is nothing special, with a gloss black shell that could look too harsh for office environment were it not for the heavily curved edges and use of soft blue LED lights during operation.

LCD display

Touch-panels are becoming more common even on mid-range printers, but there's something awry here; despite an oversized three-inch LCD screen adorning the top of the MG8250, it's not touch sensitive. That won't bother some - it's hardly a must-have feature in our eyes, especially on a printer aimed at semi-professional photographers - though it's still somewhat surprising. 

Navigating the MG8250's features is done purely by three generic buttons below the LCD screen, whose function changes with each screen, and which this time are touch-sensitive and either nicely-lit, or completely invisible. That screen, which sports a pop-up design, makes things simple by using three simple icons on the home menu - copy, photo, and scan - though the GUI in general is not particularly intuitive, and takes a while to learn. 

Company: Canon

Website: http://www.canon.co.uk/

Contact: 01737 220000

Tags: printer inkjet mg8250 canon pixma