🖨️ Canon PIXMA MG3620 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer (White) Review
The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is an affordable and compact wireless all-in-one printer designed primarily for home users and students who require basic printing, scanning, and copying functionality. Available in various colors, including the sleek White variant, it boasts a simple design and the convenience of mobile and tablet printing. However, like many budget printers, it presents a mixed bag of performance and long-term costs that prospective buyers should consider.
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| Canon PIXMA MG3620 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer (White) Review |
Key Features at a Glance
Functionality: All-in-One (Print, Copy, Scan)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi (Wireless), USB 2.0 (Note: Wireless setup is generally required for full functionality)
Mobile Printing: Supports Canon PRINT app, AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria
Printing Technology: Inkjet (Hybrid Ink System)
Duplex Printing: Automatic Two-Sided Printing
Design: Compact, no LCD screen (control via simple physical buttons)
Ink System: Two-cartridge system (one Black, one Tri-Color)
Design and Build Quality
The MG3620 features a compact and minimalistic design, making it a great choice for small desks or shelves where space is at a premium. Its exterior, often made of a semi-gloss plastic, is generally appealing, though some reviewers note that the overall build quality, including the paper trays and scanner lid hinges, can feel a bit flimsy compared to higher-end models. The control panel is minimal, consisting only of physical buttons for power, Wi-Fi connection, and basic copy functions. Critically, the printer lacks an LCD screen, meaning users must rely on status indicator lights and the Canon app for troubleshooting, ink levels, and more complex operations.
Performance and Print Quality
1. Print Quality
The MG3620 utilizes Canon's hybrid ink system, which combines pigment black ink for sharp text and dye-based inks for vibrant colors.
Photo Quality: This is where the MG3620 surprisingly shines for a budget printer. Photo prints are often noted for their rich, vibrant colors and sharp details, especially when using glossy photo paper. It supports high-resolution printing (up to 4800 x 1200 dpi) and borderless photos.
Text Quality: Text quality, however, is a point of contention. While adequate for casual, everyday documents, some reviewers found the text to be faint or slightly fuzzy around the edges, particularly with thinner fonts, falling below the average performance of competing inkjets.
2. Print Speed
The printing speed is generally slow. Test results indicate it lags behind many competitors, averaging around 6.4 pages per minute (ppm) for black-and-white documents. This is a significant drawback for users who need to print large documents quickly.
3. Copy and Scan Functionality
The MG3620 includes a flatbed scanner, which reviewers praise for its speed and excellent photo scan quality. Color copies are notably fast compared to some rivals. However, the absence of an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) makes it unsuitable for users who frequently need to scan or copy multi-page documents. The scanning process is simple and can be executed via the desktop or smartphone app.
Wireless and Mobile Connectivity
One of the printer's main selling points is its robust wireless connectivity.
Setup: While many users find the setup "easy to use," a significant number of reviews describe the initial wireless setup process as frustrating, clunky, and glitchy, sometimes requiring workarounds or multiple attempts.
Mobile Use: Once connected, the wireless functionality is excellent. Users can easily print directly from smartphones, tablets, and computers using technologies like AirPrint (for Apple devices) and the Canon PRINT app. This mobile flexibility is a huge convenience for a modern home environment.
Operating Costs and Conclusion
Operating Costs: The Elephant in the Room
The high operating cost is arguably the biggest drawback of the Canon PIXMA MG3620. Like many printers using a two-cartridge system (Black and Tri-Color), the cost per page is exceptionally high.
The Two-Cartridge Drawback: When only one color (e.g., yellow) runs out in the Tri-Color cartridge, you are forced to replace the entire cartridge.
Cost Per Page: Estimates from testing suggest the cost for a ream of black-and-white text prints is substantially higher than many competitor models, making it highly uneconomical for heavy or even moderate printing volume.
To mitigate this, Canon offers XL and XXL high-yield cartridges, which provide better value, but the inherent high cost remains a major factor for heavy users.
Final Verdict
The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is a printer of contradictions.
| ✅ Reasons to Buy | ❌ Reasons to Consider Alternatives |
| Affordable Initial Price | Extremely High Operating Costs |
| Excellent Photo Print Quality | Frustrating Initial Wireless Setup |
| Compact Size | Slow Print Speeds |
| Convenient Mobile Printing (Post-Setup) | Mediocre Text Quality |
| Automatic Duplex Printing | No LCD Screen |
| Fast Scanner/Color Copies | Lacks Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) |
Recommendation: The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is a solid choice only for very light, casual home use where the primary need is occasional high-quality photo printing and basic document copying/scanning.
If you print frequently, need high text quality for business, or require an ADF for multi-page documents, you should look for an alternative with a more economical ink system, such as a printer that uses individual ink tanks or a different cartridge model. For those who rarely print anything but an occasional photo or single page, the MG3620's low upfront cost and excellent mobile features make it a decent, albeit expensive-to-run, option.