Canon PIXMA TS8370 reviewed.

I used to be a layman in the realm of printers. To old me, every printer was pretty much exchangeable with one another; after all, as long as the paper comes out a decent quality, I’m ok with the result.

So when Canon asked me if I was OK with reviewing a printer, I thought, ‘Why not?’ How hard could it be right?!’.

Heh…so so wrong I was.

Turns out there’s a ton of things you’ll want to know if you want to get a good printer.

So is the PIXMA TS8370 one of the good ones?

Read and find out!

What is the Canon PIXMA TS8370?

The Canon PIXMA TS8370 is an AIO (all-in-one) home printer that’s meant for moderate home use. It has an ISO standard print speed of up to 15.0ipm black / 10.0ipm colour.

At the front of the machine sits the 4.3” LCD touchcreen, which displays status and selections when you’re using it. Since it’s also a touchscreen, you can easily select your options too. Chubby fingers like mine had no issue (though I think the 4.3” LCD screen could do with an enlargement) and the touchscreen was certainly responsive enough when I used it.

Out of the box, the printer is 373 x 319 x 141 mm (without the trays extended or paper at the ready). It’s not that big, so don’t worry if you’re short on desk space.

Don’t worry about the printer slipping off either; it’s packed with rubber nubs on bottom that hold it secure in place.

The printer supports multiple modes of printing; via USB 2.0, WiFi, wireless Pictbridge, Mopria, AirPrint, BLE, Direct Wireless. Whatever your preference, rest assured the printer probably has it covered.

The SD card slot is right in front of the machine, so you can easily access it without fiddling around the back of the machine or the sides, trying to jam your memory card in.

The printer comes in a couple of colors; we got the awesome red unit from Canon for this review.

I love the shade of red for the printer and especially love that it’s textured instead of the usual glossy casing that’s typical of most printers. It also means that the unit isn’t a fingerprint magnet after repeated touches, another plus in my book!

The Canon PIXMA TS8370 has six ink slots (more on that later), which gives it a superior output when printing photos and images, and crisp clean text.

An interesting point to note; the printer is universal voltage, which means it can be used overseas with zero voltage conflict issues. I’m not seeing a ton of people taking this baby on a vacation with them, but if you’re buying it for somebody overseas (or buying it to bring it overseas), be assured that it’ll work.

For a full breakdown of the printer’s specs, you can head on to Canon’s official site.

The Canon PIXMA TS8370 is $299 in shops.

…Did you say 6 ink slots?

Oh yeah, it wasn’t a typo or joke.

It really does accept 6 print cartridges; the usual CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) and ALSO Pigment Black and Photo Blue.

These last two are optional, but if you DO use them, expect darker text and blacker blacks in your photos (courtesy of the Pigment Black) and improved definition and enhanced color gamut (through the use of the Photo Blue cartridge).

Prints more than just documents.

That’s great because the printer actually prints more than just documents.

It does T-shirt transfers (for both white/light colors and black/dark colors) with the usual T-shirt transfer paper (look the Canon product codes LF-101 and DF-101 if you’re still unsure). It also does nail prints, CD prints and of course, photo prints.

The only thing it doesn’t do is print money…sadly.

Regular text prints are speedy, with no ink issues. I’d printed a few test pages in the course of reviewing the printer (as well as a few more pages for other work related matters) and didn’t have any issues at all.

The ink was dry and even (no blotting!), the text was crisp and clear (no unequal ink application) and the speed was decent enough that I have no complaints on this front.

Images (both on regular documents and photos) are equally as impressive. Colors are reproduced accurately, with blacks especially standing out. The Pigment Black cartridge is really a big deal, especially if you’re somebody who prints a ton of photos.

The one issue I have from the printer stems from it not having an automatic document feeder built-in. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, especially if you’re not regularly scanning or copying multi-page documents.

The bottom line.

If you’re looking for a good home printer with some frills (that won’t bust the bank), then definitely take a look at the PIXMA TS8370. While it’s a decent printer for text and scans, it truly punches above its class when it comes to printing images.

Sure, you’ll need to invest in a little extra for the extra cartridges but once you go Black (Pigment Black that is), you’ll never want to go back.

At $299, the Canon PIXMA TS8370 is a great buy, especially if you’re (like me) just interested in an AIO that does everything well but on a tight budget.

TLDR:

Decent price with great quality. Going to want to spend extra for the optional cartridges; they make a difference.