By M. David Stone1
Editors’ Note: This review is based on tests performed on the Canon Pixma MG5720 Wireless Inkjet All-in-One, the all-black version of the series. Besides the difference in color, the white and silver MG5722 is identical in features, and while we didn’t perform lab tests on this specific model, we expect similar performance.The slideshow below shows the Canon Pixma MG5720.
One pleasant surprise is that the MG5720 delivers significantly better-looking output than the Canon Pixma MG5620 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer3 that it’s in the process of replacing in Canon’s line. It’s also way out in front of most direct competitors. Compared with the HP Envy 4520 All-in-One Printer4, for example, it comes out ahead on both speed and output quality. The Brother MFC-J470DW5, our preferred pick for an office-centric budget MFP, offers faster speed along with an ADF and faxing, but the MG5720 beats the Brother model for output quality as well. To avoid confusion, you need to know that Canon offers two other printers that it says are identical to the MG5720 except for the color. In addition to the MG5720 coming in a choice of all black or all white, you can get the same printer in black and silver as the Canon MG5721, or in white and silver as the Canon MG5722. Everything in this review applies to all four iterations of the three models.
Basics
The MG5720 measures 5.9 by 18 by 14.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 13 pounds 13 ounces. Basic MFP features are limited to printing, scanning, and copying. There’s no USB Type A port or memory card slot, which means you can’t print from a USB key, a PictBridge camera over a USB cable, or a memory card. However, like most other recent Canon Pixma models, the printer supports Wireless PictBridge, which Canon says is available on all of its recent camera models that offer Wi-Fi. It isn’t available on any cameras from other manufacturers. Beyond the basics, the MG5720 offers mobile printing and scanning, as well as the ability to print from selected websites. Connect it to your network using Wi-Fi, and you can both print from and scan to iOS, Android, and Windows phones and tablets through an access point on your network. You can also print through the cloud, assuming your network is connected to the Internet, and you can use the Canon Print App on your phone or tablet to send print jobs directly to the printer from assorted websites, including Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
If you connect the MG5720 to a PC via USB cable, you won’t be able to print through the cloud or print directly from websites, but you can still print from and scan to mobile devices by connecting directly to the printer using Canon’s equivalent to Wi-Fi Direct. Paper handling goes a touch beyond the basics, with an automatic duplexer. Paper capacity is 100 sheets, which is sufficient for most personal use. For scanning, there’s a letter-size flatbed, but no ADF.
Setup Woes
Physical setup is standard fare. Installing the software is not. The printer comes with a disc you can use to install the driver and other software, but the Getting Started guide mentions it in a paragraph that’s literally to the side of the main flow of instructions. Follow the flow, and the guide sends you to Canon’s website to download everything instead. Downloading has the advantage of assuring that you have the latest versions of all the software. However, it takes roughly forever. In my testing, the download failed once, and at the 90-minute mark after starting the installation, Windows reported that it would take 45 minutes more, at which point I left to go do something else. Note that this was with a broadband connection that has a promised 75 Mbps download speed.
In fairness, I have to point out that I’ve installed two other Canon printers this way without the download failing and without taking quite so much time. Even when the process goes well, however, installing from the cloud is much more time-consuming than installing from a supplied disc. However, no matter how annoying the installation is, you only have to suffer through it once. It also helps that you can use the supplied disc instead, although it would be better if that tidbit stood out better in the Getting Started guide.
Speed and Output Quality
Once you get the MG5720 installed, it works nicely. I timed it on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic’s6 hardware and software for timing), at 2.6 pages per minute (ppm). That’s a little on the slow side, but acceptable for most home or personal use. For context, it’s just little more than half the speed of the Brother MFC-J470DW, at 4.9ppm, but almost twice the speed of the HP Envy 4520, at 1.4ppm. Photo speed was much faster compared with the competition, averaging 54 seconds for a 4-by-6-inch print in our tests.
See How We Test Printers7
Output quality is the MG5720’s strongest selling point. Text is at the high end of the range that includes the vast majority of inkjet MFPs, making it easily good enough for any business use. Graphics output is even better relative to other inkjets, putting it a step above the vast majority. Most people would consider it good enough for handing out to a client they wanted to impress with a sense of their professionalism.
Photos are in the top tier for an inkjet MFP, which makes them higher quality than most drugstore prints. They’re not quite a match for the best-quality photos from inkjets aimed at professional photographers, but those printers are also a lot more expensive and not intended for printing typical business documents.
Conclusion
If you need an ADF, faxing, or faster speed, consider the Brother MFC-J470DW, which is aimed more at office needs than the Canon Pixma MG5720 Wireless Inkjet All-in-One. If your scan and copy needs are light-duty enough so you don’t need an ADF, however, and you don’t need to fax, the MG5720 is a terrific fit as a personal MFP or for home use. Setting it up can take a long time, but that’s a one-time headache. And once you’re done with it, the MG5720 will give you a level of output quality that few inkjet MFPs can match, regardless of price.
References
^ M. David Stone (www.pcmag.com)
^ multifunction printer (MFP) (www.pcmag.com)
^ Canon Pixma MG5620 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer (www.pcmag.com)
^ HP Envy 4520 All-in-One Printer (www.pcmag.com)
^ Brother MFC-J470DW (www.pcmag.com)
^ QualityLogic’s (www.qualitylogic.com)
^ See How We Test Printers (www.pcmag.com)