Canon TS8160

BIG BOX OF TRICKS.

CANON’S PRINTER IS a slick setup. A USB cable outlet is a backup to Direct Wi-Fi, an SD card slot for photos or a clutch of cloud printing solutions like Canon’s own ‘SELPHY’ app, Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print.

Print quality for both black and white and colour was admirable. Text looked crisp, and photos came out with no banding and good colour representation, printing at a resolution of 4,800 x 1,200dpi. You’d expect a good result like this, as the TS8160 uses six ink tanks for more tonal variation.

Our black-and-white print test completed at 4.2ppm, and our scan test took 45 seconds, though there’s no option to send the JPG or PDF image to the SD card, only to email or a cloud service such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Evernote.

However, it’s a smart-looking device, and our white test unit was a great contrast to many other black boxes. The touchscreen is large and comfortable to use. It also has the capability to print out a Soduku puzzle, and characters from the Hungry Caterpillar book for little ‘uns, all built into the printer (as long as you have an internet connection).

One dedicated print tray can stash A4 paper, with the ability to print to a disc label, and a rear tray can also accommodate other paper types, such as T-shirt transfers. The paper tray will extend and retract when powering on and off, though you’ll have to manually close the touchscreen panel.

A black XL tank will cost $0.07 per page, and the colour tanks sit at a wincing $0.28 per page.