Note that with a tricolor cartridge (containing cyan, magenta, and yellow), when one color runs out, you have to replace the entire cartridge even if ink remains for the other colors. A four-color page using the PG-240XXL and the CL-241XL would be 13.8 cents, about average in cost for an inkjet MFP. The unified-color CL-241XL costs $30 and lasts for 400 pages, or 7.5 cents per page. Color, on the other hand, is relatively cheap. The $38, 600-page PG-240XXL black cartridge reduces costs only slightly to 6.3 cents per page. The PG-240XL Extra Large black cartridge costs $21 and lasts for 300 pages, or 7 cents per page.

Similar to its brethren, the Pixma MG4120 has higher-than-average black-ink costs. The lid for the scanner telescopes to accommodate thicker material. The unit doesn’t have an automatic document feeder for the A4/letter-size scanner, but it does offer an automatic duplexer for hassle-free two-sided printing. You get a single 100-sheet letter/legal input tray at the front of the unit, and a 50-sheet output tray directly above it.

Paper-handling features on the Pixma MG4120 are modest, though adequate for home use. The Pixma MG4120 also features SD Card and Memory Stick slots for printing photos or offloading scans. Having to move your fingers to those buttons is a waste of time and effort the OK button and four-way cursor control would suffice. Canon needs to ditch the three “function” buttons for making selections, though. The unit’s flip-up 2.4-inch LCD screen is easy to read, and makes using the printer a breeze for the most part. You can attach the Pixma MG4120 directly to your PC via USB, or network it using the integrated Wi-Fi. The black ink is pricey, however, so printing out everyday letters and term papers costs more than the norm.

Color-ink costs are lower than average for a low-price MFP, too, so photos and Web pages are relatively cheap to print. It also produces nice-looking output at a reasonable pace. The $130 (as of March 19, 2012) Canon Pixma MG4120 color inkjet multifunction (print/copy/scan) is one of the cheaper MFPs on the market to feature paper-saving automatic duplexing.

Canon pixma mg2120 black ink