Canon C3080 Toner
imageRUNNER C3080 Toner Cartridges

Canon C3080 Printer Review

The Canon C3080 is a multifunction color laser printer designed for the medium or large office environment. Its print quality and feature set are impressive, especially for its high price tag.

The Canon C3080 can print, scan, and copy. Faxing is not included as a standard feature, but Super G3 faxing capability can be added as an option. Its paper capacity is very large, with two 550-sheet drawers holding the bulk of the paper, and a 50-sheet bypass tray for alternate media types. More capacity can be added with upgrade options, up to a maximum of 4,950 sheets. Large media formats are supported, up to 12 x 18 inches.

Scanning, copying, and faxing, if installed, utilizes either the automatic document feeder, which has a capacity of 50 sheets, or the flatbed scanning surface for scanning originals. Both can support up to 11 x 17 inch originals. Scanning at resolutions up to 600 dpi is possible. Some users might wonder why 1200 or 2400 dpi scanning is not supported, as with some dedicated scanners. These resolutions are only practical for intricate photo and graphics work, and are generally overkill for office use. Also, these resolutions create extremely large files that are difficult to manage.

Not only does the Canon C3080 include built-in networking for connecting directly to an ethernet network, but it also includes a built-in web server, which allows users to store documents, collaborate, edit, and print directly from its web interface.

Print quality is excellent on the C3080. Text is especially sharp and detailed, and graphics and color prints are smooth and accurate. The real downside of the C3080 is its speed. While fast by most standards, printing at 30 pages per minute for monochrome and 28 pages per minute in color, it is slower than many printers at this price point.

Capacity for the Canon C3080 toner cartridges is just right for a medium to large office environment. The color toners have a page yield of 14,000 and the black toners are almost twice that at 26,000 pages. For having such a large page yield, the Canon C3080 toners only weigh 1-2 pounds; so shipping for these toner cartridges will not be excessive.

Overall, the Canon C3080 is a solid machine with a nice array of features. Its quality is top notch, but speed is a little slow for its high price, giving it less value for the dollar than competing models.