The Canon PIXMA TS3520 is an affordable color inkjet all-in-one printer. It employs a black and tricolor cartridge system. It boasts a high-resolution scanner with extendable lid hinges to accept thicker materials, however it lacks an automatic document feeder and fax capabilities. It supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service and is compatible with Canon’s PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY mobile companion application. It is available in black or white, and a Walmart-exclusive variant, the Canon PIXMA TS3522, is also available.
1. Design
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 has a subpar build quality. Especially the back input tray, output slider, and scanner’s lid, it is made entirely of plastic and seems cheap. From the front panel, you can reach the ink cartridges and paper jams, but there is very limited room to maneuver, so those with larger hands may have difficulty. The scanner’s lid remains open by itself, and its hinges can be adjusted to handle somewhat thicker media, such as magazines and textbooks. The power cable is detachable, allowing for quick replacement if it becomes broken. It also plugs in horizontally rather than protruding from the back, allowing the printer to be placed closer to the wall.
The cartridge installation and paper jam faults appeared on the first machine we purchased, despite our verification that everything was clear and correctly installed. In addition, it generated loud grinding sounds and refused to print. We identified it as faulty and ordered a replacement, which has been performing as intended. If you have the same model and are encountering comparable troubles, please let us know in the thread.
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 requires a considerable amount of maintenance to remain operational. There are built-in functions, such as thorough cleaning, print head alignment, roller cleaning, and bottom plate cleaning, to assist you. The front panel provides access to the sheet rollers and ink cartridges, however the entrance is relatively small, making it difficult for those with large hands to reach paper jams and the ink cartridges. You will likely need to replace the ink cartridges frequently, as they do not produce many pages before running out, and the printer must be on when you do so. The input tray contains 60 sheets of paper, so frequent reloading may be necessary if you print frequently. Here you can obtain online user manuals.
The Canon TS3520 has a small black-and-white display. It has poor viewing angles and does not tilt or swivel, so to see it effectively, you must stand and stare down at the printer. Also, navigating the settings menu is difficult. There are only a few buttons and indicator lights for basic purposes, such as toggling between types of wireless connectivity, initiating maintenance duties, and copying in black or color.
The Canon PIXMA TS3520’s ink cartridges produce extremely few black and color prints before running out, requiring frequent replacement. Also, since there is just one color cartridge, you must replace the complete cartridge even if only one color runs out. Positively, there are longer-lasting, high-yield variants of the cartridges.
2. Document
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 produces acceptable black-and-white printouts. When printing in the ‘Standard’ quality setting, there is a substantial amount of banding because each printed part overlaps the previous one to avoid gaps. This is not an issue, however, when printing in the ‘High Quality’ option, as each area is printed slightly more faded and the next portion overlaps half of the preceding section, eliminating the appearance of lines and faults. It struggles with bright or pale colors, such as the yellow and orange in the example page’s title, and there is a great deal of noise throughout, making fine details appear blurry. Check out the Epson Expression Home XP-5200 if you require an inkjet printer that generates superior-quality black-and-white papers.
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 produces quality color papers. There are several fine details; yet, the entire print appears pale and the lettering is not particularly sharp. Some banding is there, but not enough to be distracting.
The Canon TS3520 prints black-and-white and color documents slowly. Nonetheless, it’s not too horrible with pictures, and it doesn’t take too long to wake up and print a page. It cannot automatically print double-sided, thus to print on both sides, you must wait until it finishes printing on one side of all your pages, then flip the stack over and reinsert it as indicated. Consider the Epson Expression Home XP-4200 if you require a printer that provides automatic duplex printing.
Due to the low page yield of the ink cartridges, the Canon PIXMA TS3520 has a high cost-per-print. It is better for photo and color printing than for black-and-white printing, but if you print frequently, the cost will add up rapidly. PIXMA Print Plan is an optional ink subscription service that sends you replacement ink cartridges when they run out. Check out the Canon PIXMA MG2522 if you need a comparable printer with a cheaper cost per page.
3. Photo
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 offers a color gamut that is adequate. In the blues and reds, the zigzag line is barely discernible. The black section at the bottom does not reach far enough, although the white area does, particularly in the purple zone. It indicates that the printer has problems printing colors that are dark and saturated. Although it is not apparent in the shot, the color transition is not very seamless.
All View
The Canon PIXMA TS3520 is an average family printer. It has adequate networking choices and prints photos of high quality with acceptable color fidelity. Nevertheless, it produces few black and color pages, necessitating frequent ink cartridge replacement and resulting in expensive maintenance costs. In addition, despite the scanner’s high scan resolution and color depth, the quality of scanned images is subpar.
