Canon Pixma MegaTank G6050: a printer without cartridge very economical in use

Presentation

The Pixma G6050 is a color multifunction printer. It is part of the MegaTank range (G series) of Canon - the equivalent of the EcoTank range at Epson - and therefore uses ink tanks and not traditional cartridges with multiple defects (too small, too expensive, sources of waste ...). It is intended for users wishing to take advantage of a printer at a very low cost per page, which Canon compensates by marketing the G6050 at an introductory price of € 379.99. This therefore places it in front of some color laser printers.

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Ergonomics

Imposing (40.3 x 36.9 x 19.5 cm with the shutters closed), the Canon Pixma G6050 is not very discreet, especially since its design is quite raw. It nevertheless benefits from quality construction.

The front cassette does not protrude, even loaded with A4 paper, and has a large capacity (250 sheets). A second paper feed is possible via the rear tray, which has a capacity of 100 sheets (or 20 sheets of photo paper). The printer also offers an automatic two-sided function.

The control panel must be raised to let the paper out. It is fairly basic and consists of a small 2-line monochrome LCD screen. The main functions remain easily accessible, but a larger color screen would have been more in line with the price of the printer.

While Canon has eliminated the Ethernet port from its flagship models, it remains present on this Pixma G6050. No SD card reader should be identified, however. It will obviously be possible to print over Wi-Fi and the G6050 is compatible with Canon's printing services, but also with Apple's AirPrint and Google Cloud Print. However, the latter will be suspended on December 31, 2020.

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Consumption

The Canon G6050 is quite energy efficient. Thus, we noted a consumption reduced to only 0.4 W in standby. In printing, Canon has managed to control the consumption of its printer with peaks measured at 20 W in photos.

However, noise pollution should be noted, with peaks measured at 57 dB by our sound level meter positioned 1 m from the printer. In photo printing, the Canon G6050 stabilizes at around 38 dB. It is therefore not a silent printer, but these noise levels remain completely tolerable.

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Cost per page

It is thanks to its ink tank system that the Canon Pixma G6050 intends to justify its price. The black ink tank is located on the left side of the printer, while the three color ink tanks are located on the right side. Filling them is simple, but it must be done carefully so as not to get stained.

We have calculated a cost per page of around 0.8 euro cents (€ 0.008) at current prices for GI-50 ink bottles, which is less than the cost per page of a laser printer. By way of comparison, this value rises to almost 13 cents (0.13 €) for a Pixma TS6350 which uses traditional cartridges. In black and white, the cost per page of the G6050 drops to around 0.3 euro cents (€ 0.003). In addition, with the bottles delivered with the printer, it is possible to print up to 18,000 pages in black and white or 7,700 in color without having to go to the checkout.

Result, it will be necessary to print approximately 2000 pages before making profitable the investment in a G6050 compared to a TS6350 sold practically three times cheaper, but whose cartridges are very expensive. It will therefore be necessary to correctly evaluate its printing volume to make the choice between these two extremes.

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Scanner and copies

The Pixma G6050 has a scanner with a maximum resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi with 16-bit sampling. It takes 15 seconds to scan an A4 document at 100 dpi and 11 seconds for a 10 x 15 cm photo at 300 dpi. The quality of the renderings is convincing by their fidelity. Copies require 13 seconds for an A4 document in black and white and 19 seconds for a color document.

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Photo

In photos, the Pixma G6050 fulfills its mission and provides convincing quality results. The color fidelity is however slightly behind the usual Canon productions; evidenced by its delta E 94 measured at 5.6. Not enough to panic, this value remains in the average for the category and only shows a slight colorimetric drift between the source files and the prints.

Unfortunately, you will have to be patient to take advantage of this print quality since the G6050 is not very fast. Printing a photo in 10 x 15 cm format takes approximately 1 min 5 s, compared to 2 min 6 s for an A4 photo.

Otherwise, like other manufacturers, Canon offers a wide range of fancy papers compatible with its printers. For the G6050, we will for example use repositionable self-adhesive photo paper and magnetic photo paper.

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Office

As often with Canon printers, we regret too long black and white printing times due to pauses to let the ink dry every 2 or 3 pages. This Pixma G6050 is no exception, with a throughput of around 7 pages per minute (ppm) and 4 ppm in automatic duplex mode. Unfortunately, color prints are not much faster with just under 9 ppm measured. The renderings are however up to our expectations, in black as in color.

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Conclusion

The Pixma G6050 convinced us in more ways than one. In addition to its ridiculous cost per page, it turns out to be a printer that does everything. Compared to a color laser printer, it is distinguished by its honorable performance in photo, although its print speeds are not comparable. We regret, however, a control panel that stains in view of its high price. The investment in a G6050 can nevertheless be quickly amortized and its healthier philosophy should appeal to those who are in their umpteenth cartridge printer.

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