Canon i-SENSYS LBP-5050N Toner Cartridges
(and other items)

 

Canon is generally known for producing high-quality technology for amateurs and professionals with a large budget. When they came out with the i-SENSYS LBP-5050N for the home office at a very reasonably price, it definitely was worth taking a look at. While you can't scan or fax on this machine, with Canon's promise that this is one of the cheapest printers in terms of purchase price as well as price per print, it is worth considering when comparing it to HP, Lexmark, or any other home printer.

Design

The traditional matte and glossy black were done away with for this shiny white i-SENSYS. All of the maintenance jobs can be done through a single hatch that exposes the internals. The 150 sheet input tray is situated inside this hatch as are the four Canon LBP-5050N toner trays. The output tray is merely an angled space on top of the machine that will have trouble holding more than 50 sheets. Alongside the output tray are the eight LED's, for the generic jams and low Canon LBP-5050N toner, as well as the single power/resume button. The only connection available is a single USB 2.0 plug in the rear. A special media insert is a small slot at the front which can handle various letter sizes.

Advantages

As with any home printer, the i-SENSYS was produced for ease of use. The printer can be setup in moments as well as having almost no learning curve to operate. This includes replacing paper or the four Canon LBP-5050N toner cartridges which takes only seconds. Both black and colour prints keep relatively sharp lines and have little splatter or blurring. Along with the cheap price of the machine and replacement cartridges, it also runs exceedingly quiet. This makes it a great choice for anyone looking into a basic entry-level laser printer.

Disadvantages

While the price tag on this particular i-SENSYS is very reasonable, there is quite a bit of steep competition for the low-end printer. Nearly every company is producing entry-level, single task laser printers. For roughly the same price, other companies have slightly better quality and a handful of better features. Wireless connectivity or slightly better print quality would have helped the LBP-5050N out quite a bit.