The Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a monochrome laser printer designed for small office use. Its cost-per-print is outstanding, thanks to its high page yields, and the drum unit is included in the toner cartridge, so you don't need to worry about replacing it separately. Also, it has a flatbed scanner, and you can extend the scanner lid's hinges to fit thicker materials like magazines or books to easily digitize them. Unfortunately, its document printing quality is bad, and it lacks an automatic document feeder, which means you'll have to manually place each page onto the scanner. Additionally, we encountered issues while setting up the printer on a Windows PC, which made the installation process difficult, meaning we couldn't use the printer straight out of the box.
Our Verdict
The Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a poor printer for family use. Since it's a monochrome laser printer, it can't print in color, and even for black-and-white documents, its print quality isn't good. It also lacks an automatic document feeder, meaning scanning multi-page documents can get tedious. On the bright side, it yields a significant number of pages before the toner needs replacing, so its cost-per-print is outstanding.
- High page yield; low cost-per-print.
- Feels very well-built.
- Wide connectivity options.
- Poor print quality for black and white documents.
- Slow scanning speed.
- Can't print in color.
- Terrible photo quality.
- No automatic document feeder.
Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a good printer for small or home office use. Although it lacks an automatic document feeder and can't perform duplex scanning, it has very high page yields and an outstanding cost-per-print. It also feels very well-built and offers easy access to paper jams and the toner cartridge. Unfortunately, its print quality isn't good, which might be a dealbreaker if you work in a professional office that needs high-quality prints.
- High page yield; low cost-per-print.
- Feels very well-built.
- Prints quickly.
- Wide connectivity options.
- Poor print quality for black and white documents.
- Slow scanning speed.
- No automatic document feeder.
The Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is good for student use. It has plenty of connectivity options, and its high page yield means you won't have to replace the cartridge often, saving you money. However, it produces low-quality black-and-white documents, which might be an issue if you need to hand in assignments or papers.
- High page yield; low cost-per-print.
- Feels very well-built.
- Prints quickly.
- Wide connectivity options.
- Poor print quality for black and white documents.
- Slow scanning speed.
- No automatic document feeder.
Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a good printer for black-and-white printing. It has high page yields and an outstanding cost-per-print for black-only text documents. It feels well-built and doesn't require a lot of maintenance to upkeep. Though it takes a little bit to warm up and print the first page, it's still very quick, and subsequent pages print out even faster. The main downside of this printer is its poor print quality, which might be a dealbreaker if you need to print professional-looking documents for work.
- High page yield; low cost-per-print.
- Feels very well-built.
- Prints quickly.
- Poor print quality for black and white documents.
- No automatic document feeder.
Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a terrible photo printer, as it wasn't designed for this use. Since it's a monochrome laser unit, it can't print in color, and its photos lack details due to the high contrast.
- Feels very well-built.
- Can't print in color.
- Terrible photo quality.
- Feels very well-built.
- Feels very well-built.
- Feels very well-built.
- Feels very well-built.
- Feels very well-built.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Feb 06, 2024: We've added a link to the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e/8139e in the 'Connectivity' section of the review to provide an alternative that can print from an external storage device.
- Updated Oct 25, 2022: We've retested the Black and White Document print quality. We've lowered the score from 5.5 to 4 as it's a more accurate score compared to other printers we've tested.
- Updated Aug 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Jul 04, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Canon imageCLASS MF242dw in black. It's a Walmart-exclusive model, and there are no other variants. You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The Canon imageCLASS MF242dw is a monochrome laser printer designed for business use. While it's part of Canon's imageCLASS lineup of laser printers, it doesn't have as many features as more expensive options. It lacks a touchscreen display and an automatic document feeder, and while its page yields are very high, they aren't as high as others, like the Canon imageCLASS MF445dw. Its scanning resolution also only goes as high as 600 DPI, which might not be high enough for some offices.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laser printers, the best Canon printers, and the best black and white printers.
The HP LaserJet Enterprise M507dn and the Canon imageCLASS MF242dw are both monochrome laser printers, but the Canon is an all-in-one unit that includes a flatbed scanner, while the HP is a printer-only unit. The HP has much faster print speeds, a larger input tray capacity, and a significantly higher page yield. The Canon has a marginally lower cost-per-print and many more wireless connectivity options.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4760 is an inkjet printer, while the Canon imageCLASS MF242DW is a monochrome laser printer. However, the Epson performs better overall. The Epson produces significantly more pages thanks to its supertank cartridge system, and it can print in color, so it has better photo quality. It also produces higher-quality black and white documents, as the Canon's prints look faded with lots of artifacts. The Epson's scanner has a higher scan resolution, and it has an automatic document feeder, which the Canon lacks. On the other hand, the Canon has a much faster print speed, and it doesn't require as much upkeep.
The Canon imageCLASS MF445dw and the Canon imageCLASS MF242dw are both monochrome laser printers, but the MF445dw performs better overall. The MF445dw has a large touchscreen display and an automatic document feeder that can perform duplex scanning. Also, it has a slightly faster print speed, higher page yields, and it has a USB port for printing directly from USB keys. On the other hand, the MF242dw has a marginally lower cost-per-print, and though it's quite a large printer, it's more compact than the MF445dw.
The Pantum P2502W and the Canon imageCLASS MF242dw are both monochrome laser printers, but the Pantum has no scanning features, while the Canon is an all-in-one with a flatbed scanner. The Canon is better overall, with a significantly higher page yield, a slightly cheaper cost-per-print, and a faster print speed. Also, its body feels significantly sturdier and better built, supports automatic duplex printing, and has an Ethernet port. The Pantum produces significantly higher-quality documents, as the Canon's prints look faded.
Test Results
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