The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a good all-in-one printer that performs well for a variety of uses. It features a supertank ink system that yields an incredible amount of pages, and its replacement ink is very cheap, making it very inexpensive to print in bulk. Unfortunately, it's slow at printing both black and color documents, and the scanner is as basic as it comes. That said, it feels well-built, the tanks are easy to refill, and it has large input trays that can hold a good amount of paper. Its color accuracy is questionable, but it prints good-looking photos nonetheless. It's compatible with Canon's exceptional mobile app, which is a convenient tool for getting work done quickly.
Our Verdict
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a good family printer. It has an outstanding ink tank system that can yield a lot of black and color pages, and the ink bottles are very cheap, making it extremely cost-effective in the long run. Its color accuracy is sub-par, but printed photos look good in general. The scanner lacks an automatic document feeder, so scanning multi-page documents can take a while.
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Superb cost-per-print.
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Good photo printing quality.
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Exceptional mobile app.
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Sub-par printing speed.
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Sub-par color accuracy.
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No support for external storage devices.
The Canon G6020 is an okay printer for small or home offices. The supertank ink system is great for printing in bulk and replacement ink is inexpensive, but it's very slow at printing, whether it's black or color documents. That said, it's a very well-built printer, and the ink tanks are easily accessible for a quick refill. Unfortunately, the scanner is mediocre, as it lacks an automatic document feeder.
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Superb cost-per-print.
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Great build quality.
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Sub-par printing speed.
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Lacks automatic document feeder.
The Canon G6020 is an excellent printer for students. A full ink tank lasts a very long time and the ink bottles are very cheap, which is great for students on a budget. It's a pretty slow printer, though, so it may not be the best for printing a long essay at the last minute. Thankfully, it has great connectivity options, and it comes with a superb mobile app, so you can perform most tasks from your smartphone when you're in a hurry.
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Superb cost-per-print.
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Exceptional mobile app.
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Sub-par printing speed.
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No support for external storage devices.
The Canon G6020 is a good printer for printing black and white documents. While this printer's exceptional supertank system can yield an incredible amount of black pages, it's not the fastest printer if you have a large print job. However, its input trays can hold a good amount of paper, and its great design lets you check on the paper level without having to open the input tray. The ink tanks are easily accessible and replacement ink is very cheap.
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Superb cost-per-print.
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Great build quality.
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Sub-par printing speed.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a good printer for printing photos. Printed photos look good overall, but the colors look a bit muted and there's some graininess in the pictures. The printer's exceptional ink system helps keep costs down, and it's well-designed to make refilling the tanks a walk in the park. Most photo paper sizes are supported, except for 2" x 3".
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Superb cost-per-print.
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Good photo printing quality.
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Great build quality.
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Sub-par color accuracy.
- Family
- Small/Home Office
- Student
- Black & White
- Photo
- Updated Sep 08, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 25, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Aug 04, 2022: Added mention of the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5180 in the 'Cartridge' section as an alternative with better black page yield.
- Updated Apr 25, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jun 16, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Jun 11, 2020: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Canon PIXMA G6020 and there are no other variants of this printer. It's very closely related to its bigger brother, the PIXMA G7020, but with fewer features. In Europe, this printer is known as the PIXMA G6050.
Compared To Other Printers
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a good family printer. It stands out for its incredible high yield and is one of the most cost-effective printers we've reviewed so far. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best photo printers, the best home printers, and the best printers for college students.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 are both supertank printers. If you print monochrome documents most often, the Epson is a better choice. It prints thousands more black pages than the Canon, so you won't have to refill the tank as often. On the other hand, the Canon can print more color pages. This, paired with its lower ink bottle cost, gives it a lower cost-per-print for color printing and photos. It's also much faster at printing photos.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is better than the Canon PIXMA G6020. The Epson produces higher-quality black-and-white documents, and its wider color range results in more colorful photos. It also prints faster and yields significantly more pages. The Epson has an automatic document feeder, which the Canon lacks, and it produces better scans with more fine details and better color saturation.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Canon PIXMA G7020 are both supertank inkjet printers. The biggest difference between the two is that the G7020 has an automatic document feeder and fax capabilities, whereas the G6020 only has a flatbed scanner. The G7020 also has better color accuracy and photo printing quality, so it's a better choice for photos.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 are both supertank printers with an outstanding cost-per-print. However, they have some slight differences. The Epson has an automatic document feeder to easily scan multi-page documents and prints faster overall. It also produces better quality documents and scans, and its black page yield is significantly higher. On the other hand, the Canon has a higher page yield for color documents.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Canon PIXMA G3260 are both all-in-one supertank color inkjets. They have similar features and printing performance, with flatbed scanners and superb page yields, but the G6020 prints faster overall, can automatically print double-sided, and produces better-looking photos. It also has an Ethernet port. On the other hand, the G3260 produces more accurate colors, but the average person shouldn't notice a difference, and both should be fine for casual use.
The Canon MAXIFY GX6020 is the newer, office-redesigned version of the Canon PIXMA G6020. Both are all-in-one color inkjet printers that use supertank ink systems for incredible page yields, but the MAXIFY is a better printer overall. The MAXIFY yields significantly more color pages and prints much faster. It can also print directly from USB flash drives, and it has an ADF and a much better screen. On the other hand, the PIXMA produces better-detailed photos and has a better overall cost-per-print.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Canon PIXMA G1200 are both supertank printers, but the G6020 is better overall. The G6020 has higher page yields, a slightly lower-cost-per-print, a flatbed scanner, better photo printing quality, and wireless connection options. Also, it can automatically print double-sided, and its input tray holds a lot more paper. Comparatively, the G1200 can only print via a USB-A to USB-B cable, which isn't included in the box.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 is much better than the Canon PIXMA G6020. The HP has an automatic document feeder with duplex scanning capability, it prints faster, and it has better color accuracy. However, if you often print in bulk, the Canon is a better choice due to its significantly higher page yield, which leads to a lower cost-per-print.
The Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are both all-in-one color inkjet printers, but the Canon uses a traditional supertank ink system while the Brother uses a hybrid cartridge-tank configuration. The Canon has significantly better page yields and cost-per-print, and it prints photos faster and with better quality. It also has an Ethernet port. On the other hand, the Brother has an automatic document feeder and can fax, and it takes much less time to warm up and print the first page.
The Canon MAXIFY GX7020 and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are similar all-in-one color inkjet printers with supertank ink systems for incredibly high page yields. However, the MAXIFY is newer and performs better overall, with a significantly higher color page yield and much faster printing speed. Its screen is also much better, and it has a duplex-scanning automatic document feeder, faxing capability, and can print directly from USB flash drives. On the other hand, the PIXMA has a better overall cost-per-print, and it also produces photos with much better quality.
The Epson EcoTank ET-3760 and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are both supertank printers. The Canon is a better choice for printing photos due to its lower photo cost-per-print, faster photo printing time, and better photo printing quality. On the other hand, the Epson is better for home offices as it has an ADF, a higher black-only page yield, and faster black-only document printing speed.
The Epson EcoTank ET-2720 and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are both good all-in-one color inkjet printers with supertanks, but the Canon is slightly better. The Canon feels better built, has higher page yields, a lower cost-per-print for color pages, and prints photos more quickly and with better quality. Also, it can automatically print double-sided, and it has an Ethernet port. On the other hand, the Epson prints documents more quickly.
The Epson Expression ET-2750 and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are both inkjet printers with supertanks, which give them both exceptionally high page yields, but the Epson is better for students, while the Canon is better for casual photo printing. The Epson has much better black page yields, a cheaper black text document cost-per-print, and it prints documents much faster. On the other hand, the Canon has better color page yields, a cheaper color document cost-per-print, and it produces better-looking photos with significantly more accurate colors.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 and the Epson EcoTank ET-2760 are both good supertank printers. The Canon is a better choice for printing pictures thanks to its lower cost-per-print for photos, better photo quality, and faster photo printing speed. On the other hand, the Epson is a better choice for documents, since it has a higher page yield and lower cost-per-print for black and color printing.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4760 is an overall better all-in-one color inkjet printer with a supertank than the Canon PIXMA G6020. The Epson yields far more black pages, prints documents much more quickly, and produces more accurate colors. Also, it has an automatic document feeder, and it can fax. On the other hand, the Canon yields much more color pages at a cheaper cost-per-print, and it prints photos much faster and with significantly better quality.
The Brother MFC-J995DW is much better than the Canon PIXMA G6020 for most uses. The Brother has a better display console, a sheetfed scanner, it prints faster overall, and it prints higher quality photos. That said, the Canon has a significantly higher page yield due to its supertank ink system, making it the better choice for high-volume printing.
The Epson EcoTank ET-2400 and the Canon PIXMA G6020 are both all-in-one inkjet supertank printers. Feature-wise the only difference is that the Canon has a display, Ethernet connectivity, and automatic duplex printing, which the Epson lacks. However, the Epson produces higher-quality scans and prints slightly better photos due to its wider color gamut and ability to print finer details.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is an all-in-one color printer, while the Epson WorkForce ST-M1000 is a monochrome printer-only model. The Canon is a better choice for families who need color printing, good photo printing quality, and a flatbed scanner. However, if you're looking for a simple model to only print in black and white, the Canon is a good choice since it has a much faster printing speed and a high black page yield.
Test Results
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has a great build and design. Although it's fully plastic, the printer feels sturdy and well-built. The scanner's lid can stay open without aid, which keeps it from falling while you refill the ink tanks, and it can extend to accommodate thicker documents or books. The front input tray has a small window where you can check how much paper is left, so you don't have to open the tray and potentially interrupt a print job. The only part of the printer that feels of lesser quality is the rear input tray, as it exhibits quite a bit of flex. One thing that's worth mentioning is that the printheads are removable, making it much easier to replace them should they get damaged or clogged.
The Canon G6020 is pretty compact and suitable for small spaces. It has the same width as the PIXMA G7020, but it's not as tall due to the lack of an automatic document feeder.
The Canon G6020 has a poor display console. It's small and it's a monochrome, 2-Line Full-Dot Matrix Display. Visibility is okay whether you're standing or sitting, and the display can be tilted upwards to make it easier to see. It isn't a touchscreen, so navigating the menus can only be done with the surrounding buttons, which makes typing in Wi-Fi passwords and such a very tedious task.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has an exceptional supertank system. Instead of cartridges, there are four large-capacity tanks that you refill yourself with bottles of ink. These tanks can yield an incredible amount of pages, so you rarely have to refill them unless you print at very large scale. If you want a supertank printer with better black page yield, check out the epson EcoTank Pro ET-5180.
The Canon G6020 has mediocre scanning features. It doesn't have an automatic document feeder, which makes scanning long documents quite labor-intensive. On the upside, the scanner's lid can extend a bit if you need to scan thick documents or books.
Note that when scanning with Canon's IJ software, the default scanning resolution is set to 600 DPI. If you want to scan at a higher resolution, you must access the 'Advanced Mode' tab in the settings menus and change the output resolution manually.
- User guide
- Setup CD
- Power cable
- 1 x Black print head
- 1 x Color print head
- Canon GI-20 ink bottles
- 3 x GI-20 PGBK
- 1 x GI-20 Cyan
- 1 x GI-20 Yellow
- 1 x GI-20 Magenta
The Canon PIXMA G6020's cost-per-print is superb. Due to its large ink tanks, you don't have to refill them as often, and even then, the ink bottles are very cheap. You can purchase each color separately and Canon also sells them as a bundle.
Keep in mind that even if you print only in black, most inkjet printers continue using color ink for servicing tasks, so you'll likely still need to refill the tanks eventually.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has a sub-par printing speed. When printing black-only documents, it takes a while to print the first page, and it doesn't get much faster for subsequent pages. Color documents are even slower, but it performs well when it comes to photo printing. Thankfully, it has two trays that can hold up to 350 sheets of paper combined, so you can leave it running while you work on other things.
If you need faster printing speed, then check out a laser color printer such as the HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has two input trays that support most paper sizes, up to the standard legal size. The front tray can hold up to 250 sheets of paper, while the rear tray can hold up to 100 sheets.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has sub-par color accuracy. It should be fine if you're just using just a bit of color in a document, such as a chart, but it's not recommended for professionals who need accurate color reproduction.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 has great connectivity options. It supports most wireless connections, including printing from mobile devices using AirPrint or Mopria. However, it doesn't support Bluetooth or external storage devices like USB thumb drives and SD cards.
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is compatible with the Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY mobile app. It allows you to do most tasks, such as printing, scanning, and copying. Scanned images can be viewed directly on your smartphone, and you can also print from social media and photo sharing sites. The only thing it can't do is print text files.