Canon PIXMA TS702a Printer Review

The Canon PIXMA TS702a feels well-built overall. The plastic generally feels solid, except for the lid that gives you access to the ink cartridges, which feels cheaper, and its hinges seem flimsy. Design-wise, you get both front and rear access to the sheet rollers. The rear entry provides ample access, but the front access through the ink cartridge bay is a bit narrow. This may make it difficult for anyone with larger hands to access. You do get plenty of access for changing the ink cartridges, though. Unfortunately, you can only change the cartridges when the printer is on, which is an inconvenience. The rear input tray has a transparent plastic cover to help keep the page entry clean, and it also has sturdy wheels to help guide the pages into the printer. There are also good-quality paper guides for the rear input tray and the cassette tray. Finally, the power cord is detachable, so it's easy to replace in case of damage.

The Canon PIXMA TS702a requires a decent amount of maintenance to run smoothly. As an inkjet, there's a risk of printhead clogging if it sits unused for long periods. There are built-in maintenance tasks to help, including nozzle check, cleaning, and deep cleaning functions. You can also perform auto head alignment, roller cleaning, and bottom plate cleaning tasks. Beyond this, you can expect to change the ink cartridges fairly regularly if you print a lot. Changing the cartridges is straightforward, though; simply lift the top cover, and the ink cartridges will move to the middle of the access bay. You also gain access to the sheet rollers in case of a jam through this front cover, but the access is a bit narrow, making it tight for anyone with larger hands. Thankfully, you have three additional ways to access the sheet rollers: by lifting the rear input tray, by detaching the rear cover, or by detaching the transport unit. These entries are more spacious and easier to work in.

You can find the user manual here.

There's a basic, small display on this printer. Its functionality is quite limited, as you only have a few buttons to navigate the interface. This can make tasks like entering a network password tedious or frustrating. The glass is quite reflective and seems prone to scratching. Visibility is poor unless you're directly in front of the display. Thankfully, the interface is straightforward to use, and most important tasks, like configuring sheet sizes or setting up your Wi-Fi connection, are easy to access. While the buttons are limited in function and number, they still work well; the display is quick and responsive to inputs. Finally, the layout of the main screen, with color legends on top, makes it easy to monitor your ink levels at a glance.

This printer uses a five-cartridge system: four dye-based color cartridges for photo and color printing and one pigment-based black cartridge dedicated to monochrome document printing. While color yield is good, the black page yield isn't; you'll run out of black ink before you run out of sheets in the paper cassette. The printer gives low ink warnings on your computer and on its display when ink is running out, but you can still get a few full pages out before the ink fully runs out. It doesn't stop you from printing, so you can use all the ink you paid for.

• User manuals
• Installation CD
• 4 x 6 Photo Paper Plus Glossy II (3-sheet sample)
• Power cable
• Canon starter cartridges
• 1x PGI-280 Black
• 1x CLI-281 Cyan
• 1x CLI-281 Magenta
• 1x CLI-281 Yellow
• 1x CLI-281 Black

This printer produces decent-quality black-and-white documents. Text is generally easy to read, although fine elements are harder to see. There are some alignment issues that can't be fixed by running alignment or cleaning tasks. However, printing in high-quality mostly resolves them. Just know that printing in high quality uses more ink, so you can expect lower page yields if you print this way.

Color documents from this printer generally look very good. Colors are vibrant, and black and white text is legible. However, some smaller elements suffer from graininess, making them harder to read. There are also alignment issues, like with black and white documents, though they aren't nearly as prevalent in color documents. Again, printing in high-quality helps to improve the overall print quality, though this uses more ink and will reduce page yield.

There are two adjustable paper trays: the front paper cassette holds 250 plain sheets in letter, legal, and A4 sizes, while the rear input tray can hold 100 plain sheets, 10 legal sheets, 20 sheets of 4 x 6 photo paper, or 10 sheets of 5 x 7 photo paper. You can also print on CDs by placing a printable disc on the multi-purpose tray and then sliding the tray on top of the sheet output tray. The output tray can hold 50 sheets.

You can print custom sizes ranging from 2.17" x 3.51" (55.0mm x 89.0mm) to 8.50" x 26.61" (215.9mm x 676.9mm) using the rear paper tray, and from 5.83" x 8.27" (148.0mm x 210.0mm) to 8.50" x 11.69" (215.9mm x 297.0mm) using the front paper cassette.

This printer has a decent color gamut. It's good at printing dark colors but struggles with light colors (especially blues and oranges). Color transitions are mostly smooth, though there's some graining present. Despite this, there's enough contrast to produce fine details, like the parrot's feathers in the bird picture.

Color accuracy is very good on this printer. For the most part, you don't need to worry about your photos looking too different from the originals. It's great for casual use, but still isn't accurate enough for professional use.

This printer is excellent at reproducing small details. Fine details are a bit soft overall, but you can still differentiate background details from foreground objects.

This printer is compatible with the Canon PRINT app. You can print a range of files from the app and compatible cloud services, run maintenance tasks, and create photo items like collages and calendars. You can also use your phone's camera to make copies and manage your ink subscription.

You need to manually install drivers on Windows devices to print, but not on Chrome OS and macOS devices. You can download the drivers here.