The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is an all-in-one, wide-format color inkjet printer. Like its predecessor, the Canon PIXMA TS9520, it has a five-cartridge system with two black ink cartridges: one pigment and one dye. It uses Canon's PGI-280 black and CLI-281 color ink cartridges and is compatible with the high-yield XL and XXL cartridges. You can connect the printer via USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi, and there's an SD card slot from which you can print photos. It has a flatbed scanner with an automatic feeder, though it doesn't support automatic duplex scanning.
This printer is part of the Canon PIXMA TS9500 series of all-in-ones. The other models in this series are regional variants with identical features and performance. See the Differences Between Variants section for more details.
Our Verdict
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is good for family use. Its wide connectivity options make it easy for every household member to access, and its cost-per-print is pretty low, as the ink cartridges yield a large number of prints and are relatively cheap. As for its print quality, printed photos look detailed and colorful, and while documents aren't as good, they still look good enough for most uses. The scanner can produce high-quality scans if you want to digitize your old family photos; just make sure you use the Photo setting, as the default scan mode removes a lot of fine details.
- Good color document print quality.
- Produces detailed photos with good color accuracy.
- Extendable scanner lid hinges to accommodate thicker items.
- Supports wide format paper up to 11" x 17".
- Low recurring costs.
- Slow printing speeds.
- Can't reproduce bright, saturated tones.
- Black-and-white documents look grainy.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is okay for small or home offices. It feels well-built, and its wide connectivity options make it easy to access. Printed documents look decent overall, though you'll have to print in the High Quality mode if you want the best result, as the default print setting causes some smudging around black-color text. Unfortunately, its printing is quite slow; it takes a while to initialize and get a single page out, and it can only print up to nine black or four color pages per minute. Also, while the scanner has an automatic feeder to process multi-page documents, it can only scan up to six pages per minute and doesn't support duplex scanning.
- Good color document print quality.
- Automatic feeder to scan multi-page documents.
- Supports wide format paper up to 11" x 17".
- Low recurring costs.
- Ethernet connectivity.
- Slow printing speeds.
- No duplex scanning.
- Black-and-white documents look grainy.
- Slow scan speed.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is good for student use. Its wide connectivity options make it easy to print from various devices, and it doesn't cost much to maintain over time, as its ink cartridges yield a large number of prints and are relatively cheap. Print quality is decent overall, but its speed is slow, so it isn't the best for printing out a long essay at the last minute. The scanner has extendable lid hinges, making it easier to close the lid over thick items like textbooks, and there's also an automatic feeder to process long documents.
- Good color document print quality.
- Extendable scanner lid hinges to accommodate thicker items.
- Supports wide format paper up to 11" x 17".
- Low recurring costs.
- Slow printing speeds.
- No duplex scanning.
- Black-and-white documents look grainy.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is mediocre for printing black-and-white documents. The print quality is just okay, as there's some smudging around black-color text and vertical lines. You can remedy these issues by printing in the High Quality mode, though it'll use more ink. Its page yield is pretty good, though, and the ink cartridges are relatively cheap, resulting in a low cost per print. Unfortunately, this printer is quite slow, pushing only nine pages per minute.
- Automatic feeder to scan multi-page documents.
- Supports wide format paper up to 11" x 17".
- Low recurring costs.
- Slow printing speeds.
- No duplex scanning.
- Black-and-white documents look grainy.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is great for photo printing. It produces detailed and colorful pictures with better color accuracy than most printers in its class. It can't reproduce bright, saturated tones, so pictures tend to look a little darker than the originals. You won't have to worry too much about recurring costs, as it yields a large number of prints, and the ink cartridges are relatively cheap. You can also get high-yield ink cartridges that'll last longer.
- Produces detailed photos with good color accuracy.
- Low recurring costs.
- Supports various photo paper sizes.
- Can print photos directly from SD card.
- Can't reproduce bright, saturated tones.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a has pretty good color accuracy for a non-professional, general-purpose printer. Its color gamut is decent; it mainly struggles with bright, saturated tones, causing some loss of fine details and making pictures look darker overall.
- Produces detailed photos with good color accuracy.
- Can't reproduce bright, saturated tones.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a's print quality of black-and-white documents is okay. There's a bit of smudging around black-color text, as well as some vertical lines caused by overlapping; however, you can remedy these issues by printing in the High Quality mode.
- Black-and-white documents look grainy.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a has a flatbed scanner with lid hinges that can extend to accommodate thicker items like textbooks. It has an automatic feeder to process multi-page documents, but it's rather slow and doesn't support duplex scanning. Scan quality is mediocre, as the default scan setting removes a lot of fine details.
- Automatic feeder to scan multi-page documents.
- Extendable scanner lid hinges to accommodate thicker items.
- No duplex scanning.
- Slow scan speed.
- Mediocre scan quality.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a takes a while to initialize and print a single page. It's also slow to print multi-page documents, as it tends to pause between prints.
- Slow printing speeds.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a has low recurring costs, as its ink cartridges yield a large number of prints and are relatively cheap.
- Low recurring costs.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Oct 23, 2024:
Minor text changes to mention the HP OfficeJet Pro 9730e as an alternative wide-format printer with better page yield in the Cartridge section.
- Updated Sep 11, 2024: Minor text changes to add mention of the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 as an alternative with a wider color gamut in the Color Gamut section.
- Updated Sep 04, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Aug 29, 2024: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Canon PIXMA TS9520a in black. This printer is also available in white (Canon PIXMA TS9521Ca); it has identical features and performance. The model number changes slightly depending on the region; see the table below.
| Model | Region |
|---|---|
| TS9520a/TS9521Ca | America |
| TS9540a/TS9541Ca | Europe, Central and North Africa |
| TS9550a/TS9551Ca | Europe, Middle East |
| TS9560a/TS9565a | Oceania |
| TS9590a | Asia |
See our unit's label here.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a is a good all-in-one inkjet printer. It produces detailed and colorful photos with better color accuracy than most printers in its class. However, it doesn't perform as well for document printing, as there's often smudging around black-color text, and its printing speed is quite slow.
See our recommendations for the best office printers, the best 11x17 printers, and the best printers for small business.
Although the Canon PIXMA TS9520a and the Canon PIXMA G7020 are both all-in-one inkjet printers, there are a few differences, as the TS9520a is a wide-format model that can support paper sizes up to 11" x 17", while the G7020 can only print up to Legal size (8.5" x 14"). Also, the TS9520a uses more traditional ink cartridges, while the G7020 is a supertank. The G7020 is a little better when it comes to document printing quality. As for photo printing, it has a wider color range but isn't as color-accurate as the TS9520a.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a and the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 are both all-in-one inkjet printers. The Canon has more features, like an automatic document feeder, Ethernet connectivity, and support for wide-format paper (up to 11" x 17"); however, the Epson costs less to maintain over time since it's a supertank model with significantly higher page yields. As for print quality, the Epson produces nicer black-and-white documents and has a wider color range, but it isn't nearly as color-accurate as the Canon.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a and the Brother MFC-J4335DW are both all-in-one inkjet printers. For the most part, the Brother is a better choice if you mainly need to print documents, as it produces higher-quality documents and prints much faster. However, the Canon is better for photo printing because it has a wider color range and superior color accuracy. Also, printed photos from the Canon don't look as grainy. These two printers are similar feature-wise; the main difference is that the Canon printer supports wide-format paper up to 11" x 17". Unlike the Canon, the MFC-J4335DW lacks Ethernet connectivity and external storage support, but you can get those features if you go with its slightly more expensive variant, the Brother MFC-J4535DW. The Brother has much lower recurring costs, as its ink cartridges yield significantly more prints.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520a and the HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e are both all-in-one color inkjet printers. The HP is a better option for document printing, as it produces nicer documents and prints much faster. However, the Canon produces nicer photos with finer details and more accurate colors. Feature-wise, the main difference between these two printers is that the Canon printer supports wide format paper up to 11" x 17", while the HP only supports up to Legal size. The HP supports duplex scanning, though, while the Canon doesn't. The HP model's cartridges are more expensive but yield significantly more prints, making this printer less costly to maintain over time.
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