Digital Product Analysis & Reviews
by Remington May
The Canon Pixma TR8620a takes our top spot for 2026 — it packs a 5-color ink system, auto document feeder, and fax into a compact footprint that handles everything a home office throws at it. If you need a Canon Pixma printer that genuinely does it all without eating up your desk, that's the one to beat.
Canon's Pixma lineup has been a staple in home and small office printing for years, and the 2026 roster is one of the strongest yet. Whether you're churning out school projects, scanning receipts, printing borderless photos for a gallery wall, or faxing contracts to close a deal, there's a Pixma model built for your exact workflow. The range spans budget-friendly basics under $80 all the way up to six-ink photo powerhouses that rival dedicated photo printers.
We evaluated each model across print quality, ink efficiency, wireless connectivity, scanner capability, and overall value. Below you'll find our detailed reviews of seven Canon Pixma printers worth your attention in 2026, along with a buying guide and answers to the questions we hear most often. If you're exploring the broader landscape, our buying guide hub covers additional categories and brands.

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The Canon Pixma TR8620a is the printer you buy when you're tired of compromises. It handles printing, scanning, copying, and faxing from a single unit that's surprisingly compact for a four-function machine. The built-in 20-sheet Auto Document Feeder is a genuine time-saver — feed a stack of contracts or invoices and walk away while it scans them all. Auto duplex printing comes standard, which cuts your paper consumption roughly in half on long reports and multi-page assignments.
What really sets the TR8620a apart is its 5-color individual ink system. Instead of tossing an entire tri-color cartridge when one shade runs dry, you replace only the depleted tank. Over the course of a year, the savings add up fast. The hybrid ink technology pairs pigment black for crisp text with dye-based colors for photo output, so your documents look professional and your borderless 4×6 prints come out vivid. Wireless setup is painless through Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth, and the 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen makes navigating menus intuitive rather than frustrating.
This bundle also includes a USB cable and small business software kit, which adds a bit of extra value. For anyone running a home office or juggling remote work with family printing needs, the TR8620a checks every box without requiring you to buy separate devices for scanning and faxing.
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If your budget is tight but you still need a capable all-in-one, the Canon PIXMA TR7120 delivers serious value. It prints, copies, and scans with built-in duplex printing — a feature that plenty of budget printers skip entirely. The 2-cartridge hybrid ink system keeps things simple while still producing sharp black text and reasonably vibrant color output. You won't match the photo quality of a six-ink system, but for everyday documents, school worksheets, and the occasional photo print, it's more than sufficient.
Setup is one of the TR7120's strongest points. Canon has streamlined the process so you can go from unboxing to your first print in just a few minutes, whether you're connecting from a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The compact design fits easily on a desk or shelf without dominating the space. For hybrid workers who split time between home and office, this printer handles the home side of that equation without demanding a premium price.
The auto document feeder is a welcome inclusion at this price tier. You can load multi-page documents for scanning or copying without standing over the flatbed swapping pages one at a time. It's not as deep as the TR8620a's 20-sheet tray, but it gets the job done for typical home office volumes. If you need dedicated duplex printing capabilities, this is one of the most affordable ways to get there in the Pixma family.
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The Canon PIXMA TS8820 is the photo enthusiast's Pixma. Its six-color individual ink system produces noticeably richer gradients, deeper shadows, and more accurate skin tones than any four- or five-ink model in the lineup. If you regularly print photos — whether for framing, scrapbooking, or client proofs — the difference is visible immediately. High-resolution output handles fine details with precision, making it a strong pick for creative projects and presentations that need to look polished.
Beyond photo quality, the TS8820 functions as a full all-in-one with printing, copying, and scanning. The flatbed scanner captures sharp scans for archiving documents or digitizing artwork. Canon designed this model with a compact, modern aesthetic that looks at home on a desk rather than tucked away in a closet. It supports a wide range of paper sizes and media types, from glossy photo paper and cardstock to plain letter sheets, so you can switch between projects without swapping printers.
This bundle ships with a 32GB memory card, cleaning kit, and printer cable — all useful additions that save you a separate trip to buy accessories. Wireless connectivity works through Wi-Fi with support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria, keeping mobile printing simple. For anyone who values photo output above all else but still wants document capability in the same machine, the TS8820 is the clear choice in the 2026 Pixma range. If you're comparing it against laser alternatives for photo use, our color laser printer for photos roundup provides a helpful contrast.
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The Canon PIXMA TS6420a is built for people who want a capable all-in-one that doesn't take over their desk. Its footprint is noticeably smaller than models with auto document feeders, which makes it ideal for bedrooms, dorm rooms, or tight apartment workspaces. Despite the compact size, it handles printing, copying, and scanning without cutting corners. The 1.44-inch OLED display is small but effective, giving you clear status messages at a glance.
Canon included both front and rear paper trays, which is a smart design choice. You can keep plain paper loaded in one tray and photo paper in the other, eliminating the hassle of swapping media every time you switch between document and photo printing. The LED status bar on the front of the unit is an innovative touch — you can see your printer's status from across the room without walking over to check the display. It's a small detail that makes daily use noticeably smoother.
Wireless printing works through the Canon PRINT app, Apple AirPrint, and Mopria, so every device in your household can send jobs without installing drivers. The TS6420a uses a two-cartridge system (one black, one tri-color), which keeps the initial investment low. You'll pay a bit more per page than with individual ink tanks over time, but for moderate print volumes — say, 100 to 200 pages a month — the cost remains very reasonable. This bundle adds a USB cable and business software kit for extra value.
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The Canon PIXMA TR4520 stands out as the smart home pick thanks to its native Alexa compatibility. You can ask Alexa to print your shopping list, a sudoku puzzle, or a to-do list entirely by voice — no phone or laptop required. It's a convenience feature that sounds gimmicky until you've used it while cooking dinner or wrangling kids, and then you realize how useful hands-free printing actually is.
Beyond the smart home integration, the TR4520 is a straightforward all-in-one with printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. It includes a built-in auto document feeder, which puts it ahead of several similarly priced models that force you to scan one page at a time. The Canon PRINT app handles wireless setup quickly, and the printer supports AirPrint, Mopria, and even Fire OS, so it works with virtually every mobile device in your ecosystem. Auto power on/off reduces energy consumption when the printer sits idle.
Print quality is respectable for a budget-oriented model. Black text comes out sharp enough for business correspondence, and color output handles charts, graphs, and casual photos. You won't be printing gallery-quality images here, but that's not the TR4520's mission. It's designed for the household that prints a moderate volume of documents and photos and wants the convenience of voice control and a built-in ADF at an accessible price point.
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The Canon PIXMA TS3720 is the most affordable entry point into the Pixma ecosystem in 2026, and it delivers more than its price tag suggests. You get a true all-in-one with printing, copying, and scanning, plus wireless connectivity and borderless photo printing. The 60-sheet rear paper tray reduces the frequency of refills, and the touchscreen interface — rare at this price tier — makes navigation more intuitive than a button-only control panel.
Print speeds sit at approximately 7.7 images per minute for black and 4 images per minute for color. Those numbers won't blow anyone away, but they're perfectly adequate for a household that prints a few dozen pages per week. The TS3720 earns an Energy Star certification, so it's gentle on your electricity bill even when it's powered on throughout the day. Setup is intentionally simple — Canon designed the out-of-box experience to get you printing within minutes, whether you're connecting via USB or Wi-Fi.
Where the TS3720 makes its compromises is in the features it omits. There's no auto document feeder, no duplex printing, and no fax capability. If you need those features, step up to the TR7120 or TR8620a. But if your needs are straightforward — print homework, scan a document, copy a form — this printer handles all of that reliably at the lowest cost of any model on this list.
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The Canon TS9120 targets the creative user who wants exceptional print quality without buying a separate photo printer. Its six-color individual ink system includes a dedicated photo blue tank, which is the secret behind its smooth gradient rendering and accurate cool-tone reproduction. Photographs printed on glossy media have a richness and depth that two- or four-ink systems simply cannot match. If you print greeting cards, scrapbook pages, photo gifts, or art prints, this is the Pixma that does justice to your work.
Connectivity is comprehensive. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cloud printing, and social media integration mean you can send a print job from virtually anywhere. The TS9120 supports Google Cloud Print and AirPrint, so both Android and Apple users are covered. It even prints directly from social media feeds, which is a nice bonus for pulling down and printing photos from Instagram or Facebook without first saving them to your device. The two-tone design with multiple color options is a small but appreciated aesthetic touch — this printer is meant to sit on your desk, not hide behind it.
As an all-in-one, the TS9120 handles scanning and copying alongside its impressive print capabilities. The flatbed scanner works well for digitizing photos and documents, and the intuitive touchscreen makes it easy to adjust settings without diving into menus on your computer. It's not the newest model on this list, but its six-ink architecture and photo-first design philosophy keep it relevant in 2026 for anyone who prioritizes image quality above raw speed or cost-per-page efficiency.
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The single biggest factor in your long-term cost is the ink system. Models with individual ink tanks — like the TR8620a's five-tank system or the TS8820's six-tank system — let you replace only the color that runs out. Two-cartridge models (the TR7120, TS6420a, TR4520, and TS3720) bundle colors together, which means you throw away remaining ink when one shade depletes first. If you print regularly, individual tanks save meaningful money over the life of the printer. If you print infrequently, the savings difference shrinks and the lower upfront cost of a cartridge model makes more sense.
Not every all-in-one is created equal. An auto document feeder is essential if you scan or copy multi-page documents more than occasionally — feeding 20 pages one at a time on a flatbed gets old fast. Auto duplex (two-sided) printing cuts paper usage in half and is standard on the TR8620a and TR7120 but absent from the budget models. Fax capability exists on the TR8620a and TR4520 only, so if your workflow still involves faxing, those are your options. Match the feature set to your actual usage rather than paying for capabilities you'll never touch.
If photo printing is a priority, the number of ink colors matters. Six-color systems (TS8820, TS9120) produce visibly superior photos with smoother gradients and more accurate color. Five-color systems (TR8620a) offer a strong middle ground. Two-color systems handle photos adequately for casual use but fall short for anything you'd frame or gift. Be honest about how often you print photos — if the answer is "a few times a year," the photo quality of a budget model is probably fine. According to Wikipedia's overview of inkjet printing technology, the number of discrete ink channels directly correlates with the achievable color gamut, which is why dedicated photo models use more inks.
Every printer on this list supports Wi-Fi and works with the Canon PRINT app, AirPrint, and Mopria. The differentiators are Bluetooth (available on the TR8620a and TS9120), Ethernet (TR8620a only), and Alexa voice printing (TR4520). If you've invested in a smart home ecosystem, the TR4520's voice printing is a genuinely useful feature. If you need wired network reliability for a shared office printer, only the TR8620a offers Ethernet. For most home users, standard Wi-Fi is all you need.
The Canon PIXMA TS8820 and TS9120 with their six-color individual ink systems offer the lowest waste per cartridge change. However, for pure per-page economy, the TR8620a's five-color system hits the sweet spot — you get individual tanks without paying for the sixth photo-specific ink that only benefits photo printing. If you print mostly black text documents, any model with a separate pigment black tank (TR8620a, TS8820, TS9120) will give you the best per-page cost.
Yes, third-party and remanufactured ink cartridges are compatible with most Canon Pixma models. They typically cost 50–70% less than genuine Canon cartridges. The trade-off is that print quality, particularly for photos, may be slightly lower, and using third-party ink can affect your warranty coverage. For document printing, quality differences are usually negligible.
Yes. All current Canon Pixma printers support Google Cloud Print and Wi-Fi Direct, both of which work with ChromeOS. The Canon PRINT app is also available for Chromebooks through the Google Play Store. Setup typically involves connecting the printer and Chromebook to the same Wi-Fi network, after which ChromeOS detects the printer automatically.
Unopened Canon ink cartridges have a shelf life of approximately two years from the manufacture date. Once installed, cartridges can last several months without use, though printing at least once every two weeks helps prevent the print head from drying out and clogging. If you print infrequently, consider a model with individual ink tanks so you only replace the specific color that dries out rather than an entire multi-color cartridge.
The TR series includes fax capability and auto document feeders — they're aimed at home office users who need document-handling features. The TS series focuses on photo and creative printing with higher ink-color counts and photo-optimized output. Both series print, scan, and copy. Choose TR if document workflow matters, TS if print quality is the priority.
Yes, if you print regularly. The TR8620a's five-color individual ink system pays for the price difference through lower per-cartridge waste within the first year of moderate use. It also adds a larger touchscreen, Ethernet connectivity, Bluetooth, and a deeper ADF. If your printing volume is low — under 50 pages per month — the TR7120 gives you the core features at a meaningfully lower upfront cost.
About Remington May
Remington May is a technology writer and digital product reviewer with a focus on consumer electronics, software, and the everyday tech that shapes how people work and live. She has spent years evaluating smartphones, laptops, smart home devices, and digital tools — approaching each product from the perspective of a practical user rather than a spec-sheet enthusiast. At Pinwords, she covers tech buying guides, product reviews, smartphone and laptop comparisons, and practical how-to guides for getting more out of your devices.
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