Canon Pixma TS5050 review : Worth it?
Canon Pixma TS5050 review: simple and convincing
Positioned below € 100, the TS5050 is the entry-level model of Canon's new Pixma series. A 3-in-1 home printer to do everything, it is content with basic ergonomics, but relies on photos to stand out.
Design
Like the recently tested Pixma TS8050 and TS6050 , the TS5050 benefits from a completely redesigned design and format compared to the MG range printers they replace. The main change concerns a much more compact chassis, which is also on this precise model the least bulky of the range thanks to a thickness reduced to only 12.6 cm with all shutters closed.
This is explained by the ergonomic choices which bypass the paper cassette accessible from the front to offer only one single paper entry, via the fold-out guide on the rear part (up to 100 sheets). It is therefore imperative to install this printer so as to have unobstructed access to this paper insert, which therefore means not sticking it too much to the wall. Instead of the lower paper cassette, there is simply a retractable arm that acts as a receptacle for printed sheets.
Who says entry level, also says absence of touch screen. The operations in the menus - always very clear - are therefore carried out through a panel of not unpleasant buttons, with display feedback a small color screen 7.5 cm diagonal. This control panel retains its adjustable system and, strange thing knowing that Canon has decided to do without it on the TS6050 , we find on this TS5050 the SD card reader, and that's good.
Overall, you feel when handling and using the TS5050 that the finish is slightly inferior to that seen on the higher models, but it must be recognized that this is nonetheless a neat and serious product. In terms of functions, the essential is preserved and even better than that, since the Canon Print application, Cloud printing services and Wi-Fi Direct are on the program. Here again, this is a positive development compared to previous Pixma MGs of the same range.
Consumption
On the power outlet, the consumption of the Pixma TS5050 is rather light. This printer draws only 0.7 W in standby mode and up to 17 W when printing an A4 photo. It is therefore in the good average of printers of its kind, without approaching an Epson XP-445 - which is one of its direct competitors - which consumes only 9 W at most.
In terms of noise pollution, the Pixma TS5050 is rather a good student with a sound level meter reading that stands at 38.8 dB in standard printing and 37.3 dB in photo printing. As always, activating "silent" mode reduces noise at the expense of print speed.
Cost per page
The cost per page section is not the most interesting to analyze in this test for the simple reason that the TS5050 carries the same five ChromaLife 100 cartridges of the 570/571 series as its big sister, the TS6050.
It is nevertheless a positive development compared to previous Pixma of equivalent range and, based on the most advantageous price of the inevitably more economical XL cartridges, we obtain a cost per page of 0.03 € in black and white and € 0.093 in color.
Like the other models in the Pixma TS range, it therefore falls within the average for inkjet printers on this point. Color printing does not exceed the psychological rate of 10 euro cents per page.
Scanner and copies
The TS5050 has the same flatbed scanner without a document feeder as the TS6050. This works up to a resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi and is rather quick to use, taking 13 seconds to scan a 10 x 15 cm photo at 300 dpi, and 8 seconds to scan an A4 document at 100 dpi.
In comparison, the Epson XP-445 takes 26 and 32 seconds to perform the same tasks.
In copy, the TS5050 is also a good student. It takes 12 seconds to copy a black and white A4 document and 16 seconds to copy a color document. Again, it's better than the compact XP-445 which takes 11 and 36 seconds on similar tasks. As on the TS6050, the quality of the copies is there despite a slightly less contrasted and precise rendering.
Photo
Even on the entry level of its Pixma TS series, Canon this time offers color management via five separate cartridges, which allows the TS5050 to seek a special place in the hearts of amateur photographers on a tight budget.
The quality of the printed images is very good and the colorimetric drift is well managed. The average delta E is established here at 6 whereas it is 4.9 on the TS6050 - as a reminder, this is the colorimetric difference between the ideal colors and the printed colors; it is estimated that the human eye is no longer able to tell the difference below 3. This is nevertheless better than what is capable of an Epson XP-445 for example (7.4) or an Envy 4520 which does not demerit however not in photo (6.7).
Regarding the speed of printing photos, the values are close to those observed on the other models in the range, namely 53 seconds to output a 10 x 15 cm photo, and 1 minute and 34 seconds for an A4 photo . Not bad.
Office automation
Like its counterparts, the Pixma TS5050 is penalized in speed in "grayscale" mode by the system which, in order to allow the black ink time to dry, limits the printing speed. It must therefore be satisfied with a flow rate measured by us at 5.8 pages / minute in black and white, while in color it goes back to 11.1 pages / minute. This is still a little worse than the TS6050 (13 ppm in color).
Compared to an Epson XP-445 of similar format and price, the TS5050 does better in color (the XP-445 is at 7.1 ppm), but much worse in black and white (15.4 ppm for its competitor ).
The print quality is very good in office automation on this TS5050, although a little less precise on our reference color chart than what its big sisters offer. Still, the solids and gradients stand out cleanly, just like the dark texts. In black on white printing, the lines of text are perfectly sharp and contrasted, no problem there. Too bad that automatic duplex management is not appropriate, even if competing printers that offer this function at this price are very rare.
CONCLUSION
The Pixma TS5050 does not demerit and does better than provide the essential, in particular thanks to very good printing quality in office automation, despite a certain slowness in black and white. A print quality that becomes almost irreproachable in photography, an area in which it stands out from the competition.
It is certainly necessary to accept to do with a more basic ergonomics than on the other models of the range, but the number of functions is still increasing compared to the equivalent printers of the previous years, which makes this TS5050 a small 3- modern and capable in-1.
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