Canon ImageClass LBP236dw Review - PCMag

The Canon ImageClass LBP236dw is 1 of a fig of desktop mono laser printers that are designed for a engaged small-to-midsize bureau oregon workgroup, with intimately matching specs for size, insubstantial handling, and speed. Most of these models—among them the Lexmark MS431dw and B3342dw, arsenic good arsenic Canon's ain ImageClass X LBP1238 II—also delivered akin show for simplex (one-sided) printing connected our tests. The LBP236dw, however, has the vantage of importantly faster velocity for two-sided (duplex) printing than its most-direct competition. Also successful the positive column? It has a little database terms than astir ($299) and an acceptably debased moving cost. This operation makes it our caller Editors' Choice prime successful the category, replacing the MS431dw.

Super Easy to Set Up

The 19.4-pound LBP236dw is airy capable for 1 idiosyncratic to easy determination into place, and astatine 9.8 by 15.8 by 14.7 inches (HWD), it's casual to find country for, adjacent though the extent increases by respective inches erstwhile the 100-sheet beforehand multi-purpose tray is unfastened and insubstantial is loaded. Physical setup is arsenic elemental arsenic it gets: Remove the packing materials, and link the powerfulness cord. The toner cartridge ships successful spot wrong the printer, acceptable to enactment arsenic is.

Canon ships a operator disc with the printer, but for my tests I went to Canon's website to guarantee I had the latest mentation of the software. The tract automatically recognized that I was moving the 64-bit mentation of Windows 10, and recommended downloading Canon's proprietary driver, which I chose for testing. (You tin besides take a PCL6 oregon PostScript 3 driver, if you request either.) The installation is mostly automated, giving you the prime of utilizing an Ethernet, Wi-Fi, oregon USB connection, and telling you erstwhile to link a cable. For mobile printing, you tin besides download the Canon Print Business app for iOS and Android devices.

(Credit: Canon)

Paper capableness and insubstantial handling is the aforesaid for the LBP236dw arsenic for each of the printers already mentioned above. Each of these models offers a 250-sheet drawer, a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, and automatic duplexing successful the basal unit. And successful each case, if you request higher capacity, you tin adhd an optional 550-sheet drawer ($199 for the LBP236dw). Canon recommends a monthly work rhythm of 750 to 4,000 pages. That's a little maximum than Lexmark recommends for its 2 printers mentioned here, but it's besides much realistic. Assuming you adhd the optional drawer to immoderate of these printers, the precocious extremity of the scope translates to needing to refill the printer a small much often than erstwhile a week, connected average.

The 1 contented I had with setup was that the idiosyncratic guide, which is for some the LBP236dw and a akin model, doesn't marque wide erstwhile it's talking astir a diagnostic that lone the other printer offers. In particular, there's a USB Type-A larboard connected the backmost panel, with instructions successful the manual explaining however to acceptable the printer to let printing from a USB key. But the paper options that the manual refers to don't beryllium connected the power panel's five-line LCD. It took a agelong telephone to Canon tech support, and tons of clip connected hold, to find retired that the diagnostic is supported lone by the different printer.

(Credit: Canon)

One important other is unafraid printing, which tin beryllium utile if the LBP236dw is much than a fewer steps from your desk. It lets you nonstop a record to the printer, but not people it until you participate a PIN astatine the beforehand panel. For delicate documents, this avoids the hazard of having them sitting successful the output tray, wherever others mightiness spot them earlier you scope the printer.

As always, the much you expect to print, the much attraction you should wage to moving costs. For the LBP236dw, the outgo per leafage works retired to 2.25 cents erstwhile utilizing the high-capacity cartridge. It's not the lowest moving outgo of each the printers mentioned here, but it's lone 0.45 cent per leafage much than the lowest astatine this writing. Be definite to see the full outgo of ownership, not conscionable moving cost, erstwhile making comparisons, arsenic discussed successful How to Save Money connected Your Next Printer. Although the illustration successful the nonfiction uses inkjets, the aforesaid logic works for mono lasers.

Testing the ImageClass LBP236dw: Markedly Speedy for Duplex Printing

For our show tests, we connected some the LBP236dw and our modular testbed to our trial web by Ethernet. For simplex printing, which are the results we study for each printer, the times were accordant with the LBP236dw's 40ppm rating, and fundamentally tied with the 3 different printers mentioned here. For our 12-page Word substance file, not including the archetypal page, it came successful astatine 41.3ppm (16 seconds). First leafage retired (FPO) clip was 7 seconds, giving a velocity for the full record of 31.3ppm (23 seconds). The lone quality for the different printers was for FPO time, which varied from 7 to 9 seconds, a dispersed that's wrong the mistake scope of the tests. (See much astir how we trial printers.)

Performance was besides fundamentally tied for each the printers for the afloat business-applications suite, which adds files that see graphics arsenic good arsenic colour images. The LBP236dw came successful astatine a full of 1 infinitesimal and 7 seconds (22.4ppm). The different 3 managed 1:06 to 1:08 (22.4ppm to 22.7ppm), besides good wrong the mistake scope for the test. On our photograph suite, the LBP236dw averaged 13 seconds for a 4-by-6-inch photo.

(Credit: Canon)

We don't usually study speeds for duplex printing, due to the fact that they typically don't archer you thing you can't larn from the simplex results. In this case, however, they do. For the 12-page Word file, not including the archetypal sheet, the LBP236dw mislaid hardly immoderate speed, coming successful astatine 37.9ppm (19 seconds). Only the overmuch much costly LBP1238 II tied it. Both Lexmark models dropped to astir fractional their simplex speed, printing successful duplex astatine 21.2 and 22ppm, oregon 31 and 30 seconds. The 2 Canon models besides had faster FPO times, astatine 12 seconds, versus 17 and 18 seconds for the Lexmark models. Speeds for the afloat 12-page record were 23.2ppm (31 seconds) for the Canon models, against astir 15ppm (47 to 49 seconds) for the 2 Lexmark printers.

What each this adds up to: You won't spot overmuch quality successful people times among these 4 printers for simplex printing, but you will for duplex, peculiarly for substance oregon different files that don't request overmuch processing time. And the longer the file, the much noticeable the quality volition be. If you volition people galore agelong substance files double-sided, that gives either of the Canon printers a large edge.

(Credit: Canon)

Output prime was top-tier for a mono laser, oregon adjacent to it crossed the board. All the fonts successful our trial suite that you'd apt usage successful a concern papers were easy readable astatine 4 points, and each but 1 of those delivered decently spaced, well-formed characters adjacent astatine 4 points. One of 2 heavy stylized fonts with heavy strokes was easy readable astatine 6 points. The other, which is harder to render well, was easy readable astatine 8 points.

Some hard-to-render gradients successful graphics were connected the borderline of looking much similar smudges than gradients, but adjacent single-pixel-wide lines connected a achromatic inheritance held nicely. Dithering patterns (the statement of dots that reproduce grayscale) successful graphics and photos were subtle capable that they didn't amusement astatine each successful galore images, and were hard to marque retired erstwhile they did show. Photos retained capable item and subtle shading to service for a trifold brochure oregon the like.

Verdict: This Peppy Laser Won't Slow You Down

Although immoderate of the printers mentioned present tin bash a more-than-credible occupation arsenic a workhorse mono laser for a tiny bureau oregon workgroup, the Canon ImageClass LBP236dw is our apical prime successful the group. If you seldom oregon ne'er people successful duplex, either of the 2 Lexmark models volition springiness you fundamentally the aforesaid show and capability, but some are presently showing connected Lexmark's website astatine a higher terms than the LBP236dw. Between the two, the B3342dw has a higher moving outgo than the LBP236dw, portion the MS431dw's is little for toner, but not by much. The savings for the MS431dw is adjacent little if you people capable to request a replacement imaging unit—something that you don't person to interest astir with Canon printers, since they incorporated the imaging portion successful the toner cartridges.

Compared with the LBP236dw, the LBP1238 II offers a fewer other features, specified arsenic a 5-inch interaction surface that lets you springiness commands to people from the cloud. But it's besides a overmuch much costly printer, and there's nary crushed to wage for the other features unless you request them. The LBP236dw offers the aforesaid accelerated velocity for duplex printing, the aforesaid insubstantial handling, and a little price, making it our newest Editors' Choice prime for a workhorse mono laser for a small-to-midsize bureau oregon workgroup.