The Canon PIXMA MP210 is an all-in-one printer with a large variety of extra features. I have owned this printer for 3/4 years and never experienced any major problems - we actually have a total of three printers in our house (perhaps a little excessive), including the canon MP190 and I think this is the better of the two printers.

The printer can print, copy and scan items as well as a selection of other features. The printing is always quick and clear and I have never experienced any problems with it other than paying the huge price for ink cartridges. The copying function on the printer is very useful especially as I am training to be a teacher and often need to photocopy work. I would generally try to photocopy at school but often that isn't possible and that makes this function extremely useful. It isn't especially quick at copying as it basically scans the image and produces a copy of it - but if you need to make a copy it serves a purpose. I do worry about how much ink this function takes up as the lettering is often printed slightly bolder than the original. That said it is something I use on a fairly frequent basis and as it can do colour and black and white copies it serves many purposes. The scanning is probably the most useful function for me - the scanning space on top of the printer is large so you can fit 2 A4 pieces of paper (or a large book) inside the scanner at one time. The lid has a flexible edge that extends to accommodate larger items which is very useful - especially because I scan in a lot of books for my uni course. The scanned images are always very clear and crisp and it is very rare to find that they have been skewed in the scanning process - although you do have to watch out for dust/debris on the scanning panel as this effects the quality of your image. It is also important to note that you do have to press the lid down quite hard while scanning to avoid light coming under and altering the scanned image. This is only really a problem when you are scanning something large that requires the flexible part of the lid to be used and is really to be expected with any scanner.

The printer also boasts a photolab which can print photos in 'approximately 70 seconds' according to Canon. I have used this once (as the printer came with some printer paper) and did find it quick and but not particularly straight forward to use. I think the instructions could be clearer as you waste quite a lot of the expensive paper trying to figure out how to get it right. I have not tried to do this again as I find photo paper can be relatively expensive and I tend not to develop photos anyway - but for someone who is interested in printing their own photos this could be a very useful feature.

In terms of using the printer with my laptop it is always very quick and easy. You use a CD to install the software on your computer (which took no longer than 15 mins) and you are ready to go. We own more than one canon printer, and different models, but the computer is able to connect to all of them with relative ease you just have to make sure you select the correct printer when printing. The directions are easy and once you get to grips with how the scanning/photo printing work it is all relatively problem free. It can be set up for more than one computer which is a great help as I often use my laptop to print from the different printers in the house depending on which one is closest.

In terms of the look of the printer I think it is very appealing. This one is probably nicer looking than the canon MP190 because it has additional dark blue panels with a glossy finish which give it a very sleek and expensive look. The printer is predominantly blue and grey and looks very nice. The colours are good whether you store it in sight or not because they tend to not show the dust. In terms of size I would say this is the only downfall of the product. It is rather cumbersome in size and can be quite difficult to move around. In terms of scanning though the size of the printer directly relates to how large an item you can scan in - so although it can be heavy and looks a little unsightly I would not change the size as it help you to get a better image.

The prices really do vary for the printer, because the model isn't brand new you should definitely shop around and find a cheap price for it. That said, it is a relatively inexpensive printer anyway and offers a lot of really great and easy to use feature for a low price. The printer cartridges however are as expensive as almost all of them tend to be - you can find cheaper versions in big supermarkets. I do find that the printer demands you change the printer cartridge more than you actually need to - there is a button to override this and continue to use the dwindling ink, I always find it lasts for another 5-10 prints before running out completely. It is also quite annoying that when the printer runs out of ink it prevents you from using the other functions, scanning and copying, until you have replaced the cartridge. You can override this with the button but I found this unclear in the instructions and for a long time did not know how to do this.

Overall I would definitely recommend this printer for anyone who is looking for a reliable item with very little upkeep. I think this version is preferable to the MP190 because of the look of it, the blue glossy panels add an extra look of cost to the product which doesn't actually translate to the price. I am not particularly computer savvy (not sure whether this comes across in my review!) but I find this printer VERY simple to use and have never experienced one of those frustrating moments where you want to chuck it out the window.