Given the way the market for small-office inkjets is heating up, however, the Pixma MX892 lacks one key attribute: high-yield inks that offer greater savings for higher-volume use. Both the $200 and the $170 offer high-yield ink choices.

Output quality from the Pixma MX892 has the same warm (and slightly orangey) color temperature that most of the company's printers feature. With most subjects, this imparts a friendly vibe to graphics and photos, but faces and flesh tend to look oversaturated. The effect is more noticeable on plain paper than on glossy paper. Dark areas tend to show more detail than prints do that are made with less expensive Canon printers that lack a photo black cartridge. Text is quite sharp, even in draft mode, though solid areas tend toward charcoal-gray rather than true black.

The Canon Pixma MX892's automatic-duplex printing and scanning are great, as are its sturdy construction, output, and speed. It would nicely serve one or two people who print at a light to moderate volume. Nevertheless, like-priced competitors from Epson and HP offer similar or better features for roughly the same price, with the option to buy high-yield inks.