PIXMA G6020 All-in-One Supertank Wireless (Megatank) Printer, Copier and Scan with Mobile Printing, Black, Works with Alexa

Review: Canon PIXMA G6020 MegaTank – A High-Value, Low-Cost Printing Solution Quick Summary The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a robust "supertank" printer that trades the convenience of cheap up-front costs for incredible long-term savings. The initial setup requires patience—specifically regarding tape removal and print head installation—but the payoff is a machine that prints at a fraction of the cost of a laser printer. With sharp text, quality photo output, and a massive ink supply included in the box, it is an ideal choice for those who want to stop worrying about the high price of replacement cartridges. Detailed Experience & Technical Observations Unboxing and Setup Caution When you first open the box, pay close attention to the inner lids; they contain vital diagrams for locating all the components. The setup requires some manual assembly: • Print Heads: The printer uses two print heads that resemble standard inkjet cartridges. One is tucked near the power cord in the top styrofoam, and the other is located underneath near the ink bottles. • Critical Tape Removal: There is a significant amount of protective tape. Most importantly, when you lift the top to access the print head carriage, there is a strip running the length of the interior. You must remove this very slowly. Pulling too fast can leave a fiberglass-like residue behind, which can interfere with the orange plastic piece that must be fully removed. Ink System and Long-Term Value The "MegaTank" system is impressively clean and easy to fill. Each tank is designed to hold exactly one full bottle of ink. • Capacity: The black tank is larger than the color tanks. Canon includes three bottles of black ink; you will use one for the initial fill, leaving two spares. All three color bottles (CMY) are used entirely during the first fill. • Cost Analysis: Based on my calculations over a projected 4-year period, this printer operates at one-half the cost per page of my laser printer. Even if I were to use only the included ink and then dispose of the printer, it would still be more economical than maintaining a laser printer or a traditional cartridge-based inkjet. Operational Quirks and Software • Control Panel Angle: The control face is adjustable, arching from horizontal to about 45 degrees. A key quirk is that the printer will not function unless the face is tilted at an angle or positioned horizontally; it cannot be left flat/closed during operation. • Power Management: It is important to press the power button and let the printer complete its shutdown cycle before unplugging it. While it can be left on for instant printing, those who print infrequently (like me) may prefer to power it down between uses. • Windows 11 Integration: The software installation was quick and non-intrusive. Unlike many modern printers, the software has not "nagged" me to sign up for subscription services or buy replacement ink—at least not yet. Print Quality and Duplexing • Sharpness: The native print quality is very sharp. Test pages show extremely thin lines with clear white space between them. • Scanning/Copying: Note that while the print engine is high-resolution, the scanner has limits. In my tests, ultra-thin lines that were visible on the original print appeared as solid blocks on the copy. This is expected unless using a specialized high-resolution scan mode. I used the copy feature on the printer. It might have done better if I used the scanner software in the computer where I could choose the resolution. • Auto-Duplex (Two-Sided): The printer handles two-sided printing by feeding the paper, printing one side, then rolling it back in to flip it. In my observations, it appears to print the second page first before finishing with the first page and ejecting the sheet. Paper Handling The front tray 250 sheets of standard paper up to 8.5" x 11" as well as envelopes and odd sizes of paper. For legal paper or heavier media, there is a standing rear feed. This is perfect for cardstock, postcards, and envelopes. Pros and Cons Pros: • Massive Ink Savings: Includes enough ink for roughly 2 years of moderate use (or 3-4 years of low use). • Clean Refills: The bottle-to-tank design prevents spills and messes. • Sharp Output: Excellent clarity for both text and photos. • Non-Intrusive Software: No aggressive sales pitches or "ink-as-a-service" pop-ups (at least not yet.) • Flexible Media: Rear tray allows for thick cardstock that usually jams in front-loading printers. • Large Paper Capacity: The 250-sheet drawer is much larger than typical home inkjets. Cons: • Tedious Setup: Numerous pieces of tape and a delicate internal removal process. • Interface Requirements: The control panel must be angled correctly or the printer throws an error. • Scan Resolution: The default copy/scan mode may not pick up the finest details that the print engine is capable of producing. • No ADF: Lacks an automatic document feeder for multi-page scanning. • The Display: The small, 2-line LCD screen is not backlit, making it very hard to read without a flashlight or bright overhead light. • WIFI: Setting up the WIFI is a bit tricky. I got mine to work, but after a failed attempt or two. I recommend looking for a YouTube video that walks you through step-by-step if you have trouble. Technical Specifications • Print Resolution: Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi for both black and color documents. • Print Speed (ISO): Up to 13.0 ipm (images per minute) in black and 6.8 ipm in color. • First Print Out Time: Approximately 9 seconds for black and 14 seconds for color documents. • Ink System: 4-color Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) using GI-20 pigment black and dye-based color ink bottles. • Paper Capacity: Total capacity of 350 sheets (250-sheet front cassette plus 100-sheet rear tray). • Scanner Type: Flatbed Contact Image Sensor (CIS) with an optical resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi. • Maximum Document Size: Flatbed scanner supports up to 8.5" x 11.7"; printing supports up to 8.5" x 14" (Legal). • Connectivity: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Ethernet (100/10 Base-T), and Hi-Speed USB. • Mobile Support: Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, and the Canon PRINT app. • Physical Dimensions: Approximately 15.9" (W) x 14.6" (D) x 7.7" (H) with a weight of 17.8 lbs. • Monthly Duty Cycle: Up to 5,000 pages. • Paper Weight Support: Plain paper from 17 to 28 lb; specialty paper up to 53 lb (approx. 200 g/m²). These official specifications from Canon detail the print speed, resolution, ink compatibility, and paper handling of the PIXMA G6020 printer.

I purchased this printer for a project I’m working on for my wife, where I plan to print around 600 photos for three photo albums of our son, spanning from birth to age 3. Here are my initial impressions after one day of use: **Neutral:** This is a full-sized printer. Initially, I had looked at a model designed specifically for 4x6 photos, but I opted for this all-in-one printer without realizing its larger size. This is entirely my own oversight. **Pro:** The setup process was incredibly straightforward. After removing a few pieces of tape and a single plastic cover, I installed the printer heads, filled the ink tanks, plugged in the device, powered it on, and connected it to my preferred device (PC or phone). The printer then ran a test print to prime the ink through the head, and the setup was complete. The entire process was quick and easy. **Neutral:** You will need paper for setup. Since my primary use is photo printing, I didn’t purchase A4 paper, but at least two sheets are required for setup. This isn’t a major issue, as most users will likely be buying the printer for multifunction use. In my case, I used two sheets of paper I had on hand from a previous work onboarding, so it wasn’t an inconvenience. **Pro:** The ink tanks are located at the front of the printer, which is a convenient feature. You can easily monitor the ink levels, which is extremely helpful. **Pro:** The accompanying app is very user-friendly. Once you initiate a print job, you can continue using your phone for other tasks without being tethered to the app. **Neutral:** I have printed 25 photos so far, and they have a distinctive "at-home print" quality. Personally, I prefer this, as the photos are vibrant and clear, exactly as they appear on my phone. However, it’s clear they were printed at home, which some users may not prefer. This does not detract from the printer’s performance, which produces excellent results. **Neutral:** It’s important to pay attention to the orientation of the photos you are printing, especially if you plan to print multiple photos at once (up to 20). Ensure each photo is cropped or rotated as desired before printing. By default, the photos will print in the orientation in which they were taken on your phone. I had two out of the 25 prints where the focus of the image was cropped out because I didn't verify the settings beforehand. Simply make sure the photos are correctly formatted before printing, adjusting the crop, rotation, or zoom as needed. Pro: The button hub and screen are mounted on a hinge, which provides great flexibility. This design allows for easy viewing and access when needed, but you can also leave it down if your operational needs require a more compact setup. This thoughtful feature enhances both usability and convenience. Overall, after just one day of use and 25 photos printed, I am very satisfied with this printer. It’s easy to use and provides great results. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a simple home printer. After completing the full 600 prints and using the printer for a longer period, I will update this review to discuss ink usage, maintenance, and any additional insights I may have. As of now, I am very pleased with its performance. This review has been brought to you in part by ChatGPT used to clean it up however the review is completely me. I wanted to add this for a level of honesty.

I have always used cheap factory refurbished Epson printers most of my life and for the most part had really good luck with them. I wanted a ink tank printer because I hated replacing those ink cartridges so I decided to try this Canon Pixma... My friend had insisted I should buy the Canon so I did...Big mistake! Most of my printing needs are basic which include, shipping labels, and an occasional document or picture so I didn't really need an expensive printer but I decided anyway to shell out the $200 and get what I thought would be a quality printer that would last me for a while. When I first took this Canon out of the box I could see a one major problem...It has this tiny little black and white LED screen that isn't even backlit so every time a message comes up I had to get up really close to this little screen with a flashlight to see what was going on. I have constantly had problems with print errors where you would have to read the tiny messages and most of the time just pressing OK would get it to run again, Almost every time I would print anything there was a 5 to 10 second time delay before it started up, sometimes it would just disconnect from my PC for no reason at all and I would have to do a reboot to get it to print. I very seldom made color copies but I would occasionally run a color print every couple of weeks just to keep it from clogging up, I guess now maybe I should have done this more often with this printer because it has completely lost its ability to make a color copy. Now (The last straw) all the sudden something has caused this printer to stop communicating with my PC. I have tried everything to fix this problem but I'm now at my wits end with this D*MN! printer so I'm going to toss it in the dumpster and get me a Eco-Tank Epson with a nice big backlit screen.

I am feeling very positive about this printer for my own needs--low cost of ink being a major plus--but the printer has its downsides, all mentioned in other reviews, which you should be aware of before you buy one. Downsides: 1. Printing is SLOW. Not a problem for my occasional home use, but you would probably want something faster if you do a lot of printing. 2. The LED screen is not backlit and can be hard to read if light conditions are not just right. It's OK, barely, where I have mine located, but you may need to keep a little flashlight handy. 3. The control panel flops down when you press the buttons. You have to hold the panel up with one hand and press the buttons with the other. The control panel is used mostly for copying, so be aware of this hassle if you intend to use that feature a lot. 4. The printer is configured by default to turn itself off after being idle for a period of time and to not turn itself back on automatically. You can vary that period of time up to 4 hours or disable "Auto Power Off", which means it stays on until you press the power button. However, I recommend that you enable "Auto Power On". Auto Power On puts the printer into standby mode after the Auto Power Off time instead of turning it completely off so that it can wake up when a print request is received. Why is this not enabled by default? 5. The connection between your computer and the printer, if not set up correctly, may be lost when the printer is turned off. Unfortunately, the documentation from Canon is crap, and I could not find anything there that says how to fix the problem. Here's how: FIXING CONNECTION PROBLEMS The setup process provided by Canon worked very smoothly, but the next day I was unable to connect to the printer. It appears that the problem was that the install program set up the printer port using the printer's IP address, which is assigned by my router and can change each time the printer is turned on. The port needs to be set up instead using the printers name, which does not change. I fixed it by deleting the printer from the Windows "Devices and Printers" applet of the control panel and rerunning the Canon install program. Why it used the IP address the first time and the Printer Name the second time is unclear, but it worked. In any case, rerunning the install program is a bit of a hassle, so here is an easier way to fix it on a Windows system. 1. Right-click on the icon for the printer in the Windows "Devices and Printers" option of the Control Panel and select "Printer properties". 2. Click on the "Ports" tab. 3. Select the port for the printer, which is probably labeled "Canon G6000 Series", and click the "Configure Port ..." button. 4. Look at the box labeled "Printer Name or IP Address". If you see four numbers separated by dots such as 192.168.1.12, that is an IP address and needs to be replaced with the printer name. My printer's name is a 12-character code: 915CFC000000. You can find your printer's name from the printer's LED screen: Press the button with the tools icon; press right arrow until "System Information" appears; press OK; press right arrow until printer name appears.

I just received a PIXMA G6020 from Amazon and wanted to provide some information given the disparity of reviews I saw prior to making the purchase. This review is only about the initial process of setting up and printer performance. Set up Some of the reviews mentioned difficulty in setting up wirelessly, and I thought I might provide some details for potential consumers. First, Canon still provides a hard copy step-by-step instruction booklet which is helpful. Within the booklet are scan codes that can be followed or a web address to see a sequence of photographs that walk you through the setup process. I used this because some of the pictures in the manual were difficult to discern, but the photographs were very clear. Once the machine is set up and plugged in (no cables attached to any computers), Canon provides a web address which is very clean and easy to negotiate. A clearly marked “set up” button takes you to a page where you select the kind of machine you have. You’re supposed to enter some letters, but none of these are PIXMA. That was a bit confusing, but scrolling down you can see a G020 button and clicking on that opens up a window with a start button and a picture of the printer so there can be no confusion. Clicking on the start button begins the process of setting up from the pictures I mentioned above to downloading the drivers and joining the printer to the wireless network available in your home. The process went very smoothly with little input from me until an error message appeared which was associated with my Internet security system blocking the printer from the network. Importantly, there is a window from Canon during the setup process that warns you of this before it happened. As a quick aside, the hard copy manual was clearly adjusted to include anticipated problems people might have because there are several places where warnings about problems (both Windows and Mac) occur with suggested resolutions. I was impressed by that because often a set of documents are prepared and released without any consideration of problems consumers might have on their different systems. Anyhow, clearing the security issue, the download completed, and the printer was available on my computer already set up as the default. The wireless connection to my home network worked great. As I headed downstairs away from the printer and our router to our second computer, the process went equally well and again the printer was available for function on the second machine. Scanning Canon provides “IJ Scan Utility” as a rudimentary scanning software that allows you to direct the printer to scan documents or photographs. If you are scanning documents, multiple sequential scans are permitted (no document feeder, so you have to change the scanned pages yourself). These are combined into the same PDF when you save them. Both documents and images are by default loaded into a default Windows temporary documents folder which gratefully pops open when you are done. Otherwise, you would have no idea where your documents or images went. That’s a bit of a drawback because I could not find a way to change the default download folder, but since it opens, a quick drag-and-drop remedies the situation. Printing and copying I agree with the other reviewers that the panel on the printer should’ve been backlit because it’s hard to read. Printing quality is good and fast, although I did not try any pictures. The copying function is simple as well. Just put the document on the scanner and click either the “black” or “color” button on the panel of the printer itself to produce a copy of the document. Bottom line At least initially, this machine was exactly as advertised. It was straightforward and easy to set up, contained warnings and resolutions where they expected you might have trouble and then produced high quality printed documents. Some may not like that you have to interact with Canon via the web to get everything set up wirelessly, but to me it seemed like a really good way to ensure the process went smoothly which was the case for me. Hope this helps everyone if you’ve been on the fence about what printer to buy given the many bad reviews that this and less expensive printers have. So far, this one completely met my expectations. If the machine fails in the future, I will update the review.