Canon MAXIFY GX5020/GX5050/GX5060 review

The Canon MAXIFY GX5020/GX5050/GX5060 is great for high-volume printing if you don’t need a scanner

Canon MAXIFY GX5020/GX5050/GX5060
(Image: © Matthew Richards)

Digital Camera World Verdict

There’s no point buying a printer with a built-in scanner if you don’t need to scan or photocopy anything. As a single-function printer, this Canon keeps things simple, omitting the scanner featured in the two pricier models in the range, while driving down the purchase price. A bigger consideration for the busy home or small office is running costs and, with its MegaTank design, replenished by cheap bottles of ink rather than expensive cartridges, this is where the Canon comes into its own. Print quality is excellent for mono and color documents, less so for glossy photos.

Pros

  • +

    Robust pigment-based inks

  • +

    High-volume ink tanks

  • +

    Low running costs

Cons

  • -

    Fairly high initial purchase price

  • -

    No built-in scanner

  • -

    Photo quality is mediocre

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Sold as the Canon MAXIFY GX5020 in the USA, the GX5050 in Europe, and the GX5060 in Australia, this printer sits at the bottom end of a trio of Canon printers that are ideally suited to the busy home or small office. Unlike the two more upmarket models, it’s a printer pure and simple, with no built-in scanner and therefore no auto document feeder. It also has a smaller and more basic mono LCD screen, rather than a color touchscreen but, for printing prowess it matches the pricier GX6020/6050/6060 and GX7020/7050/7060 in the range for performance and running costs.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.