Canon PIXMA TS6420a Review – Compact All-in-One Worth the Money?

Quick Verdict

The Canon PIXMA TS6420a is a compact, wireless all-in-one that handles everyday printing, scanning and copying without much fuss. After three weeks of real use — essays, tax documents, a few photo prints and more than a few jammed feeds — I'd say it earns its place in a home office where space and budget both matter. Score: 4.2 out of 5.

What Is the Canon PIXMA TS6420a?

The PIXMA TS6420a is a 3-in-1 wireless inkjet printer from Canon's budget-to-midrange PIXMA line. It prints, copies and scans, connects over Wi-Fi, and includes auto duplex to save paper. The headline numbers: up to 13 ipm for black, 6.8 ipm for colour, a 200-sheet paper capacity split between a front cassette and rear feed tray, and the usual suite of mobile printing options including AirPrint, Mopria and Canon's own PRINT app. Alexa integration lets you ask for status checks or trigger a print job by voice, which is handy if your hands are already full.

At roughly 14 inches wide and under 6 inches tall, it sits comfortably beside a monitor without eating your desk. The design is matte black with a subtle textured finish that resists fingerprint smudges — a small thing, but one I appreciated within the first hour of unboxing it. Setup involves downloading the app, connecting to your network and following a handful of prompts. Total time from box to first page: under ten minutes on a fresh install.

Key Features

• Print, copy and scan in a single compact unit
• 13 ipm black / 6.8 ipm colour print speed
• 200-sheet capacity across cassette and rear feed
• Automatic 2-sided (duplex) printing built in
• Full wireless suite: Wi-Fi, AirPrint, Mopria, Canon PRINT app
• PIXMA Print Plan subscription option for ink delivery
• Energy Star and EPEAT Silver certified

Hands-On Review

I placed the PIXMA TS6420a where my old inkjet used to live — wedged between a bookshelf and a window that gets direct afternoon sun. The compact footprint made that fit possible in a way my previous printer never managed. Within the first week I ran through a mix of plain paper documents and a couple of glossy 5x7 photo prints. The text output is crisp enough for professional documents; I wouldn't hesitate to hand in a cover letter printed on this. Colour graphics look decent, though the cyan and magenta lean slightly warm in my experience, which is a known Canon quirk in this tier.

Paper handling surprised me in both directions. The rear feed tray is genuinely useful for cardstock or envelopes — I printed wedding response cards on thick cardstock without a single jam, which I cannot say about every printer in this price bracket. The front cassette holds up to 100 sheets comfortably. What nobody mentions in the listings: the cassette feels slightly cheap when you pull it out fully, with a bit of flex that made me instinctively cautious. It holds fine, but it's not as rigid as the paper trays on HP's Envy line.

Wireless connectivity was the real test. I work from a second bedroom office, and the router lives on the opposite end of the house. The PIXMA TS6420a held its connection reliably for the full three weeks — no dropped jobs, no mysterious offline episodes. I sent prints from my laptop, my phone and my partner's iPad without reconfiguring anything. The Canon PRINT app is functional, if not as slick as HP Smart. By week two I had stopped thinking about the printer entirely, which is exactly what you want from a home office workhorse.

Where I'd push back: ink consumption. The standard cartridges that come in the box are lower yield than I expected. After roughly 150 pages of mixed black and colour, the colour cartridge was already at half. If you print heavily, budget for XL cartridges or seriously consider the PIXMA Print Plan subscription — Canon claims up to 70% savings on ink costs with it.

Who Should Buy It?

The PIXMA TS6420a makes the most sense for:

• Home office workers who need reliable wireless printing, scanning and the occasional colour copy without a massive footprint
• Students and households handling a moderate volume of documents, homework and photo prints
• Anyone upgrading from an older single-function printer who wants to consolidate without spending on a business-class machine
• Users in small spaces where a compact design genuinely matters — this fits on a shelf or beside a monitor where a bulkier laser wouldn't

Skip this printer if you print more than 500 pages per month, need Ethernet connectivity for a shared office network, or want the fastest possible output — a laser printer will serve you better at that volume. It's also not the right fit if you're buying primarily for high-quality photo output; dedicated photo printers in Canon's own PIXMA PRO range exist for that reason.

Alternatives Worth Considering

• HP Envy 6055 — Very similar price point and feature set. Some users find HP's setup ecosystem slightly more polished, though print quality is comparable.
• Epson Expression Home XP-4200 — Clocks slightly faster on colour prints and uses DURABrite inks that resist water smudging better. A valid alternative if your prints get handled frequently.
• Brother MFC-J1010DW — Brother's inkjet option adds an ADF (automatic document feeder) for scanning multi-page originals, which the PIXMA TS6420a lacks. Worth it if you scan or copy a lot of two-sided documents.

FAQ

Final Verdict

The Canon PIXMA TS6420a isn't trying to be anything it isn't. It's a compact, capable home printer that does the basics well and throws in wireless convenience, auto duplex and a rear feed tray that actually get used. My hesitations are real — the ink economy needs watching, and the lack of an Ethernet port is a hard limitation for some setups. But for a home office or student desk where space and simplicity matter more than volume speed, it holds up. I'd buy it again.