Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer Review: The Home Office Hybrid Put to the Test

There’s a specific kind of quiet desperation that sets in when your home printer dies. One minute you’re calmly printing concert tickets, and the next you’re faced with cryptic error codes, paper jams from another dimension, or worse, the silent, unresponsive void. My last printer, a bulky veteran of many years, had finally given up the ghost mid-way through printing a crucial school project for my daughter. The panic was real. In that moment, the search began for a replacement that wouldn’t just be a temporary fix, but a true upgrade. The modern home demands a jack-of-all-trades: a device that can flawlessly print sharp work documents, produce vibrant, frame-worthy family photos, scan receipts for expenses, and connect to any phone or laptop in the house without a 20-step ritual. The problem is, the market is saturated with options that promise everything but often deliver a frustrating, compromised experience. Finding a reliable, high-quality, and user-friendly all-in-one printer feels like searching for a needle in a haystack.

What to Consider Before Buying an All-in-One Printer

An All-in-One Printer is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for consolidating the chaos of a modern home or small office. It serves as a central hub for turning digital ideas into tangible reality, whether that’s a child’s art project, a business proposal, or a cherished photograph. The main benefit is efficiency and space-saving. Instead of needing a separate printer, scanner, and photocopier, you get all three functions in a single, compact footprint. This integration simplifies workflows, reduces cable clutter, and provides a singular point of contact for supplies and maintenance. For families, students, and creative professionals, it’s an indispensable tool that bridges the gap between the digital and physical worlds.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the need for versatility. This includes parents juggling school assignments with home office tasks, photography hobbyists wanting to bring their shots to life, or small business owners who need to scan invoices and print marketing materials without investing in commercial-grade equipment. It’s for the person who values convenience and functionality in one package. Conversely, an all-in-one might not be suitable for those with very specific, high-volume needs. For example, a professional photographer might require a dedicated, wide-format photo printer for superior gallery prints, while an office that only prints hundreds of monochrome text documents daily would be far better served by a dedicated mono laser printer, which offers superior speed and a lower cost-per-page for text.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: Printers can be deceptively large. Before you buy, measure your intended space carefully. Consider not just the printer’s footprint (width and depth), but also its height and the clearance needed to open the scanner lid or access paper trays. The Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer, for instance, has a relatively compact design, but as we discovered, you must also account for the space required by the protruding paper tray when it’s loaded.
• Capacity/Performance: Look beyond the marketing. Key metrics include print resolution (measured in DPI, or dots per inch), print speed (PPM, or pages per minute, for both black and colour), and paper tray capacity. For photo printing, a high DPI like 4800 x 1200 is crucial for detail. For office work, a higher PPM is more important. Also, consider features like automatic duplexing (2-sided printing), which saves paper and time.
• Materials & Durability: The build quality of home printers can vary dramatically. While most are constructed from plastic to keep costs down, the feel and sturdiness of that plastic matter. Flimsy trays, covers, and paper guides can be prone to breaking. We’ve seen feedback on some models, including this one, where users felt the components were a bit too flexible, so it’s worth assessing how robust the moving parts feel.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: In today’s wireless world, setup should be straightforward. Check for compatibility with your devices (Wi-Fi, AirPrint for iOS, Mopria for Android). The user interface, whether it’s an LCD screen or a simple button layout, should be intuitive. Also, consider the ink system. Is it a two-cartridge system or individual ink tanks? How easy are they to replace, and what are the long-term costs? Subscription services can simplify this but aren’t for everyone.

Keeping these factors in mind, the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer stands out in several areas. You can explore its detailed specifications here.

While the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: A Stylish, Compact Hub with a Few Surprises

Unboxing the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer, the first thing that struck us was its refreshingly modern and compact design. With dimensions of 40.3 x 31.5 x 14.8 cm, it’s significantly smaller than the behemoth it was replacing. The matte black finish is sleek and resists fingerprints, allowing it to blend nicely into a home office environment without screaming “I am a large piece of office equipment.” Lifting it from the box, its 6.3 kg weight felt substantial enough, though we did immediately notice what some users have described as a certain lightness to the plastic components. The paper trays and scanner lid have a degree of flex that suggests you should handle them with care rather than force.

What sets it apart visually are the user interface elements. The 1.44-inch OLED display is crisp, bright, and a significant step up from the non-backlit LCD screens on many budget printers. Alongside it, a unique LED status bar provides at-a-glance information with intuitive light patterns, glowing to show it’s printing or pulsing to indicate an issue. It’s a clever, futuristic touch. Included in the box are the printer, a power cord, and a set of starter FINE cartridges (one black, one tri-colour). As is frustratingly common practice across the industry, a USB-B cable for a wired connection to a computer is not included, a fact confirmed by other users. This firmly signals that Canon intends for this to be a wireless-first device.

A Deep Dive into the Canon PIXMA TS5350i’s Performance

A printer’s true worth is only revealed through use. We put the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer through a battery of real-world tests over several weeks, from printing dense work reports and scanning old photos to producing glossy, high-resolution prints for a family photo album. It’s a machine of interesting contrasts, excelling brilliantly in some areas while revealing a few peculiar quirks in others.

Setup and Connectivity: A Tale of Two Experiences

Canon pushes a mobile-first setup, and in this regard, they have absolutely nailed it. We bypassed the computer entirely at first and downloaded the Canon PRINT app on an iPhone. The app immediately found the printer, and connecting it to our Wi-Fi network was a simple matter of following the on-screen prompts and entering the password. From downloading the app to printing our first test photo directly from the phone’s gallery took less than ten minutes. It was incredibly smooth and validated the experience of users who found setup via the phone app to be a breeze. The app itself is robust, allowing you to print, scan, copy, and even access cloud services directly.

However, the experience of setting it up on a Windows PC was markedly different and echoed the frustrations we saw in some user feedback. The included manual directs you to a QR code. When scanned, this led to a generic Canon support page that, perplexingly, didn’t seem to have any direct information or driver downloads for this specific TS5350i model. This is a baffling oversight that could easily stop a less-determined user in their tracks. We had to manually navigate the Canon UK website, drill down through the support menus (PIXMA > PIXMA TS Series > PIXMA TS5350i), and find the correct driver package. Once found and installed, it worked perfectly, but the initial journey was needlessly complicated. It’s a clear weakness for anyone who primarily prints from a desktop or laptop and isn’t comfortable hunting for drivers online.

Print Quality and Performance: The Star of the Show

Once connected, the print quality is where the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer truly shines, especially with photos. Leveraging its 4800 x 1200 DPI resolution and ChromaLife100 ink system, the photo prints we produced were simply stunning for a home device. We printed several 5×5 inch borderless photos on Canon’s own glossy photo paper, and the results were vibrant, sharp, and rich with detail. Colours were accurate, skin tones were natural, and there was no visible banding. Canon’s claim of 100-year album life is bold, but the initial quality certainly feels premium and built to last.

For everyday documents, the performance is solid. We clocked the black-and-white text printing speed at just under the claimed 13 pages per minute, which is more than adequate for home office use. Text was crisp and clear, with no smudging. Colour graphics on plain paper were also good, though naturally less vibrant than on photo paper. The automatic duplexing is a fantastic feature at this price point, working reliably to print on both sides of a page without any manual intervention, saving both time and paper. We also tested the flatbed scanner, which produced sharp, colour-accurate scans of documents and photos up to 1200 x 2400 DPI. The copier function was equally straightforward, creating faithful reproductions quickly. We did notice the “sluggishness” some users mentioned; the printer often takes a moment to “think” before starting a job, accompanied by the on-screen message “Please wait momentarily.” While not a deal-breaker, it’s a noticeable pause that’s absent in more office-oriented machines.

Design, Usability, and Everyday Quirks

Living with the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer day-to-day reveals its thoughtful design and one particularly baffling design choice. The dual paper feed system is genuinely useful. You can keep the front cassette loaded with up to 100 sheets of plain A4 paper for documents, while using the rear tray for specialty media like photo paper, envelopes, or cardstock. This flexibility is a huge convenience, preventing the constant need to swap out paper types.

The major design flaw, as highlighted by another user, is the front paper cassette. When loaded with A4 paper, it cannot be pushed flush into the printer’s body. It must be left sticking out by a couple of inches. This completely undermines the printer’s otherwise sleek, compact aesthetic. It’s an odd, seemingly unforced error in the design that turns a tidy box into something with a permanent appendage. It doesn’t affect function, but it’s an aesthetic annoyance. On the positive side, the OLED screen, while small, is highly effective. It provides clear instructions for tasks like ink replacement and paper loading, and the animated graphics are a helpful touch. The LED status bar also proves to be more than just a gimmick, offering a quick visual cue of the printer’s status from across the room.

Ink System and Long-Term Costs: The PIXMA Print Plan

The printer uses Canon’s FINE cartridge system, which consists of two cartridges: one for pigment black ink (for sharp text) and a tri-colour cartridge containing the cyan, magenta, and yellow dye-based inks (for graphics and photos). This system is convenient for installation but can be wasteful if you use one colour much more than the others, as you must replace the entire cartridge when a single colour runs out. The standard cartridges will get you started, but heavy users will want to invest in the higher-capacity XL versions for a better cost-per-page.

A key feature of this “i” model is its compatibility with the PIXMA Print Plan, Canon’s answer to ink subscription services. Based on your projected monthly print volume, you choose a plan, and the printer automatically orders new ink, which is delivered before you run out. This is ideal for those with predictable printing habits who value convenience above all else. However, for users with sporadic printing needs, simply buying XL cartridges as needed may prove more economical. The flexibility to choose is welcome. For those who want the freedom to manage their own supplies, you can find the printer and a variety of ink cartridge options here.

What Other Users Are Saying

The user feedback on the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer paints a picture of a capable but sometimes quirky machine, which aligns perfectly with our findings. There is a clear consensus on several points. Many users praise the straightforward setup process when using a smartphone, with one noting it was “incredibly easy to set up if you just want to print through the phone app.” This is often contrasted with the more challenging PC driver installation, where one user detailed having to contact support to get the correct drivers after the manual’s QR code led them astray.

The physical design also draws mixed reactions. Its compact size is frequently cited as a positive. However, a significant number of users express disappointment with the protruding lower paper tray. As one person put it, “once you load it with paper it has to be left sticking out by 2 inches… it makes it very unsightly.” Critiques of the build quality also appear, with one user describing the parts as “so flimsy that they bend in fingers,” alongside complaints of sluggish performance and cryptic errors. This suggests that while the core print engine is excellent, the user’s overall experience can be impacted by these usability and build quality issues.

How Does the Canon PIXMA TS5350i Compare to the Alternatives?

The Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer occupies a competitive space. To understand its value, it’s essential to see how it measures up against other popular options.

1. Brother DCP-1612W Wireless Mono Laser Printer

The Brother DCP-1612W is a completely different beast, and choosing between it and the Canon depends entirely on your priorities. This is a monochrome laser printer. Its superpower is printing large volumes of black-and-white text quickly (up to 20 ppm) and at a very low cost per page thanks to high-yield toner cartridges. If your work consists almost exclusively of documents, reports, and invoices, and you have no need for colour or photo printing, the Brother is the more logical and economical choice. It sacrifices the Canon’s creative versatility and photo prowess for sheer office efficiency and speed.

2. Canon PIXMA TS3451 White Inkjet Printer

Staying within the Canon family, the PIXMA TS3451 is essentially the TS5350i’s more budget-conscious sibling. It offers the same core all-in-one functionalities of printing, scanning, and copying with good wireless connectivity. However, to achieve its lower price point, it makes several compromises. It lacks the automatic duplex printing feature, has a more basic LCD screen instead of the premium OLED display, and generally has slightly slower print speeds. For users on a tight budget who only need basic colour printing occasionally, the TS3451 is a viable option, but the TS5350i offers significant quality-of-life upgrades for the extra investment.

3. HP Envy 6032 All-in-One Colour Printer

The HP Envy 6032 is the most direct competitor to the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer. It also targets the modern home user with a focus on high-quality photo printing, a slick mobile app (HP Smart), and its own ink subscription service (HP Instant Ink). Both printers offer automatic duplexing and excellent wireless connectivity. The decision between them often comes down to personal preference for the brand’s app ecosystem, ink subscription models, and subtle differences in print output. The HP Envy series often features a very clean, minimalist design that may appeal to some, while the Canon boasts that superior OLED screen for on-device control.

Our Final Verdict on the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer

After extensive testing, we can confidently say the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer is a superb choice for a specific type of user: the modern family, student, or creative hobbyist who values high-quality photo output and seamless mobile printing above all else. Its ability to produce vibrant, detailed, and beautiful photos is its greatest strength, punching well above its weight. The automatic duplexing, dual paper feed, and slick OLED interface are all premium features that make everyday use a pleasure.

However, it is not without its flaws. The lightweight build quality requires a gentle touch, the PC driver setup is unnecessarily obtuse, and the protruding paper tray is a bizarre design misstep that mars its otherwise attractive look. It’s not the fastest machine for high-volume document printing, but for a mixed-use home environment where quality and versatility are key, it strikes an excellent balance. It successfully bridges the gap between a standard document printer and a dedicated photo printer, making it a powerful and versatile hub for any creative household.

If you’ve decided the Canon PIXMA TS5350i All-in-One Printer is the right fit for your home, you can check its current price and purchase it here.