Canon Color imageCLASS MF653Cdw review: a quick color laser for home offices

Canon is one of the best printer brands, so the low-cost Color imageClass MF653Cdw caught my eye. It’s a fast-color laser printer that comes with a three-year warranty. I went hands-on to see how well it performed in real-world tests.

When the price and specifications look this good, I dig into the details and look for hidden issues to ensure it’s one of the best color laser printers before giving my recommendation. I’ll cover the design, performance, quality, and running costs to help you decide if the Color imageClass MF653Cdw is the right printer for you.

Specs

Design

Canon’s Color imageClass MF653Cdw is a nice-looking printer with an off-white body and a slanted graphite stripe in the middle. It reminds me of a racing stripe since it makes the printer look like it’s leaning forward.

It’s a sturdy all-in-one with scan, copy, and print capabilities. It measures 17.8″ by 18.2 by 14.2″ inches and weighs nearly 40 pounds. Big, heavy printers are typically built to last. Still, the rounded curves and segmented design break up a boxy machine so it can easily blend into a home office or a modern workspace.

A flatbed scanner sits on top and the output bin is in the middle. Canon placed a large 5-inch color touchscreen to the right and gave it a nice adjustment range, tilting forward up to 56 degrees from horizontal. It’s easy to operate and use while standing or seated. An open USB-A port on the front left allows printing from and scanning to thumb drives.

The main paper tray is a removable drawer that holds 250 sheets and a single-sheet manual feed slot simplifies one-off prints of envelopes and labels.

Printing performance

Print quality and speed are critical for color laser printers and the Color imageClass MF653Cdw didn’t disappoint. The first page rolled out in as little as 10 seconds, looking great. Color prints just as fast as monochrome, with a sustained throughput of 22 pages per minute (ppm). While that isn’t as fast as the Canon Color imageClass MF753cdw, it’s still a good pace for long reports and brochures.

Canon is known for its professional and enthusiast DSLR cameras, so it’s no surprise the company pays particular attention to image quality. That’s reflected in the Color imageClass MF653Cdw’s excellent quality on color documents and photos even when printing on plain paper. The colors are accurate, there’s no banding, and the details are crisp.

Still, it can’t compete with a dedicated inkjet photo printer with output that looks like lab-quality photographs. While color laser printers use four colors, some inkjets allow subtle variations, mixing up to ten base colors to create a more nuanced picture.

Special features

Canon’s Color imageClass MF653Cdw is an all-in-one printer with a flatbed scanner, so it can scan photos and documents or make color copies, saving you a trip to the office store. It’s relatively quick, taking only 15 seconds for a single-sided document. The quality is nice with true colors and crisp text.

This model lacks an automatic document feeder (ADF), so if you need to scan multi-page documents, you’ll want to check out my review of the Canon Color imageClass MF654Cdw. It’s quite similar but costs a bit more and adds an ADF.

The USB-A port is easy to access for walk-up printing without a mobile app. It worked as expected and the color touchscreen has an option to show a grid of thumbnails or a single image to preview what will print. Since cameras name photos with numbers instead of useful information like location or the type of content, it’s important to see a thumbnail or a preview before printing. The Color imageClass MF653Cdw allows both.

Software and compatibility

The Canon Color imageClass MF653Cdw was easy to set up. Four toner cartridges were pre-installed, so I only needed to plug it in, complete the startup calibration and connect Wi-Fi.

Canon uses an advanced image calibration system that prints one sheet, then instructs me to place that in the scanner. Within minutes, the Color imageClass MF653Cdw was ready to use.

Wi-Fi connection was just as simple. I selected my local network, entered the password on the color touchscreen and moved on to linking my computer and phone. Computers see the Canon Color imageClass MF653Cdw instantly and automatically download drivers as needed. For iOS and Android, I installed the Canon Print app.

I keep printers in a separate room to reduce noise during bigger print jobs from my computer. I use the Canon Print app or AirPrint while standing at the printer to get quick feedback on photo prints. Nearly everything worked as expected. I was pleased to find the Color imageClass MF653Cdw can print envelopes from my iPhone. Unfortunately, there was no option for a number 10 envelope when I used my Android phone.

Price

The Canon Color imageClass MF653Cdw retails for $370, which is already a low price for a good, fast color laser printer. It gets even better with sale pricing lowering the upfront investment to around $300. Of course, supply costs are an important consideration.

Canon keeps monochrome printing budget-friendly with this model. Standard black toner cartridges cost $72 and deliver 1,350 pages, while the high-capacity version is $109 and lasts for 3,130 pages. That’s around 3 to 5 cents per page, which is as good as competing printers. If you only need black-and-white printing, though, a faster, more affordable option like Canon’s imageCLASS MF275dw might be a better fit.

For color printing, the Color imageClass MF653Cdw isn’t the most economical choice. Replacement color cartridges cost $86 for 1,250 pages or $112 for high-capacity versions that last for up to 2,350 pages. If you often print in color, it could get expensive with an average cost of 14 to 21 cents per page. For example, Brother’s HL-L3295CDW cuts color print costs to 10 cents per page with super-high-yield color toner.

The Color imageCLASS MF653Cdw comes with starter cartridges that can print up to 910 black-and-white pages and 680 color pages. That’s about two-thirds full for black and just over halfway for each color cartridge — enough to get you started but not for the long haul.

Is this the printer for you?

Canon’s Color imageClass MF653Cdw is a great printer at an affordable price. It’s a solid choice for a home office if you don’t mind the size and weight.

For businesses, the only consideration is color toner cost. At 14 to 21 cents per page, a busy office will accumulate supply costs rapidly. The Color imageClass MF653Cdw is still great for proofing color documents but you might want to outsource or choose another color laser printer for big jobs. Canon’s Color imageClass MF753Cdw costs more upfront but it’s a faster printer with lower toner costs.

The Canon Color imageClass MF653Cdw is one of the best printers available and should last a long time. Canon includes a three-year warranty and says this model can handle sustained volumes of up to 2,500 pages per month.