Pros & Cons
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- Good text quality.
- Color touch-screen display.
- USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Direct connectivity.
- Duplexing ADF.
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- Relatively high running costs.
- Slightly subpar graphics quality.
Canon imageClass MF414dw Specs
| Color or Monochrome | Monochrome |
| Connection Type | Wireless |
| Cost Per Page (Monochrome) | 2.3 |
| Direct Printing From USB Thumb Drives | |
| Duplexing Scans | |
| LCD Preview Screen | |
| Maximum Standard Paper Size | Legal |
| Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended) | 4,000 |
| Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks | 1 |
| Number of Ink Colors | 1 |
| Print Duplexing | |
| Printer Input Capacity | 300 |
The Canon imageClass MF414dw ($399) is a monochrome laser multifunction printer (MFP) capable of medium- to heavy-duty printing in a micro or small office. With a solid feature set, a range of connectivity choices, and good text quality, the MF414dw is a reasonable choice, though you get a better combination of features and performance with the HP LaserJet Pro M426fdw , our Editors' Choice.
Design and Features
Measuring 17 by 15.4 by 18.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 42 pounds with a cartridge in place, the MF414dw requires a table or bench of its own, and you probably want two people to move it into place. Its front panel includes an alphanumeric keypad for entering fax numbers and other information, a 3.5-inch color touch-screen LCD, and buttons identified by both words and icons, including Home, Back, Color and Stop, and a few scanning- and fax-specific buttons. The port for USB thumb drives is on the front of the printer to the right of the output tray.
A 250-sheet main paper tray and a 50-sheet multipurpose feeder are standard, as is an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. The printer is set by default to two-sided printing as a paper-saving measure. An optional $199 500-sheet paper tray is available, for a maximum paper capacity of up to 800 sheets.
A 50-sheet duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF) lets you copy, scan, or fax both sides of multipage documents up to legal size. It first scans one side of a document, flips it over, and then scans the other side. The OKI MB472w has a similar 50-sheet duplexing ADF. The HP M426fdw also has a 50-sheet ADF, but it scans both sides of a two-sided document at once, so it's much faster.
The MF414dw offers Ethernet, USB, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. It also supports making a direct, peer-to-peer connection with compatible devices via Wi-Fi Direct. Mobile protocols and services supported include Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, Canon Print Business, and Google Cloud Print. Printer drivers include Canon's host-based (UFR II) driver, as well as PCL6. I tested the printer over an Ethernet connection.
Printing Speed
In its default duplex (two-sided) mode, for which it is rated at up to 17 pages per minute (ppm), the MF414dw printed our business applications suite (as timed with QualityLogic's hardware and software) at 9ppm. This is adequate, though not particularly fast. In ad-hoc testing in simplex (one-sided) mode, for which it is rated at 35ppm, the MF414dw averaged 11.1ppm, well short of the HP M426fdw, rated at 40ppm, which we tested at 16.4ppm. We timed the OKI MB472w, rated at 35ppm, at 9.7ppm in our testing.
Output Quality
Overall output quality is typical of a mono laser, with slightly above-par text, graphics a bit below par, and average photos. The MF414dw's text should be fine for most output uses except those requiring tiny fonts.
Although most graphics look reasonably good, in testing the MF414dw had problems distinguishing between similar tones in one illustration, and very thin lines that were in color in the original document were all but invisible. Photo quality is fine for images from Web pages.
Running costs, based on Canon's price and yield figures for toner, are 3 cents per monochrome page. This is higher than the OKI MB472w's 1.9 cents per page and the HP M426fdw's 2.2 cents per page.
Conclusion
The Canon imageClass MF414dw is a good monochrome laser for medium- to heavy-duty use in a micro office. It offers better text quality, but poorer graphics quality than the HP M426fdw, and is slower than that Editors' Choice model, built for somewhat lighter-duty printing. Although it can't match the performance and features of the HP M426fdw, the MF414dw is still a solid choice.