The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is a compact printer that's great for students, especially since it doesn't take up much space. It has a good photo printing quality and a great cost-to-print ratio for its black and color ink cartridges. It can also print CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc labels, which is a handy feature. On the downside, its black ink cartridge doesn't yield a lot of pages, and while the first black-text document prints off quickly, subsequent pages are very slow.
Our Verdict
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is good as a family printer. It has a very good photo printing quality and has a flatbed scanner for saving old photos or more fragile documents. Its black and color ink cartridges also have good cost-to-print ratios, which is great when you're trying to stay within budget.
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Great cost-to-print ratio for black and color printing.
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Excellent connectivity options.
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Very good photo printing quality.
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No sheetfed scanner.
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Low black page yield.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is disappointing for home office use. While it has a great cost-to-print ratio for black ink, it doesn't yield a lot of black pages, and you may find yourself constantly replacing the cartridge. However, if you like to add a splash of color here or there, its color cartridges have a higher yield. Still, there's no sheetfed scanner, automatic document feeder, or duplex scanning, so it can be annoying to use if you have a lot of documents to process.
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Great cost-to-print ratio for black and color printing.
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No sheetfed scanner.
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Slow print time for black text documents.
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Low black page yield.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is superb for student use. Its black ink cartridge has a great cost-to-print ratio, making it an affordable option for students on a budget. It can also do color printing and can add a nice splash of color to homework. While it prints the first page of a black text document fairly quickly, it's much slower at printing subsequent pages. Thanks to its excellent connectivity options, you can connect using Wi-Fi via your router and even print from your phone using the companion app.
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Great cost-to-print ratio for black and color printing.
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Excellent connectivity options.
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Slow print time for black text documents.
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Low black page yield.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is okay for black and white printing. It has a great cost-to-print ratio for black ink cartridges but it doesn't yield a lot of pages. However, Canon does make larger cartridge sizes if you tend to use more black ink. Still, while the first page of a black text document is quick to print, subsequent pages are much slower.
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Great cost-to-print ratio for black and color printing.
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Slow print time for black text documents.
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Low black page yield.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is good for casual photos. Images produced look detailed and vivid, although yellow tones lack a small bit of vibrancy. Its color accuracy is okay and should be good enough for use at home. You can even print photos on CDs thanks to its disc label printing feature.
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Great cost-to-print ratio for black and color printing.
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Very good photo printing quality.
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Doesn't support 2" x 3" photo paper.
- 7.7 Family
- 5.2 Small/Home Office
- 8.5 Student
- 6.3 Black & White
- 7.5 Casual Photo
- Updated May 20, 2021: Corrected an error with the number of color cartridges.
- Updated Jun 08, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Review published.
- Updated May 13, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated May 11, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated May 11, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
Compared To Other Printers
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is a printer from Canon's photo-printing lineup. It has a similarly great photo printing quality as the Canon PIXMA TS8320 or the Canon PIXMA TS8220. However, while it's well-suited for printing family photos, it lacks a sheetfed scanner and the ability to duplex print. Its black cartridge doesn't yield a lot of pages before it needs to be replaced, so it may not be the best choice for processing office work, unlike more office-oriented printers like the HP OfficeJet Pro 7740. Check out our recommendations for the best photo printers, the best all-in-one printers, and the best inkjet printers.
The Canon PIXMA G7020 is a better inkjet printer than the Canon PIXMA TS9120. The G7020 is a well-built supertank printer, so its ink tanks can yield more pages before they need to be refilled, and its cost-per-print is much lower. It also has an integrated fax feature and it can duplex scan too. However, the TS9120 has a much better display screen, its printing speed is quicker for all documents, and it even has Bluetooth and external storage support.
The Canon PIXMA TR8520 is slightly better overall than the Canon PIXMA TS9120. The TR8520 feels a bit better built, it has an automatic document feeder for processing multi-page documents quickly, and its cost-per-print is slightly more affordable too, particularly for color and photo printing. It also has better photo printing quality. In comparison, the TS9120 is slightly quicker at printing black-text documents as well as photos.
The Canon PIXMA TS8220 and the Canon PIXMA TS9120 are very much alike. The TS8220 has a slightly higher yield for black and color documents, it has better color accuracy, and is much faster at printing color documents and photos. However, the TS9120 has an ethernet port and it's faster at printing black and white documents.
The Canon PIXMA TS9520 is a better printer than the Canon PIXMA TS9120. The 9520 has a sheetfed scanner and an automatic document feeder. Also, the 9520's cost-per-print for photos and color documents is cheaper.
The Canon PIXMA TR8620 is better for most uses compared to the Canon PIXMA TS9120. The TR8620's cost-per-print is cheaper overall, it prints much better-looking photos, and it has an automatic document feeder with built-in fax. On the other hand, the TS9120 yields more color pages and prints much faster.
Test Results
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 has a mediocre build quality. While the printer's body feels sturdy, both the front input tray and rear output tray are thin and flimsy. You can slightly raise the scanner lid to accommodate thicker documents, and it also stays open until you close it, so you don't have to worry about it falling. However, if you're printing something, the display screen has to be manually raised so you can extend the output tray. The printer also needs to be on if you're changing the ink cartridges. If you need to get at paper jams, it can take a couple of extra steps as you have to lift the rear document feeder, open the rear slot, and remove the plastic casing. If you want a printer with easier access to paper jams, consider the Canon PIXMA TR8620.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 is a fairly compact printer. It's not too tall or wide, making it suitable for small dorm rooms or a home office.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 has an excellent display. It's a big LCD touchscreen with one physical power button to the left of the display panel. You can easily view it from most angles, whether you're sitting down or standing, and the icons in the menu are both large and easy to read. The interface also has instructional videos for loading paper and ink if you're having trouble.
- Canon PIXMA TS9120
- User manual
- Installation CD
- Power cable
- 4"x 6" PIXMA Photo Paper sample pack (3 sheets)
- Canon PG1-280/CLI-281 starter cartridges
- 1x PGI-280 Black
- 1x CLI-281 Cyan
- 1x CLI-281 Magenta
- 1x CLI-281 Yellow
- 1x CLI-281 Black
- 1x CLI-281 Photo Blue
Update 05/20/2021: We initially noted that there are four color cartridges, but there are actually five: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, and Photo Blue. We updated the review accordingly.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120 has a passable inkjet cartridge system. It has multiple color cartridges, including a black photo and photo blue ink cartridge, so you can replace individual cartridges as they empty. However, this printer yields a low amount of black pages. You can get a lot more pages out of the color ink cartridges, though. Luckily, there are high-yield cartridges available if you want to extend your print yield, but we haven't tested them.
This printer accepts third-party cartridges, but this could void its warranty, and special attention must be paid as this printer uses a combination of dye and pigment-based inks.
If you're looking for a printer with better page yield, check out the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025.
This printer has mediocre scanner features. It only has a flatbed scanner, which is great for scanning more delicate items like film photos or bulky documents like magazines. However, unlike the Canon PIXMA G7020, it doesn't have a sheetfed scanner so you won't be able to process a lot of pages in a row, and it doesn't have a fax feature. If you need a sheetfed scanner, consider the Canon PIXMA TS9520.
The cost-per-print ratio of this printer is great. While a monochrome laser printer is more economical for printing black documents, the Canon PIXMA TS9120 offers good value from its black ink cartridge and it's quite reasonable to replace when empty. The cost-per-print for photo printing as well as color printing is also low, making it an affordable choice for saving your family memories or adding color to your reports. When it's time to replace the cartridges, Canon offers different cartridge bundle packs.
Keep in mind that even if you print only in black, most inkjet printers continue using the color cartridge for servicing tasks, so you'll likely still need to replace it eventually.
Canon PIXMA TS9120's printing speed is decent. It's very quick to produce the first page of a black-text document, but subsequent pages can be a bit slower to print. Printing color documents can be very slow. However, printing photos is much quicker and a full 4" x 6" photo can be fully printed in just over 40 seconds.
The Canon PIXMA TS9120's color accuracy is okay. While it's not a dealbreaker for those who occasionally print off a couple of documents in color, those who want more precise color accuracy may be disappointed, especially when the result is compared to the source file or document.
The photo printing quality of the Canon PIXMA TS9120 is very good. Most colors are vibrant without being oversaturated. However, the yellow tone lacks a bit of vibrancy. There's also some banding and color present on the grayscale. If you want a better photo printer, check out the Canon PIXMA TR8520.
The PIXMA TS9120 has two input trays: a cassette in the front and a rear, vertical loading paper tray. There's also a front output tray that slides out automatically and manually. Each tray supports the most popular paper formats and types.
The PIXMA TS9120 has outstanding connectivity options. You can hook it up to your Wi-Fi using your router or Wi-Fi Direct. You can also use a Bluetooth connection and if you're on a mobile device, you can use Apple AirPrint or Mopria Print Service. If you prefer a wired connection, you can use an ethernet cable too. This printer also has SD, SDHC, and SDXC card slots in the front, which is great when you want to print photos from your camera.
The Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY is an exceptional companion app for the Canon PIXMA TS9120 and it's available on Android and iOS. You can print, scan, and copy directly from your mobile device. You can also print disc labels for CD/DVDs/Blu-Rays with the additional Canon Easy-PhotoPrint Editor app. While you can order ink, Canon doesn't currently offer an ink subscription.