Canon PIXMA MX452 — Features, Specs, Performance & Business Use

The Canon PIXMA MX452 is a compact, budget-friendly all-in-one inkjet targeted at home offices, small businesses and micro-branches that need print, copy, scan and fax in a single, space-efficient unit. Launched as an update to Canon’s popular MX series, the MX452 balances photo-capable inkjet image quality with practical office features — most notably a built-in ADF, wireless networking and support for mobile printing — making it useful for mixed document/photo workflows where colour output occasionally matters. This article digs into the MX452’s strengths and caveats: hardware and software features, core specifications, day-to-day performance, running costs and the business scenarios in which it does (and doesn’t) make sense.

Quick spec snapshot (the headlines)

Functions: Print, Copy, Scan and Fax (all-in-one).
Print speed: Black ≈ 9.7 images per minute (ipm); Colour ≈ 5.5 ipm (ISO/ESAT figures for the MX452 family).
Print resolution: Up to 4,800 × 1,200 dpi (colour); black up to 600 × 600 dpi.
ADF capacity: 30-sheet automatic document feeder for multi-page scanning and faxing.
Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Ethernet/LAN on some SKUs, and optional Bluetooth (depending on region/SKU). Supports AirPrint and mobile printing.
Ink: Uses Canon PG-240 / CL-241 (and XL/XXL high-yield variants) family of cartridges.

Those numbers sum up why the MX452 appeals: it’s a multifunction device that sits between simple home photo printers and larger office MFPs, offering modest colour quality plus convenient document capture features.

Design, build and usability

The MX452 is physically compact for an ADF-equipped all-in-one — it’s designed to live on a home-office desk or a small shelf in a branch office. The control panel is simple but functional: a small LCD, one-touch buttons for common tasks (copy, fax, scan) and a numeric keypad for faxing. Paper handling is equally straightforward: a rear or top feed for photo/special media and a front cassette for plain paper; access to cartridges and the paper path is front-facing which keeps day-to-day maintenance easy.

Canon’s interface choices emphasize simplicity rather than advanced device management — that’s a practical decision for the target buyer. If you need a large touchscreen, advanced job accounting or heavy fleet management, you’ll want a higher-end model or an enterprise MFP.

Printing engine & quality

Text and business documents

For black-and-white text the MX452 delivers perfectly acceptable quality for internal and external documents. The black nozzle count and Canon’s pigment/dye mix produce crisp fonts and legible contracts and invoices. The device’s ESAT figure (≈9.7 ipm) reflects how it behaves under standard test conditions: not a speed demon, but fast enough for most small office use.

Colour, photos and marketing collateral

Where the MX452 shines compared with generic office lasers is colour photo capability. With a quoted maximum colour resolution of up to 4,800 × 1,200 dpi and small droplet sizes, it can produce attractive photo prints and vibrant one-off marketing pieces — postcards, flyers, product snapshots — without outsourcing. That said, this is still an inkjet aimed primarily at occasional photo output; colour consistency for production-grade proofing will be inferior to dedicated photo printers and RIP-driven workflows.

Media handling

The MX452 accepts a reasonable range of media sizes including 4×6 borderless photos, A4/Letter and envelopes; the rear/top feed is handy for heavier stock and specialty paper. Borderless printing for photos is supported, which simplifies producing client-ready colour prints in small quantities.

Scanning, fax and ADF — capture features that matter

A big advantage of the MX452 over many low-cost inkjets is the 30-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). For small offices that still process invoices, contracts, or incoming paper mail, a 30-sheet ADF saves manual scanning time and supports multi-page faxing. Optical scan resolution goes up to 1,200 × 2,400 dpi on the flatbed for faithful capture of images and documents; combined with Canon’s scanning software you can create PDFs, searchable files (with OCR software) and direct scan-to-email workflows. For occasional bulk scanning the MX452 is a practical tool; for daily high-volume capture you should consider a model with a larger ADF or dedicated document scanner.

Connectivity and mobile printing

The MX452 supports typical modern connectivity expectations: Wi-Fi for driverless, networked printing; Ethernet on certain SKUs for wired office integration; and wireless printing standards like Apple AirPrint and Canon’s mobile printing app. Some regional variants also list Bluetooth as an option for simple local printing setups. For teams with mobile users or hybrid work patterns this flexibility helps minimize IT friction and makes direct printing from phones/tablets straightforward.

From an IT perspective the MX452 is light on enterprise management features. It lacks the deep fleet telemetry and secure print-release options found on higher-end models, so larger offices that need centralized accounting and advanced security should plan accordingly.

Performance in everyday use

Speed & responsiveness: In normal office jobs you’ll see the rated speeds — near 9–10 ipm for black and roughly 5 ipm for colour on typical text/photo mixes. Complex, image-heavy PDFs or borderless photo jobs will take longer due to processing and the nature of inkjet printing.
Reliability: The MX452 is mechanically simple and generally reliable when used within its intended duty cycle: light to moderate monthly volumes for home offices or small teams. Expect occasional maintenance tasks (printhead cleaning cycles, cartridge swaps) typical of inkjets. citeturn0search11
Scan/fax daily use: The ADF speeds up routine capture and the device’s fax modem (33.6 kbps class) handles small to moderate fax loads comfortably. For heavy fax volume or mission-critical scanning, a dedicated unit will still be preferable.

Consumables, running costs and TCO

Running costs are a practical concern for any inkjet. The MX452 uses Canon’s PG-240 (black) and CL-241 (colour) cartridge family and offers XL and XXL high-yield alternatives. High-yield cartridges reduce per-page costs but raise the upfront cartridge price — a tradeoff many small businesses accept to lower long-term expenses. Third-party or remanufactured cartridges are widely available at lower cost, but they carry risks: variable quality, potential for increased printhead cleaning cycles, and possible warranty implications. Canon OEM cartridges give the most predictable quality and ink management.

To estimate TCO for the MX452:

Multiply your expected monthly pages by the per-page cost (based on chosen cartridge yield and price).
Add paper, occasional service/cleaning, and any extended support plan.
Compare that to the cost of a small monochrome laser or a colour laser MFP — at higher monthly volumes a laser often becomes more economical.

Best business use-cases

Great fits:

Home-office professionals and freelancers who need occasional high-quality colour prints and reliable multifunction capability.
Small retail or boutique operations that produce small runs of flyers, photo prints or receipts and need integrated scan/fax for paperwork.
Micro-offices (1–5 users) that require a compact all-in-one with ADF for occasional batch scanning.

Not ideal for:

Workgroups printing heavy volumes of text every month — here a monochrome laser with lower per-page cost is usually more economical.
Environments demanding stringent security, auditing and fleet management — the MX452 lacks enterprise-grade controls.
Colour-critical prepress or proofing workflows — specialised proofing devices and colour management systems are preferable.

Deployment tips and practical advice

Choose XL/XXL cartridges if monthly pages justify them — they reduce cost per page.
Enable driver-level duplex defaults (if available) to save paper and lower print costs.
Use the ADF for multi-page scanning rather than the flatbed to speed document capture.
Keep replacement cartridges on hand for small teams to avoid downtime from sudden depletion.
If fleet management is important, plan a complementary solution (MPS or third-party monitoring) because the MX452’s native management is limited.

Final verdict

The Canon PIXMA MX452 is a capable, compact all-in-one that punches above its class when you consider the combination of ADF, wireless, and photo-capable inkjet output. It makes particular sense for home offices and small businesses that need colour printing and document capture in a single, affordable device — and for users who value photo output as much as text. However, for higher print volumes, advanced security, or enterprise manageability, a departmental MFP or small laser printer will usually deliver better economics and features. If your monthly pages are modest and you need a flexible multifunction that can also print attractive colour materials on demand, the MX452 remains a sensible, budget-minded choice.

Sources

Canon product pages and official manuals for the PIXMA MX452 (specification and user manual data), retailer spec listings and third-party cartridge listings were used to compile speeds, resolution, ADF capacity and cartridge families.

Although the Canon Pixma MX452 it looks not as pretty as the other, but the design Pixma overall is quite functional.

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