Description
The imageCLASS MF453dw is designed for small office environments where black-and-white multifunction capability is needed, and productivity, ease of use and large toner and paper capacity are priorities. This model has expandable paper capacity of up to 900 sheets and is backed by Canon’s Service and Support network.
From the manufacturer
Douglas Smith –
Nice laser business printerFirst one was a dud, but it was quickly corrected and the replacement is working fine. I haven’t pushed it, but I’m pleased. I would buy it again and recommend it.
Heidi Smith –
Great business printer for all your grey scale printing.This laser printer from Canon, has been the easiest printer to set up and use. I had a few issues connecting to wifi, and had to download the scanner ap separately and scan from the computer as well, but aside from those brief interruptions, I’ve had a very pleasant experience ordering and using this printer.I just moved and need a printer, that is local and easy to access. This is great for duplicating rare documents to easy two sided prints. The toner is not raised or shiny, but gives a smooth and blemish free print quality.The scanning and copy function is so simple, all in one pass. My other printers didn’t do that. If they did, I have no idea and never took advantage of it. This printer has been wonderful for printing government forms and various two sided documents, with zero difficulty.The apps are nice, easy to use, intuitive. I’ve not had that luxury experience with a printer since I came home with an all in one inkjet from costco, 20 something years ago. I’ve been lamenting the horrors of firmware and various updates that can set you back 3 days or an entire printer, if the update is bad enough. So far, I’ve not had any challenges with the ‘computer’ aspects of this machine.I did have to search for some help. I use windows and have a firewall, that had an issue with the wifi connection, so I connected through the settings and add a scanner, printer function from the control panel. Then I downloaded a couple of programs that were recommended for the scanner and printer. I downloaded what was available at the canon website, but they were not complete. I’ll update this review with the details. I am sure I am not the only person who had to figure out some work around actions to get the printer to show up on the discovery list.Which brings me to the control panel on the machine, it’s great, works well but I do all of my work from the computer or phone and send the jobs remotely rather than trying to do a job using the touch pad. I did set it up and set up the wifi connection there but that’s it.One thing that is really noticeable is the smell of the toner. The toner for this machine has a very strong toner scent. It’s really noticeable. I’ve not had a laser printer that has such a strong scent, that is not since the old office days when the printer room smelled like toner. You know what I mean. It sort of smells like it’s burning, but then you realize it’s the toner. It’s not a deal breaker and the scent is concentrated at about the 3 or 4 foot radius.I’ll update, but I think this printer is a good financial value and even better because it was a pretty painless set up and use and wasted time is rarely compensated.With the duplex single pass printing, when you align and insert the page to be scanned and copied in the upper tray feed, this machine will automatically check and choose two sided printing for you, if there is print on both sides of your document. Super!5 stars
Electrosoft –
Workhorse….large and in charge.This is a large printer. Just be warned when it arrives it (or its box) is not small by any stretch of the imagination. The box indicated ~55lbs and it is beefy.Setup was a hassle but once you get it going it goes.Canon is a known staple in the printer and camera market and it shows as this printer has “Office Workhorse” written all over it.I am “replacing” a ~10yr old Brother 5470 Laser Printer which still works but has slowly fallen out of ease of connection with various devices and use. Its interface is woefully dated, memory is limited and while the printer was sold as a 1200dpi printer it doesn’t really seem to be that (more below).Doing some test print on the MF453dw, the “600dpi” Canon has much better quality than the “1200dpi” Brother. Much cleaner lines, much crisper smaller text and image quality so listed/rated DPI is not always as it appears.I’ve scanned a few things and it works well too. It does scan in full color but the print function is b&w which is more than fine as that keeps down print costs.I was able to feed in my single sheet print labels no problem too.Overall, once I got past some annoying hiccups in setup which delayed this review for weeks, it is doing its job better than that which it is replacing and the scanning function is a nice plus.4/5
Case Quarter –
If you have problem connecting to your computerFirst, this is a black and white printer, it does not print in color. It scans and saves documents in color to your computer, but it won’t print those saved documents in color from this printer.Second, I’m not tech savvy in the least and I know I’m not alone. Be sure to remove all of the orange tape, except the strip covering the USB port. I neglected to remove a strip that attached a piece of Styrofoam to the copy window and paper kept jamming during feeding before I finally saw the strip of tape I had neglected to remove. Once I was able to feed paper without jamming, the paper was coming out blank. This was especially frustrating because I also wasn’t getting a print connection between my laptop and the printer.Reaching Canon support through online chatting, the rep, unable to assist me, gave me the Canon 800 number, also available in the documents that come with the printer. The electronic voice menu repeatedly asked for the model number of the printer, each time not accepting the model number Imageclass MF 453 dw. You have to tell the electronic voice the model number is Imageclass MF 455. The MF 453 is new to the 450 series and, as of the writing of this review, not recognized by anyone at Canon support. So remember, Imageclass MF 455 dw if you can’t get your printer connected to your laptop.My problem, which isn’t important, was that software hadn’t downloaded—what is important is that you will reach tech support to walk you through the steps to connectivity.Once up and running, the printer is a workhorse. There is the menu screen to help with your printing and copying needs. And once again, if you need to phone tech support, the model number that you’ll need to get through to someone is: imageclass MF 455 dw.
CRich –
Perfect for a small officeI have an older laser printer that’s not wireless, so it’s a pain to print anything. It prints but still… Yes, I can connect to a router using cables, and I’ve tried an extender with an ethernet port, but again, not ideal. Also–in my case, at least–not that reliable. I’ve owned Canon printers in the past with good results, so I decided to take a chance on this Canon black and white laser printer. As it turns out, it’s perfect for my needs. We have a small office, and I did hesitate initially because the printer is not color. But really, nearly all of what we print are documents that don’t require color. I’m not a technical person, so I have to come at this review from the simplicity of setup and ease of use. The printer is heavy and fairly large; it needs a solid surface for stability. It comes with a quick start guide, which is really all you need to setup and begin printing. I found connecting to the internet effortless. I have Win 11, but not sure that matters. We do have more than one network, so it’s important that your computer, phone, whatever are on the same network as the printer when using. May seem intuitive, but I made that mistake. At any rate, printing is speedy and print quality is dark without blurring, crisp and clear, easy to read. (Printer is also two-sided, but I haven’t used that function yet.) The printer has a LCD touch panel for print, copy and scan options. Easy to operate. Product materials says it holds up to 900 sheets of paper. Impressive. A power cord and CD–if you have a way of using a CD–are included. There’s an ink program for auto refill, but I haven’t decided on joining that yet. The original cartridge is supposed to print 3100 pages, so I won’t need a replacement for a while. There’s also a 3-year warranty–card enclosed–which is outstanding. This is a simple, straightforward, multifunction (no fax) black and white printer. It’s not inexpensive, but what it does, it does very well. Well worth the price. 5 stars.
Lewis A Edge Jr –
Great Features – High Quality – Easy SetupIf weight is a measure of an office machine’s quality, then this Canon imageCLASS MF453dw printer, scanner, copier comes in on the high end. Its overall shipping weight exceeds 55 pounds. Its performance proved to be excellent.Packed in custom molded Styrofoam in a large, sturdy double-layer box this multipurpose machine arrived undamaged, fully-assembled with a “starter” Canon toner cartridge. Preparing this printer for use required removal of multiple strips of orange tape that secured its internal and external parts, plugging it in, turning it on and configuring how it will operate. For me, the total time required from opening the box to full operation was about forty minutes. The included optical disk contained the installation software, which quickly found this machine on my network, gave my computer access to it, then guided me smoothly through the on-line registration process for its three-year limited warranty and support. The printer can automatically order Canon toner cartridges or you can choose to manually order less-expensive third-party toner cartridges from Amazon.Although I was prepared to use an Ethernet cable to connect this multi-purpose machine to my local area network, I found that using Wi-Fi for the connection was fast and secure enough. This machine’s Wi-Fi was sensitive enough to pick a signal from my neighbor’s home, which is more than 300 feet away. To establish my connection, I used the touch screen to choose my own network, then entered my router’s password. Once the connection was made, I could relocate this machine anywhere in my home where there was an electric outlet and it would retain its Wi-Fi connection and reliable operation.Photocopies of black and white documents were identical to the originals. The document feeder will rapidly feed and scan both sides of originals. I found that the flat platen was handy for scanning bound materials either in black and white or full color and produced high-quality images that were difficult to distinguish from the originals. My existing software that supports scanning was able to quickly find this network connected machine and utilize its capabilities. The included paper tray holds about a half-ream of paper. This printer also has a handy fold-out multi-feed paper tray for printing labels.Printer response is quick. Its image quality is excellent. The printer will duplex (automatically print both sides) of documents and offer options for printing multiple smaller pages on a single sheet of paper. In summary, this Canon imageCLASS MF453dw printer, scanner, copier offered a fast, no-hassle setup, can connect to a network with Ethernet or Wi-Fi for access by multiple users or to an individual computer with an ordinary USB printer cable (not included).
Tom T –
Fast printerThe Canon imageCLASS MF453dw is very fast and can produce a large number of pages on a ink cartridge. It prints two sided if desired.The printer was very easy to set up once I realized that the printer cartridge was included since it is unlike any I was familiar with from my other printers.The printer is very large and weighs about 35 lbs. It requires a good sized space. My son has a very similar Canon printer which is a different model though alike in all ways. He loves his as well and has had it for quite awhile.I would highly recommend this printer for those who need a lot of copies fast such as a small business or the like.
Fin Daniels –
Large but a real work horseMake sure you have space for this chonky unit and prepare yourself for a truly massive and heavy box. When it arrived, my sister said she didn’t think the box would fit through the door to my office. It did (thank God) just barely. Luckily, I’d already planned the space for it and been preparing. It’s a printer you really have to commit to to accommodate the space but, I feel like it’s worth it. The included literature on the setup is a little scant. I think the QR code on one of the pages is supposed to go to the user manual but I’m a little old-fashioned and I would have preferred a booklet to consult. I also feel like I was missing a cable to connect it to my computer. Luckily it was able to connect wirelessly which I was not counting on but still it would have been nice to have had a cable for backup purposes. I’m still not sure exactly what type of cable would be best but perhaps that knowledge is somewhere online. I am extremely impressed that it is able to connect to my computer wirelessly. Now that I’ve said all that, I’m very impressed with this. It’s extremely high quality and it works extremely well. I have been living and working with older and or lesser branded printers for quite some time so I’d gotten used to a lot of quirks and a lot of deficiencies. To suddenly have most of those resolved and fixed in this, is just startling. It is only a black and white printer but that’s all I need. I love that it scans and copies as well and the fact that it does double-sided printing without me having to mess about with reorienting the pages myself is just incredible. This printer is a big boy and you have to respect that but it’s a very good boy and it performs extremely well and I’m very excited about having an actually good printer for once in the last 10 years.
OrangeBlossom –
Great PrinterThis is a really nice business printer. This is my first laser printer and I have to say I’m impressed.First thing, this printer is heavy. It does come in a box designed to open around the printer so you don’t have to lift it out, so that was convenient. For once, setup was a breeze. You do a lot of the setup on the actual printer, and a small bit on the computer. It actually took me longer to remove all the protective tape and styrofoam than it did to set up and install the printer.I did a couple of test prints including a duplex print and it’s incredibly fast. I do recommend doing a couple of test prints since my first two prints came out kind of blotchy. I wanted to test the higher quality print setting, so I printed off some snowflakes and ran them through my thermal laminator with some deco foil on them. They came out solid and beautiful!I also made copies of some documents front and back, and also used my phone to print a document using the Canon app. Both functions were super quick and easy to use. The touchscreen on the printer is responsive and quick to wake up. I really like that the home screen is also customizable.In all I think this is a really great investment printer for home businesses and I would recommend it.
Cait Minda –
Super easy to set up and use, nice quality printsI’ve always wanted a laser printer. Ink printers are just a total pain and a ripoff. I mean, they’re nice if you need colored prints, but if you don’t, what is the point?Anyway, this printer has been treating me VERY well. It was easy as pie to set up, and it’s even easier to use. It works seamlessly with my iPhone. I can print anything with just a few clicks. My prints come out quickly and look really sharp. You can also store a ton of paper in this thing!The only negative aspect of this printer is that it is pretty darn heavy, but if you don’t plan on moving it around a bunch then it’s not a big deal. It’s also on the bigger side, so make sure you have the space for it.