On the box this printer came in Canon proudly declares it to be “the crafter’s all-in-one.” After spending a few days with it I can confirm that there’s a lot here for someone into DIY crafting to love, but with some caveats potential buyers should be aware of.At first glance the TS9521Ca could easily be mistaken for any Canon all-in-one inkjet. It takes up surprisingly little space given the size of the media it’s designed to handle, owing largely to the fact that the large rear paper tray can be slid invisibly into the main body of the printer when not in use. The design has the typical Canon hallmarks as well, with lots of gentle curves, matte finishes, and hidden mechanisms designed to keep it from looking overly industrial. Most of the setup process involved ... MoreOn the box this printer came in Canon proudly declares it to be “the crafter’s all-in-one.” After spending a few days with it I can confirm that there’s a lot here for someone into DIY crafting to love, but with some caveats potential buyers should be aware of.At first glance the TS9521Ca could easily be mistaken for any Canon all-in-one inkjet. It takes up surprisingly little space given the size of the media it’s designed to handle, owing largely to the fact that the large rear paper tray can be slid invisibly into the main body of the printer when not in use. The design has the typical Canon hallmarks as well, with lots of gentle curves, matte finishes, and hidden mechanisms designed to keep it from looking overly industrial. Most of the setup process involved finding all the places they’d secured panels and moving parts with tape before plugging it in – once that was done going through the initial calibration process and getting it added to my home network via push-button WPS only required a few minutes and two sheets of printing paper. No special drivers or utilities were needed on my PC or phone to start using the printer, though they are of course available for anyone who wants them.At this point the TS9521Ca was able to show it was a very capable little multifunction inkjet. I’ve always found Canons to be very precise printers that do an excellent job splitting the difference between photos and documents, and this was no exception. Photos came out crisp and colorful, while text was sharp and thanks to the two separate ink cartridges I didn’t need to worry about using up ink for photos later. Operation was reasonably silent even without turning on the noise control. And borderless prints worked just about perfectly. Even scanning from the printer, often a deeply kludgey job, was made relatively painless with the option to send the scan directly to the cloud storage account of my choice rather than one of the many devices on my home network. Once the back tray came out through, things got a bit wilder.I do have to give Canon credit here: They’ve stuffed just about every feature I think a DIY enthusiast might think to ask for and a few they probably wouldn’t – like a specialized tray for printing directly onto printable optical media. By default though no one will likely notice until it’s needed. The rear tray, which seems to be capable of handling paper as wide as 12”, unfolds in several segments to let it be however tall it needs to be for poster prints and the CD/DVD tray is very cleverly latched into a hidden compartment beneath the main paper cassette. This does have some downsides though. There are an abundance of small panels and trays that need to be flipped into the right position for less common printer modes and I found it very quick to chastise you for getting one of them in the wrong position but less forthcoming about explaining what’s wrong. Early on in one of my prints for example I accidentally flipped down the access door where you’re meant to feed in the optical media cassette and was told that the tray was missing, which led to a few minutes of fruitlessly removing and reinserting the main cassette before I noticed my mistake. Likewise it took a little trial and error to figure out that a transparent flap in the rear paper tray needed to be dropped down after loading before the printer would begin feeding paper from it. These are definitely minor annoyances, and I suspect most people doing the kind of projects this printer was clearly made for would be able to work them out as I did, but it certainly does make it clear that the designers prioritized offering a broad range of functionality over overall user-friendliness.As far as how it performs doing these less conventional prints – again I found it excelled. While finding somewhere that actually had 11x17 “tabloid” sized paper in stock proved a little tricky, I was eventually able to track down someone with a single very dusty box of photo paper in their inventory and printed some absolutely gorgeous poster sized maps that I’d be happy to hang on my wall. It’s certainly not something I’d want to be doing every day – by the fourth page I’d managed to completely drain one of the ink cartridges, and when I swapped it out mid-print it restarted the job from the beginning and managed to drain two more before it was finished. I feel like this would have been a great candidate for using ink tanks rather than replaceable carts, or at the very least should have shipped with the optional XXL tanks in the box because having to replace ink carts less than a week after getting a printer seems borderline absurd. But given that I’ve yet to see an ink tank printer that doesn’t have some issues with color accuracy I suppose this might be the best compromise available for the moment.The rate at which it consumes ink does complicate my thoughts on who I’d recommend this to, though. For a long time my printers saw extremely heavy use, to the point that I was used to replacing ink carts multiple times a year. These days though, I will often go long periods without printing and then do a bunch of really big projects so replacing carts once a year is a bit more typical. And when I did need to do large format printing, I’d go to the print shop. When I add everything up here, I discovered that doing large format printing from home probably doesn’t stand to save me much money unless I plan to do enough of it to justify buying a lot more of the paper and the largest ink cartridges available. Which leads me to think that this perhaps isn’t so much the printer for the occasional crafter looking to make posters for their kids or print out battle maps for a D&D session so much as it is the printer for the person selling posters on their personally Etsy store. If that is you, though, I think you might be very pleased with the TS9521Ca.

TL;DR: the Canon Pixma TS9521Ca is a fantastic printer, but it isn't for everybody. Main issues: build quality, hefty size, and ongoing ink costs. I am still absolutely in love with it and would recommend it to any creative.To preface, the Pixma TS9521Ca claims to specifically be geared to crafters, so I don't expect Joe Schmoe who just needs a cheap inkjet to print off the occasional work document to grab this at his local blue-and-yellow electronics shop...but I can say that the TS9521Ca offers more than just crafting-specific perks. It's moreso that it can handle the creature comforts I expect out of more work-oriented machines while still tackling the creative side, which I appreciate as someone with creative interests who still needs to print off work forms ... MoreTL;DR: the Canon Pixma TS9521Ca is a fantastic printer, but it isn't for everybody. Main issues: build quality, hefty size, and ongoing ink costs. I am still absolutely in love with it and would recommend it to any creative.To preface, the Pixma TS9521Ca claims to specifically be geared to crafters, so I don't expect Joe Schmoe who just needs a cheap inkjet to print off the occasional work document to grab this at his local blue-and-yellow electronics shop...but I can say that the TS9521Ca offers more than just crafting-specific perks. It's moreso that it can handle the creature comforts I expect out of more work-oriented machines while still tackling the creative side, which I appreciate as someone with creative interests who still needs to print off work forms now and then.The TS9521Ca starts on a good foot with an aesthetically pleasing white-and-black color scheme. It's on the larger size to begin with, and it only gets larger when you get to printing. While I had some issues with initial setup, that seems to have been more of an unlucky lottery win than any indication of ongoing quality control issues. I appreciated that it didn't come with every single component wrapped in plastic, and while there is a fair bit of plastic, most of it seems to be necessitated.True to its name, the TS9521Ca is a brilliant printer for crafters. It supports a wide range of media types, from 12x12 scrapbooking paper to more heavyweight cardstock (up to 275 gsm). You can print photos and greeting cards and flyers and brochures and god knows what else, and the TS9521Ca manages to do it with relative ease. It had no problems doing print-and-cut from Silhouette Studio and projects came out brilliantly with my Silhouette Portrait. Sticker paper, matte and glossy, both came out amazing. With SD card input, photographers can also print directly from an SD card. I have no complaints about its crafting capabilities, and it manages to also squeeze in some efficiency-minded bonuses like an auto document feeder for scanning multi-page documents and auto duplex printing, both of which are sorely missed on the more office-oriented "H" brand printers I have used. Scanning is a breeze and scans come out crisp and detailed. While I've only used it for documents and a few photos, I imagine it would work well for scanning traditional artwork as well.Print quality is excellent. It falls just shy of most professional print shops I've had experience with, but it holds its own well. Graininess is minimal and I couldn't spot any issues with banding in my test prints. Color accuracy is remarkable and blacks are deep. Although in the PDI test image the TS9521Ca looks more cool and washed out, it looks pleasant and leans warmer in person. Looking at just how clear prints come out, I genuinely cannot think of a better quality home printer that isn't in a much higher price range. There is so little to nitpick with the print quality, and while color accuracy isn't 1:1, I'm still very pleased with it and expect most crafters or creatives using this printer will be more than satisfied.Having sung the TS9521Ca's praises, I would be remiss to not point out its shortcomings - of which there are just a few! The very first is my own negative experience with my first unit, which came with a cassette feed roller issue that took me an entire day to troubleshoot before I had to have it RMA'd. Thankfully, Canon stands by its products and I am delighted to say that the second unit has had no such issues. That said, the build quality in general raises some concerns about longevity; it feels overall flimsier than previous Canon printers I've used, and I particularly worry about the fiddlier parts like the rear feed tray and cassette which will see plenty of adjusting and movement.The second is that this printer is a behemoth compared to some other models on the market. When everything is tucked in, it's a somewhat tidy rectangle that will occupy most of your desk. Once you need to print, though: out must pop the rear tray and front cover, and so too must the paper tray extend. In all, it's a bit like watching a Transformer and I would be more amused if, when fully extended, it did not have such a substantial footprint. It simply would not be able to coexist on a desk with anything else on it.My final major quibble is the high cost of ink. Printing twenty or so pages used more ink than I would have liked. Setup cartridges should have the same capacity as normal ones, which raises concerns about how often ink will need to be replaced and the ongoing costs associated with that.As for more minor nitpicks, they include fairly slow print speeds, especially for color documents. Like other Canon printers, the TS9521Ca also has the dreaded "pizza wheel" markings on certain paper types. I notice it most on thicker glossy paper. In fairness to the TS9521Ca, the roller markings are much harder to discern with this printer and even knowing what to look for, I still struggle to make it out at times. A casual viewer is very unlikely to ever notice them. I also would expect that some people prefer a wired USB connection, so seeing no USB ports (either to use a wired connection or perhaps print off a flash drive) could be an issue for some.In summary: this is a great printer for any crafter or creative type. If your printing needs are more casual or document-oriented, calling this an overinvestment is an understatement. That said, as a person who prints craft-related projects at least once a week, I am absolutely in love with it and would recommend the TS9521Ca wholeheartedly.PROS+ exceptional print quality+ good support for more "crafty" needs, like varying paper weights, types, and sizes+ has some nice perks, like auto duplex and auto multi-document scanningCONS- build quality is not the most robust, worry about longevity- pricey ink- very large and heavy

My Canon Pixma TS9521 arrived in a slightly damaged box but the printer was protected with four sturdy Styrofoam end caps. Parts that open and close were secured with tape that also helped protect against damage. The samples of different sized photo paper included with the printer was a nice touch. The white color is not my choice because it doesn’t fit the colors of my home office décor, but it is a goodlooking printer. The display screen is bright and large so no squinting to see it or trying not to hit the wrong keys when typing on it.Scan the QR code or type in the URL provided and you’ll get basic video setup instructions from how to remove the protective tape to printing a test page. The Setup Instructions sheet included with the printer was for the TS9520a ... MoreMy Canon Pixma TS9521 arrived in a slightly damaged box but the printer was protected with four sturdy Styrofoam end caps. Parts that open and close were secured with tape that also helped protect against damage. The samples of different sized photo paper included with the printer was a nice touch. The white color is not my choice because it doesn’t fit the colors of my home office décor, but it is a goodlooking printer. The display screen is bright and large so no squinting to see it or trying not to hit the wrong keys when typing on it.Scan the QR code or type in the URL provided and you’ll get basic video setup instructions from how to remove the protective tape to printing a test page. The Setup Instructions sheet included with the printer was for the TS9520a and not the TS9521Ca. Not sure if this was intentional, but if not, this could cause some confusion if you needed the help with setup. Even though I didn’t need them, I did look up the TS9521Ca setup instructions so that I could evaluate them for clarity and ease of use. Setting up the printer was straightforward, with easy-to-follow instructions if you need them. And I was able to get it connected wirelessly with hardly any effort. Don’t look for 5G connection though because surprisingly, you’re not getting it with this printer. And not to have an USB port is an odd design choice, but the SD card slot is handy for printing photos taken with my DSLR camera.The TS9521Ca comes with 5 ink cartridges, which I like because it’s easier to replace one color as it’s needed than the all-in-one cartridges. Judging by the ink levels after the printer alignment pages during setup and a few photos I printed, I do have concerns about how often I’d have to buy ink considering I do a lot of printing. The print quality is quite fantastic though. The photos and documents I’ve printed have been crisp and vibrant with clean lines and contrast. No matter which paper size I used or device I printed from, the quality stayed sharp.Speaking of paper and sizes, the front paper tray is adjustable for your standard document sizes and the rear tray for other sizes like 11x17 and the 12X12 I favor for scrapbooking. Downside here is that neither tray holds much paper so it’s not conducive to large volume print jobs. And a major design flaw that Canon made on theTS9521Ca is that the front operation panel must be in the up (extended) position to print. This means more space is needed because the panel must always be up so I don’t waste time when I need to print something quickly. Scanning and making copies are easy with fast output.To wrap up, the print quality and paper size options make the TS9521Ca all-in-one printer a great choice if you don’t do a large volume of printing regularly. Photos come out looking as good if not better than if professionally printed. For me, it’s not as practical as I want it to be because of the number of sheets/photos I print at one time versus the amount the paper trays will hold. The printer’s fast print speed would be negated by time lost having to constantly refill the paper tray. I still need a more efficient printer for most print jobs but will use this one for scanning, and copying or printing low-page count projects because the print quality really is amazing.