Canon imageCLASS LBP6230dw - Compact, Wireless, Duplex Laser Printer

TL;DR: Requires a bit of setup but works great, I’m shocked at the value. This is probably best budget but feature packed laser printer you can get right now (wireless laser printer with auto duplex printing).This printer cost about $80--in contrast to the Brother HL-L2370 printer which has the same feature set but is double the cost at $160 (though that one has Airprint so you'd probably have an easier time setting up). The Brother HL-L2320D at $120 only has auto duplexing (no wireless connectivity) and the Brother HL-L2305 at $120 has wifi connectivity but no auto duplexing.Note that for the initial wireless setup, you will need to use the included USB A cable (yes, you need to plug it into a computer that can use the tool--Windows or Mac), so if you only have a laptop with only USB C ports, you’ll need an adapter (female USB A to male USB C)!From a high level:- You need to connect the printer via USB A to a computer that can run the wireless configuration tool- Run the wireless configuration tool with your computer and use the tool to connect your printer wirelessly to your router- Unplug the USB A cable connecting your computer to the printer- Install the printer drivers, and configure your computer to connect to your printer wirelesslyIf you've been frustrated with the setup for this printer, I don't blame you--the setup is comically bad.To setup wireless printing you first need to connect your printer to power—but before that, make sure you remove ALL the bits on the inside. There’s a styrofoam piece and several orange plastic bits. Pulling out one of the small orange plastic bits on the toner cartridge will also pull out a long plastic sticker (I’m assuming for sealing the toner).Note that these instructions for are the Mac setup, I'd imagine the Windows setup will be easier.Once its ready to go and powered on, go navigate to the canon website and look up Canon LBP6230dw:- Click the 'Support' button- Click 'Software & Drivers'- Select your OS (I have Ventura which is v13)- Download MF/LBP Network Setup Tool Ver.2.33 (OS X 10.9.5 - macOS 13.3.1)- Plugin in the USB cable from the printer to your device- Run the tool, follow the instructions- Select "Wireless LAN Connection"- Select "Yes, I want to configure network settings"- Select "Easy setup"- Select "My wireless LAN access point doesn't have a WPS button". (Even if your router *does* have WPS functionality, you should turn that off because its junk and a security risk :P)- It will have instructions to plugin the cable, read them if needed but this should be straight forward or already done- Click continue, it should return a list of wireless networks; including your own. If it is hanging (stuck) on a loading animation, right click the printer icon on your bottom dock and click quit and the list should show up if its stuck--(this did the trick for me, I don't know why).- Select your wireless network, type in the WiFi password and continue- It will try to connect and when it does, the prompt will update and a blue light will shine on your printer- If you have a smart router such as an EERO like myself, you will get an alert saying a new device "AzureWave Technology" connected to your router. This is important--use the EERO app on your phone to get the IP Address of your printer since we will use this to connect to it. I also renamed the device to Canon Printer for sanity purposes.- If you don't have a smart router, navigate to your router gateway page and determine the IP Address (the host name should start with Canon). I can't provide specific instructions about this because each router is different.Next step, install the printer drivers on your computer- Use the same page you used to install the wireless configuration tool- UFRII LT Printer Driver Ver.1.5.11 (macOS 10.12.6 - macOS 13.3.1)- Run and follow instructions of the installerAfter installing the drivers:- Open System Settings- Scroll on the left side menu to 'Printers & Scanners'- Select Add Printer, Scanner blahblah- If you see a 'Canon LBP6230dw' with kind 'Bonjour', you're in luck, you can select that, hit "Add" and you're good to go--no other work needed.- If not, its okay, select the 'Globe' icon up top of the add printer menu- In the Address Box: Add your IP Address of your printer (discussed in earlier instructions)- In the Protocol Box: Select Line Printer Daemon - LPD (this is the only option that works with Mac--I tried them all for you)- In the Queue box: this is just the name of your print queue; I just called mine "Canon Laser Printer"- In the Name box: this is the name of your printer; I just called mine "Canon Laser Printer"--this is the name you see in a printer list- Location: Just for your info (mine's on the top of my dresser).- Use: these are the drivers used with the printer, select 'Canon LBP6230/6240'- Select 'Add' and you should be good to goIf it doesn't work:- Either the IP address provided is incorrect- Printer and computer aren't on the same network- Didn't install the drivers.Big props to Cannon for updating the drivers in 2023--I saw some reviews from 2015!

I bought it in 2019 at Amazon for $79 and at that time it was one of the best monochrome laser printer. Easy setup to your home network if you follow its 2nd instructions (the one using USB cable). It took me 10 minutes to start printing from WIFI.Very fast printing and its quality is one of the best I've seen. Its toner also lasts very long. I'm still on its original toner after medium use over years. I never have any problem like jamming or ink smear that I experienced with other brands like Brother or Samsung.I would buy it but not at the price it is sold right now. $300 is ripoff. It is one of the best but not at this price.

This printer is a workhorse, good for a small office. I have nearly 12,000 pages printed on mine since buying it exactly 4 years ago. We install a new ink cartridge every year (subscribe & save!). It struggles with extremely large print jobs - anything over 100 pages will overheat it. We didn't love its lack of native printer support on iOS but that is overcome by using the Canon app. Meanwhile on Android it works flawlessly on the network. It takes absolutely no communication from a Chromebook. Windows, however, will set it up as your default printer within a minute of it joining your WiFi network. Even with these limitations, it just keeps going! It has a simple management UI when you visit its address in a browser that will help you troubleshoot rare problems like paper jams. It's not terribly loud -though not quiet in the least- it's significantly quieter than the inkjet it replaced. Pages print impressively fast. And it just keeps working! This may be the best small printer of all time. It's certainly better than any I've ever owned.

Save yourself the misery and do not get a Canon printer. I should've known better because I recently had to setup my mother's more expensive Canon printer and that was a nightmare. Ended up having to buy a special cable that doesn't come with the printer and the instructions are so horrible that it took hours to figure out what the issue was.But anyways on to this monstrosity.1. Installation was a nightmare. I wasted hours of my life that I will never get back. The instructions for set up are just pictures. I was trying to set up via usb and windows just wouldn't recognize the printer. My PC is not bluetooth enabled so I didn't have any other options for installation. Watched youtube videos, spoke to customer service and just kept getting errors. Eventually was able to get it to print after countless times of trying & retrying the same thing.2. Wireless printing would not work for any of my Apple devices. Had to download the Canon business app and then go to the website through the app just to print a page. Not convenient and just a waste of time. I have a HP inkjet that I can easily print things from wireless devices.3. So every other printer I have ever had has an icon for windows on the desktop. Not this one. There is no way for me to check the life of my toner, do maintenance, or anything. I called customer support. They had me push a button on the printer that printed a test page that was supposed to have the Toner info on it but it did not.4. Whenever I just try to do a normal print I get errors at least twice and then on the third try it will go through and then print 3 times.5. The print quality is sad. I had a brother before this and the print was much darker and crisp.In conclusion, I strongly urge you to not buy this printer unless it is chaos that you crave. I'm returning it and going back to Brother. The price really was too good to be true.