Canon PC 170 Personal Copier

I bought this copier as a replacement for my previous Canon PC 425 copier. The PC 425 worked fine for years until it developed a problem with "ghosting" on copies and not fusing the toner. I liked the design and layout of the PC 425 a bit better than the new one, however functionally, the PC170 does the same basic job and operates the same way (re: speed, quality of copies, etc.) I use the machine for general household BW copying since it is simpler to operate that a scaner/printer/fax combo machine. For serious color copies I use my computer/scanner/printer.
I would reccommend this for anyone looking for a simple and relatively low cost way of making small quantiy BW copies.

I bought this for my 87 year old mother. She uses it often and has no problems operating it. So far I give this copier 5 stars.

Definitely this is a very practical copier. It is not that bulky, or too heavy. Although it is not as fast as a professional one, it is more than enough for the purposes I need it.
It is a reliable product since I haven't has any problems with it. And its price is very attractive.

The Canon PC170 makes excellent copies. It has good contrast adjustment. I'm a home user, and I copy a lot of music. Copy speed is adequate, and I like the no warm-up time. Handles only up to 8.5 x 11 inches, but that's OK.

Just one caveat (a mild negative) In order to more easily copy a book page I removed the platen cover (page 37-38 of Canon instruction book). Pulling the cover off is a little tricky, but putting it back on took me repeated tries over 2 days. Molded male plastic projections on the cover underside slip into molded, raised slots on the copy machine body. The alignment of these (2) tabs is not visible, so it's a lot of trial & error. And a very tight fit. I think I can live without ever taking the platen cover off again.

This is a very affordable and easy to use copier. My only problem was finding the on/off button. It's not on the front with the rest of the controls, but rather on the right hand side. The copies are very readable with very good contrast.Canon PC 170 Personal Copier

This copier (Canon PC 170) is very convenient for my purposes, and for last month (since I bought it) it has worked without any problem.
I needed it for making copies of documents, which I review, and prepare for a submission.
It makes good copies, and when I need enlargement or a decrease, I go to a near-by place, but
it happens very infrequently.
It is portable, small, not heavy, and If I need to take it with me to another place, it would be
no problem to carry it. The only thing I am not sure yet, is - how many copies I can make with
one tank of ink ?

This is a cleverly designed compact copier, but don't buy it if you think you would ever need to copy a page from a book. In order to copy a page from a book one must push down on the book to flatten out the part of the page closest to the spine, and this copier would probably break under that kind of pressure. In addition, the surface (platen, I think they call it) where one places the book to be copied moves back and forth during the copying process, and even if one doesn't push down on the book, a considerable amount of patience and manual dexterity is needed to hold the book perfectly on the surface while it moves. We immediately saw that we would not be able to use this copier, since we occasionally need to copy pages from books, and Amazon was very nice about taking it back even though we had already begun to use the toner cartridge. Amazon even paid the shipping charges to return it.

I ordered a canon E20 cartridge at the same time. The copies are very light and I have the copier set to max dark... I don't know whether the problem is the cartrige or the copier

I purchased the Canon PC 170 for the work that I do as a Colorado mobile notary and notary signing agent. I use it mostly for doing certified copies.

It's easy to set up and to carry around. Everything folds up into a neat case, and it has a carrying handle. It does essentially what it's supposed to do -- produce copies of documents. And it does it well.

Another use for it is to make photocopies of IDs when I do closings. Borrowers are required to provide the photocopies themselves, but aren't always able. For example, the borrower lives in a remote location and can't get to a copy facility. I normally make photos of the IDs with my digital camera, but that requires the additional step of uploading the photos to my computer, ... etc. With a portable copier, the copies are made in an instant so that I can include them in the loan package.

Replacing the laser cartridge is a snap. The cartridges are refillable, so it isn't necessary to buy a brand new cartridge when it runs low on toner.

Apart from using the Canon PC 170 for certifying copies and making copies of IDs for borrowers, it's a good copier to have in my office for everyday use.

Works fine. four points instead of five, # five saved for longevity; time will tell. Not fast, but I wasn't expecting fast. Fundtional from day one with no issues. I would recommend this product for home or small business use.

I bought my 1st Canon Personal Copier in 1987 (PC100). I "upgraded" to the PC420 in 1999 since it could make more than one copy at a time (i.e. stackable feeder), and gave the PC100 to a friend (still working as far as I know). The PC420 started pulling the paper in slightly askew a year ago, and stopped pulling it in this week. You can expect a Canon PC to be a "light to medium duty" B&W copy work horse for many years. (The inner mechanical workings of the PC170 look identical to the PC420, BTW.) The cartridges are relatively expensive, but still significantly cheaper than ink jet copying per page (I have a HP scanner/copier that is very fine except for the comparative cost of ink.) The PC170 is a nice improvement in style, except for the silly round knob on top -apparently for stacking purposes. (This is a PERSONAL copier. How many people need to stack these?). Don't buy the replacement cartridges at full retail. OfficeMax sells their own brand replacement for $68 (refilled?), and refilled cartridges can be found for half price or less. BTW, my 1st Canon copier cost $429 (after $50 rebate), the 2nd $250 (after $50 rebate), the 3rd $135 - what, no rebate?? Ain't technology grand? My PC170 also arrived in 2 days with free ground shipping!

For up to letter-size copies, this little Canon machine works really well. The price is right, and it makes clean, "high-resolution" (I think that's the marketing term) copies. The starter toner doesn't last long, so you should definitely pick up a real toner cartridge. Luckily, many good generic cartridges are available for Canon copiers.

The PC170 is compact and starts up instantly. There's no waiting for warm-up! Just turn it on and press the green copy button. It's no speed horse, but for SOHO needs, it should suffice.

I've owned this for two years and have been very satisfied. The reliability seems topnotch, too.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PRODUCT. IT IS VERY USEFUL FOR EVERY HOUSEHOLD. DOES VERY CRISP CLEAR COPIES. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PRODUCT. THANK YOU AMAZON FOR LISTING THIS PRODUCT.

I have a brand new pharmacy that demand LOTS of photocopying. The HP L7500 inkjet All In One, although a superb machine, demanded from me to choose between being nailed to it waiting a LONG time to produce a photocopy or going to Office Max and loose precious time and gasoline. Inkjet,besides, are expensive to operate.
The Cannon PC 170 was the ideal solution. It took me longer to pull it out of the box that having it ready to operate. Even George Bush could learn to use it and produce excellent photocopies in 1 minute. It is portable, solidly built, and produces high, underlined high, quality photocopies which is the purpose of this machine. I have even made a few bucks selling photocopies
The price is affordable and refilling the toner drum gives the Cannon PC 170 an extra advantage.
Do not think longer: Choose it and buy it.
P.S.: I am not under Cannon contract.

We were looking for a personal copier like the one we had before. It was a Cannon also. We are very pleased with this one and like the new feature that allows it to make more than one copy at a time as our other did not allow this. We don't make a lot of copies but having the paper there handy at all times was also an added feature.

All in all we are very happy with this copier. It does not take up a lot of space either. We have had no problems and it we were able to use the old cartridge from our other copier as it fit just fine and there was ink left. The cartridges are expensive!

carson PC 170 personal copier

i think its good and i will put it a good use for my needs and my organization.. thanks

I bought this several months ago - it's so easy to set up and use - a bit heavy to "carry around" but you can take it with you if needed. I'm glad I got it.

I love this line of Canon Personal Copiers. The basic design is quite old, slooooow, and simple, but it's been time-tested and perfectly acceptable for occasional photocopies of a bunch of receipts, or a crucial letter, etc. This design will NOT satisfy anybody who needs more speed, power, or functionality than that.

I was provoked to write a review by Amazon's impressive description of "List Price" for the PC170 as $345. Huh? Canon USA's own website clearly shows a List Price for the PC170 of a mere $149. Which makes Amazon's supposed bargain price look like, well, literally "no big deal".

(To find CanonUSA's own description of the PC170 features and List Price, just search on Canon personal copiers.)

How did Amazon even come up with such an exaggerated List Price?

And will Amazon do the right thing and allow me to post a review that is this critical?

We'll soon know! :-)

We got this because we have caretaker responsibilities and the constant stream of insurance papers, bills, requests for POA papers and endless, often duplicated, red tape was getting to us. Remembering to make copies when going into town and the associated delays didn't make things better. This little copier fits the bill perfectly since it takes up little room and is ready to go as soon as we turn it on. The copies are plenty good and we are very happy with the unit. It shipped extremely fast so I think Amazon has resolved that issue. The spare cartridge took a little longer to come in but the copier comes with a half full one so that didn't mater.

We have used a Canon PC420 copier for over 10 years. It has finally gotten so that it will not regularly pull the paper from the tray without coaxing. I have made good buys and I have made stupid buys...the Canon copier is one of the best buys I have ever made. Great price...great service...long life.

The Canon PC 170 is almost identical to the PC420. That is the MAIN reason we have purchased this unit...we have been extremely pleased with the PC420. We have only used the PC 170 for about a month, but I have no reason to believe that it will have any shorter service life than the PC420. Copies are excellent. No warm up time. Operation is swift and quiet. The unit fits on a small chest in our living room.

Incidentally, the old PC420 is still working, if a little tempermentally. I am figuring that if I get in there and rough up the now glazed surface on the rubber wheel that pulls the papers through, it will work as well as when it was new a decade or more ago. If you are interested in great b/w copies...you cannot go wrong with the Canon series of copiers. If you are GREEN...they carry the Energy Star symbol.

Jim McGahan
Grand Island, NE

This is a good copier if you do not plan to make lots of copies. It works very well for what I use it for.
Overall I am happy with it.

This copier replaces a personal Canon copier I had for at least 14 years. Over the years I have found it very handy to have a copier at home and have used it quite often. The Canon PC 170 takes up very little space and performs very well. It makes excellent copies quickly with no warm-up waiting time. An additional feature which I did not have on my older copier, is that the PC 170 has a paper feed which allows one to make multiple copies. You can also set the number of copies to be made. On my old copier, each paper had to be hand fed. Another nice feature is that one can adjust the paper feed to make copies as small as an index card. I have used this feature many times over the years on my old copier and was happy to see this same feature on the newer model. This copier is an excellent value for the price.

This copier was ordered from "Adorama Camera"in New York City through the Amazon site. Unfortunately, upon installation it became apparent that the toner cartridge was defective. The customer rep at Adorama said that the copier was "dropped" to us from a distributor and referred me to Canon for service, but Canon said that they would not help because Adorama was not a Canon dealer. Now, over one month after the original order, I am still waiting for a promised replacement from Adorama. I will not place an order like this again through Amazon. There seems to be no recourse if there is a problem.

I purchased this item for my Mother. Had it sent to Rhinelander, WI. She was very upset that it didn't work. I contacted Adorama Camera and they stated she should return it for a replacement. That's been a week and a half ago. She has not yet received the replacement product. So as of this moment I am unhappy with the whole purchase.

Excellent product for home use! Setting up was easy, uses small amount of desk place!
We have made 100 copies now and have had no problems!

Canon PC 170 Personal Copier The new machine I ordered Sep 1 arrived Sep 5 for $75 shipping paid. Replaced an older version and is perfect for my needs. Thanks, Amazon!

I needed a flatbed copier that was ligth weight and portable for a voter registration drive. This worked perfectly and the quality print is the best.

This user-friendly machine does exactly what it's supposed to do; turns out decent copies at a reasonable rate. I use it for copying in my home---may be adequate for small business owners who only need a few pages at a time, too. Was tired of the inconvenience of running around looking for a public copier, maybe leaving an important paper under the lid of the printer, etc.---and the latest threat---that the public printer may be retaining info from items being printed. This was a good purchase for me & I'd recommend it to others, too.

This is the second Canon PC personal copier I've purchased. I gave the first one away as a gift to a small church that uses it almost daily. Since the church gave the copier such rave reviews, I decided to buy one for myself for occasional copying and to conserve the use of my computer ink cartridges.

The set-up was very easy to understand. The system warms up quickly with virtually no waiting and the copies are clear. Supposedly, you can make 1,000 copies before having to change the ink cartridge, which is good because replacement ink cartridges can run between $60-$70. I'm considering purchasing another copier for a senior citizen who has difficulty getting out to make copies of medical bills, etc.

I purchased this for my mother so she could make simple copies from the comfort of her home. It's a bit on the heavy side for a personal copier and the light/dark exposure isn't great, but it does the job she needs.

For personal use or home business use, Canon K170 series copiers are hard to match for cost and performance.

The size and shape of this copier are great. The only negative is that the print is a little light unless you change the setting to be "darker" all the time. Other than that, it is great!

This is not something you would use for a business, it copies slow and does not feed multiple documents. Slooow but it can copy.

I wanted an inexpensive copier that would be faster than my All-in-One printer. The Canon is exactly right.

This copier works clean, clear and fast for home use. My complaint is that it comes with a "starter" cartridge (not listed in product information page). As I understand it, the starter cartridge is good for about 1,000 copies whereas the regular one is good for 2000 copies. So it makes my cost 'per copy' 7.2 cents instead of the 3.6 cents it would have been had it come with the regular cartridge. It did not state that it comes with the "starter" cartridge in the listing and I think that is a bit of a "rip-off".

I use this instead of my scanner and ink jet and am very impressed with it. I wasn't expecting much for the price ($24 after rebates) but it surprised me with how well it works. It starts up within seconds and shuts down automatically. This is not something you would use for a business, it copies slow and does not feed multiple documents. It is nice and portable and is perfect for coping a few pages every week.

If you're looking for a very basic copier to make the occasional black and white copy this unit is fine. It makes very clean looking black and white copies. If you can think of a question in the form of "Does this copier have _____" chances are the answer is no. It can do double-sided copies, but only manually. There is no multiple-original feed. No shrink/enlarge options. It does have auto-exposure with a manual override if it's needed. Knowing all of this I think it's a steal at the $25 AR I paid. Otherwise you're probably better off with a scanner and printer for most uses.