Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This combo printer-scanner-fax machine functions fine, once it's set up and running -- judging from an identical printer belonging to my husband, which meets our household printer needs quite well. It prints, scans, and faxes as required, and I can't ask much more than that. I thought this was sufficient recommendation, except... The saga of setup. Canon provides a print manual in the box, numerous web-based step-by-step guides, and an instructional video on how to get your printer connected to your computer over wifi. So with all that as reference, besides the fact that I’m an engineering professor, I should be able to figure it out. Right? Nope. Here is what happened yesterday afternoon, I swear to sweet Jiminy, when I followed the setup instructions: 1. Extracted printer from box. Actually, multiple boxes. It was like performing an appendectomy on a matryoshka doll. 2. Removed all the orange tape keeping everything from falling apart. Plugged unit in with supplied cable. Was not immediately electrocuted. 3. Turned on printer. It emitted a noise like a Wagnerian tenor with a bad case of pneumonia trying to French-kiss a duck. So far, so good. 4. Set language and desired instrument preferences using instructions in booklet. Consulted archaeologist friend about pictographic form of instructions. Apparently pictographs, once widespread in ancient Egypt, fell out of favor and disappeared from the archaeological record once people realized that words convey information better. Except Canon's instruction booklet writers, who last updated their style around 2,500 B.C. 5. Attempted to connect printer to laptop, 3 feet away, over good wifi, with instructions given in video. After step 2, what appeared on my printer screen did not match what appeared on the printer screen in the video. The instructions on the website also didn't match. "Enter the administrator username and password on the printer screen." Well, where? It never asked me for one! 6. Attempted to connect printer by manual option. The real-life screens I was dealing with also failed to match anything in the online, print, or video instructions. 7. Pushed various buttons in an attempt to find alternate route to connect printer to computer. The menus Canon gives are intuitive, if you have the intuition of Franz Kafka on an LSD trip. 8. Called tech support number on website. When robot answered and requested model number of printer, stated "ColorImageClass MF644 CDW." Robot did not recognize model number. Repeated four times with varying intonation. Helpful hint: The robo-call-center only recognizes model numbers when they are intoned in medieval plainchant in the key of B flat minor (organ accompaniment helps). 9. Robot transferred call to human line. Tinny, low-fi hold music commenced. 10. After 10 minutes and no answer, hold music stopped. I said "Hello?" repeatedly and tried to get to an operator. I would have had more success bench-pressing the Lincoln Memorial. 11. Hung up and tried again. Repeated steps 7 through 9. 12. Got wise and called the direct Canon printer tech support number in the printed instructions. Was once more answered by Artificial Stupidity. Finally got it to direct my call to the human line. Initial message: "Your estimated hold time is more than 20 minutes." 13. Decided to <REDACTED> any Canon executive, engineer, software designer, or even <REDACTED>-ing janitor who ever crosses my path. 14 through 25: Freestyle profanity. Text and telephone fees may apply. 26. Called tech-savvy spouse who had set up a similar printer before. Repeated most of previous steps, with variations. 27. Gave up trying to connect to computer and decided just to put everything I needed to print on a USB stick and then stick the USB stick in the printer. Be ye warned. On a more serious note: When two people with science/engineering Ph.D.s and a combined half-century of computer experience can’t figure out how to connect a printer to a computer despite three sets of instructions and hours of trying, it’s a sign of poor design on Canon’s part.