canon pixma tr8620a printing super slow, like way slower than advertised, is this normal?

Diagnosis

This issue is typically not a hardware failure but a mismatch between the printer's "advertised" speeds and the actual software configuration. Canon advertises the TR8620a's speed based on "Draft" mode using 5ppm (pages per minute) standards, which ignore the time it takes for the carriage to travel and the ink to dry. When you print in "Standard" or "High" quality, the printer increases the DPI (dots per inch) and performs multiple passes over the same area to eliminate banding, which can drop the speed from 15 ppm to as low as 2-3 ppm.

Furthermore, the TR8620a relies heavily on its internal buffer memory. If you are printing a high-resolution PDF or a document with embedded high-DPI images via a wireless connection, the printer spends more time waiting for data packets to arrive from your router than it does actually laying ink on the paper. You can confirm if the bottleneck is the connection or the settings by performing a "Nozzle Check" or "Test Page" directly from the printer's onboard LCD menu; if the internal test prints quickly but your computer documents print slowly, the issue is the data pipeline or the driver settings.

How to Fix It

To restore the maximum possible printing speed, you must adjust the driver settings on your host computer and optimize the connection path. Follow these exact steps:

1. Open the Control Panel on your PC (or System Settings > Printers & Scanners on Mac).
2. Right-click the Canon TR8600 series printer and select Printing Preferences.
3. Navigate to the Main tab. Look for the Print Quality dropdown menu.
4. Change the setting from "Standard" or "High" to Draft. This reduces the ink density and number of passes, maximizing the pages-per-minute output.
5. Go to the Quick Setup tab and ensure that Grayscale Printing is checked if you are printing text-heavy documents; this prevents the printer from wasting time mixing colors to create black text.
6. Click Apply and then OK.
7. On the printer's physical LCD screen, go to Settings > Device Settings > Energy Saving and ensure the "Auto Power Off" is not triggering premature sleep modes during long print jobs.
8. Restart the print spooler by typing services.msc in the Windows search bar, finding Print Spooler, right-clicking it, and selecting Restart.

If That Didn't Work

If the speed remains sluggish despite using Draft mode, try these deeper technical interventions:

• Switch to a Wired Connection: If you are using Wi-Fi, the TR8620a can experience "stuttering" where the print head stops mid-page to wait for data. Connect the printer directly to your router via an Ethernet cable or connect your PC via a USB-B to USB-A cable to bypass wireless interference.
• Disable "Quiet Mode": Access the printer's onboard menu and navigate to Settings > Device Settings > Quiet Mode. When Quiet Mode is enabled, the printer intentionally slows down the carriage movement to reduce noise, which can cut printing speed by 50% or more.
• Update the Firmware: Outdated firmware can cause communication lags between the driver and the hardware. Go to Settings > Device Settings > Firmware Update and select Update to ensure the printer is running the latest Canon logic.
• Simplify the Document: If you are printing a PDF with "layers" or high-resolution images (300+ DPI), the printer's RAM may overflow. Use the "Print as Image" option in Adobe Acrobat's advanced print settings to flatten the file before it hits the printer buffer.

Heads Up

Keep these maintenance and performance tips in mind to avoid future slowdowns:

• Avoid Third-Party Ink: Non-genuine ink cartridges can sometimes trigger "Ink Low" warnings or viscosity issues that cause the print head to slow down to prevent clogging.
• Paper Matching: Ensure the paper type selected in the driver (e.g., "Plain Paper") matches the actual paper in the tray. Selecting "Photo Paper" while using plain paper will force the printer into a slow, high-saturation mode.
• Clear the Buffer: If the printer hangs, perform a hard reset by unplugging the power cord from the wall for 60 seconds to clear the volatile memory (RAM) of any corrupted print jobs.
• Check Signal Strength: If you must use Wi-Fi, ensure the printer is within 15 feet of your router or use a 2.4GHz band, as the TR8620a can struggle with 5GHz signal penetration through walls.