Canon imageCLASS MF249dw review

Duplex originals and monochrome output in an earlier office model

The Canon imageCLASS MF249dw provides monochrome printing, copying, color scanning and telephone fax. Its meaningful step above the simpler models in its shared guide is a 50-sheet duplex document feeder. It can automatically capture both faces of originals and separately print eligible sheets on both sides.

The read originals do not identify the feeder mechanism as single-pass or reversing. This review preserves its genuine automatic duplex capability without promising the faster mechanism of a different model.

Legal originals belong in the feeder

The feeder reaches 8.5 by 14 inches. Its 50-sheet quantity is for Letter originals at 80 gsm, rather than an unconditional quantity for every size or weight. One-sided originals permit 50–105 gsm; two-sided originals use the narrower 60–105 gsm range.

The glass reaches 8.5 by 11¾ inches, covering Letter and A4. Use it for suitable books or individual originals that should not feed. A full Legal original needs the feeder. Automatic two-sided capture applies to the feeder, not to a document lying on the glass.

Color scanning can preserve colored marks in the saved file. The printed copy remains monochrome. Scanner resolution and images-per-minute figures should be assessed separately from the laser engine’s output rating.

Choose between a computer utility and a device sender

For supported native computer capture, install the exact scanner driver and MF Scan Utility. Windows LAN scanning requires registration in MF Network Scanner Selector and uses IPv4; the actual preparation chapter excludes an IPv6-only scanning environment. USB avoids that network registration step.

MF Scan Utility can save the image, pass it to another application or prepare an attachment. A suitable TWAIN or WIA application can import it with ScanGear MF or WIA. If automatic online behavior is disabled, select Scan and Remote Scanner at the machine before starting from the application.

Direct saving to a computer’s SMB shared folder is a different, explicitly documented workflow. Prepare the supported folder and credentials, register the destination in the device Address Book, then select Scan, File and that destination. Only one folder destination is selected at a time.

Set Scan Size and Color Mode, then select Two-Sided Original with Book or Calendar orientation for a duplex stack. Start capture at the device. The actual folder specification lists Letter, Legal and Statement; the generic glass and feeder geometry does not establish every other size for this sender.

The device assigns filenames automatically. For a supported multi-page glass sequence, place and scan each next page before Start TX. Those controls differ from a computer utility’s save-location preset and deserve separate setup.

Automatic output duplex has separate size and stock rules

The paper chapter permits Letter, Legal and A4 native automatic duplex. Its media footnotes distinguish eligible plain, recycled, colored, heavy and bond categories. A sheet being loadable does not mean every category or weight has the same two-sided approval.

The drawer holds 250 sheets at 60–80 gsm, with a separate one-sheet manual slot. Heavier ordinary paper reduces the declared drawer capacity to 170 sheets, and still heavier stock to 100. These are generic media capacities; this review does not invent a specific Legal stack quantity.

Envelopes have their own loading and output conditions. Match paper size and type on the machine and in the supported native driver before submitting the job. Its UFR II LT and PCL options can expose different controls.

Mobile output does not replace the native setup

Canon lists AirPrint, Mopria and Canon PRINT Business, with Wi-Fi Direct for a documented direct wireless arrangement. USB, Fast Ethernet and infrastructure Wi-Fi support the applicable native computer workflows.

Mobile settings depend on the application. The exact native duplex-media choices and device-side folder controls are not guaranteed in every mobile dialog. Telephone fax also needs its own compatible line and receive-mode setup; it is separate from sending an image file over the LAN.

Interpret volume and toner as declared

The one-sided plain-Letter output rating is up to 28 ppm. The separate duplex rating is up to 16 images or pages per minute, not 16 two-sided physical sheets. Canon recommends 750–3,000 monthly pages; the 15,000 maximum duty figure is not the routine target.

The supplied toner is rated for 1,700 pages, while replacement Cartridge 137 is rated for 2,400 under ISO/IEC 19752 on A4 at default density. Actual documents change replacement timing. The operating guide gives a 15⅜ by 14⅞ by 14¼-inch body and approximately 30.2 lb including toner, with extra clearance needed for use and servicing.