Color Printer Scanner
Are you searching for a color printer scanner? Our free guide will help you find the right color printer scanner for your needs. Check out the following information from ConsumerSearch.com:
Updated December 2004
Multifunction devices are essentially inkjet or laser printers that also scan, copy and sometimes fax. We found the best reviews for this category (as is typical for other computer and peripheral research) at dedicated computer magazines and Web sites such as PC World, PC Magazine and CNet.com. Tom's Hardware also provides solid information, though coverage isn't as current. PC World's analysis is best organized, culminating in a summary chart of tested models. PC Magazine has a very good collection of reviews, including a small roundup of laser printers. Consumer Reports acknowledges that multifunction printers are here to stay by adding a small number of tested models to its regular inkjet-printer report, and including them in its continual-testing program.
Most experts are looking for machines that do everything well, but we certainly saw evidence that few machines are equally adept at all aspects of their use—printing, scanning, copying and faxing. Often, a model that excels in one aspect sputters on others. The Lexmark X2250 (*est. $95) scores well at PC Magazine for "very good" photo quality, but the print speeds for both business applications and photos were slow, while text rates were only fair. This all-in-one does not include a fax modem or automatic document feeder. Likewise, PC World's testers found that the Sharp AL-1661CS (*est. $670) laser all-in-one offers a full-featured scanner and copier, but its text quality and print speeds are sub-par compared to the competition.
Experts agree that the Canon MultiPass MP390 (*est. $140) is the best all-around choice for most home offices, with the best prints and copies in its price range. Note that this Canon isn't as large and feature-loaded as some models. Most notably, there's no automatic document feeder for multi-page copying, so it's not the best choice if you need to do more than occasional single-page copies. There's a flatbed scanner and standalone fax, along with memory card slots for direct photo printing. The MP390 takes one black ink cartridge and one tri-color cartridge and reaps a lower per-page cost than other brands. This model is not Mac compatible.
Nathan Chandler, of Smart Computing, recommends the MultiPass MP390 as suitable for a wide range of SOHO (small office, home office) users. It skips some of the frills, such as photo inks and color monitors, but offers flash-card slots, business-like print, scan, fax and copy functions. Replacement ink is inexpensive (*est. $7 for black and $18.50 for color), but the replacement cartridges are smaller and will need to be swapped out more often than some of the more expensive models. Tech TV's James Kim cites the MP390 as being the "most complete" of all of the MFPs they tested, with best-quality prints, excellent scan quality and quick output speeds. PC World agrees and awards the MP390 with 4.5 out of 5 possible stars, saying it is "fast" and "feature-rich" and an "exceptionally powerful performer for the home or home office."
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