HP COLOR LASERJET CM232ONF MFP

AIO with Almost Everything

In most ways, this HP printer is one of the best color laser all-in-ones ( AIOs) yet for the price. It offers good speed and high output quality as well as almost any AIO function you can think of. Unfortunately, it stubs its toe by leaving out one fundamental feature: duplexing, the ability to print on both sides of the page. What you're left with is an AIO that's well worth considering but that's one duplexer short of a slam-dunk winner.

Clearly targeted for a small office or workgroup, the LaserJet prints, scans, and faxes over a network and can act as a standalone fax machine and color copier. In addition, it can send e-mail or scan to a PC
on your network, automatically opening a new message with the PCs e-mail program and attaching the scanned document to the message.

Despite the lack of a duplexer, the paper handling should be adequate for most offices. with a standard capacity of 300 sheets. The flatbed scanner is limited to a maximum of letter size, but the automatic document feeder (ADF) can handle legal-size paper.



Text quality is a bit below par for a laser but definitely good enough for most business needs. Graphics output is superb. with no major flaws. Photo quality, similarly. is in the top tier for a color laser AIO. One annoyance we noted on our test was that all the paper came out with a slight curl But overall, this printer is an attractive choice.—M. David Stone

PC Magazine January 2009

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Xerox Phaser 3300 MFP

Fast but costly all-in-one is worth the coin

THE XEROX PHASER 3300 MFP delivers lightning-fast monochrome laser printing. Its $599 list price is steep, but that includes an ADF and an autoduplexing unit.

At 18x18.3x17.1 inches (HWD), the 3300 is beefy. It has a 150-sheet output tray, a 250-sheet input tray, and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. A single-sheet output tray is at the rear, along with a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, two telephone jacks, and a USB port. We like that you can save scanned documents to USB devices but would have liked support for flash-memory cards, too.

Regular setup was a breeze; network setup was a bit more involved. The printer uses DHCP to obtain an IP address, and once we plugged in the network cable and rebooted the printer, we were assigned one.

The Phaser 3300 scans at 600x1,200dpi (optical) and 4,800x4,800dpi (interpolated), and you can scan documents and images to an application. e-mail address, or another machine or server on the network. Faxes transmit at 3 seconds per page at resolutions up to 300x300dpi (mono) and 200x200dpi (color). You can store up to 240 fax numbers.

Xerox claims 30 pages per minute; our 20-page document took 45 seconds, and copying our 20-page Word document took 1 minute and 2 seconds. Text reproduction was crisp and well-defined, and the small fonts were clear and legible.The ID Card Copy feature lets you copy both sides of a document onto a single sheet of paper in one step.

The Phaser 3300 has a duty cycle of 25,000 pages per month. It ships with a standard toner cartridge with a 4,000-page yield; an 8,000-page cartridge is available for $170.


At $600, the Xerox Phaser 3300 MFP isn't cheap, but if waiting around for printouts is
bogging down office productivity, this speedster is worth every penny.—John R. Delaney

www.xerox.com

Computer Shopper January 2009

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Canon Selphy CP770

Snapshot printer is a mini photo lab

THE 3.2-POUND CANON SELPHY CP770 portable snapshot printer is a solid choice for those who print more than the occasional photo at home. It has some quirks, but once you see its image quality, you may never go back to a traditional inkjet printer.

The $149.99 CP770's dye-sublimation printing module nestles into the top of an oblong bucket that stores the AC adapter, paper trays, ink ribbon, and paper. The larger tray
accepts 4x6 postcard paper, and the smaller tray handles stock about the size of a business card. A memory-card slot and a Pictbridge USB port allow for printing without a PC.

Buttons for navigation, the menu, back, and printing are on top. The 2.5-inch LCD shows fuzzy images and limits them to 2 inches, thanks to menu icons. Still, navigation is easy. The menu lets you correct red-eye, convert a color photo to black-and-white or sepia, enhance the contrast and color depth, choose borderless prints, and print more than
one image on a sheet.

Prints are true photo quality. Details were flawless, flesh tones accurate, and colors vivid without being over saturated. Because the postcard media isn't the same aspect ratio as the photos from your digital camera, however, you'll lose half an inch. But the top coat protects the photo from water and helps it last up to 100 years in an album. Prints take about 1 minute and 15 seconds each, which is okay but not great.



You'll spend a hefty 28 or 33 cents per print, depending on the kit you buy. Also, other portable snapshot printers offer larger LCDs and support 5x7-inch output.
Nonetheless, we're still enamored of the Canon Selphy CP770. We love the bucket concept for portability and the near-flawless image quality. —Jamie Bsales


usa.canon.com

Computer Shopper January 2009

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Epson Artisan 800

Quite possibly the perfect multifunction printer


THE EPSON ARTISAN 800 is as near a perfect all-in-one as you are likely to find. The Artisan 800's features read like a wishlist: legal-size color printing and copying, six-color photo printing 4,800dot-per-inch (dpi) color scanning and color faxing. It can print from a PC connected via USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi-
or without a PC, horn an attached PictBridge camera, memory card, USB drive,or Bluetooth interface.

The touch screen and the adjacent keys (lit with pleasing amber LEDs) make choosing a function and navigating through options easy. You can edit photos via the onscreen menus.

Setup is straightforward. For wireless setup you will need to connect to your Wi-Fi router temporarily with the included Ethernet cable. If your router is inaccessible, you can get the MFP on your network by connecting to a PC that is connected to your wireless network; just be sure your computer is set to obtain an IP address automatically.

Epson claims the Artisan 800 can hit 38 pages per minute (ppm) in draft mode. We didn't see that throughput on our tests (using nor mal quality settings), but performance was still impressive for an inkjet. The printer produced out 10-page Microsoft Word document in 1 minute and 20 seconds, and our 1-page color PDF file took just 15 sec onds. Photo-output speed was also impressive: The Artisan 800 produced 4x6 images in Best Photo mode from an installed memory card in 25 seconds. Expect to see color copies in 18 seconds and black-and-white copies in 12 seconds.

Output quality is also strong. Text printed on plain inkjet paper was well-formed, with no sign of breakup, though it didn't have quite the darkness of laser-printed text. Color graphics printed on plain paper using the Text and Photo mode showed no banding in solid areas, though separation between gradient fill levels was nonexistent above 75 percent. Copies were clean and accurate, though more washed out than the originals.

The Artisan 800 lives up to its name when it comes to photo output. Colors were rich and accurate, and the printer reproduced details that would be lost on a lesser printer. And Epson claims the photos will last 200 years before fading if they are stored in a photo album.

The Artisan 800 isn't cheap, but Epson includes enough ink to justify the price. You can get faster print speeds and sharper text from a $300 personal color laser printer, but you'll give up photo quality and the Artisan 800's bevy of features.
—Jamie Bsales

Computer Shopper January 2009

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Kodak ESP 5

Well-rounded but unpredictable unit



KODAK'S NEWEST ALL-IN-ONE inkjet printer, the $169.99 ESP 5, is a decent all-around unit with better-than-average print quality. It was extremely unpredictable during testing, howerver. Once we ironed out its issues, we found it to be easy to use, with intuitive controls and long-lasting ink tanks that almost made up for the hassles.
As a multifunction unit, the ESP 5 can copy, print, and scan, but not fax or network. Aimed at photo printing, the ESP 5 features a snazzy 3-inch LCD, as well as a multiformat memorycard reader. It also has Bluetooth support (you'll need an adapter though), along with a PictBridge USB port on the front of its bezel.
Cost per page is pleasingly low at just 2 cents per page for monochrome text, 6 cents for graphics and text, and 10 cents for photos. The tanks are long lasting as well.
Print quality was adequate and color reproduction even, despite generally muted colors. Text was sharp and readable all the way down to the smallest font sizes. Plus, the scanner produced acceptably accurate copies in both color and monochrome.
Print speeds were slow: It took 3 minutes and 52 seconds to print a 10-page mixed document of text and photos, and 4 minutes to print a 20-page text file. Photos were fast, though, requiring just 21 seconds for a 4x6-inch print.



Sadly, during testing, we experienced numerous software crashes, as well as many failed print jobs and random errors. It's a shame as the ESP 5 is genuinely easy to use and produces decent photo prints at an affordable price.-J.N.

Computer Shopper October 2008.
www.kodak.com

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HP Photosmart C4480

A great all-in-one for photos and text


HP'S $99.99 PHOTOSMART C4480 is a fine multifunction inkjet that's easy to use and pumps out great-looking photos and crisp text. It's equally adept at printing, copying, and scanning, making it a well-rounded printer with just a few small flaws.
The C4480 is geared toward local photo printing (networking is not an option), with a multiformat memory-card reader on its faceplate and an optional "photo" tank that improves photos and saves black ink for documents. You don't need a PC to print either-just stick a card in an use the integrated 1.5-inch LCD to print pictures or to start a scan or copy job.
The C4480 is capable of producing high-quality 4,800x1,200 dots per inch (dpi) prints, and we were very impressed by its color accuracy and overal quality. Text reproduction was equally rich.
Scanning at 1,200dpi (either to PC or to a file) is easy; simply press the buttons at the unit's faceplate. It takes about 25 seconds to scan a document, then another 25 seconds to print it.
The printer comes with two stingy introductory tanks, so we recommend HP's high-yield tanks for a wallet-friendly 4 cents per page for black and 6 cents per page for color.

Print speeds are slow, with a 10-page mixed document of text, photos and graphs taking 2 minutes and 49 seconds to print. The upside is that the printer is quiet while printing. We also had problems with the included software, which requires a lot of legwork to print photos.-Josh Norem

Computer Shopper October 2008.
www.hp.com

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Canon Pixma MX7600

Canon Pixma MX7600
An almost-perfect inkjet MFP

CANON'S $399.99 PIXMA MX7600 all-in-one inkjet costs a pretty penny, but you get a best-of-worlds printer that delivers both laser-quality text and inkjet-quality photos thanks to its new clear ink technology. We've never seen an inkjet print text this well, and its photo printing abilities are also worthy of praise.
The MX7600 will scan, copy, and fax, and it can perform autoduplexing on print jobs. The front of the unit includes a multiformat memory-card reader, and media inserted into the reader is also available to any PC connected to the printer, either locally or over the network. It also features a PictBridge USB port on the front for downloading photos from digital cameras.
You can use the printer's 1.8-inch LCD along with the well-designed control panel to control printing tasks. Though the display provides intiutive instructions, it's very small and a bit difficult to read.
In our tests, both color and monochrome prints looked amazing, thanks to the clear ink applied before the colored ink. The Pixma's text output was surprisingly good, with razor-sharp edges and text that was legible all the way down to 3 points. In our color test pattern we detected no flaws whatsoever.
In our print speed tests, the MX7600 fared well, printing our 10-page document of photos and text in 1 minute and 46 seconds. It was fast with photos too, churning out 4x6 in just 38 seconds and 8x10 in 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Overall, the MX7600 is an excellent all-around printer. It's expensive, but worth it.-J.N.
source: Computer Shopper September 2008.
www.canon.com

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Xerox Phaser 3250/DN

Xerox Phaser 3250/DN
Expensive, but fast and expandable

THE XEROX PHASER 3250/DN is a monochrome laser printer built for speed and expandability, though these traits bring with them a somewhat steep $349 price tag. If you can get over the price, you'll find the 3250 to be a fine printer with a lot of great features, including wired networking support. (Xerox sells a non-networked version for $279.)
At just 26 pounds, the Phaser 3250 is light. Though Xerox includes a USB cable in the package, it does not include an Ethernet cable, and there is no Wi-Fi connectivity.
You can add both a second 250-page paper tray ($215) and another 128MB of RAM, but the RAM costs an astounding $579. Cost per page with the included standard toner cartridge is a reasonable 2.5 cents; Xerox sells a larger cartridge that drops the price per page down to 2.1 cents.
In our print speed tests, the Phaser performed very well-it's the fastest monochrome printer we've tested recently. Xeroc claims it can print 30 paages per minute (ppm), and sure enough, the Phaser printed our 10-page documen of charts, photos, and text in a zippy 24 seconds, and our 20-page plain text file took only 44 seconds. The Phaser's print quality for text documents was very good, with sharp edges and relatively smooth gradations from black to gray to white and only a hint of banding.
The Phaser 3250/DN is a solid monochrome workhourse. It's costly, but its performance and featuers largely justify its price tag.-Josh Norem
source: Computer Shopper September 2008.
www.xerox.com

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HP COLOR LASERJET CM1312NFI MFP

Little Laser, Big Impact


If you're in the market for a color laser all-in-one printer for your home office or small business, you probably expect to have to compromise on features or performance to keep the cost reasonable. The HP Color LaserJet CM1312nfi MFP has it all, and at a price you can justify spending. It's not perfect, but it's impressive enough to earn our Editor's Choice.
The CM1312nfi offers standalone faxing and color-copying capabilities, and can scan to and fax from a PC over a network. Its 50-page automatic document feeder can handle multipage documents and scan legal-size pages, too. The printer also boasts an extensive set of features, including a network connector and memory card slots.
The CM1312nfi is slow for a laser, at 12 pages per minute for monochrome and 8 ppm for color. It makes up for this with superb output. Text quality is nearly the best available. Graphics and photos are good enough for business use.


The one place where the CM1312nfi skimps is paper handling, with a limited capacity of 150 sheets and no upgrade options. Nevertheless, this color laser delivers fasr more AIO for the price than any of its competitors.
source: PC Magazine August 2008.

www.hp.com

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