Printers/Scanners

Another Multi Function unit (it has Fax) silver grey with a broad black stripe around the top edge, so sad to say it will never pass the lounge police. However as an office machine there is little wrong with it.

I get the chance to look at a lot of A4 multi function machines but very few A3 ones often because of the size; those I do see are normally laser units here just for a change is an A3 ink jet offering from Brother.

This is another HP OfficeJet that is predominately black with a white base and part of the sides; sadly it will never pass the lounge police. However as it is Ethernet/Wi-Fi/USB you could possibly hide it in a cupboard, the latter is also a good idea as when it prints it is quite noisy especially when in fast draft mode.

Having recently told you about an HP OfficeJet that is black with white sides, this offering from Canon their Pixma MX320 is white (cream) with a black collar around the top. Like the HP it is a multi function unit meaning apart from printing, it can copy, scan and fax.

I have been asked numerous times why the reviews of HP items suddenly stopped. The reason/excuse I was given by their then agency is too far fetched even to print. Now with a new agency I hope to be able to tell you about the current range of printers.

Another quality inkjet AIO (All In One) from Canon. When closed it looks like a grey box with a black trim round the top edge. However lift the small lid at the front and a large TFT is revealed together with the buttons to control it.

A colour laser printer with an RRP of less than £200 surely is worthy of further investigation. The size is not that large something that earlier printers could not say and it prints quite quickly without colour pages printing at ¼ speed.

This is a multi function unit (as it has fax capabilities) but it can be used in a more normal on/off mode that certain of these types of units cannot. It is cream with a black top and sad to say even with the ADF folded it has no chance of passing the lounge police.

At last a Kodak printer that seems to resist the temptation to jam at the drop of a hat, however this is a far more sturdy machine and is actually a multi function unit (as it has fax) and not an All In One as Kodak call it.

A rather nice sleek looking unit with no outwardly visible controls or entry/exit points. This unit does print rather nicely and it scans and copies well. The only problem I can possibly see for this unit are the ever vigilant lounge police.

This is the third in their range of All In One devices, reviews of the ESP3 and ESP5 can be found via the search function above. This looks a little more professional by having the screen on the front edge of the unit.

While many users will be content with the scanner module that forms part of an All-in-One device, better quality can be achieved with a standalone model.

Canon has recently made some changes to the line-up of its PIXMA range of products. One of these changes involves the entry-level All-in-one device. This position is now taken up by the PIXMA MP190 model.

It is mainly silver but sad to say still unlikely to pass the lounge police, this is a neat and tidy All In One unit and little bigger than a standalone printer. It features the recently introduced idea of a built in tray underneath for documents and the rear tray for photographs.

Say the word ‘A3’ and most immediately think too big or too heavy or probably both. Well it will not fit where I review A4 units – no surprise there – but it sits in the doorway to my office quite happily and it just needs an extension on the USB lead, I am no superman but I unpacked and moved it into place on my own.

Lexmark has added wireless connectivity to the normal print, scan and copy aspects of a multi-function device.

I find it surprising that it is 11 months since I have reviewed an ink jet printer, by that I mean a printer as opposed to an all in one or a multi function unit. Unlike most inkjets it has two proper trays so you have far more control from the computer.

This is a multi function machine (includes fax) that can be connected via USB or wirelessly. My own opinion is that very few still use fax but as these machines (with fax) are still produced I must by wrong.

Unlike the various types of printers which tend to arrive without the required USB lead for connecting to the computer, scanners are more fortunate in this respect.

A 15x10cm (post card) sized printer, however instead of the normal box shape this is rather like a radio or cassette player as it has a built in handle and is a very thin shape the card (printing stock) handling is unique.

Whereas Canon uses the i-SENSYS brand name for its laser multifunction devices, when the all-in-one device makes use of inkjet technology then the brand name changes to PIXMA.

It is small, pocket-size and can deliver printed images of your digital photos almost as soon as they are captured.

Lexmark does have a tendency to change the appearance of its various offerings making up its ranges of inkjet printers and all-in-one devices.

While colour does give documents eye-catching appeal and helps emphasize points of importance; not all documents require this feature.

I first saw a pre production unit of this tiny printer at the start of the year, I got a working unit around a month or so ago, here just in time for the Christmas party season is my review.

Routers, and often wireless ones, are increasingly being used for broadband access and often enable more than one PC to access the internet. Consequently, it is only a relatively small step to add a network printer which can be shared by all users on the network. The Brother HL-2170W, weighing just a few pounds and having a footprint of less than 15 inches square, is ideally suited for moving around the house or small office.

This has been a long and frustrating review. The first unit was incomplete so it was replaced. The second had several paper jams and then decided ‘cannot detect edge of paper’ was it’s message of choice, so it was replaced so this is unit number three.

A laser AIO has a huge advantage for those needing to print a lot of documents, it always prints at the stated speed. It can copy without the PC being connected and of course the scanner does its work in colour.

Anyone needing to print a little, scan a little and copy a little then this small light All In One unit from Lexmark may be the answer you are looking for and with its predominately white colour it may just sneak past the lounge police.

Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to look at a number of multi-function or all –in-one printers from various manufacturers. However this is the first time that the product comes with the Kodak brand.