A shootout of inkjet all-in-one
printers designed for the small office environment.
Inkjet printers are quickly catching up to
their laser counterparts in terms of speed, and are still the top choice to
produce high-quality images on paper. Throw in the multi-functional abilities
to copy, scan, and fax, the proposition becomes all that much sweeter for the
small business or home office. Here are four the best that your money can buy.
Design & Handling
Brother MFC – J825DW
The MFC-J825DW is Brother’s top of the line
inkjet all-in-one (AIO) and features a 3.3-inch touch screen LCD for easy
control. Its low profile hides an automatic document feeder (ADF) so you don’t
need to feed each page manually. It also has a built-in duplexer so you can not
only print double-sided documents, but also make double-sided copies. The
MFC-J825DW also lets you print photographs directly from a memory card or even
a PictBridge compatible camera without needing to use your computer. Brother
has also released a free iPrint & Scan app for the Apple devices so you can
print directly from your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, or scan documents and
images directly to these devices. However, paper input capacity is capped at
100 sheets, so if you’re doing a lot of printing you might find yourself making
a few trips to replenish paper. Sharing the MFC - 825DW in the office is also
easy with Ethernet connectivity, as well as built-in Wi-Fi.
Max print speed: 12 (Monochrome)/ 10
(Color) ppm
Scan resolution: Up to 2400 x 2400dpi
Dimensions: 405 x 378 x 180 mm
ADF: Yes
Weight: 9.3kg
Price: $318
The
ADF accepts up to 15 sheets of paper, useful for multi-page jobs.
The
PictBridge port lets you print images directly from a PictBridge-compatible camera.
Canon Pixma MX897
The all-black MX897 definitely looks like
it means business, with Canon’s flagship inkjet AIO supporting printing from
and scanning to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with Apple’s AirPrint. And
Canon shows it not only has love for Apple, but Google as well; the MX897
allows users to print their Gmail messages, Google Docs and file attachments
using their smartphones or notebooks via Google Cloud Print. The MX897 also
supports Canon’s PIXMA Cloud Link, where users can print photographs directly
from their Picasa online albums without the need for a PC. The MX897 manages to
retain a relatively compact size as the paper output tray and the rear paper
input tray can be folded into the main body. A minor inconvenience is that you
will have to lift the scanner flatbed in order to access and replace the ink
cartridges. While the front cassette allows for loading of up to 150 sheets of
paper, users will be glad to know that the rear tray can also hold up to 150
sheets of paper, so users can load up to 300 sheets before running out of
paper. The MX897 is the only AIO here that has a CompactFlash card slot.
Max. Print speed: (12.5 (Monochrome)/ 9.3
(Color) ipm
Scan resolution: 2400 x 4800dpi
Dimensions: 491 x 448 x 218 mm
ADF: Yes
Weight: 11.7kg
Price: $399
The
controls are generously laid out for easy access.
The
MX897 has a small compartment for flash cards to slot in.
While all inkjet AIOs can perform the
same functions, they look and handle differently. Let’s find out what each
printer offers.
Epson workforce pro WP – 4521
The WP-4521 is physically the largest AIO
in this shootout, with looks similar to an office laser printer instead of an
inkjet AIO. Thanks to its built-in duplexer, two-sided printing as well as
copying is possible. The front cassette stores 250 sheets of paper, the rear
tray manages 80 sheets and the ADF stores another 30 sheets, bringing the total
input capacity of the WP-4521 to an impressive 360 sheets of paper. And while
some of the other AIOs support mobile printing with Apple’s AirPrint, Epson
decided to release their own mobile printing app, the Epson iPrint 2.0. Using
your Apple mobile devices or Android smartphone with the iPrint app, users can
not only prints photographs, but also PDFs and documents from Goggle Docs,
Evernote, Dropbox and Box.net. In fact, this handy app also has a built-in web
browser to which allows you to print web pages. Unfortunately there’s a catch;
the WP-4521does not have built-in Wi-Fi, so you will need to connect it to a
router before being able to use the app.
Max. Print speed: 16 (Monochrome)/11
(Color) ppm
Scan resolution: 4800 x 1200 dpi
Dimensions: 460 x 420 x 341 mm
ADF: Yes
Weight: 13.8kg
Price: $488
The
2.5-inch LCD screen looks really small in the middle of the spacious control
panel.
The
front cassette stores an impressive 250 sheets of paper.
HP Officejet 6700 premium
Sitting in the middle of HP’s office inkjet
lineup, the Officejet 6700 Premium comes in matte-black, which is a godsend as
glossy finishing attracts far too many fingerprints for our liking. The
Officejet 6700 Premium sports an ADF for easy loading of documents for copying
or scanning. Oddly, while the Officejet 6700 Premium supports double-sided
copying, the control panel includes a 2.65-inch touchscreen LCD for easy
navigation of functions. The Officejet 6700 Premium has a paper capacity of 285
sheets of paper; the paper input tray handles 250 sheets while the ADF handles
35 sheets. HP also has a mobile printing solution in the form of HP ePrint.
With HP, ePrint, you can attach documents to an email and sent it to the
printer’s unique email address, and the printer will have it printed once it
receives the attachment.
Max. Print speed: 16 (Monochrome) /9
(Color) ppm
Scan resolution: 1200dpi
Dimensions: 464 x 476 x 252 mm
ADF: Yes
Weight: 8.77kg
Price: $369
You
can adjust the control panel for easier access.
The
front cassette and output tray cannot be folded back into the body.
