Find out if an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier/fax truly cuts it as a do-it-all home office solution.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2002 well over 20 million people were working from home or telecommuting. Given the current wet noodle economy, it's a safe bet that the number of home offices will increase. If you count yourself in the ranks of the rapidly growing "self-employed," you know how important it is to make your tiny home office seem big and important to the outside world. Thankfully today's crop of multifunctional office printer/fax/scanner/copier combos can help. But like anything that claims to do everything, all-in-ones have their share of blind spots when it comes to serving every need.

TechTV Labs and "Fresh Gear" reviewed three multifunction devices from Canon, HP, and Lexmark at prices ranging from $180 to $400.



Speed and additional costs

Multifunction printers are primarily used to print and fax. Scanning and copying are no less important, but they're less often needed. You shouldn't expect any multifunction to compare to the monstrous page-a-second-at-best-quality printer/copiers or superfast-multitiered fax machines commonly found in a big company office. Though every multifunction box boasts breakneck speeds, testing consistently shows them to be about half that speed in practical usage. Chalk it up to aggressive marketing.

We compared three low-cost multifunction printers ranging in price from around $200 to $400. We were generally impressed by their speed and quality.








































Product
Canon MultiPass F80
HP psc 2210
Lexmark X85

Print 10-page B&W draft; best quality (in minutes)
1:03; 5:01
1:18; 14:20
1:40; 2:19

Print high-res. color image at best quality (in minutes)
2:36
4:59
34:02

Copy 10 pages B&W draft; best quality (in minutes)
1:17; 1:45
1:34; 17:19
2:15; 3:15

Copy 10 high-res. color images at best quality (in minutes)
16:34
30:01
58

Scan 300 dpi image (in minutes)
0:15
0:27
0:21


Though some of the multifunction devices we tested are better at conserving resources than are others, you will pay early and often for consumables such as ink and paper when asking a device to pull off four functions at once.

In testing the HP psc 2210 all-in-one, for example, we ran out of color ink in just under 60 color prints and copies (30 in draft mode and 30 in high-quality mode). As with regular printers, multifunction printer consumables can add up in a hurry. Depending on how often you use your device, you might want to be aware of device consumable costs before purchasing.

Quality and ease of use

Thankfully multifunction printers have taken advantage of better-quality print engines and easier-to-use interfaces. All the devices we tested offer good color prints and very speedy draft text printing and copying. When it came to imaging, the HP psc 2210 stood well above the other multifunction printers in this roundup with noticeably better color saturation and crisp detail quality.

At higher-end price points both the $300 HP and the $400 Canon multifunction printers offer very easy-to-use "PC-less" integrated fax features and flash memory readers for direct "camera-to-printer" image printing. By contrast, the $180 Lexmark X85 provides neither "PC-less" faxing functionality nor an integrated flash memory card reader for photo printing. The X85's dependence on a PC with a modem for its faxing features is a drawback that we found unacceptable for an all-in-one.

Summary

Whether you want a multifunction printer strictly for business or as a device to pull double duty between business and pleasure, how you will end up using it should always be considered before making a purchase. While the snappy Canon MultiPass F80 is definitely best for the business-focused user, HP's psc 2210 will fare well as a crossover from business to leisure.