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Cheap Multifunction Printers, Best Cheap All In One Printers Review
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Cheap Multifunction Printers Buying Guide
When shopping for a budget printer for the home or home office, many people quickly become intrigued with the idea of all-in-one printers, a.k.
Of all their functions, multifunction printers should excel at printing, and many manufacturers have made them just as good as any budget photo-printer. Cheap multifunction printers are produced by printer heavyweights such as Brother, Canon, Lexmark, HP, Epson, and Kodak. Ricoh, Xerox, and Samsung concentrate on the pricier models intended for business use.
To help you choose the best cheap multifunction printer that fits your budget, we've assembled a list of features and performance attributes worth knowing about. We'll also fill you in on the extraneous low-cost budget printer features you can pass on.
Back to top »What to Look for: Cheap Multifunction Printers Features
Cheap Multifunction Printers Functionality.
One thing to remember about cheap multifunction printers is that not all have the same set of features. Yes, they all print, scan, and copy but all do not fax. A few, like the Brother MFC-3360C (starting at $48, Amazon
) or the Canon Pixma MX330 (starting at $74, Amazon
), do include fax capability, so if you need to fax an occasional document, it's worth looking for a budget all-in-one with fax built in. A Best Buy customer, for example, thought s/he had no use for the fax, but is surprised at how much it gets used. And because manufacturers struggle to differentiate themselves, perks for the consumer occasionally crop up on budget models. Posting a multifunction printer review on the OfficeMax site, one user happily notes his new-found ability to print directly on a DVD or CD with the HP Photosmart C5580 (starting at $49, Amazon
).
Cheap All-in-One Printers Size.
All-in-one printers can be bulkier than plain stand-alone printers thanks to the additional functionalities. Compared with its peers, the Pixma MX330, with its large footprint (18.1 x 16.2 x 7.8) and heavy weight (20 pounds), stands out. Indeed, several Canon Pixma MX330 users, writing all-in-one printer reviewers on Apple.com and Amazon.com make note of its bulk and weight. The Lexmark X4650 (starting at $73, Amazon
), on the other hand, measures 6.98 x 18.07 x 13.03 and weighs 11.6 pounds; one Best Buy customer says the smaller size is one of its best features.
Budget Multifunction Printers Design.
Mutlifunction printers are either sheet-fed or flatbed. A flatbed design lets you open the lid and lay flat whatever you want to copy or scan, like a photo, book or magazine page, or driver's license or other ID. Flatbed multifunction printers are far more common in the budget category. Low-cost flatbed printers include the Lexmark x4650, Epson NX415 (starting at $60, Amazon
), and Canon MX330.
Sheet-fed multifunction printers, like the Brother MFC-3360C, are functionally more limited by their upright design. Commenting about the Brother MFC-3360C on Staples.com, multifunction printer reviews by users note the frustrations (and sometimes the impossibility) of trying to scan bulky, plastic, inflexible, and small items.
Hybrid printers, like the HP Officejet J6480 (starting at $124, Amazon
Cheap All-in-One Printers Wireless Connectivity.
Wireless capability is a treat that usually requires spending more than $100 to enjoy. However, a few inexpensive multifunction printers feature wireless capability, including the Dell V305w (starting at $80, Amazon
) and the Lexmark x4650. Wireless is particularly useful if your household has more than one computer, or if you use your laptop in rooms other than the one with your printer, as this all-in-one printers reviewer on Walmart.com cheerfully reports.
Is the wireless hard to hook up? That depends. Several cheap multifunction printer reviews posted on B&H.com , like one written by a self-proclaimed non-geek, and others posted on Buy.com say the Lexmark x4680 is quick and easy to install. Users of the Dell V305w report some difficulty with the initial set up. One user complains in an all-in-one printer review on Buzzillions of spending two hours on the phone with Dell's tech support, but even several weeks later still can't use the printer with the family's primary computer; others on the same site voice similar frustrating experiences. Not all Dell users have such issues, however, and comments on the company's web site are more positive about the initial set up.
A few printers, like the HP Photosmart C5580, include Bluetooth. A short-range wireless technology, Bluetooth is useful for eliminating wires strung all over your desk. The range is about 10 feet so you can't wander from room to room with it as you can with 802.11 wireless. Bluetooth can also be complicated to set up, reports an all-in-one user review on Newegg.com.
Back to top »What to Expect: Cheap Multifunction Printers Performance
Discount All-in-One Printers Ease of Use.
With all that capability built into one machine, you might assume a budget multifunction printer is complicated to operate. Not so. Many are quite intuitive and have displays that walk you through the steps, whether you're photocopying, scanning, or printing. One new user of the HP Photosmart C5580 notes on Newegg.com his/her appreciation for the step-by-step assistance. Another consumer comments on OfficeMax.com that the menus on the HP C5580's 2.4-inch display are easy to read and follow. The Epson NX415 also garners praise for ease of use from an OfficeMax multifunction reviewer; ditto from a BestBuy.com reviewer. When it comes to menus, however, the Canon MX330 stumbles slightly. Multifunction printer reviews by experts on PCWorld.com say the menus are a little hard to read on the 1.9-inch display but users seem less fazed.
Cheap Multifunction Printers Print Quality.
Printing is the most important of all the functions performed by cheap all-in-ones. Conceding that print quality is subjective -- much depends on what you're used to and what you're comparing it to -- our research suggests that the output of cheap multifunction printers is generally equivalent with stand-alone inkjets in the same price range.Consumers and experts overall are pleased with the Lexmark X4650's print quality. One expert from PCMag.com considers text output to be a touch below par, but says photos are worthy of posting on the fridge or handing out to friends and family. An all-in-one review of the Lexmark X4650 on the Walmart site enthuses about the photo quality and expresses surprise at the clarity and crispness of photo prints. The HP Photosmart C5580 takes a few knocks for being somewhat slow, but many consumers, including a reviewer on OfficeMax.com, appreciate the high-quality prints, scans, and photos that result. In fact, sometimes a copy produced by the HP C5580 is better than the original; posting on BestBuy.com, one user says the quality of 8x10 reprints of old baby pictures surpasses the originals. The Epson NX415 also has its fans, who likewise praise the photo output on the Walmart site.
On the other hand, users and experts alike find fault with the Kodak ESP 3 (starting at $100). According to the experts at Cnet, the quality of text, graphics, and photo prints is significantly below what other comparably priced budget multifunction printers produce. One Target shopper is disappointed with colors that appear faded and dull.
Low-cost All-in-One Printers Scan Quality.
The ability to scan documents and photos, and either save copies or e-mail them, is a key reason for buying a multifunction printer. The quality of the scans produced by the Epson NX415 impresses many users, like one posting on Amazon.com, who says the scan feature is surprisingly good. Target.com customers are pleased with the scanning ability of the Lexmark x4650 and experts at PrinterComparison.com report the Cannon MX330 produces scanned photos that look as good as the originals. In addition to producing high-quality scans and saving them in pdf format, the scan process on the Cannon MX330 is straightforward and efficient, according to a BestBuy.com user review. The Brother MFC-330c, on the other hand, loses points on the scanning test primarily because of its sheet-fed design. Multifunction printers reviews by users on Staples.com grumble about the challenge of scanning items that don't conform to traditional paper specifications.
Discount Multifunction Printers Copy Quality.
All the discount color inkjet multifunction printers give you the choice of making copies in color or black-and-white. Most cheap multifunction printers reviews positively assess the clarity of the copies made by the Epson NX415, although one note on Walmart.com says the copy cycle is a bit slow. Consumers are also satisfied with the copy output of the HP C5580; a multifunction user review on Ritzcamera.com claims that copies of photos come out looking almost as good as the originals. When it comes to the copy function on the budget all-in-ones, most people are simply content that it does the job, as a consumer notes on Amazon.com.Cheap All-in-One Printers Ink.
User complaints about high ink prices and small ink tanks abound, and the barbs are aimed at every manufacturer of low-priced multifunction printers. But how quickly the ink disappears depends on you; that is, on what you're printing, on the quantity, and on the settings you choose. (All printers have several settings options: if your printer is set to Draft mode, it will use less ink; if it's set to Best mode it will use more ink.) For example, one all-in-one printer review on B&H.com by a heavy-duty user says the Hewlett Packard Photosmart C5580 is an ink-guzzler. But a user post on Buzzillions raves about the HP C5580's ability to produce mass quantities of marketing materials without running down the ink cartridges.Still, some budget multifunction printers attract more complaints about ink usage than others. Users pile on the Dell V305w -- on the company's own website, to boot -- griping about high ink prices and cartridges that must be replaced frequently. One of the worst offenders may be the Kodak ESP-3, which consumers say swallows ink faster than the competition. Although Kodak ESP-3 cartridges cost less, user posts on BestBuy.com report spending more money in the end because the cartridges empty out a lot faster.
Conclusion.
Minor flaws aside, value-minded consumers seeking the convenience of at-home printing, scanning, copying (and maybe faxing) will have little trouble finding a good-quality and low-priced model that performs all these tasks. Back to top »
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Products Mentioned in This Review
Kodak ESP-3Brother MFC-3360C
Canon Pixma MX330
Epson NX415
Lexmark x4650
HP Photosmart C5580
Thrifty Resources
Article Sources
PC Magazine CNET PC World Buzzillions Consumer Reports Printercomparison.com Consumer Search Amazon Epinions How Stuff Works Consumer Reports Galttech.com Consumer Search Amazon CNETManufacturers
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