Multifunction Printers: Reviews

Professional and user reviews identify the HP Photosmart Premium Fax as the best all-in-one printer-scanner-fax overall, packing in a great amount of features that all perform well. Text and graphics quality is very good,… as is speed, especially with photos. The HP Photosmart Premium Fax includes an Ethernet connector and Wi-Fi for network use, and can print from flash drives or via Bluetooth. The automatic document feeder holds 50 sheets, and the input tray holds 125 sheets. The Photosmart Premium Fax even prints on special CDs and DVDs. Duplex printing (printing on both sides of the paper) is a little slow. This is a bulky all-in-one printer, measuring about 18 inches by 19 inches by 11 inches. But it's also very energy-efficient.

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If you want a full-featured inkjet multifunction printer but don't want something that takes over your desk, reviews point to the compact Epson WorkForce all-in-one printer. Compared with the HP Photosmart Premium Fax,… the Epson MFP is about 2 inches shorter and 8 inches smaller in depth (minus the paper trays). Photo and text printing -- along with scans and copies -- are great, and it has a preview screen for photos. One reason the Epson WorkForce 610 is so compact is that it has one 100-sheet paper tray that is smaller than some all-in-one printers. Lastly, the Epson includes both wired and wireless networking. Some owners did find setup tricky, however.

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Reviews say that its combination of print quality, features and price make the Canon Pixma MP490 an almost-unbeatable bargain in an all-in-one inkjet printer. Critics say it is easy to use, has robust copying features and… includes a small 1.8-inch LCD screen for previewing prints. You can print directly from most memory cards and cameras. Experts say the Canon Pixma MP490 is a good budget choice if you don't need to fax, with good-looking photos and very good text quality, but copy and scan quality are better on more expensive MFPs. Still, the Canon MP490 outperforms budget all-in-one printers from HP, Brother and Lexmark in both regards.

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Canon's Pixma MP990 rates highly in reviews that focus on photo printing. The inkjet all-in-one printer's features include the ability to scan and copy 35 mm film and slides, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen for photo… previewing and editing. Its six ink cartridges include light gray, which all critics agree results in especially superb printing of monochrome photos. Its two input trays include one with a straight paper path designed for thicker photo media. Business features include wireless or wired network connectivity and duplexing. Some reviewers aren't crazy about text printing, but photos are beautiful.

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The Brother MFC-6490CW inkjet all-in-one printer is on the expensive side, but it has a trick up its sleeve -- it can print on tabloid-sized (11 inches by 17 inches) paper for folded flyers, menus and newsletters. Most… other MFPs in this price range can print only up to legal size (8.5 inches by 14 inches). Otherwise, the Brother is a full-featured inkjet MFP, with a 50-page automatic document feeder, wired and wireless networking, two paper drawers holding a total of 400 sheets, direct printing from cameras and memory cards and an LCD preview screen. The big downside is that this printer is slow, so it's not the best choice for busy offices. Brother also offers a very similar model, the MFC-6890CW, with a slightly lower paper capacity that includes an auto-duplexer.

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Laser printers can't hold a candle to inkjet printers when it comes to photo quality, and even the gap in text quality for all but the smallest character sizes is largely gone. However, when it comes to big print jobs and… speedy output, lasers still hold most of the cards compared with inkjet all-in-ones. Toner costs are also lower, especially for monochrome printers such as the Brother MFC-7840W. It's rated to produce 10,000 printed pages per month -- more than twice as many as inkjet MFPs -- making it ideal for busy offices that don't need color printing. The Brother MFC-7840W also copies, scans and faxes.

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