HP Photosmart Premium Fax C309

The new HP Photosmart Premium Fax C309 tries to cram just about every function consumers might want into one all-in-one printer. The Photosmart Premium Fax scans, prints, faxes and copies, like most multifunction printers, but it has a host of extra features as well. It can print directly from USB flash drives, Bluetooth, and a variety of memory cards. And it can display photos on an adjustable 2.4-inch LCD. This HP all-in-one printer has a duplexer for both input and output, an automatic document feeder (which can scan legal-size sheets too big for the scanning bed) and an input tray for printing onto specially coated CDs and DVDs. The HP multifunction printer is also fully networkable, through either Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The downside to all this functionality is that the Photosmart Premium Fax is a bit bulky, and it has a small paper input tray, which holds only 125 sheets. The Epson Workforce 600 (*Est. $200) is a smaller and lighter alternative that has similar functionality and costs a bit less.

Reviewers tend to agree that the HP Photosmart Premium succeeds at stylishly cramming all its features into one comparatively small machine. PCMag.com and IT Reviews give the HP all-in-one printer top honors, and CNET and PC World praise the model as well, though they note a few drawbacks. Only TrustedReviews.com bucks the trend, finding the various functions ultimately unsatisfying. All concur that the Photosmart Premium Fax is the best value for those who will need its myriad features on a regular basis.