Inkjet MFPs with Fax

Some MFPs can receive and send hard-copy faxes

If you regularly need to send and receive hard-copy faxes, you'll want to look at an all-in-one printer with a built-in fax modem and keypad for dialing. These tend to cost a bit more on average than non-faxing models. Some larger, more expensive multifunction printers (MFPs) include an automatic document feeder so you can send multipage faxes more easily.

Among MFPs with built-in faxes, we found consistently strong reviews for the Canon Pixma MX882 (*Est. $150) . This reasonably priced printer includes a wealth of features, such as a memory-card reader and PictBridge connection for photo printing, a two-sided auto document feeder, a 3-inch LCD viewer and both Ethernet and wireless networking capabilities. It also has five individual ink tanks for color printing: four dye-based inks, plus a pigment-based black ink for photos. This feature not only improves print quality but also saves money, since you only need to replace one ink color when it runs out, rather than an entire multi-color cartridge.

Reviewers agree that the Canon Pixma MX882 printer offers superior print quality for both text and photos. Tony Hoffman of PCMag.com says it produces photos "rivaling what you'd get from a professional photo lab." In terms of speed, it's not super-fast but not slow either; Campbell Simpson of PC World Australia says it prints black-and-white text at 11 pages per minute (ppm) and color pages at nearly 10 ppm, while Hoffman reports that a 4-by-6 inch photo printed in just over a minute. Simpson calls this printer's auto document feeder a "standout feature," saying it makes scanning long double-sided documents a breeze. Users at Amazon.com are also enthusiastic about the Pixma MX882, praising its print quality, value and ease of use. Most of them are also satisfied with its speed. If this printer has a weakness, it's probably its copy quality, which is rated merely average in one professional test. Simpson also complains that its touch-based controls are "pointless," saying that a larger touch-screen LCD viewer would have been more useful. Still, the MX882 undoubtedly offers great value for the price.

The HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus e-All-in-One (*Est. $250) costs more than the Canon MX882 printer, but it is much cheaper to run. According to one set of professional tests, ink and paper for the HP printer would cost about $5.90 a month, as compared to $11.30 a month for the Canon MFP. At that rate, the more expensive HP would make up for its higher purchase price in about a year and a half. (Of course, your actual running costs will depend on how much you use the printer, so the payoff time might be longer or shorter for you.) The Officejet Pro 8500A printer also includes one feature the Pixma MX882 lacks: web connectivity. It can print directly from the Internet without being connected to a PC, and its ePrint service allows you to print documents from anywhere by sending an email to the printer. Housen Martouk of HardwareCentral.com says this feature is "a nice addition" but not reason enough in itself to choose this printer over others.

In terms of performance, the Officejet Pro 8500A MFP is comparable to the Pixma MX882 printer. Testers report speeds between 9 and 15 ppm for black and white text (though you can print nearly twice as fast on the low-quality draft setting), and Martouk says the print quality is "consistently solid." Reviewers Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio of PC World say that the scanner, which can accommodate legal-size documents, is a nice feature, although they caution that color scans tend to come out "murky." However, users at Amazon.com are much less impressed with the Officejet Pro than with the MX882 printer, giving the former only 3.5 stars out of 5 on average. Negative reviews tended to focus on reliability; several users report frequent paper jams and other malfunctions. Some owners also describe frustrating experiences with HP's customer support.

HP also makes the Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One (*Est. $170) . This model's initial cost is lower than the 8500A, but its ink and paper costs are higher (about $7.90 a month). It also lacks some of the features found on the 8500A, such as a PictBridge connection or automatic duplexing, and its touch screen is smaller (2.36 inches rather than 4.3). However, it does have the same web connectivity as its more expensive cousin, and it also has one feature that no other MFP in our sources can offer: the ability to print documents up to 13 by 19 inches in size. This means it can handle a variety of print jobs -- such as menus, folded flyers and double-page spreads from books -- that most other MFPs simply can't do. In other respects, its performance is similar to the 8500A's, with fast printing and good overall quality.

The Canon Pixma MX7600 (*Est. $400) is significantly more expensive than the MX882 or the HP Officejet printers, but it offers superior photo-printing capabilities. This all-in-one printer-scanner-fax machine uses six ink cartridges: five pigment inks plus a clear topcoat that effectively turns plain paper into coated photo paper, for professional, smudge-free prints. Reviewers generally love this feature, enthusing about the vibrancy of graphics and photo prints. They also say the MX7600 is fast when it comes to photo printing. Eric Grevstad of HardwareCentral.com clocks its print time for an 8-by-10 photo at an astonishing 27 seconds, although PCMag.com's Stone puts it at a more realistic -- though still speedy -- two minutes.

Impressive as the Pixma MX7600 is for photo printing, its other features don't necessarily meet the same standards. Stone says its text output is "relatively low-quality for a business printer," and Grevstad complains that the printer "grooms itself more than a neurotic housecat," slowing print times. Reviewers agree that this MFP's full-featured fax is terrific, but they are split over its scanning performance. Robin Morris of the British magazine PC Advisor says that scans are "crisp and generally faithfully rendered," but Mike Jennings, writing for PC Pro, says images came out "grainy with pale, washed-out colors." User reviews for the Pixma MX7600 printer are lukewarm as well, with multiple complaints about its noise level and the fact that replacement ink is only available online.

Budget MFPs with Fax

If you're on a budget, finding a single device that can print, copy, scan and fax is a challenge. Most of the top-rated MFPs that meet these criteria cost at least $150. However, we did find fairly good reviews for the Brother MFC-J825DW (*Est. $100) , which offers all four functions in a bargain-priced package. For a budget model, it includes a remarkable range of features: wired and wireless networking, web connectivity, PictBridge and memory card slots and a 3.3-inch LCD display. It can even print directly onto blank CDs and DVDs -- a feature many higher-priced MFPs don't have.

Reviewer Paul Lester of Britain's IT Reviews site is impressed with the Brother MFC-J825DW's range of features, as well as its "solid and impressively compact design." However, he says it "doesn't quite tick all the boxes when it comes to performance and quality." Although he says the J825DW printer is fairly fast (about 9 ppm for text and a minute for a four-color photo), the images came out a bit grainy. M. David Stone of PCMag.com agrees, saying photo quality is "at the low end of what qualifies as par for an inkjet MFP." By contrast, Peter Piazza, the About.com guide to printers and scanners, has no quibble with the Brother J825DW's print quality, which he says is excellent for both text and photos. However, he notes that the printer takes a long time to warm up and is very slow when printing over a wireless network. Despite these flaws, all three reviewers consider this printer a good buy for the price.

If you can afford to spend a little bit more, the HP Officejet 6500A Plus e-All-in-One (*Est. $130) is also an option. This printer adds a few extras the Brother doesn't have, like automatic duplexing and the same ePrint service found on the Officejet 7500A and 8500A. These features, combined with its "easy setup and usable interface," earn it an Editors' Choice recommendation from PCMag.com. Reviewer Tony Hoffman says that the Officejet 6500A Plus printer's speed and quality are "solid," if not exceptional, and it offers a great set of features for its price. Simon Williams of IT Reviews agrees, although he adds the caveat that this printer's duplex mode is very slow and outputs pages at reduced size. Users at Amazon.com give the Officejet 6500A Plus middling reviews. While most are pleased with its print quality, we read several complaints about problems with connecting over a wireless network. They also reiterate the complaints about HP customer support that we saw for the other Officejet models.