Multifunction Printers: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentPCMag.com regularly reviews multifunction printers, and the volume of reviews offers an excellent frame of reference. Reviewers do an excellent job of comparing and reporting relative speeds complete with comparison charts, but we'd like to see direct comparisons of print quality as well. Though not every specification is tested, what testing is done is very good, and the reviews are more substantive than those from most other computer magazines and websites.

Our AssessmentThis chart lists PC World's current top 10 inkjet multifunction printers -- four from Canon, four from Epson and two from HP. However, many of them don't actually rate that highly; most are judged barely above average, with 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. Links from the list lead to full reviews, which include test results but generally do not compare printers directly.

Our AssessmentCNET reviews dozens of multifunction printers each year, and all types are covered. Reviews spend more time on design and features than performance, but comparison charts do show the print speeds of each model relative to the competition. (Older reviews compare image quality as well.) This site also includes reviews from users, some of which contrast starkly with the conclusions drawn by editors. Printers with above-average reviews from the editors may get below-average ratings from users, and vice versa.

Our AssessmentThis British magazine reviews many multifunction printers, but not all are available in the United States. PC Advisor uses lots of writers, so the review quality can vary quite a bit; some reviews are reprinted from other sources, such as PC World, which is owned by the same publishing house.

Our AssessmentPeter Piazza, About.com's guide to printers/scanners, maintains a small but fairly up-to-date review database. Piazza doesn't compare printers with each other, but the reviews are easy to read and based on hands-on testing, including comments on start-up times, installation and print speeds. This site is worth a look once you narrow down your choice. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentBritain's PC Pro reviews and rates a few multifunction printers mixed in with standalone printers. Each all-in-one printer gets a short report that delves into the high and low points, but not in much detail. Printers are not directly compared in the write-ups, but they are given numerical scores and ranked on the landing page, so it's easy to see how editors think they stack up. Unfortunately, the quality of these reviews varies greatly, and the numerical scores aren't always consistent with the overall conclusions of the reviews. Navigating the site is a real hassle as well: There is no way to separate the all-in-ones from the other printers, and there is no way to sort out only the PC Pro Recommended models to narrow down the list. Moreover, since this is a U.K. site, many of the reviewed printers are not available in the United States.

Our AssessmentHardwareCentral.com has reviews for a few multifunction devices scattered among its other printer reviews. There are no direct comparisons between models, but each printer is graded on a five-point scale in three different categories: features, performance and value. While no all-in-one printer reviewed within the past three years earns top marks in every category, a few models earn overall scores of 12 or 13 out of 15. No new reviews for multifunction printers have been added to the site since late 2010.

Our AssessmentCustomer satisfaction among Amazon.com contributors is generally good, as most all-in-one printers have high average ratings, particularly Canon and Epson models. In general, more expensive printers tend to garner better-than-average reviews. Having lots of reviews is helpful, as it smoothes out the natural unevenness of user-written reviews. A box that contrasts the most helpful positive and negative reviews is also useful.

Our AssessmentTestFreaks.com compiles scores from professional and user reviews of scanners and then ranks and sorts them. While useful for getting an overall picture of opinions on various models, TestFreaks.com provides little new information, and it is unclear how its "Freak Score" is calculated. Since the sources used by TestFreaks.com overlap with our other sources, we have used this site only for tracking down additional reviews on our top-rated models.