Multifunction Printers

CNet.com reviews the most multifunction printers and covers all types. Reviews spend more time on design and features than performance, but comparison charts do show the speeds and image quality scores of… each model relative to the competition. Users can contribute their own opinions as well, some of which contrast starkly with the conclusions drawn by editors. In some other cases, readers hold certain multifunction printers in much higher regard than the editors do.

expand

collapse

Mike Pasini reviews a handful of printers a year, of which the archived reviews are listed by manufacturer and availability, and then subdivided by date. Printers are tested on Macs predominantly, but also… on computers running Windows. Reviews are exhaustive, covering everything from installation to maintenance. Although they are not strictly comparative, reviews often refer to competing models in passing, allowing a good sense of how they rank as far as price, features and performance.

expand

collapse

Britain's PC Pro reviews and rates a few multifunction 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 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.

expand

collapse

Peter Piazza, About.com's guide to printers/scanners, maintains a small but fairly up-to-date printer review database. Piazza doesn't compare printers with each other, but the reviews are easy to read,… critical and are 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. Reviews are not dated, so it's hard to tell which reviews are more recent. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

expand

collapse

PC Magazine conducts occasional service and support surveys of its subscribers. A chart shows how owners fared with printer-brand reliability and tech support, as well as what percentage of printers from… each brand needed repair. They also assess the owners' likelihood of recommending the brand to others. Owners report that multifunction printers need more repairs than standalone printers. Kodak wins the Readers' Choice for all-in-one printers, although Canon also scores consistently well in many categories.

expand

collapse