Group Test Much like the trend for mobile phones to have cameras, inkjet printers with scanners seems to be the norm these days. With all the models on test producing photo quality prints yet costing less than £150, you might think you’re getting something for nothing. Of course, along with the scanner doubling as a colour photocopier – and with some models you get a fax too – it’s all a ruse to get you to use more ink.
Certainly, inkjet printers have become more efficient with their ink consumption over the years, but little has changed regarding the cost of consumables since it was noted that champagne is a good deal cheaper than printer ink. Indeed, the reasons for choosing an inkjet over a colour laser are examined in the Buyer’s Guide, as total cost of ownership is something that really to be needs to be weighed up with your intended printing tasks in mind.
Absent from this group test is Samsung, but that’s simply because the company has dropped out of the inkjet market, preferring to focus on producing laser printers instead. As you’ll see, even at this price point there’s some very healthy competition in the inkjet market and plenty of features to choose from.
Brother MFC-490CW
Canon Pixma MX350
Epson Stylus SX610FW
HP Officejet 6500
Kodak ESP 7
Lexmark Intuition S505
Which of these models – if any – will win a Reg Hardware Recommended and Editor’s Choice awards? Find out when you review the results of our tests and read our conclusions at the end of the round-up.
Not every student needs a printer nowadays, but if you do, an all-in-one, or multifunction, model can be the perfect choice, especially if you’ll be living in cramped quarters come September. It saves space by combining three or four devices into one. (By definition, an all-in-one printer takes the place of a printer and a scanner, as well as providing photocopier and, sometimes, fax functions.) Most students won’t care much about faxing, but the other three functions can come in mighty handy come study crunch-time. Plus, prices on these models have been dropping rapidly of late, making these multifunction printers (also often called “MFPs”) more attractive to those on scholastic (read: limited) budgets. As a matter of fact, none of the printers here will cost you more than $100.
We looked at six all-in-one models based on inkjet technology, which provides the ability to print in black-and-white or color. They not only provide the expected print functionality, but they also let you pack away your space-hogging scanner, and they can serve in a pinch when you need the occasional photocopy, too. (Bear in mind, though, that no MFP is a great substitute for a real photocopier if you’re copying more than a few pages. So don’t expect to rely on the copy function too heavily.) One thing to note, however: If you know you’ll need to print lots of long monochrome documents (such as lengthy research papers that are light on graphics), an inexpensive laser printer is going to be a better choice for you. It won’t be able to print in color, but the print speeds will be a lot faster, and the cost per page will be a lot lower.
Limitations aside, though, you don’t have to empty your (or your parents’) bank account to bring one of these models home, and that’s what matters most. Indeed, some of these models are so inexpensive that, if you can spare the space, you might want to buy one of these and a laser. For example, you can pick up the Epson Stylus NX515 for just around $50. It features excellent print quality and versatile connectivity, and it’s super-easy to operate. If you’re looking for a higher-end unit, the HP Photosmart Plus features a cool touch-screen LCD, inexpensive consumables, and outstanding photo-print quality. Finally, if you’re looking to make color prints on the cheap (say, of artwork, or of digital images for a photography course), take a look at the Kodak ESP 3250, which uses relatively inexpensive ink and media to produce excellent-quality photos.
Whatever your scholastic needs are, check out all of our recommendations. You’re very likely to find one that fits you.
Lexon Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of recycles toner for laser printers, fax and multi-function copiers, today announced it has signed a Letter of Intent with INTEK America Inc., a manufacturer of energy efficient paper shredders and toner cartridges and various other “eco-friendly” products under the GoECOlife™ brand.
Per the agreement, INTEK shareholders will receive newly issued shares of Lexon, representing an 80 percent ownership over the combined entity, over which INTEK will assume operating and managerial control.
INTEK is a large-scale manufacturer/distributor of consumer branded products. The company distributes the products through big box retail and dealer channels in the United States, Europe and Asia, with plans to target Australia and New Zealand.
INTEK introduced the first commercial and personal “green” paper shredders under the GoECOlife™ brand. The company’s GoECOlife™ remanufactured toner cartridge line is scheduled to launch in the next two months, followed by several additional products currently in development or pending throughout 2011.
Epson Philippines Corporation has announced its initiatives towards fulfilling the goal of reducing 90% CO2 emissions in its operations, as the company sets out to motivate its partners and consumers to also make a choice in protecting the environment.
The launch activity, done in cooperation with SM Supermalls, commenced with a photo exhibit featuring the Epson PRO, a group of distinguished photographers and graphic designers who expressed their concern for the environment through their art work. The photo exhibit entitled “The Choice to Change: Green Inspiring Blue”, showcases the Epson PRO vision of climate change to inspire everyone to act now. The photo exhibit will be showcased at SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Cebu and SM Davao.
As a sales office, Epson Philippines has also launched the Epson Toner & Ink Cartridge Collection and Recycling Campaign, an expansion of internal efforts that the company has already undertaken in the past 3 years. The campaign sets to motivate Epson partners and consumers towards proper disposal of Epson ink cartridges to benefit the eco-system.
The launch of the Epson Toner & Ink Cartridge Collection and Recycling program will start off with the generous support of SM Malls. Recycling bins for Epson toner and ink cartridges will be situated in SM Cyberzones of select SM malls, so the end-users can conveniently drop off their used cartridges for proper disposal. A total of ten (10) drop-off locations will be announced this year.
To ensure that the collection will be sustainable and efficient, Epson Philippines is currently finalizing talks with its partners, distributors and retailers for additional drop-off and collection points. The recycling loop will be done in cooperation with Epson Precision Philippines, Inc. or EPPI, Epson’s manufacturing office located in Lipa City, Batangas.
Globally, Epson is the world’s first manufacturer to publicly declare its commitment to eliminate ozone-deleting CFCs in 1988. Since then, the company and all its subsidiaries all over the world have continued to apply compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies to reduce environmental impacts and improve eco-performance in every stage of the product lifecycle—from design and manufacture through to transport, use and recycling.
This commitment to the environment was summarized in June 2008, when Epson officially announced its Environmental Vision 2050, which encourages everyone to share responsibility for reducing environmental impacts. The primary action that Epson has undertaken globally under its environmental policy is to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% across the lifecycle of all products and services by the year 2050. Also, as a member of the ecosystem, Epson has vowed to continue to work towards restoring and protecting biodiversity together with local communities.
Tired of having all your stuff out there in the cloud? Now HP says you can print it out to any printer you want with the HP ePrint Center. Cleverly mixing in something actually makes HP money (printer sales) with cloud computing, HP will sell you a “Web-connected printer” — signing up for their online service gets you the ability to print when you are away.
It’s unclear how many Web-connected printers people are expected to buy, if they will be strategically scattering them at various locations in their daily lives, or if some sort of underground “print clouds” will emerge with “public printers,” “private printers” and maybe even “hybrid printers.”
Rumor has it HP used its purchase of Palm and Palm’s webOS to power the printers, which, naturally, have “apps” and can do things like browse the Web. Grumpy IT pros may say this certainly does not look like a secure improvement over a network printer and they already knew how to email documents to their printers, since HP has made that possible for about 20 years.Google Cloud Print, however, hasn’t made it off the ground yet, despite being the exact same idea. That may have something to do with HP selling printers as well as software and services and Google not doing so, but we cannot be entirely sure.