July 24, 2008

Reviews of Canon PIXMA MP970, Lexmark X9575 Professional, HP H470wbt

By Kara Hiltz

Review Roundup: Don't Judge a Printer by its Multifunctions; Look Elsewhere If You Need Speed

Canon PIXMA MP970 Shows Skeptical Reviewer a Wonderful Printer Life

Sometimes you can change first impressions. David Rasnake of DigitalCameraReview.com admitted that his previously bad experience with multifunction printers soured his view of the Canon PIXMA MP970 from the get-go. But despite his prejudice, he gave the all-in-one printer a favorable review. Gee, it sounds like a Frank Capra movie.

Rasnake praised the Canon PIXMA MP970 for its ability to give great-to-excellent performance in all areas, including copying, printing, and scanning. From a photography standpoint, photo prints came out well — with the exception of black-and-white prints, which showed some bronzing, according to Rasnake.

For office work, Rasnake praised the duplex printing, film scanner, and other advanced features. "[W]ith easy setup, built-in network capability, good photo-res printing performance, and some advanced document printing features, the MP970 is a reasonably space-efficient, extremely cost-effective ticket to some very good all-around performance," concludes Rasnake.

Lexmark X9575 Professional: More Features Equals Slower Speed, Says PC Magazine

The Lexmark X9575 Professional doesn't fall to the bottom of its class, but the multifunction printer gives you nothing to write home about either, according to PC Magazine's M. David Stone. He awards the Lexmark X9575 Professional a 3 out of 5 rating.

Stone cited a few beefs with the Lexmark X9575 Professional, but the two that stand out the most are speed and text quality. In terms of comparable printers, he pointed out that the less expensive Canon PIXMA MP610 clocked in with much faster print speeds. The Lexmark X9575 Professional's photo printing was also slow — about two minutes for a 4x6-inch photo, claims Stone.

Text quality also left something to be desired. The text lacked clarity and didn't seem to suit small print or highly professional documents. "I wouldn't even consider using the X9575 for something like a resume," exclaims Stone.

HP H470wbt: Speed Takes a Hit in Exchange for Mobility, Says PC World

PC World endorses the HP H470wbt inkjet printer for on-the-go business professionals who need to print from their laptop, camera, or phone at a moment's notice. But the printer's slower speeds earned it only a 67 rating ("Fair" by PC World's standards).

When it comes to connectivity, the HP H470wbt offers several choices, including WiFi, Bluetooth, PictBridge, and USB 2.0. And the quality remains high, even though the printer weighs only five pounds and fits easily in your car, according to PC World.

PC World's main complaint: slow print speeds. "Text printed at a tolerable 7.1 pages per minute, but color graphics on plain paper came out at a mediocre 2.2 ppm. Our test photo took a pedestrian 2 minutes to print on letter-size glossy paper," writes PC World.

Illustration by Jaclyn. All rights reserved.

About Review Roundup
Although we cannot review every printer and printer accessory, we can scour the Web for the most creative and helpful reviews. That's what we do for you in Review Roundup. In the process, we also interview the reviewers for updates and additional insights that you'll only find here.