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August 17, 2011
Multi Function Printers: Features and functionalities
By Databazaar Blog
Printers are no longer machines that just print documents and images. Multi Function Printers, popularly known as MFPs, can also perform various other related functions such as scan, copy, and in some cases even fax. Renowned tech products magazine, pcworld, recently conducted a test drive to find out the printing needs of offices from various fields. Six popular inkjet MFPs were installed in three very different office to test their performance in the real world.
Each of the offices was given two MFPs which would suit their specific print needs. These printers were tested for a week. The printers used for the research were:
- Epson WorkForce 840 All-in-One Printer
- Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901
- Brother MFC-J6710DW
- HP Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One
- HP Envy100 e-All-in-One
- Lexmark Genesis
Here are the features that you can look forward to in an MFP as found from the pcworld test drive.
Printer cum scanner: Most MFPs combine the features of printing and scanning for both A4 size and wide documents. Lexmark Genesis printers have an additional FlashScan feature which uses a camera to take a photograph of the image to be scanned resulting in a scanned output almost instantaneously.
Touchscreens: Touchscreens have become a very common feature in printers nowadays. Each brand of printers comes up with its own unique features for the touchscreen. Among printers used for the pcword’s research initiative, Brother MFC-J6710DW lacks a touchscreen.
Web based Apps for Printers: HP and Lexmark are the only brands which offer web-based applications for their MFPs. HP, in partnership with Disney and Dreamworks, delivers features such as printable games, posters, puzzles and so on. MSNBC and yahoo offer news feeds while Bing, Google and MapQuest provide help with maps.
Lexmark’s Genesis on the other hand, has an app called ePrint that allows you to send print jobs to the printer from any device with an internet connection, from anywhere in the world through the printer’s unique email address.
Cloud printing: An amazing feature that has just found its entry into the printer market. You can now print documents and images from your android-enabled phones without driver or connectivity issues.
Automatic double sided printing and automatic document feeder are other features that you might want to look out for. While duplex printing is definitely more environment friendly, it also consumes more time. If your work involves a great amount of faxing then buying a printer with in built features for fax might be a good idea. Ink costs, too, are one of the most important features that you have to consider while choosing an MFP. Most of the printers used in the pcworld test initiative are reasonably priced as far as ink costs are concerned.
MFPs are most suited for small and medium sized offices that look for printers which offer features like scanning and faxing in addition to printing. With the wide range of MFPs now available in the market, you can always find one which suits your needs perfectly.
Keywords:MFPs, Scanning, MFP and cloud printing, web apps for MFPs, duplexing features in MFPs, touchscreens in MFPs
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