| Home offices, small businesses and craft rooms | | | | -Print resolution usually starts at 4800 x 1200 dpi |
| can become powerful centers of productivity with | | | | for color and 1200 dpi for black |
| the addition of an all-in-one inkjet printer. A | | | | -Some printers detect which paper is being used |
| combination of scanner, copier, fax machine and | | | | to decide what print resolution is needed |
| printer, these machines come with many versatile | | | | -Automatic cartridge alignment |
| features that can make a small business look big, | | | | Copying |
| home offices look corporate and craft rooms look | | | | -Both color and black & white copies |
| inspired. | | | | -Request up to 99 copies at a time |
| Following is a list of common features found in the | | | | -Can reduce or enlarge - usually ranges from 25% |
| latest multifunction inkjet printers. Note that not all | | | | - 400% |
| printers have each feature, so be sure to check | | | | Scanning |
| the details when comparing products: | | | | -Flatbed scanners, great for laying books, fragile |
| General | | | | photos, craft projects, or other items flat are |
| -Wireless connectivity - print from anywhere in | | | | typically 8.5" x 11.7" |
| your home with a wireless-enabled printer | | | | -Color depth of 36-bit or 48-bit means true-to-life |
| connected to a wireless network (ethernet cable | | | | replication (the higher the number, the better) |
| may not be included) | | | | -Optical resolution of 600x1200 dpi is suitable for |
| -Economy of size - most multifunction printers are | | | | most scanning purposes, but higher numbers |
| slightly larger than the size of a standard sheet of | | | | mean images can be enlarged to print or poster |
| paper (the size needed for the scanner) | | | | size without noticeable loss in quality |
| -Printing speed - starts at about 25 pages per | | | | -OCR software for scanning text that can be |
| minute (ppm) for black ink and 18 ppm for color | | | | edited |
| -Sheet capacity - paper trays usually hold 15-50 | | | | Faxing |
| sheets; a paper drawer can be tuck away a ream | | | | -Fax in color or black & white with or without |
| of paper for fewer refills | | | | your computer |
| -Connection - printers usually connect to PC or | | | | -Group dialing for fax blasts |
| MAC with a USB cable | | | | -Speed dial directories with 50 numbers and up |
| -PC -free copy and print - make copies or print | | | | -Transmission speed about 3 seconds per page |
| documents without turning the computer on | | | | -Typically remember about 90 pages of incoming |
| -Different print media types and sizes - most | | | | faxes |
| inkjet printers support letter, legal, envelopes, | | | | -Junk fax barriers prevent unsolicited faxes |
| transparencies, craft papers, photo paper, sticker | | | | Accompanying Software |
| sheets, cardstock, banner paper, etc. | | | | -Quick, easy setup |
| -Document feeders copy or scan multiple | | | | -Crop, resize, rotate and retouch photos including |
| documents at once - they usually hold 30-50 | | | | red-eye reduction |
| pages | | | | -Converting and saving images |
| -Auto-duplexing, a feature that comes with | | | | -Easy Internet printing and faxing |
| document feeders, means you can copy or print | | | | Keep in Mind |
| both front and back without having to wait and | | | | -Toner - Most printers use either two cartridges |
| manually turn over your printed document | | | | (one for black ink, one for cyan, magenta and |
| -Some printers are Energy Star qualified or claim | | | | yellow) or four cartridges (one for each color). |
| to be as "green" as possible | | | | However, some printers, like Canon brand, use |
| -Depending on features, prices range from $150 - | | | | different color systems. Kodak boasts the lowest |
| $350 | | | | total ink replacement cost in the industry with |
| Printing | | | | black ink cartridge costing around $10 and 5-ink |
| -Print laser-quality documents and lab-quality | | | | color cartridge around $15. In general, more |
| photos and prints | | | | cartridges mean more cost savings because only |
| -Borderless photo and document printing | | | | the color needed is replaced. |
| -Typical print and copy speed in black & | | | | -Compatibility - Check to make sure that your |
| white and color ranges from 2 - 3 seconds; | | | | computer's operating system is supported. |
| photos print in less than a minute | | | | Multifunction printers may not work with older |
| -Print photos directly from memory card slot, | | | | versions of Windows. |
| Flash drive or digital camera | | | | |