Buying Guides -> Hardware -> Multifunctional Device

All For One, One For All

Team CHIP | 27 December 2011

All For One,

One For All

Ten multifunctional AIO printers competed this month for two titles. Check out which two were good enough to make it to the top.

By Francis D'Sa

Technology in printing and imaging is advancing at

such a rapid pace that not only have printers been

shrinking in size, but dropping in price as well.

Imagine owning a printer, scanner, fax machine, copier

and phone, all separately. Not only will they occupy a

significant amount of space on your desktop, but would

also make it look cluttered. Thanks to convergence, we

have all-in-one printers that can handle all the tasks

seamlessly. AIO printers not only print, but also work

as a scanner, fax machine and photocopier. They make

your desk less cluttered, but also add a certain level

of grace and class, and more than anything else, they

come integrated with three or four functions in one single

package. Some AIOs come with PictBridge technology

that enables users to print photos directly from their

digital cameras. Some even come equipped with an

LCD display for previewing images before printing them.

Printing photos cannot get easier on some devices

with built-in memory card readers and image editing

functions. All you have to do is insert your memory card

containing the images you want to print, enhance the

pictures on-the-fly, and fire a print command—as simple

as that! You don’t need to rush to a photo lab, which will

take another few hours to do the job. Most AIO printers

today have a built-in network adapter, which is a boon

for office users. You can not only fire print commands

over the network, but also share

such a device with multiple users

on the network. A Wi-Fi adapter is

more advantageous as you can print

wirelessly from Wi-Fi-enabled devices

such as laptops or smartphones.

Such printers not only eliminate wire

clutter, but also make life a whole lot

simpler. Apart from these features,

they also have an automatic document

feeder, so you don’t need to feed

paper manually into the scanner when

you want to copy or send faxes. Such

machines may seem intimidating at

the first glance, but even a first-timer

will be able to use them without any

hassles, thanks to the user-friendly

interfaces AIOs offer. We now have

devices that come with navigational

aids such as jog dials and directional

buttons that make operation a breeze.

In this comparison, we tested

ten AIO printers. While some are

ideal for home use, others are best

suited for photographers or office

desks. And yes, owning such a

device is no longer expensive. So

turn over and take your pick.

Canon Pixma MG5270

The Canon Pixma MG5270 is an

AIO worth considering for a large

home or a small/medium business

environment. It has a rugged build,

but the shell has a high-gloss exterior

which attracts fingerprints, dust and

scratches. The AIO features two paper

input trays—one a bottom (front loading)

cassette which can stack around 150

sheets, and the other at the rear for top

loading with a capacity of 80 sheets.

Both trays can be folded to shut the AIO

and avoid dust entry. The only downside

of the build is the rear paper input tray

which is quite flimsy and fragile. The

control panel features a crisp, tilting 2.4-

inch color display along with a jog dialcum-

D-pad. Other features include a card

reader and a PictBridge port. The AIO

sports a print resolution of 9600x2400

dpi using the 1 pl ink drop technology

and a total of 4608 nozzles in the print

head. Five ink cartridges work in tandem,

resulting in excellent quality prints. The

printer can print at top speeds of 14

pages per minute, and a single 4x6-inch

photo takes just around 45 seconds. The

flatbed scanner can scan at resolutions

of 2400x4800 dpi at 48-bits. These

specs are good enough for those into

the photography and graphic designing.

The performance in terms of print quality

is excellent, and this is the main reason

it bagged the best performance award.

If you are looking for an aesthetically

appealing wireless AIO for your home or

personal office desk, which can also print

speedy and excellent lab quality photos,

you must consider the Pixma MG5270.

A good alternative is the feature-rich

and compact Brother MFC-J615W, which

features an ADF, Ethernet, wireless

networking and delivers good print

quality. The cost difference is a mere

Rs 900 and the cost of consumables is

cheaper by around Rs 700, however the

main drawback of the MFC-J615W is the

sluggish photo print speeds.

For: Excellent print quality, fast photo

printing, wireless networking.

Against: Glossy exterior, below average

Verdict:the ideal aIO device for photography

and graphic design professionals.

Specifications

Rs 9,495

Dimensions (WxHxD): 455 x 160 x 368 mm;

Print resolution: 9600

x 2400 DPI;

Scan resolution: 2400 x 4800 DPI;

Features: Print,Scan, Copy;

Interface: USB, Wi-fi, PictBridge, card reader.

Contact Canon India

Phone 0124-4160000

EMAIL info@canon.co.in

Brother DCP-J125

The Brother DCP-J125 is a great

choice for a small or medium

business environment on a tight

budget. The low price is achieved thanks

to a lack of features such as networking,

fax and ADF. The AIO features a print

resolution of 1200x6000 dpi and uses

four ink cartridges, which can be easily

loaded or replaced from the front. The

flatbed scanner is unlike its siblings,

which also feature an ADF. The build

quality is excellent, with a completely

matte shell. The control panel on top

comes with a 1.9-inch color LCD display.

The control panel features large, tactile

and well-spaced rubber keys. The front

features the front-loading paper cassette

which can hold just 100 sheets. The front

also houses the card reader for PC-less

printing of PDF and JPEG files. Unlike

other printers, Brother printers feature a

unique cable management system for the

USB interface, wherein the printer needs

to be opened to access the USB port.

The AIO is compact and uses minimal

head room if the scanner is not used

very often. The printer makes use of four

cartridges which cost around Rs 760 for

black and Rs 410 for each CMY tank. The

black tank can yield around 300 pages,

while the color ones can yield around

260 pages. The printer performs well,

with decent print speeds of 16 pages per

minute in draft mode, and four pages

per minute in normal mode. Photo prints

take less than three minutes. Though the

quality of photo prints is at par with the

Canon Pixma MG5270, the DCP-J125 lost

out due to average text and copier prints.

If you need a multi-function printer with

features such as fax and networking, we

recommend the HP OfficeJet e-All-in-One

4500, which costs around Rs 3,000 more.

The 4500 delivers better print speeds and

crisper photo prints along with networking

features and an ADF. It also uses only two

ink cartridges.

For: Rugged build, matte-finished

exterior, good photo print quality.

Against: Average text print quality,

slow photo printing speeds, no

networking feature.

Verdict: An extremely compact multifunctional

printer for small offices.

Specifications

Rs 5,950

Dimensions (WxHxD): 390 x 150 x 368 mm; Print resolution: 1200

x 6000 DPI; Scan resolution: 1200 x 2400 DPI; Features: Print,

Scan, Copy; Interface: USB, card reader.

Contact Brother International India

Phone 1800-222-422

EMAI L info@brother.in

PERSONAL TAKE

After unpacking, testing and analyzing each of the

ten multifunction printers we received in our labs

for this round-up, we found a lot of similarities

between most of the AIOs. It was slightly difficult

judging the performance of each printer against

the other.

If I were to recommend an all-in-one

multifunctional printer, it would probably be the

Canon Pixma MG5270, as it outperformed the rest

in the batch. The printer is slightly bulky and is not

as compact as the ones from Brother. The printer

can print lab quality photo prints in just 45

seconds. Also the quality of regular text and mixed

graphics prints was excellent. Above all, the

printer carries a two-year warranty. The

downsides are that the printer is highly glossy and

can get easily tarnished with even daily cleaning

and the cartridges can set you back a whopping Rs

3,695 for the complete set. Lastly, the printer lacks

a fax and an ADF, which would have made this

device a much easier recomendation.

If you want a highly compact printer with a

really rugged built, I would definitely recommend

the Brother MFC J615W. This one additionally

packs features such as an ADF, a 33.6 Kbps

facsimile, Ethernet and wireless connectivity as

well as PictBridge and memory card support. The

Brother MFC J615W is the complete all-in-one

solution for a small and medium businesses. Also

to be noted - the AIO costs just around Rs 900

more than the Canon Pixma MG5270. But there are

some downsides to this printer too, which can't be

ignored altogether. Some of these include sluggish

photo and copier print speeds and average text

printing quality.

Those looking for an all-in-one device on a

shoe-string budget can definitely consider the

Brother DCP J125. It provides performance

without burning a hole in your wallet. The photo

print quality and document print speeds of the

DCP J125 are pretty good, but the printer lacks

features such as ADF and networking. The bonus

on this printer is the cost of consumables, which is

a mere Rs 1,990 for the set of four cartridges.

We did expect to see a few more AIOs from

Canon and other brands, but due to time

constraints and other unavoidable snags, they did

not make it into this roundup.

Francis D'Sa

francis.dsa@chip.in