Buying Guides -> Hardware -> Multifunctional Device All For One, One For AllTeam 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
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 Add your comments
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After unpacking, testing and analyzing each of the