Issue #0618/1 - With many personal or small workgroup buyers keen to take advantage of the availability of mono laser multifunction printers, rather than take up space on three or four separate units, the units available are becoming more sophisticated, more versatile and more capable. However, they are also becoming more diverse in price and the features they offer.
Since January 2005, when TCPglobal last compared low-end mono laser All-in-One devices, there have been a significant number of new models released. So it is time for a updated review.
There is no doubt that the ‘All-in-One’ has totally revolutionised and changed the face of the inkjet printer market. No longer are single-function inkjet printers the choice for home use, personal use in corporations and colour printing in small businesses. Instead, the multifunction device, or All-in-One, has caught the imagination of the printer-buying public because of its functionality and versatility.
The same cannot be said for the personal end of the laser market however because most lasers are office based and most offices have a large copier or MFP in addition to whatever printers it may have.
With a new model from Kyocera Mita just announced to the European market (but not necessarily available in all countries), the bottom end of the personal mono laser AiO segment begins at 16ppm. In fact, Kyocera Mita is pushing downwards with this three-function machine, FS-1016MFP, while models from other manufacturers, including Kyocera Mita’s four-function machine, are all at 18ppm or 20ppm.
Therefore, we have split the review into two sections: firstly, three-function machines from 16-20ppm; and, secondly, four-function machines from 18-20ppm. All machines have been chosen on the basis that they are fully functional multifunction machines with Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).
Availability of networking interface has not been taken into account this time because multiple models are not generally available to allow for the relevant version to be chosen. In the three-function category, only the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 3052 AiO has a network interface. In the four-function category, half the devices do have Ethernet as standard while the rest do not.
We find some scope for confusion in the naming of models as some models, such as those from Hewlett-Packard, are called All-in-One (AiO) printers while others, such as the models from Kyocera Mita, are called MultiFunction Peripherals (MFPs).
In fact, there is no difference. The ‘AiO’ description was first coined by Hewlett-Packard to describe low-end inkjet multifunction devices that shouldn’t be confused with the large, high-end, heavy duty departmental laser multifunction machines that have more in common with traditional copiers than any inkjet multifunction device could ever have.
So, although it was a term of differentiation, it has in itself become confused because some manufacturers continue to use the ‘MFP’ name tag for even low-end devices.
While Hewlett-Packard uses the term AiO for all low-end devices, whether inkjet or laser: Kyocera Mita, Konica Minolta, Oki and Xerox have only laser devices anyway and stick firmly with the MFP label; Brother mixes its metaphors by calling them all AiOs but uses ‘MFC’ in the nomenclature for any products with fax functionality; and Epson distinguishes inkjets from laser devices with the use of AiO for inkjet and MFP for colour laser.
Within these two categories lies a vast price range and some considerable variance in features provided, making the decision as to which machine may be best suited to the task a difficult one. Value for money many mean something very different to different people and purchasing policy may have more of an effect here than in many printer categories.
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