You are here: Before you buy a laser printer - Multifunction Laser Printers

             Multifunction or all-in-one Laser Printers 

Laser printers are the best solution for your personal or business needs.  Multifunction laser printers are one of the most efficient printers for the busy working environment. Whether it is for the home or the office, we would like to arm you with all the information you'll need to help you decide on the right multifunction Laser printer.

Job flexibility is the number one desired corporate benefit. If flexibility is your main concern, the multifunction Laser Printers are your expansible printing answer. They are easily suitable to any business activity and their various requirements.

The Multifunction laser printer is an animal of a different sort when compared to the three others. Selecting a laser multifunction laser printer can be complicated, given the number of features to use as buying criteria. Still, multifunction laser printers can be a good deal if you know what you want.

When you need flexible printing solutions that deliver results, and your office needs a single business machine that produces documents with beautiful color at high speed, and prints, copies, receives and scans faxes all at once, multifunction laser printers can provide the comprehensive answer for every aspect of your document production. The all in one printers are the newest definition of what it means to be an inclusive solution for home users and businesses alike.  

If you are setting up a new office or plan to print documents, drawings and web pages as often as you are sending faxes and copying or scanning, the Multifunction Laser Printer can be your optimum choice. Besides the printer, the Fully-functional Laser Printers are conveniently combining the scanner, copier and often fax machines into one, saving you not only space but money, leaving more capital for other necessities.

 Many Multifunction laser printers include built-in Web pages, which gives you the opportunity to verify the status of your printing job , and modify settings from the network by connecting to its IP address with a Web browser or telnet, even if the printer is not in the same room.

Although these printers can function as fax machines, copiers and even scanners, before you purchase a multifunction laser printer, you should think about what functions you would  use most often.

Choose a multifunction machine with better than standard features for the functions you'll use most frequently!

If you intend to copy lots of documents we, recommend selecting a multifunction laser printer that allows glass-top copying, and if you plan to scan many documents check the resolution for the scanner. If faxing is an important feature, go for the model that contains plenty of memory for storing documents.

 Most Multifunction Laser printers have multiple trays that allows you to fill up to 1800 sheets of paper into, and lets you use and store papers of different sizes. (Such as Executive, letter, legal, ledger, A3, A4, B4, B5, envelope sizes) Look for a Laser printer that has at least 250 pages of input capacity and able to work with a variety of paper types to accommodate all your printing needs

What to check on the fax machine in the multifunction laser printers?

    Fax machines transmit data at different rates, from 4,800 kbps to 28,800 kbps. The average is 14.4 Kbps but from 9,600-bps fax machines typically require less time on the phone line and save you money. A machine with above 33 bps will be satisfactory.

    The standard resolution for multifunction faxes is 203 X 196 dpi.

    The nice autodial feature enables you to program the fax to send a document at a given time so you can take advantage of the lowest telephone rates. Some models also offer two-to-one image reduction for incoming faxes; this reduces transmission time and saves paper. A good number of Multifunction printers allow you to send and receive a fax straightly from or onto your PC, even in color.

         Fax Forwarding is a useful feature, which automatically forwards the received faxes to another number.

Pay attention to the features that might interest you, like color faxing, fax broadcasting or group dialing.

Fax memory is used to store incoming and outgoing faxes. In any case, 15- 20 pages of fax memory will allow continuous fax-printing, in case you run out of paper or receive the next fax during printing.            After restocking the paper for the fax, it then prints out the faxes that were stored in the memory. Furthermore, it allows you to investigate  the recent faxes you have sent or received.

As with the printer itself the automatic paper feeder in the fax is a very handy addition, which automatically sends multi-page documents allowing hands-free faxing. The larger memory size enables you to save more faxes.

Scanner guidance: Try to look for a multifunction laser printer that comes with a color duplex scanner to allow scanning of both sides of a color document at the same time. It will save you a significant amount of paper. The resolution for multifunction scanners usually ranges from 300 dpi to 1,200 dpi. Besides the resolution, the other aspect that may influence the quality of scanned documents is the maximum color depth. This is the number of colors used to display a graphic image.

The higher its number, the more color can be represented. Number of colors in an image: 8-bit (256 colors).

Converting the scanned text documents onto your computer and into editable text usually requires software.

The photocopier is also often found as a part of the Multifunction laser machines. Nearly all the multifunction copiers are capable of reducing the size of a copy to 25 percent or 50 percent of the original size or enlarge it 150 percent or 200 percent. If color copying is an important feature, go for the inkjet model but if you plan to make many photocopies, you may want to consider the laser models.     Color copying is a little more dawdling, since the printer must apply color at the same time. The required speed for the first page is a bit longer than that of the subsequent pages. Because the copier has to scan the original document to create the first page, it requires more time than the rest of the pages.

To verify both the quality and speed of your future printer and other combined machines in it, test drive before you buy it. Refer to the specifications about its memory, resolution, the fax/modem speed and features. Choose a Multifunction laser with better than standard features for the functions you'll use most often.

1) Brother MFC8840DN Laser Multifunction Printer

While this is the most expensive laser multifunction printer on the list, this multifunction printer offers functions that aren't usually available in this price range, such as duplex printing and built-in networking capability. It also has 32MB memory, a full-featured fax (with PC fax capability), a 9600 dpi (interpolated) resolution color flatbed scanner, a 50-page automatic document feeder, and fast printing and copying (21 pages or copies per minute).

2) Brother DCP-8045D Laser Multifunction Printer

What's the difference between this multifunction printer and the first one listed? Not much. This is essentially the same multifunction laser printer without the built-in networking and fax capabilities. However, it still offers duplex printing, flatbed color scanning (9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated resolution), up to legal-size document glass, a 50-page automatic document feeder and fast printing and copying (at 21 ppm). If you don't need a fax machine, why pay for one?

3) Samsung SCX-4216F Multifunction Laser Printer

If you're looking for a "deal" on a four-function multifunction printer, this could be the multifunction laser printer for you. Print and copy speed are still fairly fast (16 ppm or cpm), and you get full-featured faxing, including broadcasting to 109 locations). Otherwise, it's a case of a little less of everything; less print and scan resolution, less memory, and a smaller automatic document feeder - but the price is less, too.

4) Brother DCP-8040 Multifunction Laser Printer

All right, this multifunction laser printer doesn't have duplex printing and has no fax functions, but it still offers plenty of bang for the buck with 21 ppm laser printing and copying and 9600 x 9600 dpi flatbed color scanning. It includes an up to 50-page automatic document feeder, and 250-sheet paper capacity. Coupled with uncompromising, up to 21 page per minute laser printing at up to 2400 x 600 dpi (HQ1200), the DCP-8040 is the right choice at the right price. Both USB and parallel ports are standard allowing the DCP-8040 to work in both Windows and Mac environments.

5) HP LaserJet 3020 Laser Multifunction Printer

The compact HP LaserJet 3020 all in one provides businesses with quality laser printing, color scanning, and fast flatbed, letter-size copying in a space-saving design. Get high-quality documents at an exceptional price. While this multifunction laser printer prints and copies a bit slowly (15 ppm and 15 cpm), you still get a flatbed color scanner (with up to 9600 x 9600 dpi resolution), 32 MB memory, a 50 page automatic document feeder, and features such as letter-size flatbed copying and the first page out in 10 seconds or less. If you don't need a fax machine, this one is a good deal.

Try the Xerox WorkCentre M24 Series Multifunction Printers. You get unparalleled functionality, with printing, copying, scanning, email and optional faxing, with exceptional color when needed. Consolidate multiple devices into one universal solution that is easy to use. Print, copy, scan, email or fax simultaneously.

You can also go for the Canon imageClass Multifunction Series
Multifunction Printers. Add an imageCLASS Multifunction printer to your workspace. These compact units occupy the same area as a stand-alone printer, but are actually multiple machines in one. Canon's imageCLASS Multifunction printers not only produce outstanding output, but also have stylish appearances that complement any small or home office.

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