Despite its name, the Dell Photo 964 is one of the more business-focused all-in-ones. Like the Lexmark X8350, it has a 50-sheet ADF (automatic document feeder) to simplify copying. Our four-page colour test document copied in just over five-and-a-half minutes with no reduction in quality, and four mono text pages took two minutes, nine seconds at Normal quality.

The 964 is a fax machine too: it has a 160-page memory and 89 speed dials but doesn’t share the X8350’s quick-dial buttons. Several others are also missing from the control panel, most notably the usual black and colour start-copy buttons. All copies are instead set up through a simple menu on the 2.2in LCD.

The installation helpfully allows you to set the 964 up as a personal or shared printer, and should you choose the latter, there’s space for 100 sheets
in the tray. The paper type is detected automatically, but the PC drivers are fairly basic, with image sharpening the only notable inclusion beyond
the norm.

If you’re buying an all-in-one for a home office, the Dell 964 is a reasonable choice, as the quality of text documents was fine, with only slight rough edges in places. We recorded decent speeds of 8.3ppm and 15ppm in Normal and Draft quality respectively with a black cartridge fitted, but with photo ink installed these dropped dramatically. And if you want to print photos, the 964 will test your patience, taking over two-and-a-half minutes per 6 x 4in print. The ink also remained wet for a while, so it’s best not to touch prints immediately.

Photo quality is below average, as our photos took on a bluish tinge that eradicated any warmth the image originally had. Our copied 6 x 4in prints had narrow white borders despite us selecting borderless, and slight banding was evident. Text copies showed spidering but were reeled out at 2.5ppm, or 9.1ppm if you choose the significantly fainter quality of Draft mode.

As a home-office all-in-one, the Dell Photo 964 is a better choice than the Lexmark X8350. Our tests consistently showed that it’s faster and produces higher-quality results in all three main functions. Its ink system is simple thanks to combined cartridges with integrated print heads, while a per-photo cost of around $1 is more economical than the Lexmark.

If photos are a priority, though, there are several better options and, unless you need a built-in fax and ADF, there are even faster, higher-quality all-in-ones for similar money.