All-in-one printers

David Bayon | Sep 27, 2006 10:16 AM
Print, scan, copy and fax with one single device. We put 10
all-in-ones through their paces.
Products in this Group
The average home study or office doesn’t have room for a printer, scanner, photocopier and fax machine. But, if you buy an all-in-one, you’ll not only have enough room left over for a PC, you’ll save a small fortune in the process.

Cramming all of these vital features into a device that isn’t much larger than a standard inkjet, all-in-ones have been rapidly growing in popularity since our last group test a year ago. Now, you don’t have to compromise on quality in any area: photos are indistinguishable from dedicated photo printers, while scans are comparable to high-end standalone scanners.

But the main reason for the 18 percent increase in sales is due to the incredible value these machines offer. When you consider that the A-Listed photo inkjet – the HP Photosmart 8230 – costs under $300, it’s astonishing that all-in-ones start at just $102. Even top-end models don’t top $403, making them superb value compared to their standalone rivals.

When it comes to features, you tend to get what you pay for, although there are exceptions: several of the budget models include media card slots. As the prices rise, so do the extras, including CD/DVD printing, transparency adaptors for scanning negatives and automatic document feeders for scanning or copying multipage documents.

Every model on test here has a PictBridge port for direct printing from a compatible digital camera, but one feature that’s starting to disappear is fax: only two of this month’s models offer fax capabilities.

But affordable as the 10 machines here may be, it’s the cost of ink that ultimately determines value. Our Online photo printing feature involved more sweat than ink, so we haven’t been able to test the all-in-ones here in the same way. Fortunately, most use the same print engines as those tested two months ago, so our previous figures still stand up. For the rest, we ran continuous rundown tests to obtain figures, so you should use the results on page 82 as a companion to the individual reviews when choosing which model to buy.

Quality and speed vary considerably, so we’ve exhaustively judged the printing, scanning and copying modes of all 10 devices. Every action has been timed and every resulting image or photo examined, so you can be sure to find the all-in-one to suit your needs over the following pages.

All-in-ones require a considerable amount of testing, as they can print, scan, copy and, sometimes, fax. We use an amalgamation of our usual inkjet and scanner tests, as well as introducing copying tests for automatic document feeders, plus flatbed scanner copy tests.

All timings are taken from the moment the printer picks up the paper until the
last page emerges, or from the moment the scanner starts until the image is displayed in Photoshop.

Print tests
We measure print speed using an official five percent coverage A4 document, developed by IDC Consulting. Ten pages are printed at Draft quality. We use the same document, printing a further 10 pages using Normal (or default) quality.

Our next test involves printing our mono-quality document on coated paper to test greyscale fades, 2pt to 16pt text (both serif and sans-serif fonts) and a mono photo. Then a colour web page is printed from a StreetMap website on plain paper to assess both speed and quality. We print a series of five 6 x 4in photos that reflect scenes people print in the real world and record the average time per photo. Finally, we print our usual A4 photomontage on manufacturers’ recommended paper at the best possible quality settings.

Scan tests
We rate each scanner on both speed and quality. We first scan a 6 x 4in photo of three models at 300ppi (pixels per inch), checking for faithful reproduction of skin tones. We then scan a 10 x 8in photo of some jewellery on a two-tone velvet background at 600ppi. We check for colour accuracy and quality of the reflection of light on shiny surfaces. The most demanding test is a scan of the 6 x 4in print of three models at 1200ppi.

Next, we scan a 12 x 10in glossy print showing a pair of mounted candles and holly on patterned cloth. We scan at 300ppi, which gives sufficient detail without creating unmanageable file sizes. We pay close attention to small details such as the texture of the cloth and petals of the yellow flower, as well as examining colour and white balance accuracy.

Finally, we time how long a preview takes and then scan the five percent coverage A4 text document at 150ppi.

Copy tests
Most copies are of mono text, so we make five copies of our five percent coverage document (with the original printed on a laser printer) both in Normal and Draft mode on plain paper. We measure speed in both and note whether quality is badly affected by switching to Draft mode. We also make three copies of our 6 x 4in test photo at Best quality, checking for accurate colour and detail reproduction as well as measuring speed.

Finally, where an automatic document feeder is present, we copy a four-page colour DTP document onto plain paper in Normal colour copy mode and four text pages in Normal mono.

How we work out the ratings
At the bottom of each review are five star ratings: Quality, Speed, Features & Design, Value for Money and a final Overall rating. We don’t just pluck these figures out of the air: they’re calculated using a mixture of benchmark results, objective scores and subjective quality ratings.

As always, the scores are relative to the group, so a one-star Overall score doesn’t mean the device is the worst of its type, just that it was the least impressive here.

The Quality score is derived from subjective judgements of each print,
copy and scan. Two members of the Labs independently make judgements
to avoid bias.

The Speed scores for the three functions are calculated, then averaged to get final Speed ratings. The Features & Design score is a mix of objective and subjective assessments.

We take into account support for memory cards and cameras, the capacity of input and output trays, and the size of LCD. We also consider usability of hardware and drivers, and whether the print engine uses individual ink tanks or cartridges with built-in print heads. Network capabilities, duplex units and automatic document feeders are rewarded.

To calculate Value for Money, we combine the purchase and delivery price. We then consider each device’s Quality, Speed, and Features & Design scores. While there’s no Running Cost score, our continuous rundown tests are factored in, with a low weighting.

The Overall score is a straight average of all other scores, with the Labs Winner award going to the machine with the highest Overall score.

A Recommended award goes to the runner-up, while a Best Value award goes to the machine with the highest Value for Money score.














Our photomontage tests almost every area of print quality, including colour fades and mono reprocution.
In this 300ppi scan, we check for detail capture and contrast, particularly on the bright flower.

We use this photo to judge skin tone reproduction - it's simple to see when it's wrong.







 This is one of five 6 x 4in photos we use to judge real-world print quality, using everyday subjects.





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































All-in-one
 Canon MP170
 Canon MP500
 Dell 924
 Dell 964
 Epson CX4700
 Epson RX650
 HP 3110
 HP 1510
 Lexmark P4350
 Lexmark X8350
Printing
5% mono (Draft qulaity)
 Pages per minute
 8.0
 8.6
 12.5
 15.0
 12.5
 12.8
 15.0
 13.0
 9.7
 15.0
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 10
 9
 6
 6
 6
 6
 8
 6
 5
 5
 
5% mono (Normal quality)
 Pages per minute
 4.5
 4.5
 9.0
 8.3
 3.5
 2.7
 4.8
 4.6
 8.5
 8.3
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 9
 10
 8
 9
 6
 7
 8
 6
 7
 6
 
Mono quality test (not timed)
 Quality (out of 10)
 10
 9
 6
 6
 6
 6
 8
 6
 5
 5
 
A4 colour web page
 Minutes:seconds
 0:29
 0:26
 0:58
 1:00
 0:42
 0:29
 0:23
 0:25
 1:05
 1:03
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 5
 7
 6
 6
 10
 8
 7
 6
 7
 6
 
6x4in colour photo
 Minutes:seconds
 1:42
 1:27
 2:41
 2:38
 3:26
 2:09
 1:53
 1:59
 2:52
 2:40
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 8
 9
 5
 4
 7
 9
 9
 10
 5
 5
 
A4 photomontage
 Minutes:seconds
 3:37
 3:29
 5:33
 5:34
 8:23
 4:25
 4:20
 6:49
 5:46
 5:41
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 10
 10
 5
 5
 7
 8
 7
 7
 5
 5
 
Scanning
6x4in photo 300ppi (skin tones)
 Seconds
 11
 20
 21
 20
 21
 10
 15
 24
 18
 21
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 9
 8
 4
 5
 7
 8
 10
 8
 4
 5
 
10x8in photo 600ppi (jewels)
 Minutes:seconds
 1:08
 1:09
 2:01
 1:12
 1:29
 0:31
 0:40
 1:12
 1:56
 1:20
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 4
 8
 6
 6
 8
 8
 10
 10
 6
 6
 
6x4in photo 1,200ppi (skin tones)
 Minutes:seconds
 2:20
 2:21
 1:33
 1:40
 3:30
 1:33
 2:32
 2:36
 4:34
 1:42
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 8
 8
 4
 9
 10
 10
 9
 6
 4
 6
 
12x10in photo 300ppi (candles)
 Seconds
 19
 20
 42
 25
 37
 16
 21
 42
 40
 34
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 5
 5
 4
 7
 8
 8
 8
 9
 5
 7
 
5% mono 150ppi
 Seconds
 8
 8
 12
 11
 12
 9
 10
 12
 15
 13
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 9
 9
 7
 6
 7
 7
 6
 8
 7
 6
 
Preview (not tested for quality)
 Seconds
 6
 6
 8
 11
 9
 7
 7
 15
 13
 13
 
Copying
5 mono A4 copies (Normal quality)
 Pages per minute
 3.8
 5.9
 2.7
 2.5
 2.0
 2.6
 4.0
 3.1
 5.6
 2.4
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 9
 10
 6
 6
 7
 8
 8
 6
 7
 7
 
5 mono A4 copies (Draft quality)
 Pages per minute
 9.7
 10.0
 9.4
 9.1
 9.7
 7.7
 10.0
 6.4
 7.7
 9.1
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 8
 8
 5
 5
 4
 7
 9
 8
 5
 5
 
Three 6x4in photos
 Minutes:seconds
 5:15
 4:25
 7:09
 7:35
 4:39
 6:44
 6:19
 9:01
 8:28
 7:43
 
 Quality (out of 10)
 6
 6
 5
 7
 7
 9
 10
 8
 5
 4
After completing our Ink costs exposed feature (May 2006, page 49), we have a good idea of which print engines are efficient with their ink and which drink like a fish. We can’t carry out such an exhaustive test every month, so it’s fortunate that six of the devices here share print engines with those printers from two months ago. This means our previous figures apply, so you can make an informed decision based on accurate running costs.

In the cases of the all-in-ones that use engines not present in the feature, we continuously printed 6 x 4in photos until the cartridges were empty to give an approximation of the yield you can expect with regular printing. Obviously, in the real world this would include cleaning and maintenance cycles, which add to cost per photo. Plus, we applied our experience of how the different print technologies work to make a judgement about how much the yield will differ in intermittent use.

Canon
We’ve seen both of Canon’s print engines before. The MP170’s cartridges (the same used by the Pixma iP2200) use integrated print heads, and the high-yield black and colour versions will last for hundreds of 6 x 4in prints. They’re expensive – a pair will set you back $107 – but a per-print cost of 97c (including paper) is reasonable.

However, the PR-101 photo paper accounts for more than half of that cost at 72c per sheet. As it’s the same type used by the MP500, it’s the same story. The MP500 has separate print heads for photo printing and for text, which ensures you won’t waste your photo-black ink. The individual ink tanks save you having to replace the lot when one runs out, but our tests revealed that only 52 percent of the ink actually ends up on your page, the rest being flushed through during cleaning cycles. Overall, 6 x 4in photos cost $1.49 each, and this is a major reason why the MP500 doesn’t take the Labs Winner award this month.

Dell
Both the Dell Photo 924 and 964 use the same print engine: one black and one combined colour cartridge. High-yield options and value packs are helpful in cutting running costs. Our experience with previous Dell printers is that they’re efficient, which suits a home environment where you’re not printing photos every day. Dell paper is moderately pricey though, costing almost 50c a sheet. Reasonable inks costs mean cost per 6 x 4in photo is exactly $1 when printing continuously. Printing irregularly will increase this
a little but costs can be further reduced when buying Dell’s multiple-cartridge bundles.

Epson
The Epson Stylus CX4700 uses a print engine we haven’t tested before either, but our rundown test provided evidence that this is an economical printer. It’s largely due to the low price of consumables. Photo paper works out at around 32c a sheet. The set will last for well over 150 6 x 4in prints, which equates to 69c per print, but, again, this will rise when printing over a period of months.

The RX650’s engine is one we’ve tested before. The print head is integrated into the printer, which means it needs more maintenance than those with replaceable print heads, and a cost per print of 91c with irregular printing is very good indeed – surprising considering we found only 63 percent of ink hits the page.

HP
The HP Photosmart 3110 uses the same recirculation ink system as the 8230 (see A-List), which proved complicated to test, but in a good way – the system wastes no ink from cleaning cycles, priming etc. Using HP’s best Premium Plus photo paper 6 x 4in prints can get expensive at $1.84 each. However, we recommend using Advanced paper for most people as fade resistance, durability and quality are still superior to Epson’s and Canon’s best systems this month. This brings cost per photo down to $1.24 – still high but they look great and will last. HP is also selling a bundle of all six cartridges with 150-sheets of Advanced paper. This gives a price of just 65 cents per photo which is great – if you can find it.

Meanwhile, the PSC 1510 uses the same print engine as the now-defunct but Labs-Winning Photosmart 8450. Its combined cartridges with integrated print heads mean there are fewer problems with clogged nozzles, and in our continuous rundown test it managed 133 6 x 4in prints. With the high price of cartridges and paper, photo prints work out at $1.68 each ($1.08 with Advanced), which isn’t the cheapest, but the quality makes them worth it.

Lexmark
Both Lexmark all-in-ones use the same print engine, and it’s one we’ve seen before in the P915. Our conclusion about the P915 wasn’t too positive and there’s no evidence here to change that. Replacing a colour and a photo cartridge will cost $42, although that’s by no means the most expensive this month. But when you consider the poor yield they offer – just 75 6 x 4in prints in our continuous rundown test – the value all but disappears.
This works out at around $1.77 per photo, which is hard to stomach even from top-quality printers. The P4350 may be cheap to buy, but the poor print quality negates this. The X8350 doesn’t even have the bargain argument, as it’s the second-most expensive model this month.
This article appeared in the July, 2006 issue of PC Authority.