Multi Function Printers: good, bad & ugly ???

[Bob Headrick]

Hi, this is most likely a rant!
The popularity of MFP has suprised me (but I thought pick-up trucks
and diet soda would be short lived).
Anyway, if you have a printer and scanner...you can easily print,
scan, copy, and fax.

Print, scan (and maybe fax) can be easy with a separate scanner and
printer but copying is *much* better with an integrated unit. I have
owned both types and greatly prefer the multifunction units. With a
separate scanner and printer, making a copy involves running a program
which then scans data to the PC, formats it and sends it to the printer.
This is much more cumbersome and time consuming then simply pushing a
button on the MFP unit and collecting your copy a few seconds later.

Additionally, a scanner and printer will typically take at least twice
the space of an integrated unit.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[measekite]

However, you do not get the best of breed. In that Canon makes the best
printer and Epson makes the best scanner. And if one of the functions
of the MFD fails you basically have an overpriced paper weight.

 

[pheeh.zero]

Print, scan (and maybe fax) can be easy with a separate scanner and
printer but copying is *much* better with an integrated unit. I have
owned both types and greatly prefer the multifunction units. With a
separate scanner and printer, making a copy involves running a program
which then scans data to the PC, formats it and sends it to the printer.
This is much more cumbersome and time consuming then simply pushing a
button on the MFP unit and collecting your copy a few seconds later.

Additionally, a scanner and printer will typically take at least twice
the space of an integrated unit.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

Bob, I won't base your knowledge on this piece of work! (and it's "than
simply pushing...")
8^)

 

[zakezuke]

I went against my better judgement a couple of years ago and bought a
Canon MP730 MFP. I say this because if one function breaks, the whole
unit is unavailable while you send it in for repairs - which repairs
often cost more than it would cost to replace that one fucntion.

The printer on my MP730 stopped printing black. I went out and bought a
standalone printer with better print resolution and better functions for
less than the cost of having it fixed, and the MP730 has been relegated
to the role of overpriced scanner and fax machine. Ironically, the only
advantage I think an MFP has is sending and receiving faxes when the
computer is off - a function you do not require anyway.

Regardless of quality and reliability, I'll never buy MFP again because
it's too much like putting all your eggs in one basket.

Well, this is a reasonable enough statement. I bought a HP psc 950
some years back, paid well over $400 for the puppy, and bought the
mp760 because the scanner function was starting to flake out and the
mp760 was on saleish for $220. Turned out to be a software glitch and
not an issue with the alignment strip becoming discolored, but I can't
say I'm displeased with my purchace. It's a better scanner than any of
my old Microteks or my psc950, and while I would likely be happer with
a base Epson it does everything I need it to and has been doing so for
over a year save two head replacements from Canon.

You are putting all your eggs in one basket. However, your also
putting all your eggs on the USB cable. Among these eggs are often
cardslots, scanner, printer, and in many cases fax. So long as you are
happy paying a premium they are just dandy.

What is often extraordinary are the network MFPs with fax... those by
their nature tend to support fax sharing, a very useful feature which
"can" be had in software, but most software applications out of the box
don't support fax sharing. Windows doesn't support this out of the
box.

When wifi printers come down in price, and better yet wifi scanners, I
won't be able to use that as an excuse to get one, and in fact would
likely be very pleased to buy seperates.