Sunday, November 27, 2011

HP Inkjet Printer Review - Find The Right HP Printer For Your Needs Without The Marketing Hype

HP has really become of the leaders in home based technology from their personal computers and laptops to being the folks that brought all-in-one printing into the home. Back when the internet first began gaining popularity and Microsoft Works was still the word processor of choice I owned a Hewlett Packard and swore them off ever since. However, that changes a couple of years ago when I purchased my first all-in-one printer which did photos. I fell in love with the crisp quality of the printing, the ability to use the machine without needing to hook it up to a computer but I hated the bulkiness of the required software, especially on my Macintosh. If I would have taken a minute to look at the hp inkjet printer reviews out there instead of making an impulse buy, I probably would have chosen a different model. We live and learn right?

In earlier days one would have to spend time searching Google and other sites to find reviews for hp printers, but it seems now the major manufacturers have caught on. Upon reviewing HP's website I noticed they provide their own customer review capabilities as well as giving potential buyers the ability to check out other review sites, like Cnet, and showing what rating those sites have given the product. All in all it's a pretty handy feature for the hp inkjet printer reviews to be right there on the manufacturer's page.

However, just in case there are several other sites still accessible with product reviews. Not to insinuate that HP is being Machiavellian but no company wants to display reviews and ratings that paint not so beautiful pictures of their products. So just be sure to check around and don't be suckered into buying an hp printer based solely on the reviews. Also be sure to read the hp inkjet printer reviews thoroughly and decide if the pros or cons the other consumers listed fit your specifications. While a Macintosh user may have problems with the software, like I did when I bought my HP printer, if you use Windows as an operating system then in all likelihood that won't be something that affects you. If a user gives the printer a low rating because it's slow to print black and white, but you want the printer for photos then that review isn't necessarily relevant and their recommendation shouldn't be held as highly in your mind.

While consumer ratings or hp inkjet printer reviews can be helpful to see how the population responded, it's always a good idea to get reviews from experts who have more understanding of what a printer should be capable of and what they're dealing with. Sometimes the population feels like a piece of technology should be able to perform a task much better than we are actually capable of making, or their "forever" is actually a fairly standard time period.

Canon i-SENSYS LBP3250 Toner Review

Canon's i-SENSYS LBP3250 mono laser printer is a small and thoughtfully made machine. Its specification is humble - an individual USB port, diminished noise levels in addition to 8,000 page maximum monthly duty cycle turn it into a fine personal laser printer designed for house or office use. We were pleased by small details like a flap to supply less difficult access to the printer's recessed USB port, that spared us the usual procedure for fumbling blindly to try to get the cable in to place. We likewise enjoyed its smooth design and style, which has a hinged dust cover to keep the end result clean whenever not being used. In case you commence printing with the cover shut, pages can still appear via a narrow slit within the cover. The input tray folds right out of the front of the device.

It's not hard to setup and install, having a basic driver and merely one consumable - a black toner cartridge which has an integrated photoconductor drum. We were likewise happy to discover that the LBP3250 has a 1,000 page starter cartridge. Replacement 2,000 page 1871B002AA cartridges will cost you £49 each. This makes a page cost of 2.5p. Whilst this is not substantially over the normal price of a mono page from the majority of similarly priced laser as well as inkjet printers, it does not stand out in comparison to the the print costs of other, cheaper, mono lasers.

The printer's Total Cost of Ownership likewise does not impress. If you are a small user, printing 100 pages a month for a total of 3,600 over three years, you can expect to pay out £198 through that period of time. This goes up to £590 with regards to medium users printing 21,000 pages over the identical three-year period.

Print rates of speed happen to be some of the fastest we have observed out of a lightweight mono laser machine, at 21.7ppm in the mono text examination along with 20.6ppm for our heavily illustrated greyscale business documents. Standard quality text along with business illustrations were found to be sharp, dark and also solid.

While the printer includes a fixed native resolution of 600x600dpi, there are actually three different quality options: Standard, Text/Lines as well as Web Pages, which use resolution enhancement to produce a powerful resolution up to 2,400x600dpi. Text/Lines mode is intended to smooth out jagged edges whenever generating mono prints of coloured text and line drawings.

The Web Pages setting helps to make sure best quality while printing graphics-heavy content like web pages, pictures or perhaps illustrated documents. We employed the latter together with the Canon i-SENSYS LBP3250 toner cartridge for the purpose of our picture printing tests. This created simply no change to the pace at which our photographic images printed - 16 seconds for six pictures upon three sheets of A4 - yet made some noticeable enhancements to their quality through smoothing out regions which appeared grainy with Standard quality setting.

The LBP3250 is very well designed, with great print quality, as well as remarkably fast print rates with regards to this type of compact device. Nevertheless, unless its smooth style and fast printing specifically grab you, its running expenses are not sufficiently good to overcome the competitors. If you're a small user with a modest initial budget, Epson's Aculaser M1200 costs a bit less than half the cost to purchase, whilst customers with large printing demands should look at possibly Samsung's SCX-4600 mono laser MFP or perhaps ML-2525 single-function model.

Canon Printer PIXMA MX340

I have been looking for a printer for about a month and came across a wireless printer. It's the Canon printer PIXMA MX340. I wasn't even looking to get a wireless printer, but there are advantages. I do have 3 children ranging from 14 to 22 years of age and having the printer in a more centralized location works the best for all. What I thought was real neat was that you could print the pictures directly from your cell phone. With this workhorse of a printer the price was less than $80.00.

Design

The design to this printer is very sleek. The LCD display and the rest of the controls are on the top front of the unit and is easily read. The output tray can be closed when not in use. When it begins to print it can automatically open up so the paper can come out. The rear tray can have different paper sizes including 4x6 photo, 8x10 photo, letter, legal and envelopes.

Set up

After the printer out of the box it probably took me about 30 minutes get the printer running. Word of caution, do not read the user manual. I am one of those guys that actually love reading manuals. But this manual does get a bit confusing. After reading it about 3 times you will get the hang of it. Best bet is throw in the DVD and go with that. DVD is a step by step guide which is a snap to go through.

Print speed

I like the print speed. The first page always takes the longest. I'm not sure why this is the case. After the first page the rest of the printed pages are of normal speed. What I like about the printing, it has a draft print selection which I think doesn't change the printing speed but uses less ink. For the first page, the print speed is about 14 seconds for black and white and 16 seconds for color. After the first page, it goes into a fast print speed, printing 8 ppm, and 5 ppm for color.

Fax

Faxing was easy, just plug the telephone cord to the back of the printer. You have a way to switch it to fax only or to use it as a phone only.

Energy test

This Canon printer PIXMA MX340 is also Energy Star qualified. It uses anywhere from 10 to 15 watts of power comparing to around 30 watts from a non energy efficient printer. In sleep mode it uses only 3 watts.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Brother LC61 Printer Cartridges Review

The Brother LC61 cartridges have a unique design, come along with three other color sets namely magenta, yellow and cyan and boast high quality prints. An economical choice, these sets of cartridges represent value for money.

Unique design

As part of our Brother cartridge review we found that these LC61 cartridges come with a unique design element. There is a spring catch located on the front part of these cartridges.

Features and specifications

The Brother LC61 cartridges come with approximately 14.6 ml comprising ink. This dye based ink yields around 450 pages at around 5% of coverage.

Price

The brother LC61 cartridges have a market value of around 27 dollars but you can easily get the compatible cartridges for around 6 to 7 dollars. The compatible cartridges work just as fine if not better than the Brother LC61 cartridges available in retail stores.

Other features

As part of our definitive Brother ink cartridge review we found that these cartridges produce very vivid prints and high quality print output. The specially developed formula for the ink helps create graphics and prints, which are ozone resistant as well as resistant to light fading action. All of these Brother LC61 cartridges have undergone rigorous testing in the Brother laboratories and the presence of a high viscosity and consistent printer ink produces ink flow without any clogs and which is easily regulated in flow. When it comes to the multifunction peripherals of Brother, the ink is anti-smearing in nature.

Specifications

The Brother LC61 variety of cartridges comes with three color sets namely cyan, yellow and magenta. The average page yield is approximately 500 pages along with a coverage spanning 5%. The recyclables nature of these cartridges is not seen as both pre-consumer as well as post-consumer recycling is not available from the manufacturer. Each pack of these Brother ink cartridges comes in three colors. The approximate weight of these cartridges is around 0.600 pounds and the unit of measuring is in PK. The standard black ink version of the Brother LC61 is perfect for Brother printer models such as DCP-585CW, DCP-165, MFC-250C, DCP-385C, MFC-290C, MFC-5490CN, MFC-490CW, MFC-6490CW, MFC-5890CN as well as MFC-990CW model versions. The respective model numbers such as LC61C, LC61Y and LC61M are for the cyan, yellow and magenta versions of the colored Brother printer cartridges.

Our verdict

Overall, the Brother LC61 version of cartridges is superior and provides solid performance. The specially developed ink formula guarantees exceptional print quality and graphics, which do not fade in the presence of light or ozone exposure. In addition, the average pricing of the cartridge per ml is around 46 or 47 cents, which is not much. Thus, these Brother LC61 cartridges are cost effective and produce high quality of graphics as well as prints. The cartridges also guarantee a long shelf life because of the even ink flow and distribution of ink across the page, which lends a uniform print quality.

A Review of the HP CM1415fn

The HP CM1415fn is an attractive printer. The colour scheme is good and the design is contemporary and compact. The sharp angles of past printers have gone away, offering a softer more curved alternative. So let's take a look at what lies beneath the surface of the HP CM1415fn and see how it weighs up against competitors.

The printer has a 35 sheet automatic document feeder and a touch screen with an 89mm display. There are buttons on both sides for individual control of the four functions. They include print, scan, copy and fax.

The handy function of being able to email a document straight to the printer is a definite plus. This is only if it is linked to a router. This function also allows you to list the users so as to cut down on spam. The printer does not have an option to purchase an extra paper tray and the one that comes with the printer only holds 150 sheets.

This is a bit of a disadvantage as the tray will need to be loaded every day or every other day depending on the usage. So in terms of heavy usage in a busy office environment, this might not be the best option.

The sockets for the Ethernet and the USB are on the back of the printer and there are CDs for Windows and the OS X and drivers to download for different versions of Linux. HP says the printer will print 8 ppm in colour and 12 ppm in black, however testing did showed black text printing at about 6 ppm. Colour came in at 4.9 ppm. The print quality was good. The colour graphics are also quite bright and they are not muddled. The print even has a bit of a sheen which is desired by some people.

One thing about the photo colour is it is not an exact match to the photo being copied and it was also somewhat vibrant. The darker areas of some of the images had a loss of detail and this makes this printer not the best choice for photos.

It is quiet running and has a 600 x 600 dpi resolution. The memory is 160MB. The all in one has proven to be a popular printer and the drum and cartridge slot are in a rack in the front which pulls out. This makes them easier to pull out and replace. The The main focus of the HP CM1415fn is how easy it is to use. The consensus is that the print speed is more of a focus as well as the need for a larger capacity paper feed.

The running costs are along the same lines as what is considered average for this type of printer. It does have the option of wireless networking though, which will make it attractive for home and small business networks. The ePrint function is not unlike that of other HP printers and is becoming a feature of most of HP's inkjet and laser printers.

Overall for the price, the HP CM1415fn is a decent printer with the capabilities of most printers today. There are only a couple of aspects that could be improved, but at the price and with the features it does have it still comes highly recommended.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Where To Find Unbiased Inkjet Printer Comparisons

So you have finally decided to join the 21st century and buy an inkjet printer? Or maybe you're updating from one printer to another. There are a lot of options out there and many specifications to consider.

Are you looking for an all-in-one machine? Do you know how many pages per minute (PPM) the printer should output? Do you want just blank printing or color as well? What about photos? The amount of information available and the questions you'll be asked are numerous. It's a daunting task but finding the right product to spend your hard earned cash on is always that. Thankfully there are inkjet printer comparisons available on numerous websites and magazines. Even some businesses, like Office Depot, Staples, and Office Max, provide charts and cards which contain the printer's information which allows you to compare to others.

Personally I like doing my research on the web at places like eOpinion, Cnet, or Consumer Report. These provide me with opinions from people who already own the printer I'm looking at and lets me wade through the various reviews and see what people said. With sites like Cnet I can read about the group of editor's actual experience. They go out and buy, or have donated a printer and then perform all the functions the printer states it has and reports back in it. If the printer claims to print 16 pages per minute, then the Cnet editors will attempt to print 16 pages and time the action. I like it because the reports are usually pretty objective and provide "just the facts ma'am".

If you are considering buying a printer from on source, like HP, Canon, or Brother, then you can go to the manufacture's webpage and narrow down your search results. Then they allow you to click on one, two, or even five printers and get a side-by-side inkjet printer comparisons. Remember these comparisons are only going to be for the printers that these companies actually sell, so you won't be able to compare a Brother printer with a HP in this way. Before setting your heart on a printer, remember to check it's required specifications. Some printers may only work on Windows Vista, or nothing older than Windows XP, and some printers may only be Macintosh specific. Also be sure to get yourself a USB cable. Most printer require this cable to hook up to your computer, but they rarely provide them when you go to purchase.

Portable Photo Printer: A Review of the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer

Printing is very easy nowadays, but wouldn't you just love to have a portable photo printer? I would, and so I got the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo printer. It's one very useful device and I'm quite satisfied with it. To learn more about it, read on with this review.

Design

As a portable photo printer, this model is a perfectly handy device. Its design is completely unique - the device is a small box with an LCD that you can prop up if in use and push down if not. The printer output feeder also has a removable cover which you can use to seal the face of the printer when you're not using it. If you're printing, you simply have to remove the lid from the front face of the printer and voila! Imagine how easy it would be to store with its foldable parts. The dimensions of the printer are 9.92'' x 4.61'' x 5.28'' and it weighs a mere 2.3 pounds. If that's not compact enough for you, then you might not be able to find any printer suitable for your taste.

The printer has a 3.45'' CGD display with TouchSmart control panel, which makes navigating through the device very easy to do. You can print directly from various sizes and types of memory cards, USB devices, PictBridge cameras, and Bluetooth-enabled devices. See how flexible it is to print on this model? You get to choose from a wide variety of removable storage devices where you're going to save your photos in. You won't have to worry about where you saved your important illustrations or your family pictures - almost any removable storage works with this baby.

Printing and Other Functions

This device is a dedicated photo printer, and it really can't support printing on regular paper sizes like letter, legal, or A4, but you have to know that before you buy it. I bought this for the specific purpose of photo printing, and I have a separate document printer. But the prints this device produces are really astounding, and for a portable photo printer, this is really a remarkable model. It can print as fast as 28 seconds for one bordered picture, and it can print borderless up to 5R or 5x7 size photos.

The paper feeder can carry 20 sheets of photo paper for easier printing - no need to feed a single sheet for every photo. The photo paper sizes which you can print on using this device are 4x6'', 4x8'' photo card, 4x12'' panorama, and 5x7''. The device also has editing features for photos through Real Life Technologies, featuring HP Auto red-eye removal and instant photo fix. There are also add-ons which you can use to enhance your photos such as clip-art, borders, captions, and more.

Other Features

The CGD display isn't just for aesthetics, it definitely adds value to the device. You can edit your photos on the display so printing without a computer is relatively easy. Just insert a compatible removable storage device, view, edit, and add captions to the photos that you want to print, and you can print them professionally with the great quality of this device. This is a very nice feature that I love about this printer because I can add a lot of designs and even captions to the photos. The stylus makes navigating through the touch screen much easier. It's also an Energy Star qualified device so I won't have to think about wasting a lot of energy. As a nature-lover, I really give high regard about this feature in the printers that I get, so when I found that this was Energy Star, I didn't hesitate to buy it.

Conclusion

I think the only drawback with this device is that it's quite costly for a portable photo printer, especially because photos are the only images it can print, but I got it at a sale price which makes it a good bargain. You can also get it at sale prices on different online stores. If you're interested with the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer after I've elaborated on almost all of its attributes, then I highly recommend you get it now. There's no regrets to getting such a high-quality photo printer that you can carry anywhere you go.

Microboards Print Factory Pro DVD, CD Printer Review - (Microboards PF-Pro Printer)

The Microboards Print Factory Pro inkjet CD / DVD printer is fully automated with a 100-disc capacity, large individual CMYK ink cartridges, and PC / MAC compatibility.

This review of the Microboards PF-Pro inkjet printer is based on seven different criteria, on a scale of 1 to 5 stars (5 being the highest rating possible). We have run about 60,000 CDs and DVDs through 10 different Microboards Printfactory Pro printers over the past 45 days. And here are the results...

Price - MSRP of $2995, and a street price around $2695. The Microboards PrintFactory Pro printer is more expensive compared with other inkjet printers like the Microboards PF-3 and GX Auto Printers, and the Primera Bravo Pro, Bravo II and SE models. 3 Stars.

Speed - There are multiple print resolution options with the Print Factory Pro. For our testing and production runs we used either the "text and graphics best" or "photo normal" options. The photo normal mode slower and lays down more ink, for a high-resolution print, than the text and graphics mode. The design of the disc artwork also influences the number of CDs / DVDs that can be printed per hour. We found that you get about 75 full coverage discs/hour printing using photo normal. With 30% print coverage using the text and graphics best mode you will get about 115 discs/hour. 4.5 Stars.

Bin Capacity - The Microboards PF-Pro has a bin capacity of 100 discs, either CD-r or DVD-r. This stacks up well against most other sub $3000 automated inkjet printers. A larger input capacity would be nice with the addition of the larger C, M, Y, and K ink cartridges. 3.5 Stars.

Cost per Print - With inkjet printers the cost per print will fluctuate based on color combinations, print coverage, and the print resolution and speed selected in the Printfactory Pro print driver. We found that full coverage multiple color discs run about $0.12/disc. Discs with a 30% print coverage consisting of a few colors and black text cost about $0.05/disc in ink. 5 Stars.

Print Quality - Color graphics are vibrant, and the black text printing is pretty sharp. Models like the Microboards PF-3 are a bit crisper with text printing. The PF-Pro printer also does a good job with large blocks of solid colors. 4 Stars.

Print Durability - Inkjet printers use water-based ink, so when the CD or DVD comes in contact with moisture, the print on the disc will smear and smudge. This is the case minutes, hours, days, and years after the disc is printed (unless you print on Taiyo Yuden waterproof discs). That being said, the Microboards Print Factory Pro is as durable as any other inkjet CD printer on the market. 2 Stars.

Easy of Use - The PF-Pro has a single USB 2.0 connection to a PC or MAC. It comes with a popular and easy to use CD / DVD graphic software called SureThing. You can import standard graphic images like .jpeg, .bmp, .png and .gif. The print driver controls the robotic disc loading mechanism, so there is no complicated software to learn. You can also print directly from Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop with some adjustments to the margins within the printer driver. In addition, we were able to hook up 4 of the Microboards PF-Pro printers to a single PC with a USB 2.0 hub. 4.5 Stars.

Maintenance - As with most inkjet CD / DVD printers, the Print Factory Pro needs to have internal sensors and components cleaned about every 5000 discs due to ink over spray. In addition, there are two printheads (1 for Black/Yellow and 1 for the Cyan/Magenta) that need replacing every 50,000 discs or so. We have not had the need to replace any printheads as of this review. 3.5 Stars.

Technical Support - Microboards has above average phone technical support for the CD / DVD equipment industry. After warranty repairs can be expensive, as they are with other manufactures in this niche. 4 Stars.

Conclusion - Microboards PF-Pro (part# PFP-1000) is out top pick for automated inkjet CD printers for standard 120mm CD-r, DVD-r, and Blu-Ray media. Strengths are cost per print, speed, and the ability to hook up multiple printers on a single PC.

Check out the links in the resource box for more information and special pricing on the Microboard PF-Pro printer.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Canon Pixma MP270 Printer Review

The rivalry for the most effective and inexpensive All-in-One printer exhibits no sign of cooling down, with Canon issuing the most recent in their PIXMA multifunction collection for around £40. Cheap, however, does not always necessarily mean the best value so the important question is: will the PIXMA MP270 deliver everything it claims? Well this is certainly a small and chic product in cool hues of cream and black, that has a simple drop-down output tray at the front and a fold-back input tray at the rear. Measuring 450 x 335 x 155mm and weighing a comparatively light 5.6kg, this would be a perfect All-in-One for a college student or home worker with moderate printing demands who doesn't want a printer which occupies a great deal of space.

Three functions are available (scan, print and copy) and you've got a choice whether or not to use the supplied software or the quick function controls to the right of the top, which don't include an organising LCD display screen. The MP270 has built-in Auto Photo Fix II technology, nonetheless, that takes care of red-eye elimination and multi-zone exposure modification without needing to use a computer. PC connection is, as you'd anticipate, by way of USB 2. lead (no possibility of WiFi at this price tag) and there is additionally a separate PictBridge enabled USB port at the front for connecting cameras or memory sticks.

In terms of quantity, the input tray holds up to 100 sheets of A4 which is decent for a low-yield device like this. By using print resolutions as high as 4800 x 1200dpi, we were basically satisfied with the caliber of the results: black text, even in draft mode, is clearly legible and the 'best' version stands out boldly and unbroken, while colour prints kept the true hues of the originals with a bit of softening noticeable solely in A4 copies. We did spot, nevertheless, that larger sized copies tended to possess a yellowish tinge.

Canon, in contrast to several of its competitors, has tended to be a bit more reasonable in terms of advertised print speeds and its claimed 8.4ipm for black text printing was very accurate when it came to draft quality (going down to 2ppm in 'best' mode). On average it required 43 seconds to generate a 10 x 15cm colour print of standard quality and 1 minute 35 seconds at the highest, while standard copies took 37 seconds.

A4 photos only took 2 minutes in standard form and twice that at the top setting, with relatively quick copies taking 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Therefore even though printing was usually quite noisy, the rates of speed were encouragingly greater than predicted.

Canon has also included a bunch of efficient software in the form of MP Navigator EX (for scanning choices which include OCR and saving as PDF), Easy-PhotoPrint EX (that will enable you to produce albums, calendars and stickers) as well as the helpful Easy-WebPrint EX which will clip particular regions on a Web page for printing, thus minimizing waste. What you may gain here, however, you will lose when it comes to ink usage because you have just two ink cartridges to take care of your print needs and even the high-yield versions are rated to do merely 401 black text or 349 colour pages.

While you might find yourself to be getting through the ink cartridges relatively quickly, both the caliber of the prints and also the rate of operation were notable and, for the price tag, the PIXMA MP270 is a great option for a low-yield All-in-One.

Canon Pixma IP1900 - Inexpensive Start-Up Printer

One of the Canon's latest printers in the entry segment is the Pixma iP1900 which has recently caught on too much attention because of its pricing. When it was launched in the market last year, it carried a price tag close to £80 but now Canon is offering the same printer on their website for under £25 which is a discount of 70% off the original price.

Being an inexpensive printer, it is aimed at homes and the printer offers a best resolution of 4800 X 1200 dpi. Its ink droplet size is at 2pl which is the double of the latest Canon photo printers. Pixma iP1900 works on Canon patented ChromaLife100 system which is fairly equivalent to a lab quality print.

Unlike most of its photo printers, Canon uses two cartridge system on this one. Apart from the black cartridge, cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black and packaged into a single cartridge.

Printing speed is decent at 13 pages per minute for monochrome prints at normal mode while the colour prints are rated at a speed of 8 pages per minute in the same mode. The printer takes close to a minute to spit out 4" X 6" borderless photographs.

For an entry level printer, the connectivity option is basic with a USB port and is totally acceptable. But, the lack of a PictBridge port and memory card readers makes it a single dimensional printer that does not give users the choices they would probably need. Being a under £25 printer, the lack of basic functionalities still isn't a big concern. With two cartridge system, the price per print is bound to be steep and could well work against the printer.

Travelers Need Portable Printer Scanners

Travelers can make use of portable printer scanners. If you find you find yourself traveling a lot and do business wherever you go, then you might need a portable printer scanner. A portable printer and scanner accompanied with your own laptop basically constitutes a portable office. Doing business while you're on the road will be a lot easier since you have your computer to do all your editing, your printer to print your documents and scanners to scan pictures and documents.

When you're traveling as a businessman, it cannot be avoided that you need to do some printing. You may print documents, reports or business proposal. If you have your own portable printer and scanner, you will not have to look for internet cafés or computer shops so you can print your documents. If you also have your laptop computer, then all you have to do is print them in the rooms you are staying.

Generally, there is more need for a printer than there is for a scanner. However, when you are traveling, there maybe those rare moments where you will need one. Like for example, you need to scan your IDs or your passports. They may be used when you're trying to gather some requirements for some applications. With a portable printer scanner, it can be made as a copier. The scanner can copy the document and the printer can print them.

If you are traveling to meet family on the holidays, it will also be great if you have your own printer scanner. Assuming that you have one that is capable of printing photo quality, it will be a very good opportunity to share pictures with your loved ones. Portable models have features that allow you to interface with different portable devices. Cellular phones with cameras can directly print photos using these portable gadgets.

In terms of features, there hasn't been a portable printer and scanner model that has high printing speed. The fastest mobile printer has a speed of 22 pages per minute. However, for the combination of portable printer scanner, the highest so far is the BJC 85. It can only print up to 5 pages per minute. Nevertheless, it is the only one that is capable of printing and scanning at decent resolutions.

Printer companies are busy coming up with the new features like putting wireless interface on every printer. They may enhance features like maximizing the speed or printing quality. However, for now, there is no company yet that is able to come up with a printer and scanner that generates photo quality pictures at the same time scan at very high resolution. The scanning resolution that the BJC 85 has is 360 dots per inch. Compared to today's top of the line scanners, it is a very poor quality. It may take some time before they put in features that will have both the best qualities of top printers and top scanners.

Portable printer scanners like the BJC 85 may be obsolete now. However, there was a time when they were top of the line. Up to now, they may not be the fastest, or the one with the highest resolution, but they still do a decent job at that.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Samsung ML 1510 Printer is a Sound Investment

Print Quality- The Samsung ML 1510 personal, Black and White printer is ideal for both office and home use, boasting with immaculate print quality. Text production is clear and crisp. Both small and large font sizes are easily readable with no jagged edges, smears or blemishes. Characters are solid with detail. Shading and contrasting is precise. Slight banding may be present on PDF, mixed and photo prints. However it's a more common occurrence with Greyscale and diagram prints. Prints are produced at rather average speed of 14 ppm text, 14 ppm mixed and photo printing. A maximum of 1 minute warm-up time is unfortunately required before first page print out.

Media size and type- All well-known media types and sizes are compatible with the printer including Plain, transparencies, labels, envelopes and cards as well as Letter, Legal, Folio, Exec, Monarch, C5, DL, A4, A5, B5 and 3x5". The printer boasts with a great 250 sheet paper input and 50 sheet output tray capacity. A folding paper exit is located at the back of the machine for handling inflexible paper types.

Controls- If you are new to computers and printers or a little technologically challenged the printer is designed especially for you. The machine only has one button for operating the machines' power supply and 2 LED screens showing errors and toner status, the rest of the functions are controlled from the users' computer.

Installation- Printer installation is a dream, just pop in the disc and you are ready to print. Unfortunately, designers and technicians omitted the plug and play function on the device.

OS Compatibility- Linux, Apple Mac and Windows operating systems are all compatible with the printer, making it appealing to a broad audience. Especially Linux and Mac users will be chuffed as these systems often encounter compatibility problems.

Connection- Designers have decided to employ only the latest technology in terms of connectivity in the form of an USB connection. You better pack away those old fashioned operators as the days of port connections are long gone. Please note that USB cable is included with your purchase.

Guarantee- A 12 month guarantee is included with your printer purchase. However you should keep in mind that coverage is very limited on parts and labour.

Choosing a Professional Photo Printer to Get the Highest Quality Photo Print

Based on the majority of printer specialists within the computer industry, the progression associated with digital photo technology has made everybody can make high quality photo print very easy. We do not have to spend lots of cash for a printer to do so. Low-priced printers frequently have ability to print superb quality photos as printers which cost hundreds. The things that make difference between low-priced printing machines and expensive printing machines are features and speed. To print a high quality photo with high resolution image will need more high-priced printing machine, yet for typical photography requirements, the majority of moderate-priced or even low-priced printing machines will be okay.

When you plan to buy a photo printing machine, you will have to determine if you want to buy an inkjet photo printer, a dedicated photo printer, or even a professional photo printer.

The majority of inkjet photo printers today are able to print good quality pictures on paper, yet they are made plus developed to print pictures making use of millions of colours in which yield in exceptionally detailed photo printouts. Nevertheless, nowadays there exist special printers which concentrate on solely printing out photos on glossy photographic paper. They are the dedicated photo printers, they usually come with PictBridge feature which means the printers can be directly connected to any PictBridge DV camcorder or digital camera, so that printing photo can be done without having to upload the images on a computer anymore.

However, for printing the highest quality photo, the professional photo printer is the answer. There are available more affordable types which beginner photographers are able to use to print their photos, but a majority of expert photographers would rather spend a bit more in order to print high quality glossy photographs at bigger sizes.

Exactly what causes professional photo printing machines get noticed over the others? The main element distinction lies in two aspects, speed plus size. The majority of experts would rather have the professional photo printers which are able to print, at least, tabloid sized photos and of course the price will be getting higher.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Best Wireless All in One Printer: A Review of the Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Printer

There may now be a lot of wireless all in one printers in the market, but there can only be one best wireless all in one printer. Since the technology today requires everything to be wireless, even printers can't be late for this upgrade, and one of the models that I would definitely recommend for this purpose is the Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Printer. This review will cover everything you need to know about it.

Design

Aesthetically, this device has nice features. The trapezoidal top which is accented with a gray color opposes the light gray colored body of the printer. The entire control panel is also highlighted by the trapezoidal gray panel as well as the 2.5'' LCD. The buttons are numerous and are exactly designed to provide ease of use for the user. You can access everything using the easy-to-use buttons which are all labeled so there is definitely no difficulty in navigating and operating the device using the controls.

The printer is medium-sized with the dimensions of 19.4" x 17.1" x 8.9" and a weight of 26.4 pounds. It is easy to settle in any nearby location since it is wireless-enabled and you aren't limited by the wires of the device. You can keep it downstairs and still be able to access it even while working on a PC upstairs, as long as the computers and printer are all in a single network. If you don't have a wireless router though, you can still access the printer using LAN or Ethernet, and you can also use memory cards, PictBridge cameras, and USB flash drives to print directly on the device without the need to turn on a computer.

Printing and Other Functions

As a printer, this is a very excellent model. It can print documents in as fast as 8.4 inches per minute for black and 5.6 inches per minute for colored. It can even print borderless 4x6 photos in as fast as 41 seconds. The maximum resolution for black documents is 600x600 dpi while for colored documents, 9600x2400 dpi. The printer is also able to perform automatic duplex printing which allows you to save a lot of paper, and also print back-to-back brochures with ease. There are three paper trays that the device uses. The automatic sheet feeder can hold up to 150 sheets, as well as the paper cassette tray, and the automatic document feeder can carry up to 35 sheets. This gives you a lot of options on where you will keep your paper and it also eliminates the need to refill every now and then.

The copier can reproduce documents in as fast as 27 seconds with color, and you can produce a maximum number of 99 copies per individual setting. You can also reduce your documents by up to 25% of the original size, or enlarge them by up to 400% of the original size. The 4-in-1/2-in-1 feature can also be used to produce four different pages on a single sheet of paper which allows you to save more paper. The scanner makes use of contact image sensor and there are two input methods for scanning - the flatbed and the ADF. There are three resolutions which can be produced from the scanned images. Optical scanning can produce up to 2400x4800 dpi, interpolated scanning can produce up to 19200x19200 dpi, and ADF scanning can produce up to 600x600 dpi. The maximum document size that can be read by the flatbed is 8.5'' x 11.7'' while for the ADF, 8.5'' x 14''.

This device is also capable of faxing, and it transmits black documents in as fast as three seconds per page, while for colored documents, it transmits with a speed of 1 minute per page. The memory capacity of the fax machine allows it to save 250 pending documents. It can also save up to 100 speed dial locations. With all these excellent features, it's not surprising that this model has been awarded the best wireless all in one printer.

Other Features

This device makes use of five individual ink tanks, with four dye-based inks for excellent illustrations and pictures, and one pigment-based ink for excellent and professional documents. This device is also a member of the Generation Green campaign from Canon and the advocacy of this movement is to make electronic devices environment-friendly. The features of this model which are included in this campaign are the automatic duplex printing, 4-in-1/2-in-1 printing, individual ink tanks, Quick Start, and Energy Star qualification. You not only benefit from the use of this product, but Mother Nature as well.

Conclusion

If you ask me, I think this model is really worthy to be called the best wireless all in one printer because of all its amazing features. The Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Printer is really remarkable and all its functions have great uses. And for its very affordable price, this is one of the best bargains that anyone can get for a great all in one printer. I highly recommend that you get this model if you're looking for a device that's not only useful and excellent in all its functions, but very affordable as well.

Photo Color Printer - Which One Provides The Best Photo Print Quality?

Because of the advancements in the photographic technology, you sure can get high quality photo prints from both ink jet and laser printers models.

Laser; a One-Stop Solution

A photo color printer that can print several images within a snap of time with highest image quality is with laser technology. Consider a laser model if speed (it can print 26 ppm in around 10 seconds) and print quality is your major concern. The limitation is that a laser printer is more costly than the ink jet printer.

Cartridges

When purchasing a photo color printer, you should consider the cost and quality of the consumables, cartridges or toners. Choosing a poor quality model will lead o additional costs that might exceed the costs of the itself within a very short time frame. Hence, it is advisable that you make sufficient inquiries before deciding upon the right kind of model to print photos.

Remember some crucial points when purchasing a color printer:

Printer Speed: While purchasing photo color printer inquire about the print speed. Often ink jet print at an average of 17 pages per minute. A laser printer prints 26 pages per minute approximately.
Printer Quality: If you are searching for best quality printer than consider laser. However it comes at a higher cost. 
Print Resolution: Consider the resolution of a photo color printer as how many dots per square inch are printed onto the paper. The greater the amount of dots, better quality graphics you´ll get.
Printer Reliability: Consider whether the cartridge includes the print head. Replacing a print head separately itself would cost you more than the cartridge itself.

Kodak Printer 5500 Review As Seen on TV

The Kodak EasyShare 5500 All-in-One printer was designed with both the casual and the avid user in mind and is said to deliver sharp prints in crisp black as well as in vivid color on regular paper or photo paper, as well as a variety of other mediums including greeting cards, iron-on transfer decals, film transparencies, labels and envelopes.

Highlights and Features

According to Kodak, the EasyShare 5500 all-in-one has the ability to save users up to fifty percent of their printing costs in comparison to all other inkjet printers on the market today. This particular model also offers more than just simply printing text or photos as it is able to copy, scan, and fax, saving on valuable desktop space as well, a feature that ranks rather high with consumers.

For the novice user, the EasyShare 5500 offers one-click photo printing directly from memory cards, making it simple to print pictures right after taking them with your digital camera without ever needing to use a computer. In addition to this, the all-in-one also features USB ports and supports all PictBridge enabled digital cameras, allowing users more than one option for viewing, editing, and printing their documents and photos.

The intuitive control panel of the Kodak EasyShare 5500, said to offer more functionality than its EasyShare 5300 counterpart, is situated near the 2.4 inch LCD color display. The display is swivel mounted, allowing users to move it into a vertical position for easier viewing.

For copying and faxing purposes, the 5500 inkjet printer features a 35 sheet automatic document feeder and is also capable of faxing documents in color in addition to the usual plain black ink. The EasyShare 5500 is also capable of two-sided printing, a rather convenient feature that not all printers offer, and it uses a two cartridge system but with six different inks in total.

To use the EasyShare 5500 printer with your home computer you'll need to have either Windows XP or Vista (any version) or Macintosh 10.4.8 or higher as your operating system, anywhere from two to three gigabytes of memory, and at least 200 megabytes of available disk space.

The price tag of the Kodak EasyShare 5500 printer is generally around $299, which is usually considered to be about average for all-in-one printer devices.

What's in the Box

With the purchase of a Kodak EasyShare 5500 printer comes just about everything you'll need to get started and printing right away. Besides the actual printer itself you'll also get the Kodak EasyShare 5000 series software, a warranty from Kodak, setup guide, adapter cord, power supply cord, two-sided printing accessory (duplexer), sample pack of paper, and two ink cartridges, one color and the other black.

Technical Details at a Glance

- Black Print Speed: Up to 32 pages per minute (ppm)
- Color Print Speed: Up to 30 ppm
- Connectivity:

Bluetooth, USB 2.0

- Maximum Copies: Black or color 1-99 copies
- Maximum Scan Size: Up to 8.5 x 11.7 inches
- Measurements: 18.8 inches wide x 16.4 inches deep x 11.3 inches high (with duplexer)
- Media Capacity: 100 sheets 20 lb. paper
- Output Tray Capacity: 50 sheets
- Photo Print Speed: Lab quality, borderless 4 x 6 photos in as few as 28 seconds
- Photo Tray: Up to 4 x 6 inches
- USB Ports: 2 hosts, 1 device port
- Weight: 26.7 pounds
- Warranty: One year (with proof of purchase) or 13 months from date of manufacture on printer and print head, one year warranty on ink cartridges with proof of purchase

Monday, November 21, 2011

Why the Lexmark Optra T420 Printer is the Best Printer Around

printers have become essential machines these days. Every home or office requires one and this is due to the work that is done by printing. The printer one purchases must be low on cost and high on output. This is because if the printer is costly and is not delivering properly it is a sheer waste of money. The printers can be laser, dot matrix, or inkjet. Out of these laser printers are the most used ones. This is due to economical maintenance costs. One such printer is the all new Lexmark Optra T420 printer.

This Optra t420 from Lexmark is a monochromatic laser printer. This prints at 600 x 600 dpi resolution. It can print at 16 pages per minute. It can work with either of a PC, Macintosh, or a Linux based systems.

The connectivity system is through cable. And the language stimulation is PCL 5E. The printer delivers 10,000 - 20,000 prints for 1 - 3 users, based on levels of usage. Its spare parts are available everywhere and the printer is an economical one.

This printer can print about all types of papers. The kinds can be either cards or, envelops, or labels and transparencies, and of course plain paper. The max paper size is A4 and Letter. The paper clip capacity is a decent 150 papers. The media path output is curved. This signifies that the paper prints come out of the machine in a curved path. The system requirements to run this machine are Windows 95 and above, Apple Macintosh 8, MacOS X, Apple MacOS 9, Novell Linux.

This shows how adaptive this printer is. These days a printer has to sell in the market it needs to be universally adaptive. This is the reason the Lexmark Optra T420 was a commercial success.

Lexmark is one such company that is known to provide excellent printing and other services. The company is offering a warranty of 4 years on the product and life time guarantee. This starts from the date written on the invoice. The details of purchase must be kept safely for claiming the warranty in case of any manufacturing defect.

The chain of service centers in the country for Lexmark is awesome. They are everywhere. The service is excellent and more reliable, and this printer is one that has a history of least service. Just mention the problem and the executives will take care of rest. All problems are dealt on priority.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Printer Ink Cartridges - Can You Refill an Ink Cartridge Yourself?

What would happen if you are in a middle of printing your most important assignment which is due tomorrow and the ink of your printer finishes up? It can really very annoying. What if it happens in late hours? You cannot even find an open shop to re-fill your printer's ink.

To avert this kind of situation from occurring always keep extra printer ink cartridges and do not think it is difficult to refill your printer's cartridges. Nowadays with the help of refilling ink kits it can easily be done. All it takes is some courage and practice to do this task appropriately.

Mostly people do not think about refilling their printer's cartridge inks instead they wander into different shops to replace the whole cartridge of the printer. But the cost of replacing the cartridge is similar to buying to new printer. Why in this world would you want to spend that much money but do not refill the cartridge yourself which would cost you nothing?

Follow these simple steps and you will be able to install the ink in the cartridge yourself:

1. First, open the above cover of your printer; learn how many cartridges are there in your printer. Some printers have only one cartridge which has tri colored ink which produces all colors as well the black too. Others have two cartridges one is for black ink and the other one is for tri colors. Write it down somewhere and then bring the re fill kit accordingly. Also note down the sizes of your cartridge(s).

2. You can get the refilling kit from any computer or electronic departments in any good store. It is very inexpensive as compare to getting a new cartridge. Through these kits you can refill your cartridges a number of times. However, be careful in getting the kit because on kit contains either black ink or tri colored ink so might want to get two kits if you need to refill all of your cartridges. It would be wise for you to get the kit of the same company of which you have the printer. The kit will also have instructions written on it along with all the required tools so that you properly refill the ink.

3. With the help of instructions and tools in your hand, you will be able to carefully install the ink in the cartridge by taking it out from your printer and opening it cap. Make sure to cover the surroundings with any paper so that you do not spill the ink.

4. Carefully fill the inks in the cartridges with a syringe or any bottle with a needle. If you have tri colored cartridges make sure you put the right inks in red, yellow and blue sections. Soak the cartridge with a paper or tissue so that all excess ink is removed. Replace the cap and put it back in the printer. Now put the cover of the printer back and your printer is ready to complete printing your assignment.

Printer Review Comparisons

In today's market, there are basically 4 types of popular printers.

o Inkjet

o Laser

o Thermal Transfer(Dye Sublimation)

o Dot Matrix (Yes, they're still selling these!)

The factors that separate them are simple.

o Initial cost

o Operation cost

o Speed and Performance

o Durability

o Specialty jobs

If you are going to be printing strictly in Black & White (B&W), you're going to be happiest with a laser printer. They offer faster print speed, crisper text, and lower cost of operation. A good one is usually more expensive than an Inkjet, but with the costs of ink cartridges, you'll soon recoup that initial investment.

A typical B&W laser printer for home-office type use will run $300-$500 and will give you 20-24 pages per minute(ppm). For big office printing, expect over $1,000. Also expect 30+ppm. You will also achieve a resolution of 1200 x 1200. Higher resolution means crisper text. Laser printers are also usually rated on monthly volume. This is something to consider if you are purchasing a printer that will get a lot of usage. Don't buy one rated for 10,000 pages a month if you know you'll be printing 20,000. You'll wear it out quick.

You can also get color laser printers, their cost has come down a lot from the $5,000 units 10 years ago. They're usually fine for business type graphics, but I still like a nice photo inkjet for printing photos.

Inkjet's and Thermal printers have much smaller cartridges and usually run out quicker than the toner in a laser. Because of that, the cost of printing each page can be much more. These printers can also be purchased with the ability to print onto CD/DVD, which is a nice feature. Duty cycle isn't as high as a laser, but for home/office printing, most of them can keep up fine. Their B&W text is generally suitable for business, though some of the photo printers have slightly jagged text. Again, they're less expensive to purchase, but can cost 4 times as much to operate as a laser. If you don't do a lot of printing (

The Major Advantages of a Multifunction Printer

While they've lost much of their novelty as combination devices, and become much more routine, multifunction printers are still a fascinating trade off; an attempt to turn your local USB printer into some sort of electronic Swiss Army Knife, capable of copying, faxing, printing and scanning all in one gadget. These generally aren't as effective as the most advanced specialised devices at performing the individual functions, but they do have some significant advantages, and if you're nursing along an old printer, they make a compelling case for upgrading.

The first major advantage is that they take up less space; this is a concern for home based offices, and people working in dormitory rooms out of college, but it's even important for small offices outside the home. Finding a place to put your scanner, copier, fax machine and printer on one desk or one work surface has raised a significant challenge.

The second advantage is price; these devices have plummeted in cost as their hardware components have been commoditised and then some. Usually a good multifunction device will cost about 50% more than a standard printer and associated components of the same capabilities.

A third advantage is upgradeability; while you can't really upgrade, say, the dots per inch on the scanner bed, you can often upgrade the amount of RAM in one of these devices, or on higher end models, replace the flash based short term storage with a small hard drive to increase the capacity for storing faxes or images for reprints.

While these devices exist in both home office (ink jet versions) and professional (high end copier functionality), the exact mix of features will vary from model to model. With just a bit of research, it's entirely possible to find one that will handle most of your business printing or copying needs. For bigger businesses, some of these printers can handle 50 to 70 pages per minute, with deep paper drawers capable of handling large print jobs without the need to refill.

The ultimate choice when it comes to deciding between models is ultimately based on the total printing you intend to do. If you're just printing off receipts for customers, an inkjet based model may be sufficient; if you're using this as a means to print off products for sale (as a do it yourself print shop), you'll want to go with a laser system. Don't immediately rule out color laser multi-function printers; their cost per print has come down considerably in the last four years, and the color correction technology, including use of paper and printer profiles, have expanded considerably. They can churn out quite professional results if you're willing to a little extra money into the gear.

You will also need to decide how much you're going to use the fax or scanning functions; copiers and fax machines are close cousins in terms of what they do, and they habitually are the least useful of the functions on the printer, and often the hardest to get the full functionality out of. Even so, multifunction printers can do a lot of good for your business, and as such are still an indelible part of the modern office.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Canon Pixma MG5250 Review

Recent years have seen Canon's Pixma range become a byword for inkjet quality, so we were fascinated to determine if the latest MG5250 would continue with this trend. It is definitely a good-looking printing device. Just like most Pixma items, you'll find it clad in glossy black plastic and it'll sit perfectly within the trendiest of studies or living rooms.

Canon has put emphasis on just how straightforward it is to make use of, also. The right-hand side of the appliance houses the control panel, which is dominated with a small 2.4in colour display, and seated beneath is an iPod-style round control that is used to scroll over the broad array of alternatives. Additional buttons insure that it is easy to modify nearly every print, scan and also copy setting.

It is well-designed elsewhere, as well; a USB port may be used to download photos right onto the printer out of your camera - they are previewed on the screen - plus there is a card reader at the rear of a little flap. The screen itself can be tilted upwards, and also paper tray will take 150 sheets of A4.

Design and style is matched up with good print quality. Photographic prints are often the strong suit of Pixma printers, and that's dead-on here: bright, vivid colours as well as dark, even blacks dominated photographs. We discovered minor graining across broad parts of colour as well as, occasionally, jagged edges on sharper parts, but it is nothing too annoying and also, crucially, superior to its competition.

Quality in other places was a mixed bag. Mono text wasn't as well-defined as we favored, along with fuzzy edges to the solid, dark letters, whilst draft quality seemed poor and also washed out. On non-photographic paper images and graphics ended up reasonably bright, but a little blurry. Again, it is acceptable for every day use, although not as effective as it might be. As we've come to expect from Canon's MFPs, scans possessed lots of depth and also you get Canon's outstanding ScanGear software.

The MG5250 could just produce average results in our speed tests, as well. Although its 13.4ppm rate from draft as well as 9.4ppm pace with normal quality is okay, these figures plummeted when we tasked it with even more demanding jobs: it chugged through our 24-page colour document at only 3.4ppm. Scan rates of speed are average for an MFP at 2.6 pages per minute.

The MG525 is brand-new therefor the £150 cost really should decrease slightly as soon as suppliers begin to compete. Canon Pixma MG5250 ink cartridge prices in addition seems costly at the moment so every one of the five cartridge costs work out somewhat high, but we fully expect them to drop in line with various other Canon ink jet printers, like the MP640.

The Pixma MG5250 is located down the middle of the road in many areas, with good design, adequate print quality and variable print speeds. At this price level, though, you could purchase the Pixma MP640 if you would like increased print quality or perhaps the HP Officejet 6000 if you're after speed. When compared to the opposition, the MG5250 basically doesn't do enough to stand out.

Cheap Printers: A Review of the Canon PIXMA IP100 Mobile Photo Printer

There may be a lot of cheap printers, but there are only a few cheap printers with quality. A lot of people are looking for the lowest priced items because money is hard to earn nowadays, and investing in a luxuriously expensive object is becoming impractical. But if you consider items like printers, they are like investments because they are long-lasting and very functional. So if you would consider it, it's much better to buy a printer that's not exactly cheap, but is more affordable with very good quality. And that is exactly what the Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer offers. This review will cover everything you need to know about this device.

Design

As a mobile photo printer, this is very compactly designed which makes it preferable for use during travels and road trips. It has a nice, sleek silver body with a paper tray and output feeder that can be revealed by propping up the top cover of the device. It's very stylish and easy on the eyes in its simplicity, and you won't find it difficult to carry this thing around in its bare self. It's also very handy and portable and you can use it almost anywhere you want. Do rush print jobs, print photos in a spur of the moment, or leave souvenirs without having to go to a printing studio. This device has the dimensions of 12.7" x 2.4" x 7.2", perfectly compact and very lightweight with a mass of 4.4 pounds.

Although it has no LCD display, this printer is as functional as it can be. It has several connectivity options including PictBridge camera connectivity, infrared connectivity, and optional Bluetooth connectivity. However, it does not have memory card slots or USB ports as additional connectivity options, which is sometimes a must for some individuals. In such cases, this may not be a recommendable printer for those individuals.

Printing and Other Functions

Despite its small size, the printer is very high quality and can definitely tend to all the needs of the user. It can print to a speed of 20 pages per minute for black documents and 14 pages per minute for colored documents. It can even print borderless on postcard or 4x6 size papers within 50 seconds. Compared to many other cheap printers, this is by far the best bargain for its price.

The maximum resolutions of the printer vary according to the colors used. For black ink, the maximum resolution is 600x600 dpi, while for colored images, the maximum resolution is 9600x2400 dpi. The colored resolution is indeed very high and this guarantees you that every image that you print on this device will come out in perfect blend, rich in color, and detailed in the most vivid way. Since this is a dedicated photo printer, you wouldn't expect anything less than that.

For a mobile photo printer, this is very flexible because it can print even on standard size papers. The compatible paper size for this model are credit card (2.13" x 3.39"), 4" x 6," 4" x 8," 5" x 7," 8" x 10," letter (8.5'' x 11''), legal (8.5'' x 14''), U.S. #10 envelopes, and photo stickers.

Probably the most lacking feature of this device is the battery operation which is a must for travel and other portable devices, but there is an optional Lithium-ion battery that Canon offers which is compatible with this product.

Other Features

This is a very quiet printer. The maximum sound level of this device is 38.5 dB in the best quality mode, and this is better than many other models with a level of 50 db or higher. This device also has very minimal energy consumption, with a maximum of 9W when in use and a minimum of 1.5W when on standby. This model is also a member of the Generation Green campaign of Canon which is a movement that aspires to create energy conserving devices for the preservation of Mother Nature. Included in this campaign are the features of this model which are Energy Star qualification, 4 in 1/2 in 1 printing, and ink saver mode.

Conclusion

If you are looking for an expensive mobile printer with Bluetooth connectivity, wireless operation, and an easy to use control panel, this is exactly the opposite of what you're looking for. But if what you're looking for is a high quality printer which can rival the other cheap printers in the market, then the Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer is perfect for you. I highly recommend this model for anyone out there who's looking for not only a portable photo printer, but also a completely functional and top class printing device that can truly deliver excellent quality printouts.

Hewlett Packard Laserjet P3005 Printer: Performance Review

The purpose of this review is not to give you the specifications but to give consumers and owners real life information and expectations of the machine. This will let you know what to expect in the service life of the printer and hopefully save you time, money and aggravation. If you need specifications you can easily google that information.

The P3005 is relatively a new machine with the production release date of October 2006. The engine design is also slightly different from previous models. As you will see the P3005 is Hewlett Packard's big mistake. This unit is riddled with issues, problems and updates. You may want to think twice before getting involved with this printer. If you already own one and haven't had any trouble yet, consider yourself lucky. I think with a little thought, money and Do-It-Yourself attitude you can make this machine perform well.

Known Issues:

Problem: Grinding; loud grinding and gear noise from fuser / exit area.

Solution: Replace the Fuser Drive Gears (Gear Kit) and replace the Fuser Assembly. The lower roller bushing in the fuser wears which causes the drive gears to not mesh. Then the gears that drive the fuser get worn and stripped, causing severe gear noise.

Note: There is a gear kit you can purchase that has new lower bushings and all of the gears in one kit for a reasonable price. This kit will save you big bucks because the fuser assembly is very expensive!

Problem: Error 13.01, Jamming tray 2

Solution: Several possible solutions

a.) Clean or replace the Pick-Up Roller and Separation Pad.

Note: The roller builds up with paper dust making it very slick causing Jamming.

b.) Replace broken paper tray.

Note: The paper tray length guide brakes and the printer thinks it has a different size causing jamming.

c.) Configure correct paper size in paper handling menu.

Problem: Error 49.xx / RFU LOAD ERROR/ Blank display/ unresponsive display / printer locks up / loosing network connection errors, can't ping.

Solution: Update Firmware / Replace Formatter.

Closing Remarks: The P3005 was a disaster for Hewlett Packard. Many loyal HP customers were lost because of the issues surrounding this printer. Hewlett Packard needs to step up to the plate. They had a reputation as the work horse of the printer industry but have failed to maintain that reputation with this model.

The P3005 really works well when it's operating as intended, though it rarely does. If they would have done more pre-release testing and fixed the flaws before they stuck it out to market this damage to their reputation would not have happened. I have read many threads and reviews on this model from end-users that were very unhappy. If you are a Do-It-Yourselfer and have had any of these issues on the P3005 printer let us know. I mean it when I say "Give us your Experience and Expertise. We can all Gain from it!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Which is the Best Canon Photo Printer For 2009?

Top 3 Canon Photo printers

Photo printing devices come in different packages. Some are perfectly packaged and some are the otherwise. Canon photo printers belong to the league of printers that are on the top of the line. Partly, this is due to the fact that Canon as a brand name has been trusted all these years by the consuming public.

In the last decades, Canon printing devices have hit the market very successfully. In retrospect, this will give you information as to what Canon models have become the most sought after and have brought Canon more and more money. Below are the top 3 Canon PicturePrinters:

a. The Canon Selphy ES30 goes to the top spot. This is one of the very few compact photo printers that have been very successful. This sleek compact printer is the most portable compact picture printer available in the market with complete functionality. What is even noticeable about the Canon Selphy ES30 is that it is able to produce print outs that are brilliantly and precisely produced. So, if you are looking for a compact photo printer that will surely work to your advantage, then this model brand is the best suited for you.

b. The Canon Pro 9000 Mark II goes to the second spot. If you are a professional photographer, you would want to have a similarly "professional" device that can give you professionally printed hardcopies of your taken photos. This is the perfect photo printing device for professional photographers because of its 8 ink tank which allows for better a precision in the picture. Although this model brand is a bit bulky because of its 16 inches width and 14 inches deep, this would likely make it difficult for anyone to transport it from one desktop to another. Nonetheless, looking at its features, you will never even notice about the bulk size anymore as the functionalities that it possesses are dramatically enticing.

c. The Canon Pixma IP3000 belongs to the last spot. This is the 3rd best Canon Picture Printer. While the Pro 9000 Mark II is the best choice for professional photographers, then the Canon Pixma IP3000 is the one that is best fitted for the non-professionals and budding photographers. This compact photo printing device is very economical because of the efficient usage in its ink plus the fact that replacement of the ink cartridge is relatively very cheap. While one will think that because this belongs to the last spot, it does not at all the least in producing high quality photo print outs.

Because of the numerous Canon printer models that are being released in the market, the more it becomes for people to choose the top of the line. However, with the simple guide that was provided above, it is pretty sure that buyers will not have a difficult time to choose best Canon Photo Printer.

So, what are you waiting for? Just study the information provided above and when you are ready, grab your own piece of a Canon Photo Printer now at your favorite online shop.

HP Color LaserJet 5550 Printer Review

If you are looking for a printer that was designed for large groups and large printing jobs, the HP Color LaserJet 5550 printer is a fantastic printer for you. This is a printer that we are going to explore in detail in this article. We are going to talk about some of the major benefits of having a larger printer and all of the specifics that surround this particular HP printer in general.

By far, one of the biggest things that most people think about whenever they think about printers is the price and to be honest, this particular printer is going to be fairly expensive. One thing that you can do to keep your costs down is comparison shop though. There are many different websites that carry the HP Color LaserJet 5550 printer and you should be able to find one at an affordable rate that works within your budget.

Another major concern for a lot of people is the quality of the printing. As with any HP product, you are not only getting some of the highest technology packed into one printer, but you are also getting the very best quality. What this means is that whether you are printing black and white prints or you are looking to print out color prints, this printer is up to the challenge and excels at printing pretty much anything at all.

One benefit that you will notice that this printer has over a lot of others is the quickness at which it prints. No longer do you have to wait for your prints to be printed out, for this quick machine is ready and willing to print out any number of pages at record speed. You will also notice the details in the printing jobs that this printer slips out are incredible looking, so you will not have to worry about your ink smearing or your print job looking bad any longer!

One thing to note about this printer is that there are actually two different trays of paper that you will be able to take advantage of. The first tray is the standard tray and it will accept an entire ream of paper, while the other rate can be used as a multipurpose tray that can fit up to one hundred sheets of paper.

The operating system that you are going to want to load this printer on is Windows XP; however, there is a software upgrade that is being released for users who have Windows 7. Just keep in mind the operating system that you have in mind, so that you can get the proper printer for the proper operating system.

Once installed, this HP printer will take up about 160 megabits of memory, which in general is not all that bad, and as far as installing the printer onto your computer? It is a breeze. The HP software that you get with the printer will walk you through all of the steps and you will be able to install this printer in no time at all.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

HP Color Laser Printer Reviews - Per Page, Which Is Best?

The cost for each page is probably among the important elements of a printer's quality. In the colour laser inkjet printer segment, Hewlett Packard seems to have a monopoly of sorts when it comes to low cost per page printers. This is an introduction to the best low cost laser colour printers from Hewlett Packard.

Hewlett Packard 3600 Inkjet printer

The HP Colour Laser inkjet printer includes printing speed of seventeen pages each minute. Nevertheless, exactly what makes these colour laser ink jet printers get noticed is in their cost for each page. When compared with nearly all conventional one-pass ink jet printers in the laser inkjet printer section, this printer is the least expensive in price per page.

To printing in dark, you are going to invest only a penny for each page. While to printing in colour, it will cost about nine cents for each page. On the market you will discover this printer priced from $460 to $560.

Hewlett Packard CM1312nfi MFP Inkjet printer

This printer costs about $489. It is very suitable for small company scales since the prices are very economical. This printer comes with a good Ethernet port and USB link which will make it feasible for workgroups. To print in dark, it will cost 3.1 cents for each page. While to printing in colour, it will cost about 16.8 cents.

Hewlett Packard CP2025dn Inkjet printer

This printer includes printing speed of seventeen pages each minute. It's also designed with duplexer function which allows you printing on both sides, and has an Ethernet port and USB link that allows you making it for workgroups. To print in dark, it will cost 2.7 cent for each page.

While to print in colour, it will cost 4.1 cents for each web page. These prices are extremely aggressive and affordable. On the market, you will discover this printer to sell for around $499.

Hewlett Packard 1500L Inkjet printer

This printer costs between $159 and $189. It's able to print 5,500 pages for dark and 4,500 pages for colour. The black and white cartridge of the inkjet printer costs $85 while the color printer ink cartridges of this printer cost $110. To print in dark, it will cost about 1.5 cents for each page. While in order to print in colour, it will cost about 2.5 cents for each page.

There you have it. All of the printers listed above are excellent quality, and there's a printer there no matter your budget or need.

Lexmark X204N Review - No Grey Area Printing

This would fall into the transformers category of all printers. If you are looking for something that is small, compact and available to travel in one easy swoop, this Lexmark is what you may be looking for, with precision, accuracy and easy portability. This is one of those printers that can offer it all, look good, work good, and well, what else can we say? There are only good things to say. Things are either black or white, no grey areas unless you are interested in the Lexmark X204N.

As you are looking for a printer that comes with little to know instructions and little setup this is the printer for you. You will be able to access your new printer via USB cables. When you set up this printer, this is the kind of printer that you can take out of the box, plug in, hook up and away you go.

This is a printer that adds such clarity, whether you are preparing to send a fax, or printing a picture from your sister's wedding, if you are looking for black and white prints, there will not be any areas in which you find yourself squinting to see the different colored corsages, or differentiate between some sunset scene, this Lexmark X204N was designed to give you the photo quality of something you would see in a photo lab.

As you are going through reprinting all your digital photos you may stumble across to your scanner, go through rescan a few photos, old letters or invitations, this printer has it all in a small grey sleek shell for you to enjoy and use. This printer will bring you into a generation of wanting to show of pictures reports, school papers, and other items to scan and preserve for years to come. Family in another state? Fax over your child's grade card with ease, scan and email, whichever your heart desires. This would also be a great printer for a young college student or someone headed to grad school.

Whether you are looking for a professional or house wife looking for a great printer, scanner and copier in one, this is something that you can offer into with little to no risk or investment when you purchase the new Lexmark X204; with most retail stores carrying this product for under $250; and possibly more savings available online.

Best Rated Wide Format Printers for Professional Use

Many professional companies desire or require the use of wide format printers. The good news is that there are hundreds upon hundreds of models and types to choose from. However, when it comes to the best rated wide format printers available to professionals today, you should consider these printers presented below. Some of these printers are old and some are new but these are considered by consumers to be the best rated wide format printers available today.

Azon UV 1600 UV Curable Printer

The Azon wide format printer has gone through many changes over the users but many professionals rate the Azon UV 1600 UV Curable Printer as one of the best wide printers available to professionals today. However, many companies have found a very hard time in acquiring this specific model. The Azon UV 1600 UV Curable Printer has the capability to print on all types of media that are up to 25,4mm thick.

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8000

Canon is one of the most recognized names in printing therefore it is not a surprise that a Canon wide format printer appears on our list in the form of the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8000 wide printer 44" inch printer. If you are looking for the latest technology and highest color wide printer available at an affordable price, then you can't go wrong with the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8000. It features the following specifications: a 12-color pigment ink system that uses LUCIA inks, automatic switching from ink types and colors, a dual head print system, borderless printing, and a non-firing detection function and a compensation function.

Hewlett Packard 3500

In these hard economical times the Hewlett Packard 3500 with HP ink cartridges is considered to be one of the cheapest wide format printers available. It is the perfect size for smaller businesses and includes a variety of high quality features that are designed to prolong the life of the printer and that are also designed to produce what is considered to many to be the highest quality printing available. The Hewlett Packard 3500 wide printers are easy to use and don't take much training to master.

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100

Once again Canon makes the list with the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100 wide format. This printer features the following specifications which users have found effective: built in calibration, a PF 03 dual head print system, and a 12 color pigment system that uses LUCIA inks like the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8000 wide format. This printer is excellent for tasks of all types and is also one of the fastest wide printers available to professionals.

These are just four of the most popular and best rated wide printers available today. Each of these printers is different and can carry out different tasks. If you are looking this kind of printer for your company or business, then you should consider looking into these unique and high quality wide format printers.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Canon BJC-80 Portable Printer Review

If you are looking for a portable printer, Canon BJC-80 portable printer is a fine choice from the various multifunctional printers available in the market. The range of Canon printers come with a wide array of features and specifications and function with highest quality. Canon BJC-80 portable printer has the most exclusive features and specifications that make it stand out from other printers.

This Canon portable printer has everything you need for brilliant printing. It may not have the highest speed or the greatest resolution, but it has power over its exceptional ability to scan and produce outstanding results. The printer weights about three pounds and is equipped with Drop Modulation Technology to adjust the amount of ink drops for improved quality prints. It has built in 720x360 dpi resolutions and the capability of printing up to 4.5 pages every minute in black and two pages every minute in color.

The greatest size that this printer can print is 8.5 x 14 inches and has the capability to deliver excellent results. A striking feature of this printer is its automatic feeder capability of handling thirty paper sheets at one time. In addition, it also features infrared and parallel connectivity for office users. For your convenience, the printer can easily fit inside a laptop case or small carrying bag. You can also find a scanner kit or portable power pack with identical specifications as an excellent home printer.

Other than printing, scanning is also a widely carried out process for home and office use. The portable BJC-80 printer is equipped with scanning capability and is very useful if you forget to send a document preceding a significant office meeting or presentation. It is also of use if you need to send documents right away to your home or office. The Canon printer scanner comes with one year warranty and covers all parts and services.

Keeping in mind all these advantages and effective features, you should also be aware of the disadvantage of buying a BJC-80 printer. One prominent disadvantage is that it is more expensive than other models of printers and scanners available in the market. It is also known for consuming huge amount of ink for daily paper work or presentations. Lastly, it will also be mandatory for you to purchase a separate IS-12 cartridge to be able to change the BJC printers into scanners.

The BJC-80 is presently being sold for approximately $82 in various computer stores and online websites. The customer satisfaction rate for this printer is high and is proved by an online survey that shows 67% of BJC-80 customers highly satisfied with the product.

The Canon Pixma MX420 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer - Is It Good in Getting The Job Done?

Many years ago, the all-in-one office equipment trend began, and numerous smaller businesses observed this solution to be sound. The millions of small businesses online were especially drawn to these types of office electronics for the reason that it let them save space and money. As this assessment will present, the Canon Pixma MX420 all-in-one printer is useful in a variety of applications. The MX420 is a wireless inkjet printer that allows you to scan and print written documents from any location in your office. To assist you with your comparison shopping, this review will likewise provide you with additional information about the product.

The Canon Pixma MX420 utilizes WiFi technology in order to have wireless capability. The Pixma MX420 lets you fax documents as well as scan and print them. This grants you the ability to multitask using a remote control. There are oftentimes areas of concern that are not recognized until you get into the thick of things. As with any wireless technology, you have to have reliable communication. Thus, Canon created an Ethernet that easily networks with majority of office equipment. If you normally send PDF documents, you can be certain that they are secure by utilizing the password protection function.

The Pixma MX420 is an inkjet printer and uses two ink cartridges -- a color ink cartridge as well as a black cartridge. If you are like nearly all users, your black ink cartridge is going to run out way before the color cartridge. Canon has a patented inkjet cartridge nozzle design that guarantees the finest amount of ink distribution during printing. Irrespective of the color used in printing a document, you can expect a resolution of 4800 x 1200.

You will be able to print photographs that you have stored on various devices like the iPad and iPhone through the integrated WiFi technology. The Canon MX420 can print high definition video as well as the regular 8.5 x 11. With the more regular use of video in business communications, this feature is a terrific plus.

One facet of any type of office electronics concerns integrating it with present equipment. A computer that can get on a WiFi network is all that is needed for wireless capability. The LAN interface, which is a built-in Ethernet, will allow you to quickly network the software and hardware for the Canon Pixma MX420. This makes things easy for you. That will also permit anyone on the network to print on the printer. With the Super G3 fax, you can process up to 50 incoming pages.

There are some more features and benefits available with the MX420 wireless all-in-one printer. Ensure that you assess precisely what your small business office demands. Then you can make the best decision for your budget.