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So size first, it is 47x39x32cm - remember this is an All In One - and is easy enough for an adult to move at around 22kilos. The top has a landscape lid that you place items to be scanned under and to the right of this 15 buttons and the five position joystick as well as a 4x3cm TFT display that can either sit flat or lift up to any position to around 85 degrees meaning that the viewing angle can suit either desk or floor use.

There is an internal paper tray at the base with a manual feed just above, while the capacity is not huge it might suit a small workgroup. Connection to the PC is either by USB or Ethernet. The same install proceeds with really basic setup diagrams so even someone who has never attached a printer before should have no problems. At a later point you are offered the options of USB or Ethernet.

See also: Laser printers

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There are two models the CM1015 and the CM1017, identical to look at but the CM1017 has an Ethernet port and a built in print server. If you plan to use via USB on a single PC then the CM1015 will do everything you require and is quite naturally cheaper.

There are 15 buttons and the five position joystick type button on the right of the top beside the landscape scanner cover with the TFT behind the buttons. The power brick and either the USB or Ethernet cable go into the right back of the unit and the on/off switch is also around the back. In a business environment (networked) this may not be a problem but for the SOHO or home user an easy on/off with the other buttons would probably be desirable. After a while it does go into power save mode but with the 'environment' being high on the agenda ?..

Basic black printing is not quick - by laser or even inkjet standards - at 8PPM, however colour printing comes in at the same 8PPM. Most lasers print at a quarter the speed in colour - four pass technology - and indeed there are many lasers that print at 30 or more pages a minute. Printing a full page A4 graphic takes around 40 seconds from the time it is sent to the printer until you see the output. The quality is excellent and in a lot of cases as good as an image printed on an inkjet. If you want multiple copies of the same image then these are produced at around six pages a minute.

Printing what Windows calls 'wallet prints' 9 images 3x3 on an A4 sheet, each image is 8x6cm and borders take around 100 seconds per page.

However so far I have only discussed the printing side, this unit also has card slots so it can print direct from cards as per a lot of inkjets. There are four card slots on the right front edge. Images can be viewed on the 4x3.5cm TFT at the rear of the top this can be tilted at an angle to suit up to around 85 degrees from flat. There are a range of options with the unit.

This is an All In One and excellent colour or black copies can be produced even when not connected to a PC the first copy takes around 25 seconds from the moment you press copy. You can of course copy the output to the PC (scan) and then the output can be manipulated or OCR'd and a full copy of Readiris Pro 11 is supplied for this purpose.

Even though I reviewed the CM1017 version I suspect that the office user will find the 8PPM for black documents too slow. Quality for colour was excellent, the ability to print from camera cards direct means it could replace the inkjet in the home and of course the scanner and copier as this is an All In One.

Doing my Internet searches found it at a best price of £508.13 including delivery, the same company has the CM1015 at £376.53. See the first link below.

http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~128843~/product.htm

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/sm/WF05a/5043-5527-5531-5531-12564044-12735774.html