Printers/Scanners

Adding to its extensive range of printing devices, Epson has developed the XP-640.

Inkjet printer cartridges from various manufacturers continue to be a popular subject especially when users are expected to purchase regular replacement units at premium prices. One company that has adopted a different approach to the replacement of its ink is Epson with its EcoTank technology.

Just 12cm wider than an A4 unit this six ink inkjet offering might solve problems for those who need the ability to print A3 as well as A4. It can also print direct from a range of cards and memory sticks, connection can be via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB.

This is said to be the world’s smallest A4 All In One unit, being small you lose the option to have a flatbed scanner as that would increase the size but the sheet fed scanner works well and the unit is ideal to use remotely with a mobile phone.

As its title should indicate, the Work Force Pro WF5690 DWF has been designed to act as a fairly heavy duty device.

This is a three in one unit (no fax) it prints, scans and copies. With recent units this can not only be via a PC but also other devices via the WWW. It is unlikely to pass the lounge police so with Wi-Fi it can sit behind the sofa or even in a cupboard.

An All In One unit which means it prints, scans and copies. The HP Envy 4520 can do the last two actions without the PC needing to be turned on. In fact with printing being possible from phones and other non PC devices you might even buy one without owning a PC.

A small A5 page printer for photographs which can be printed direct from either an SD or Micro SD Card the latter via an adapter but also direct from your SmartPhone via an App as this unit has its own Wi-Fi you can link into.

An All In One unit from Canon and instead of the standard dark grey colour the Canon Pixma MG6853 unit is cream so may just get past the lounge police. If not, as it has a wireless connection, you can always put it in a cupboard and as it has a special mode you can even print to it when it is turned off.

Another very mature product, as computers continue to get more powerful processors things that took a while to process can now be done almost instantly. Here is a good example you can manipulate your files easily and quickly and improve them effortlessly.

While the scanning element of a multifunction device works fine for many tasks. Sometimes you need the greater functionality provided by s standalone product.

It was just over twelve months ago that Epson turned its approach to the printer inkjet market on its head. This change was brought about by the company’s EcoTank technology.

This is of course larger than an A4 unit but not by as much as you may think. It has tanks – five – that are filled by bottles of ink that reduces the cost per page. You can see the actual ink levels of each colour by looking at the side of the machine.

At the start of December I told you about a portable page scanner from IRIS and mentioned there were other such devices that could read information from a book or magazine without the need for it to be torn out. Here is such a device.

Adding to its range of consumer multifunction devices, Brother has introduced its DCP-J562DW model.

This inkjet unit can print, scan, copy and fax. It is suitable for the home or SOHO user. Unusually it has three paper inputs within its normal sized form. So what exactly can this latest offering from Brother bring to the market.

For a very long time people have talked about a paperless office, and yes we all still seem to be drowning in paper. Utility companies and banks want you to go paperless but there is not normally a great incentive to do so.

This is a large unit so my advice is make sure its place is clear before you unpack it. It can be Wi-Fi or USB. I assume TNT’s couriers are a lot stronger than me as it journey to its review position once delivered was by pushing its box along my hall.

Continuing my look at various Brother devices, it is the turn of a colour laser All-in-One model.

This is a multi-function device which means it not only prints, scans and copies but for those who still use or need it the unit also has fax. It is quite small and light and runs with two cartridges, it is black but here that’s OK as this is an office product.

As part of the latest refresh of its Business Printer line up, Brother has released the MFC-L2700DN model. This All-in-One device combines a mono laser printer with copy, scan and Fax capabilities. The letters “DN”, forming part of the product’s model number, indicate that Duplex printing and Network connectivity are part of this unit’s feature set.

This is an ‘All in One’ unit, meaning it prints, scans and copies. However as with most recent units the selling point is the ability to print from all your mobile devices. It can still be a Windows unit with connection either by USB lead or Wi-Fi.

While standalone flatbed and All-in-One devices can cope with many scanning tasks, sometimes you need a more specialised piece of equipment to handle this aspect of your document management needs.

This is a multi-function unit which means, print, copy, scan and for those who still want/need it fax. However this unit has something extra the ability to print up to A3 and while it is a good deal wider than most A4 units it is not that much deeper or taller.

The Ricoh SP 3600DN product is a mono laser printer. This particular unit has been developed to replace the Ricoh SP3500N, SP364510DN and SP4100NL models. As such Ricoh believes this product would be best suited for use in a small office or home office environment where it could service the printing needs of between 2 and 5 users.

This mono laser can print, scan and copy. It is a quite small unit so would easily fit into a cupboard or even onto a strong shelf, being black or perhaps more accurately very dark grey it is unlikely to pass the tests imposed by the ‘lounge police’.

A four in one unit as it has fax as well as printing, scanning and copying ability. This is quite a sleek unit but as its black it is unlikely to pass the lounge police so having Wi-Fi as well as USB could be a benefit as it could sit behind the sofa.

As part of its new range of inkjet printer models, Brother has released the DCP-J4120DW. This particular model is an All-in-One device that includes A3 print capability and automatic 2-sided printing along with its basic print, scan and copy functionality.

In the past I have checked out numerous All-in-One, Multifunction and standalone printers, either of the inkjet or laser variety, from various manufacturers. On this occasion, however, the printer under the microscope is the first printer product that I have had the opportunity to check out from Ricoh. The product in question is the Aficio SG2100N model which offers colour print facilities.

This is an Inkjet All In One offering but not the basic two cartridge offering as this has no less than x inks. So this has to be something to consider if the printing output is more important than basic mono or quick print output to you.