Peripherals forum: Multifunction inkjet Printer Help

Why not goto a office center and try out some m/f printers. That way you get a feel for what they're about. Try other brands as well, even consider a laser output one as cost can be reasonable. Don't fall for the too cheap models because if you plan to use them alot, higher price should overall deliver the goods more stability. The "consumables" may decide it for you for replacement ink/toner for the life of the printer.

tada -----Willy

Your needs in a multifunction printer sound a great deal like mine. After doing quite of bit of research and looking around, I settled on the HP Photosmart C6280 ($200 from Best Buy).

This was a bit of a gamble because it's one of a new line of HP printers that hasn't been on the market long. But I've had mine a week and I love it. I hooked it up to my wireless network where it serves two wired PCs running XP, a wireless PC running XP and a laptop running Vista.

The C6280 comes with duplex (two-sided) printing standard and HP's Smart Web printing feature which I've found very useful. I'm into digital photography and very impressed with the photo-quality printing.

The HP C6280 is an unexciting beige color, but the top cover and front face have a glossy sheen with nice silver accents. It's the most attractive printer I've ever owned.

I see that C/net didn't give the C6280 a very good review.

http://reviews.cnet.com/multifunction-devices/hp-photosmart-c6280-all/4505-3181_7-32597792.html?tag=pdtl-list

I've noticed that the user reviews of HP printers generally seem better than the professional reviews, which often lean toward Canon. C/Net knocks the C6280 for not having a PictBridge port. That doesn't matter to me because I don't have any PictBridge devices. However, it does matter to me that most Canons don't have ethernet or wireless networking, which is why I wouldn't even consider the Canons in my price range.

I also have found the duplex printing ability and Smart Web printer very valuable features in my daily use while C/net doesn't seem to think they matter much. I looked at more expensive all-in-ones with many features that I knew I would never or seldom use. So it all comes down to which features are most important to you.