We Review 5 Multifunction Printers with WiFi Connexion

Whether for leisure or work, using multifunction printers with WiFi connexion to print photos and documents it is one of the most common tasks we perform with the PC. 

While before we had to buy a printer and scanner separately, in recent years, MFPs simplify the whole process and save us valuable desk space. So, print, scan,copy and even fax is to our fingertips without having to neglect the budget.

In the market there are models of all kinds, with the inkjet and laser predominant. Meanwhile, one of the latest is about connectivity: although until recently it was imperative to connect through a USB cable, now there is a sufficient supply with integrated WiFi, so we can share one of these teams with multiple computers and even have the ability to run without relying on a PC. And, of course, are compatible with the ubiquitous smartphones and tablets, also allowing printing from the cloud with technologies like Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print.

In addition, it is also possible to install applications on them that simplify many tasks, especially after the incorporation of small screens (some touch) directly to the chassis of many of the latest models. Thus, with increasing performance, simplicity and extreme ease of configuration, stand up to the new scenario "paperless office" that many analysts predicted as inevitable and not just succeed.

Laser or injection?

When deciding on a model or another, the cost of printing is a key factor, as well as how often you will use it and the volume of transactions that we will perform. Not the same for a team needing a timely task to know that almost every week we will print a few sheets. The inkjet, as we indicated, is the most appropriate technology for the home, as it requires less maintenance than the laser and especially consumables are more affordable (the price of a laser toner far exceeds that of a cartridge ink).

In contrast, in offices where printed daily and high quality can be decisive, the laser is imposed. And of course, we can always turn to a professional service center as photocopying, paying only for what we go to print and choose among a number of alternatives in terms of quality and finishing is concerned.

As for manufacturers, for domestic use options are virtually reduced to five: Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark, whereas other major brands such as Oki, Kyocera and Samsung laser focus, which is a niche with little competition.

Focusing on the inkjet equipment, the price of the machine is usually more affordable, but should be guided at all just for the down payment on the one hand, the cartridges that come standard are at half capacity, and secondly, is in the cost of consumables where we will really cost of each model.

For example, most affordable black ink can cost about 10 euro, reaching in some cases to exceed 15. To finish complicatig everything, spares are often marketed with different sizes, which vary depending on the manufacturer. Usually normal they serve to about 300 pages, while the full-length reach about 600. In this case, although the higher capacity always provide a ratio length / price advantage, note that if you do not print much the ink dries, and will be forced to clean the heads, a process that consumes a considerable amount of ink.

Amount of ink

Another section that we should consider before buying a computer is the number of cartridges you use. The most common is to have a minimum of four inks for the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) standard, and it is preferable that the four can be replaced separately. Until recently, many manufacturers used to sell one black and one color that mixed yellow, cyan and magenta, with the drawback that if one of them was running before, we were forced to replace it altogether.

In the best of cases, especially photo-quality multifunction devices, the number of inks totals six, adding to the usual four other separate gray and black in two types: with pigments and traditional. Moreover, if we want to save when buying cartridges, almost all manufacturers offer packs that make it profitable acquisition.

Finally, there are also cases where the printhead and ink cartridge sold separately. As a general rule, the more affordable models come together, but if we want a quality level higher than usual and do not mind spending more, then we search both supplies independently.

Multifunction Printers with WiFi Connexion - Benchmarking

Manufacturer	Brother	Canon	Epson	HP	Lexmark
Name	WiFi Multifunction Brother DCP-J925DW	Canon PIXMA MX895, print quality	Multifunction Epson Expression Home XP-405	Multifunction HP Photosmart 7510	Lexmark Multifunction professional OfficeEdge Pro
Price	€ 152.22	€ 219	€ 109.99	€ 199	€ 249
Specs
Dimensions	405 x 378 x 180 mm	491 x 448 x 218 mm	390 x 300 x 145 mm	551 x 454 x 220 mm	500 x 427 x 300 mm
Software included	Utilities Brother	Canon Utilities	Epson Utilities	HP Utilities	Lexmark Utilities
Warranty	3 Years	1 Years	1 Years	1 Years	1 Years
Weight	9,300 g	11,700 g	4.300 g	8,400 g	15,900 g
Monochrome speed	12 PPM		33 PPM		14 PPM
Speed ​​Color	10 PPM		15 PPM		14 PPM
Connection				125
Connection interface	USB 2.0, Ethernet and WiFi 802.11n		USB 2.0 and WiFi 802.11n	USB 2.0, Ethernet and WiFi 802.11n	USB 2.0, Ethernet and WiFi
Fax	Not	Yes	Not	Yes	Yes
Inbox		150		125	150
Multicard Reader	Yes	Not	Yes	Yes	Not
Sheetfed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Maximum number of sheets in inbox	100 n		100 n		150n
LCD Display photographs	Yes	Not	Yes	Yes	Yes
Maximum print resolution	6000 x 1200 dpi	9600 x 2400	5760 x 1440 dpi	4800 x 1200	4800 x 3600
Maximum resolution scanning	1200 ppp / CIS sensor	4800	1200 ppp / CIS sensor	1200 ppp / CIS sensor	1200 ppp / CIS sensor
Google Cloud Print	Yes		Yes	No (HP ePhrint)	Not
Colour Scanning Depth	48 bits		48	48 bits	48 bits
ADF	Yes, 15 sheets		Not	Yes, 20 sheets	Yes, 50 sheets
Prints on optical media	Yes		Not	Not	Not
Apple AirPrint	Yes		Yes	Yes	Not
# Of inks	4		4	5	4
Individual ink cartridges	CMYK		CMYK	CMYK + black photo	CMYK
Duplex function	Yes		Not	Yes	Yes
Model	DCP-J925DW	Pixma MX895	Expression Home XP-405	Photosmart 7510	OfficeEdge Pro
Other Features		WiFi Multifunction System with 7.5 inch TFT screen and touch panel. 5 ink technology
Ratings
Assessment	8.6	9	8.4	9	9
Quality/ Price	8.9		8.7	8.3	8.3

Other things to consider

Another feature that we must consider is the speed at which we can print but should be linked to quality, preventing documents presenting some kind of impairment, like soft colors, spot blemishes or distortions.

For convenience, incorporating duplex function (automatic printing or duplexing) is something to consider as well as the tray capacity paper input and formats it can handle (such as A4, photographs or envelopes , for example).

Focusing now on the scanning section, the optical resolution from which it usually is 1200 dpi, and are usually compatible with OCR (character recognition). Similarly, if the scanner has ADF, we will have extra convenience as they allow scanning multiple sheets without our intervention.

As for recent trends, integration with the Internet is growing, and support services such as Facebook, Flickr or Dropbox makes a big difference. Similarly, major manufacturers already have apps for Android and iOS that allow work from smart phones or tablets.

Components of a multifunction

• ADF: Allows automatic document scanning, without having to enter them one by one.
• Scanners: When lifting the top cover straight into the scanner, where the photoreceptors are responsible for digitizing paper.
• Display: not only allow you to use all the options clearly and simply multifunction, but can the team also available installable apps similar to what happens with smartphones manner. Of course, not all models are tactile.
• Magazines: Next to the print heads and nozzles, the cartridges are placed, in some cases with easy access and other protected (so that we can only access them previously interacting with the device interface). Usually between four and six (the cyan, magenta, yellow and black gray and one black added).
  
  
• Connections: The PictureBridge standard allows directly connect a camera or a USB key to print without a PC. Furthermore, frequently supplemented by including a card reader.
• Buttons: Next to the screen, it is normal that we have direct access buttons to print, scan or copy, and if you do not have touch screen, allow us to move through the menus.
• Inbox / Output: The most common is that the input and output of paper are placed together, although some models can also load paper in the rear, for added capacity.

Multifunction reviewed

Lexmark Office Edge Pro

WiFi Multifunction Brother DCP-J925DW

Manufacturer: Brother / Price: € 152.22

Although it lacks fax, multifunction Brother is one of the most attractive teams analyzed to place in a home environment, because their size is not an issue to place in any location

Read analysis

Canon PIXMA MX895, print quality

Manufacturer: Canon / Price 219 €

In printing systems, Canon bet is to make it safe. This is demonstrated by the test results, in which both quality in draft mode and normal, he won the highest score

Multifunction Epson Expression Home XP-405

Manufacturer: Epson / Price: $114.00

Epson device known for its small size, which makes it ideal for use at home, they do not always be precise choice of a machine with advanced features

Multifunction HP Photosmart 7510

Manufacturer: HP / Price: $ 246

The first thing that catches the attention of the HP Photosmart 7510 is its huge 10.9 inch touch screen, which responds to multitouch gestures that resembles a smartphone generation

Lexmark Multifunction professional OfficeEdge Pro

Manufacturer: Lexmark / Price: 249 €

For office and professional environments, this OfficeEdge Lexmark recently announced he will leave the hardware business inkjet, fits like a glove.

Testing Labs

This time, the evidence on which we have focused are related to the quality and printing time.In all cases, we have used the same office document consisting of 10 pages with lots of graphics, different fonts and colors, so we get sufficient information with which to check the accuracy of each model.

With the help of a stopwatch, measure the total printing time, and what we took to get the first page. Finally, on the back of each document, write down the multifunction that generated it, then to compare all these works together blindly. After order them in terms of quality, proceed to puntuarlos with values ​​of 1 to 5, with the highest score the better.

With respect to scanners, the process is more complex, since the optical resolution (for example, 1200 dots per inch) reflects what is actuallysampling frequency. This implies that two devices in the same resolution does not necessarily provide the same quality, but both are capable of capturing 1,200 dots per inch, so we should compare the photoreceptors.

To this end, we resort to the theorem of Nyquist-Shannon sampling. This states that, to keep information in the transition from analog to digital, the sampling rate must be at least twice the original sample. So, if we scan a table with 30 lines of resolution at 60 dpi, in theory the scanner will not fail.

In our tests, we scan two separate boxes and lines 30 and 180, through the histogram in Photoshop, check the RGB values ​​obtained. The ratio of the two results gives rise to the MTF (Modulation Transfer Function, or transfer function modulation) value,the maximum would be 1. If any of the numbers obtained is less than 0.75, we would expose major fault.

I hope you enjoy this review about Multifunction Printers with WiFi Connexion

Our opinion about Multifunction Printers with WiFi Connexion: Very little miss

First of all, note that any of the five MFPs we've tested are great for those looking to print, scan and copy documents without wasting your money options. They offer levels of quality and performance to live up to expectations. However, if we also need to fax, options are reduced, almost absent in Brother and Epson teams.

Starting with the latter, the most affordable of the comparative is the best fit in domestic environments, to be more compact, but advanced features will stop along the way, while Brother if you have virtually everything without ever neglecting size. Similarly, if we want amultifunction office and small business, Lexmark is the natural choice.

If we look at the print quality, the Canon model offers exceptional parameters both in normal mode and in draft, although not the fastest. And, at this point, sometimes speed is achieved by sacrificing sharpness or deforming slightly color typography of a document, so it all depends how you use it to go to (whether this is mere printed for consultation or presentation to others).

In our tests with normal print quality, all obtained exceeded the remarkable work with Lexmarkand Canon to the head (rating 5/5) and Epson, HP and Brother slightly behind (4/5). In draft mode, however, only Canon fulfilled to perfection. The HP Photosmart 7510 faltered and degraded, while the Lexmark slightly pale colors and sharpness Brother alter certain fonts (especially italics). Meanwhile, the draft generated by Epson failed to convince rather than less demanding uses.

If we look at the number of inks, unless we go to print many photographs or high quality is something inalienable, they come with four cartridges not detract especially against those incorporating five and logically what we spend per printed copy will be somewhat less, not having to rely more than four units of consumables instead of five.

Quality Scanners

In regards to its function as scanners, there is hardly substantial differences to the human eye, since 1200 dpi all behaved with solvency and presents none worthy deviations being considered, with MTF values ​​than incorrect. However, Canon offers the ability to scan documents to up to 4800 dpi, triple the other three participants.

It is in the (touch or no) screens and application support where we can get an extra that makes us life easier either with integrated services number (such as support some toast with social networks and sites like Dropbox or Flickr or the ability to install applications developed by manufacturers. Besides, if we print from our tablet or smartphone, all of them already have apps for iOS and Android operating systems that work like a charm.

The Good and the Bad

BEST: EASE OF USE

Both the inclusion of small screens and the ability to configure any machine directly over WiFi networks are, especially for those less familiar with the technology very positive aspects. Gone are the days when installing a complex steps required printer.

WORST: VERY BULKY

While we have a multi-function avoids having to purchase a printer and a separate scanner, in theese printers we have reviewed (except Epson) can be unfriendly sizes to place them on a desk.There are more compact models, but that usually means the absence of screen and automatic paper feeder.