Color lasers, black and white multifunctions, color inkjets, compact photo printers--with a handful of options available to shoppers, the all-in-one (AIO) color inkjet printer is arguably the most functional. The ability to perform multiple functions within the same machine is a useful and convenient feature for the home-office entrepreneur, poor college student, or the everyday home user. Prices for these high-performance machines are affordable across the board. Today, Epson introduced three new AIO printers under $100. Let's take a closer look at the new offerings:
- Printer, scanner, and fax machine
- Two ink-cartridge bays with four total colors
- Uses DURABrite Ultra Ink for smudge, fade, water and highlighter resistance
- One-touch color copying
- Maximum 5760 x 1440 dpi print resolution
- $69.99
- Printer, scanner, and fax machine
- Prints up to 32 pages per minute (reportedly)
- Built-in memory-card slots and PictBridge port
- 48-bit color, 1200 x 2400 dpi scanning
- Auto-Photo Correction preloaded into driver
- $79.99
- Printer, scanner, and fax machine
- 30 page auto-document feeder (ADF)
- Enlarge images up to 400 percent
- Optical Character Recognition software included with scanner
- Prints up to 31 pages per minute of black text
- $89.99
All three printers in the NX series are available for purchase now on Epson's Web site. Check back for in-depth reviews coming soon.
Last week we showed you Epson's newest line of WorkForce printers, and this week Epson is back with another announcement: an "Artisan" series developed with the creative designer in mind. Unlike the WorkForce Series, the Artisan 700 and 800 are perfect for both household consumers and entrepreneurs that want a do-it-all printer that can perform multiple functions.
The Artisan 800 ($300) is the flagship model of the series with a comprehensive list of functions that include Wi-Fi, fax machine, copier with an Automatic Document Feeder, PictBridge support, and a dual paper tray to separate plain and photo-specific paper. Most intriguing is the huge 7.8-inch smart touch panel and accompanying 3.5-inch LCD with buttons that only light up the controls you need to perform a specific function. You can also do light editing right on the printer itself without the aid of external software.
The Artisan 700 ($200) is a slightly slimmed-down version of the 800 but still retains an array of features that will ease the creative consumer into printing, scanning, and copying documents and high-definition photographs. The 700 has the same "piano black" finish as the 800 and also uses the same six-color "Ultra Hi-Definition Claria" ink that delivers 1.5-picoliter size droplets for a more realistic and accurate print. The 700 and 800 both offer the ability to turn plain white paper into college, wide-ruled, or graphed school paper using software built into the driver that comes with the printer. Finally, Epson reports print rates at 38 color and black-and-white pages per minute, but we'll be sure to put that number to the test in our CNET Labs. Look for full reviews coming soon.
Both printers are backed by Epson's comprehensive two-year "Epson Preferred" warranty that includes toll-free telephone support and access to MyEpson.com, a site that has a number of tutorials designed to walk you through the various functions on the machine. Both printers will be available in September of this year.
Convergence is the key to staying ahead in the technology game, so it's no surprise that printer vendors are offering more and more printers that do quadruple duty as scanner, copier, and fax machine. Today, Lexmark caters to the back-to-school shoppers with a handful of new All-in-Ones that are competitively priced but include all the features you'd find in their larger counterparts.
The $99 X5650 AiO is a printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine with an auto-document feeder for scanning/copying stacks of paper. It can reportedly print up to 25 black pages per minute and 18 color. Unique to this model is a port that sits on the front of the printer, making it easy to quickly connect and print through a laptop.
The $129.99 X6650 is also four machines in one and adds a wireless printer server built into the device. It also has a 2-inch OLED screen, an auto-document feeder, and the same reported print speed as the X5650.
Finally, the $149.99 X4950 only has three capabilities (print, scan, and copy), but also has wireless, two-sided printing (duplexing), a 2.4-inch color LCD, and an auto-document feeder.
All three models in the Home and Student series will be available in September.
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