Laser MFP Roundup: Canon imageClass MF8170c

Canon's all-in-one color laser includes built-in fax and high-quality color and black printing -- for an extremely reasonable price. All the reviewers agreed that the color printing is excellent for this price point. However, they also agreed that the color printing is slow, and at least one had problems with the network setup.

Price: $999.00
Type: Color laser multifunction
Max. Print Speed: Black: 16ppm. Color: 4ppm
Max. Print Resolution: 2400 x 600 dpi
Special Feature(s): Built-in networking. Print, copy, fax and scan. 50-sheet Automatic Document Feeder.

CNET Review

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Liked: Affordable; good print quality; broad range of features; easy to use.

Disliked: Limited paper handling; no Macintosh support; slow.

In Short: The MF8170c is a great home-office multifunction, but in bigger offices it's suitable only for patient workgroups.

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PC Magazine Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

Liked: Works as standalone fax machine and color copier and includes a 50-page ADF. Text and photo output are in the top tier for color lasers. Includes network connector.

Disliked: Network installation is clumsy. Color copies shift toward blue. Can't scan to a PC over the network.

In Short: The Canon Color imageClass MF8170c earns points as the first color laser AIO for $1,000 or less. It's an attractive package overall, with high-quality output and fax, color-copying, and scan features. Unfortunately, there are also some rough edges—like network installation—that could be improved.

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PC World Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

Liked: Color images printed with good sharpness and saturation, and color business graphics came out nice and bright.

Disliked: While output quality is consistent with that of other dedicated color lasers we've reviewed, color print speeds are markedly slower.

In Short: Canon's Color ImageClass MF8170c provides good color output quality at a somewhat slower speed than you would likely get with a comparably priced stand-alone color laser printer. But the device's additional scan, copy, and fax capabilities may make the sacrifice in speed worth accepting.

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