Reviews of the Latest Printers and Scanners
By Peter Piazza, About.com Guide to Printers / Scanners
The sheer number of affordable printers and scanners available makes shopping for the right machine all the more difficult. To make the task easier for you, I put the latest printers and scanners through a series of tests so I can let you know what to expect from each in terms of print quality, speed, ease of use, and any technical issues you might face.
All-in-One Printers
An all-in-one (or multifunction, or MFP) printer can scan photos and documents (often directly to a USB drive or to a PDF document), make copies, and some can fax. Laser all-in-ones were, until not long ago, too expensive to consider, but that's no longer the case. Here's the skinny on the all-in-ones I've tested and reviewed.
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers offer great value for the money, since they come awfully cheap (and often come as part of a new-computer package). Most inkjet printers have incorporated scanners, copiers, and even fax machines, so you'll find a lot more in the All-in-One Printers section above. Still, a few only do one thing--print.
Photo Printers
Photo printers do a great job at allowing you to edit, retouch, and print photos. Many of the newest ones on the market are not only cheap, they're also very compact. On the other hand, some are built into larger, all-in-one printers, so make sure you take a look at reviews above of all-in-one printers as well.
Laser Printers
The magic of lasers. From reading our CDs and printing our letters to blasting alien invaders, is there anything they can't do? Laser printers are getting cheaper, and that's great news for us. Laser printers offer sharp, clear text, and color laser printers are getting very affordable as well. That means you can afford great-looking and sharp graphics, helping even the smallest home office look big.
Wireless Printers
Wireless printers offer great convenience for small or home offices, or simply where desktop space is tight. Wireless printing is becoming more and more of a standard rather than an option. Here you'll find some of the best wireless printers I've tried.
Scanners
While scanners are often built into all-in-one or multifunction printers, they're also available for special purposes, such as scanning a large number of photos or slides, or scanning negatives. Some are quite compact and can quickly copy both sides of a document in one pass, while others are built into keyboards.
Specialty Printers
There are printers available for a range of special purposes, from printing on CDs and DVDs to making labels for paper files. Whether you're looking for something special for an office or your home, specialty printers may be just what you need.
