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Multi-function printer buyers guide

By Alex Kidman

They're sometimes called MFCs (Multi-Function Centres), or alternately AIO (All-in-Ones), or even just numerically as 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 printers. Whatever appellation you stick onto them, there's no doubting that the combination of printer, scanner and fax is the dominant way to buy a consumer printing option in 2007, with a wide range of choices in terms of price points and features. So what should you be aware of before you plunge into buying your first MFC?

Buy the features you need

Faxing might not seem like a key feature in this modern age of email, but for certain applications - especially submitting certain types of legal or insurance documentation - it can be a vital albeit not commonly used application within homes. Still, units that omit faxing equipment are typically much cheaper than their fax-capable counterparts, and it's worth considering if you'll really use the faxing capability of an MFC before making your purchasing decision.

The ink trap

Most consumer MFCs sell for very cheap prices, especially if you look at the historical price of printers and printing supplies. There's a clear reason for this, though, as vendors have largely shifted to a model where they make up the shortfall in MFC prices by locking you into buying ink cartridges for the MFC itself.

Most vendors ship MFCs with cartridges in the box already, but these are typically labelled as "starter" cartridges, with significantly less ink than the full retail cartridges. Check the prices and expected page yields of the cartridges before you buy, as often the costlier high-yield cartridges will save you money by lowering the cost you pay to print per page.

This is especially true for photo printing, which is a high-ink use activity. It's also worth checking if the MFC of your dreams uses a separate photo cartridge; while this is an additional expense, using the right ink tank to print photos can increase the quality of the final images dramatically, and it's often also more cost-effective, as printing photos with regular colour cartridges typically uses a lot of ink.

On the subject of additional costs, always check in the store if your MFC comes with a USB cable to connect it to your printer. It might seem ridiculous (or penny pinching) but many printer vendors cut cost corners by not including a USB cable. A new USB cable shouldn't cost you more than about ten dollars, something that should be factored into your total purchase and operating costs, unless you get lucky and hit a sympathetic shop salesperson who'll chuck the cable in for free. It's got to be worth a try, at least.

Photo card slots and display screens

Most MFCs above the very basic models offer a range of card slots to accommodate the most common photo card types, typically SD/MMC, CompactFlash, xD card and Memory Stick. You may need to look at an adaptor (or a different model) if you're using a photographic device that uses one of the newer and smaller formats such as MicroSD or Memory Stick Duo in a mobile camera phone.

Many also offer small display screens that let you preview and even do some very basic photo editing (cropping and maybe doing a touch of red-eye reduction) on the printer rather than on your PC. Given the cost of home photo printing, you're almost always better off doing your photo editing in a dedicated package, such as Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro X, rather than relying on the in-printer tools, but again they're a nice feature to have.

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