Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

10
PRINTERS, ALL-IN-ONE 91 Quick Guide PRINTERS, ALL-IN-ONE if ail you do is print, you can save money and space by purchasing a dedicated printer. But if you want to copy or scan, or even fax, it's worth investigating an all-in-one. What to iook for • If you don't need to print in color or scan color photos, an all-in-one laser for superior quality, faster print speed, and a lower cost per page • An all-in-one inkjet, if you want color printing and a model that excels at printing your photos A built-in duplexer to print on both sides of the page What to skip • High ink- or toner-cartridge costs, which can make a bargain-priced printer a bad deal in the long run • An inkjet with a single color cartridge, because separate color cartridges may be more economical, depending on your photos What you'ii pay All-in-ones are actually getting less expensive and more ver- satile. Inkjets cost $60 and up. For more buying advice, go to ConsumerReports.org/printers Shopping tip If you're printing photos, a memory card reader or PictBridge compatibility can be helpful. Scan this or see how, page It Brands model Price Overaii score Test resuits o. o o 100 p I F I G IVCl E O o I s o Q. O S A BLACK AND WHITE LASER K/IODELS 1 Samsung SCX-3405FW 2 Canon imageCLASS MF5950dw 3 Dell 2355dn 4 Brother M FC-7360N s HP LaserJet Pro MI212nf 6 Brother MFC-7460DN 7 HP LaserJet Pro Ml2l7nfw

description

Printer buying guide

Transcript of Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

Page 1: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

P R I N T E R S , A L L - I N - O N E 91

QuickGuide PRINTERS, ALL-IN-ONE

if ail you do is print, you can save money and space bypurchasing a dedicated printer. But if you want to copy orscan, or even fax, it's worth investigating an all-in-one.

What to iook for• If you don't need to print incolor or scan color photos, anall-in-one laser for superiorquality, faster print speed,and a lower cost per page• An all-in-one inkjet, if youwant color printing and amodel that excels at printingyour photos• A built-in duplexer to printon both sides of the page

What to skip• High ink- or toner-cartridge

costs, which can make abargain-priced printer a baddeal in the long run• An inkjet with a single colorcartridge, because separatecolor cartridges may be moreeconomical, depending onyour photos

What you'ii payAll-in-ones are actually gettingless expensive and more ver-satile. Inkjets cost $60 and up.

For more buying advice, go toConsumerReports.org/printers

Shopping tipIf you're printingphotos, a memorycard readeror PictBridgecompatibility canbe helpful.

Scan this or see how, page It

Brands model Price Overaii score Test resuits

o. o

o 100p I F I G I V C l E

O o

I so Q.

O

S

A BLACK AND WHITE LASER K/IODELS1 Samsung

SCX-3405FW2 Canon imageCLASS

MF5950dw

3 Dell 2355dn

4 Brother M FC-7360N

s HP LaserJet Pro

MI212nf

6 BrotherMFC-7460DN

7 HP LaserJet ProMl2l7nfw

Page 2: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

92 C O N S U M E R R E P O R T S B U Y I N G G U I D E 2 0 1 3

Brand S model Price Overallscore Testresults

fi3 '.S

cr 3O

0 100p I F I G I V G l E -

A BLACK AND WHITE LASER MODELS continued

8 Brother DCP-7060D $1609 Brother

MFC-7860DW10 Canon imageCLASS

MF3010U OKÍMB46012 Panasonic

KX-MB203O13 Panasonic

KX-MB2000

B COLOR LASER MODELS

©

E, W

E

E

E

Dell2155cnBrotherMFC-9970CDWHP LaserJet ProCM1415fnwDell 1355cnDell I355cnwHP LaserJet ProM275nw

C INKJET MODELS

1 Canon PixmaMG8220

2 LexmarkOfficeEdge Pro 4000

3 Canon PixmaMG6120

4 Lexmark Pro 9J5

5 HP PhotoSmart 75106 HP OfficeJet Pro

8600 Plus

11.4

5.9

11.2

12.4

9.2

5.3

©©©©©©©©

o©©

©o©© ©

© © © ©© © © o

© © © © • © © ©

E,W

E,W

È,W

E,W

W

E,W

Ratings Key ©Excellent ©Verygood OGood ©Fair ©PoorQ CR Best Buy These models offer the best combination of performance and price. All are recommended.E Recommended These are high-performing models that stand out.

Page 3: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

P R I N T E R S , A L L - I N - O N E 9 3

Brand S model Pnce Overall score Test resuits

m ro ra '>= = = S

a"g

100 ™F I G I V C I E -

C II«!KJET MODELS continued0 7 BrotiierMFC-J825DW $100

fTI 8 Brother

MFC-J69100W

0 9 Lexmarif Pro 715

0 10 HP PhotoSmart 6510

r 7 | 11 Canon PixmaMG6220

0 12 BrotherMFC-J5910DW

0 13 HP PhotoSmart 5510

0 14 Canon PixmaMX892

0 15 Canon Pixma MX51216 Lexmari< Genesis

S815

17 Epson Artisan 725

18 HP OfficeJet 6600

19 Brother MFC-J6250W

20 HP OfficeJet Pro8600

21 HP OfficeJet 7500A

22 Canon PixmaMX882

23 HP PhotoSmart 5515

24 Epson WorkforcePrüWP-4540

25 EpsonWori<force 845

26 Lexmari(Interpret S405

27 EpsonWorkforce 635

28 Lexmari(Intuition S505

29 Kodait HERO 9.1

30 Epson Artisan 837

© O © O a O

© o © ö a o

a a a © © oo e e e e e

eee© o a o a o

E,W

E.W

E,W

W

E,W

E.W

W

E,W

E,W

W

E,W

W

W

E.W

E,W

E,W

W

E,W

E,W

W

E,W

W

E,W

E,W

Page 4: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

94 C O N S U M E R R E P O R T S B U Y I N G G U I D E 2 0 1 3

Brand S modei Price Overaii score Testresuits

P I F

100 _2

G IVGI E -

vO CD

t:r t r t x - • +^ ^

I I I I '̂ §

ii^lKJET MODELS continued

31 KodakESP Office 2170

32 Canon PixmaMX432

33 Canon PixmaMG532O

34 Kodak HERO 7.1

35 Epson Artisan'730 100

36 Kodak HERO 5.1 130

37 Epson WorkforceWF-7510

38 DeiiV725W39 Epson Artisan 835

40 LexmarkInteract S605

41 HP OfficeJet 6700Premium

42 Kodak OFFICEHERO 6.1

4 3 Canon PixmaMX420

44 Canon PixmaMG4120

45 Canon Pixma

MG3120

46 Canon Pixma MX372

47 Canon PixmaMP280

48 Canon PixmaMP495

49 Canon PixmaMG2120

50 HP Envy UO

Ratings Key ©Excellent ©Verygood OGood ©Fair 9POOI

D CR Best Buy These models offer the best combination of performance and price. All are recommended.

0 Recommended These are high-performing models that stand out.

Page 5: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

P R I N T E R S , A L L - I N - O N E 95

Brand S model Pnce Overall score Testresuits

0 100 JP I F I G I V G l E -

C INKJET MODELS continued51 Brother

IVIFC-J6510DW5 2 Brother IVIFC-J430W53 Epson

Workforce 435

54 Kodak HERO 3.1

55 Epson Stylus NX430

56 HP Deskjet 3050

57 Brother MFC-J220

58 Epson Stylus NX420

7.9

7.3

1C.6

8.6

10.5

12.6

11.1

12

© o o o a© © © © ©

a e

e e

e aa a9 aa o

© O6 9 • ©

o a9 aa aa aa oa aa ao a

o ao ©e eo a© ©e mo © •© Ô NA W

• E,W

• W

• w

w

. ww

Guide to the RatingsOverall score is based on speed and quality of print, scan, and copy functions, plus ease of use.The displayed score is out of a total of 100 points. Ink and paper/month is estimated cost (indollars) for ink and photo paper in a month of typical use, based on our tests and how our readerstold us they print. For inkjets: 23 text pages, 9 graphics pages, 2.4 large photos, 3.6 small photos,and 3.5 photos on plain paper. For lasers: 62 text pages, 24 graphics pages, 1.7 large photos, 1.9small photos, and 2.3 photos on plain paper. Photos cost the most, text documents the least, soyour results may vary from these figures, but they are useful for comparing models. Photoquality reflects a photo's appearance. The 4x6 photo time score reflects how quickly the modelcan print one 4x6 photo on photo-quality paper. One minute or less is excellent; 1 to 2 minutes isvery good; 2 to 4 minutes is good; 4 to 6 minutes is fair; and longer than 6 minutes is poor. The8x10 photo time score reflects how quickly the model can print one 8x10 photo on photo-qualitypaper. Two minutes or less is excellent; 2 to 4 minutes is very good; 4 to 6 minutes is good; 6 to 8minutes is fair; and longer than 8 minutes is poor. Text quality assesses clarity and crispness ofblack text. Text speed score reflects how quickly the model can print text on five pages of plain, ,letter-sized pages. Thirty seconds or less is excellent; 31 to 60 seconds is very good; 61 to 90 sec-onds is good; 91 to 120 seconds is fair; and longer than 120 seconds is poor. Graphics quality as-sesses the appearance of color graphics produced by the printer. Black and white lasers were iudgedon black and white graphics. Scan quality is for color photos, graphics, and text scanned at eachmodel's default settings. Copy quality is for graphics and text. Power savinq indicates how wellthe printer conserves power between uses. For networking, E indicates the model can networkusing wired Ethernet; W indicates wireless capability. Price is approximate retail.

Page 6: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

Copyright of Consumer Reports Buying Guide is the property of Consumers Union and its content may not be

copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Page 7: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

96 C O N S U M E R R E P O R T S B U Y I N G G U I D E 2 0 1 3

QuickGuide PRINTERS, REGULAR

Ini^jet and laser printers have become moreaffordable and increasingly full featured.

Shopping tipA printer withan EnergyStar label willconsume verylittle power whennot printing.

Scan this or see how, page 11

What to iooit for• A iaser printer, if you wantfast, low-cost, top-qualityblack-and-white text• An inkjet, if you want themost versatile printer. Youcan print color photos andgraphics, as well as text• Features such as a memory-card reader, PictBridge sup-port, or a wireless interface,if you want to print photoswithout a computer

What to skip• Color laser printers, which

are more costly than theirmonochrome counterpartsand unsuited for photos• Snapshot printers, mostof which didn't provide thephoto quality of the best reg-ular Inkjets in our tests

What you'll payColor inkjets can cost as lit-tle as $50, and monochromelaser printers less than $80.For rnore buying advice, go toConsumerReports.org/printers

Brands model Price Overallscore Testresults

:§ E e :^ s s .EOJ .-tí

o ox: szCL CL

r: î<

QJ oí)

£ ¿5•a t;

y s s

0 100p I F I G I V G l E

A BLACK AND WHITE LASER MODELS

HP taseijet ProPlóOódnHP Laserjet ProPU02WSamsungMt-2955DWBrotiierHL-5370DW

Lexmark E260dnHP LaserjetP2O55dnBrother

HL-2270DW 150

NA E

NA W

E,W

NA E.W

NA E

NA E

E,W

Page 8: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

P R I N T E R S , R E G U L A R 9 7

Brands model Price Overallscore Testresults

— H E

3 g

re ¿

•Q- o- ^ " ^ IP

s '5 ~ gÏ *2 •? S — •§

100

P I F I G IVGI E -

A BLACK AND WHITE LASER MODELS continued

8 SamsungML-2165W

9 DelllBOn

10 0KIB411dn

11 SamsungML-3712DW

12 Dell235Odn

B COLOR LASER MODELS

5.6

5.5

3.1

2.3

3.5

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA ©

NA ©

NA ©

NA ©

NA ©

© O

© O

© O

© O

© ©

©

aa©

a

NA

NA

NA

W

E

E

E,W

E

1 Dell 1250c

2 Lexmark C540n

3 HP Laserjet ProCPlO25nw

4 BrotherHL-4570CDW

5 BrotherHL-3040CN

6 OKI C330dn

7 Konica MinoltaMagicolor 1600W

8 BrotherHL-3075CW

9 SamsungCLP-325W

C INKJET MODELS

250

200

13.3 a NA © a a © a

7 o NA © © © © o

11.3 o m ^ ^ e ^ e

6 © © © © © © ©

10.5 © NA © © © a o

10.5 © NA © © © a o

8.5 o NA © © © a o

9.3 # © © © © a a

11.1 © © © © © © a

3Z]

Z]ElZl

1

2

3

4

5

Epson WorkforceProWP-4010Epson StylusR2000

HP OfficeJet 6100

HP OfficeJet 6000WirelessCanon PixmaPro9OOO Mark II

7.7 © © © a © a ©

10.7 m m e e • e e

6.2 a © a a © e ©

11.8 © © © a o

E

E,W

E,W

E,W

Ratings Key ©Excellent ©Verygood OGood ©Fair ©Poor

Q CR Best Buy These models offer the best combination of performance and price. All are recommended.

Lid Recommended These are high-performing models that stand out.

Page 9: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

98 C O N S U M E R R E P O R T S B U Y I N G G U I D E 2 0 1 3

Brands modei Price Overall score Test resuits

•E ra

^ s s s -a^ O CL Q. ¿J

rö •= s, O

S 'S S

I F I G I V G l E -

C INKJET MODELS continued6 Canon Pixma

ÍX65207 HP OfficeJet Pro

81008 Canon Pixma

ÍP49209 Canon Pixma

ÍP2702

10 Epson Artisan 50

U HP Deskjet 3000

12 HP OfficeJet 100Mobile

13 Epson Artisan 1430

14 EpsonWorkForce 30

15 EpsonWorl(force 60

16 Epson StylusPfioto R2880

120

600

11.7 e ^ ^ e e

5 O a © a ©

11.8 a © © o ©

10.7 e e e e e

13.4 © o © o o

12.9 © a o o a

11.2 a o o © ©11.1 o o a o ©11.8 o o o a ©

8.6 o o o o ©

9.7 © o © © •

o ©

o ©

a ©© ©

© ©

a ©

a ©

a ©

E,W

• w

• i '¡• E.W '

i• ' j 'ri

-3 r

Guide to the RatingsOverall score is based mainly on speed and text/photo guality. The displayed score is out of atotal of 100 points. Ink and paper/month is estimated cost (in dollars) for ink and photo paperin a month of typical use. For inkjets: 23 text pages, 9 graphics pages, 2.4 large photos, 3.5 smallphotos, and 3.5 photos on plain paper. For lasers: 62 text pages, 24 graphics pages, 1.7 largephotos, 1.9 small photos, and 2.3 photos on plain paper. Photo quality reflects a photo's appear-ance. The 4x6 photo time score reflects how quickly the model can print one 4x6 photo onphoto-quality paper. One minute or less is excellent; 1 to 2 minutes is very good; 2 to 4 minutesis good; 4 to 6 minutes is fair; and longer than 6 minutes is poor. The 8x10 photo time scorereflects how guickly the model can print one 8x10 photo on photo-guaiity paper. Two minutes orless is excellent; 2 to 4 minutes is very good; 4 to 6 minutes is good; 6 to 8 minutes is fair; andlonger than 8 minutes is poor. Text quality assesses clarity and crispness of black text. Textspeed score reflects how quickly the model can print text on five pages of plain, letter-sizedpages. Thirty seconds or less is excellent; 31 to 60 seconds is very good; 61 to 90 seconds isgood; 91 to 120 seconds is fair; and longer than 120 seconds is poor. Graphics quality assessesthe appearance of color graphics produced by the printer-or black and white graphics for blackand white lasers. Power saving indicates how well the printer conserves power between uses.For networking, E indicates the model can network using wired Ethernet; W indicates wirelesscapability. Price is approximate retail.

Page 10: Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2013: Printers

Copyright of Consumer Reports Buying Guide is the property of Consumers Union and its content may not be

copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.