I recently met with several printer vendors to preview their fall product lineups. In this column, I'll run through what's new on the multifunction-printer front from Hewlett-Packard and Canon, particularly their photo-oriented models. A future column will look at several other vendors and products, including a pretty interesting new high-end photo printer.
Canon Revamps Its User Interface
It was only late last month (on 8/24/06) that Canon officially announced its new midrange, $150 Pixma MP510, and two pricier models--the $200 Pixma MP600and the $300 Pixma MP810 printers. The two latter devices feature the company's interesting new iPod-like Easy-Scroll Wheel interface that makes moving around menus and adjusting settings very easy.
To make photo touch-ups and printing possible without a PC, each of these five-ink printers boasts media card slots, a direct-print port (to attach a digital camera), and a highly viewable color display: 3 inches in size diagonally for the MP810, 2.5 inches for the MP600, and 1.9 inches for the MP510.
The Pixma MP810 can also scan 35mm negatives and mounted slides with up to 4800-by-4800-resolution color dpi results.
Canon also announced several inexpensive photo all-in-ones this summer, including the $90 Pixma MP160, the $100 Pixma MP180, and the $130 Pixma MP460. At the same time, the company also introduced its new $200 Pixma MP530 office multifunction printer, which features printing, copying, scanning, and faxing capabilities.
The Biggest Multifunction Range in HP's History
Hewlett-Packard offers three different sub-brands for its inkjet printers, including all-in-one products. The company's Deskjet series is its entry-level consumer line that focuses on reliability; its Officejet models are geared toward home offices and businesses; and the Photosmart-branded printers are the company's premier products targeting photo enthusiasts and home users.
Now HP has launched a slew of new models to create the biggest multifunction lineup in its history. The majority of these are Photosmart units that feature media card readers. The entry-level Photosmart C3180 is a basic $100 offering; the $150 C4180 provides a 2.5-inch display and a 4-by-6-inch photo tray; and the $200 C5180 boasts a 2.4-inch LCD screen and built-in ethernet networking.
A little higher up the scale, the $300 Photosmart C6180 has a 2.5-inch color LCD, built-in Wi-Fi and ethernet networking, and office-style features such as integrated faxing and an automatic document feeder (ADF).
The closely related C7180 costs $400 and also offers a 3.6-inch display and built-in ethernet, Wi-Fi, and faxing capabilities, but it doesn't include an ADF. Instead, it has built-in Bluetooth and can scan negatives and slides.
For the home office or a small business, HP's $100 Officejet 4315 All-in-One (AiO) provides built-in ethernet, color faxing, a letter-paper-size flatbed scanner, and a 35-page-capacity ADF. The $280 Officejet 6310 AiO has many of the same features but incorporates a much faster printing engine.
Finally, HP also has an $80 Deskjet F380 AiO for the budget-minded back-to-school crowd. It may lack an LCD screen and media card slots, but it can print, scan, and copy, and it can automatically remove red-eye problems in its 4-by-6 photo prints.
Wish List
So there you have it. Lots to see, including a nifty new type of interface from Canon. I had only a brief chance to test this Easy-Scroll Wheel feature but found it simple to use.
I would still like to see photo-oriented multifunction devices come with touch-capable LCD screens, though. And while the printing speeds of multifunction printers seem to have bumped up a little, and features like color LCD screens are appearing on the cheaper models, I would also like to see vendors take more risks in innovating on the shape and look of these units.
Anyone listening?
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