Update: July 17, 2016 – Since the time of this review, HP has released a new model, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8710 Wireless All-in-One Printer with Mobile Printing (M9L66A). Stay tuned for updated information, but until then, let’s take a look at its predecessor because we know the new model will even better! The HP Officejet Pro 8610 packs multiple features and it is an indispensable piece of equipment in any office! When it comes to choosing the perfect All-in-One office equipment, you are probably looking for a machine that can at least print, copy, scan and fax, eliminating the need to clutter the office with 4 separate machines. We have focused mainly on the HP’s printing capabilities, therefore we will now let you know about its great scan, copy and fax abilities too. Here are some excellent features this printer packs under its belt:
As you can see, HP doesn’t overlook any of these features, with each of them offering great specs. You might be worried that all of these functions would consume a lot of energy, however, HP ensures that this machine is ENERGY STAR qualified. Another added feature which makes this printer stand out from the rest is its duplex printing and wireless capabilities. With HP ePrint, Android OS Enablement Printing and Apple AirPrint, you can print documents from anywhere through your mobile phone, even when not connected to a network. Similarly, the 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11b/g/n wireless connectivity allows for simple, easy access for an office setting. If you are looking for a All-in-One printer for your small office or work group, but the OJ 8610 doesn’t offer all you need, you might want to consider purchasing the latest HP Officejet Pro 8720 All-in-One Printer, released in 2016, with even more great features.
We chose the J6520DW multifunction printer from Brother as our Best Value product, not because it was the cheapest All-in-One on the market, but because it has an affordable price and still offers great features. It hosts all the essential features of a multifunctional machine - print, copy, scan and fax -- but the question is how well it completes all these functions. Let's discover some interesting features this device comes with:
Perhaps the one of the best features of this All-in-One is its wireless capabilities. Brother offers the basic wireless setup or connection to an Ethernet network for office use but what stands out for us is the wireless printing from your mobile using AirPrint, Brother iPrint&Scan, WiFi Direct, Google Cloud Print and Cortado Workplace. This makes it easy to print on the go, wherever you are. In addition the free Web Connect and Cloud Apps by Brother create a new meaning to functionality. With these free Apps you can complete tasks that no other printer can do such as Outline & Copy, Outline & Scan or Outline & Remove. These Apps allow you to remove a portion of the document that you don’t want and copy or scan it without this information. This will save a lot of time editing and re-printing, copying or scanning documents on your PC. Brother Creative Center Templates allows you to print documents such as note-taking forms, calendars and other business documents you use often, right from the touch screen display.
Epson is a well-known electronics manufacturer and we were impressed by their products. For example, as with most multifunctional machines, the Epson Expression Premium Printer is an excellent device which offers print, copy, scan and fax functions. Alongside with those basic capabilities, this great printer also includes the following:
If energy consumption is a concern of yours when it comes to using all these great features, you don’t need to worry. This printer is ENERGY STAR qualified, is recyclable, can use recycled paper and is RoHS compliant. Finally, a great feature of the Epson Expression Premium Wireless Printer/Fax is the functions it can complete without needing to connect or plug in your PC. You can select and print photos, auto correct photos, rotate, crop & enlarge, print photo ID and passport photos, choose more than one photo to print on one page, create photo greeting cards and coloring books. It’s the 21st century, so we think it’s safe to say that we would all like our All-in-One printers to have wireless capabilities. Epson doesn’t disappoint. Not only can you print wirelessly from your laptop or PC, but you can print from a mobile or tablet with the easy to setup and use apps Epson Connect, Epson iPrint, Epson Email Print, Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print. With all these options, it’s sure to be easy to print great photos wherever you are. Also, for those Throwback Thursday moments you can scan and upload old photographs directly to Facebook. With all these amazing features, all easily accessible with gesture navigation on the touch screen, it was an easy decision to choose this model as one of our top 5 All-in-One printer/fax machines.
The Konica Minolta Bizhub 3320 Multifunctional Printer is definitely a reliable companion in your home or business office! Konica has focused on quality rather than quantity when it comes to features. Unlike the other printers we have looked at here, the 3320 doesn’t have flashy LCD touch screens or multiple different compartments for specific paper types, it focuses on quality monochrome printing and copying and color scanning and faxing. Let's explore the numerous features of this printer:
The Konica Minolta Bizhub 3320 supports Ethernet network printing and also mobile printing through AirPrint or Google Cloud Print.
The last one in our list is a reliable and practical multifunction printer from Canon, a reputable brand that makes high-quality electronics. As with all the All-in-One’s we’ve looked at today, the Pixma MX462 can not only print, but scan, copy and fax too. Here are the main features of this device:
At such an amazing price, you could be satisfied with only basic features, however, Canon also provide My Image Garden, which can organize and print photos using facial recognition, Calendar Organization, Layout Suggestions and Special Filters. Also, the MX462 model printer has a Quiet Mode, so you don’t need to worry about any late night printing-- you won’t be waking anyone up! Finally, with the excellent Canon PRINT app, you can print wirelessly from any mobile or tablet device. Similarly, AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and Mopria allow you to print from anywhere directly to your Pixma MX462.
Before we go any further, in order to select the best printer and fax machine for personal use, home office or business, you need to ask yourself a very important question. Do you need a printer that faxes or a fax machine that prints; or maybe you want both? Depending upon your answer, you will have very different features and benefits that will be important. If you aren’t sure yet (or if you just want more information than we give here), we recommend taking a look at our more in-depth article – “How do I choose a fax machine??” – which also includes a review of 5 great fax machines. For those of you who want a piece of office equipment that will be used for a lot of printing, beyond faxing, another question to ask yourself is whether you also want to able to make copies and scan as well. If the answer is yes, then what you are looking for is a multi-functional printer, otherwise known as an “all-in-one printer.” Finally, and this brings us to the most important question regarding the focus of this review, you will need to decide whether or not you want an inkjet printer or a laser printer, as there are significant differences between them. If you are looking for information about all in one inkjet printer combination machines, you are on the right page. Otherwise you might want to be checking out our review of the top 5 all-in-one laser printers.
When considering the amount of money you will pay for an all-in-one printer, there are things to think about beyond the initial investment. The price needs to be considered in terms of value – how many functions and features are you getting for what you spend? You also need to think about how much it will cost to use the machine in terms of printing costs. The cost of the replacement ink and how many pages you get per cartridge will differ between machines. There are times when a much more expensive machine will have a lower lifetime usage cost both in terms of printing but because it may need fewer repairs and less maintenance.
When it comes to the functions that are included in all-in-one printers these days, printing, scanning, and copying, along with faxing, are pretty standard. What may differ is how well one does a particular job over another. For example, just because one machine can make copies, doesn’t mean that it’s meant to be a full time copy machine. Where some machines stand out from the others is whether they feature wireless and remote capabilities or not. This can mean that you can send documents from computers at different work stations without leaving your desk. It can also include the ability to send documents to be printed, faxed or even scanned from your mobile device – even if you are away from the office!
When it comes to choosing what design you want for your printer, as we mentioned already, one of the big decisions you will need to make is whether you are going to go with inkjets or laser. Inkjets create the images or text by expelling tiny droplets of ink on your paper – thousands and thousands of them. There are many benefits of choosing an inkjet, including:
On the downside, compared to a laser printer, because of the need to replace cartridges the day to day costs to use are higher, the actual printing is lower and you do need to let your documents dry because of the moisture from the ink. The bottom line is that if you want a lower cost machine and high quality color prints are your priority, then an inkjet is probably the right choice for you. Now the question is, what size or capacity do you need?
In our review of fax machines as a whole, we go discuss in more detail the things that can really improve the performance and usability of printer, but the main things that you want pay attention are speed, print quality, paper tray capacity, page yield and memory (both for printing and faxing. A good all in one machine will have easy to follow instructions and a user-friendly interface. The actual “mechanics” of the machine like changing the toner, filling the paper tray and clearing any potential jams should also be simple.