4/30/2012

Epson Perfection 1240U Color Flatbed Scanner Review

Epson Perfection 1240U Color Flatbed Scanner
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I just received this scanner a few days ago and I'm very impressed. The image quality is astounding. It's also very fast, taking a mere 7 seconds to do a full area preview and 10 seconds (not including seek time) to scan a 4x6 color photo at 300 dpi.
Setup was simple and straightforward, and the supplied documentation was ample, covering both setup and use of the scanner as well as installation of the various software packages. After hearing about the problems with the copier software and HP printers, I downloaded and installed the patch from the Epson support site before even using the scanner for the first time. I have an HP DeskJet 722c and so far there have been no problems, and the one-button copier feature has worked flawlessly.
Are there problems with this Epson scanner? Yes, but they're more annoyances than anything else. First off, there's no on/off button. The manual says to unplug the scanner after use. C'mon Epson, you can do better than that... It's not critical that the scanner be turned off however, as after a few minutes it goes into "sleep" mode and all that's left is the telltale green LED saying the unit is on. Also, the manual says to position your document about a quarter inch from the edge of the scanner bed as there is a small area that the scanner doesn't read (in other words, don't push your document or photo to the plastic "stop" at the edge of the glass). This fault is offset, however, by the scanner's very cool ability to locate and align a document automatically. Yes, it's true: put a photograph anywhere on the bed, and even if it's crooked the scanner will find it, scan it, and automatically rotate it to square it up!
All in all, this scanner is worth every penny and I highly recommend it if you're looking for an upper-end home scanner.

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The Epson Perfection 1240U is a flatbed color image scanner that's easy to use, is fully automatic, and operates with one touch of a button. Precise and clear images are produced as a result of its 1,200 x 2,400 dpi hardware resolution and Micro Step Drive technology. True 42-bit color depth brings colors to life. The plug-and-play USB connection makes setting up a breeze.
Complete with a premium software bundle, the 1240U scanner includes Adobe Photo Deluxe, NewSoft Presto!, ArcSoft Photo Printer, and much more. Scanning speed is a zippy 7.0 milliseconds per line for color and 6.5 milliseconds per line for gray levels. This scanner is compatible with both Mac and PC computers, and although this unit does not come with a transparency unit, it can accept one as an optional add-on. The Epson Perfection 1240U measures 10.6 by 17.14 by 3.66 inches and weighs 6.17 pounds. It comes with a limited one-year warranty. --Linda Anderson

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Epson Stylus Photo RX600 Inkjet All-in-One Review

Epson Stylus Photo RX600 Inkjet All-in-One
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This unit can do it all (except fax). The software is a dream compared to the HP2150 I returned in order to get this. I got the HP because it had built in wireless/ethernet print server and a fax. But the software bundle is all or nothing, they didn't separate out the printer driver...so anyone who wants to just print on the thing must first install 1.5gb (thats GIGabytes) of crap the infects your registry like a cancer. This Epson RX600's software is a dream. They separated everything! Just want to print occasional black and white like me, driver is just 8mb. Want everything and do photo touchups and crazy things and photo albums and scan (like my wife) - just put in the cd and add what you want one app at a time. That's why we went with this printer and returned the HP. Also, one more plus is that the RX600 scans old negatives and can print them perfectly or digitize them for you forever - the HP can't. I LOVE this feature (and yes, it's a combo of mechanical and software differences that achieve this, I dare you to try on another machine). I do miss the HP's built in print server. I bought a Linksys Wireless-G for USB2.0, and it won't work with this printer. Epson wrote me back and confirmed this. This is why I docked this review by a star. You MUST be able to run your printers from a print server. My 4 year old HPLaserJet3150 hooked up no problem, but my new Epson fails? That sucks, and if my wife didn't love this so much, I would send it back strictly for that reason. I do like how it's USB 2.0, it is fast. Separate color tanks (...)are sweet, not like HP where if blue runs out, you're forced to buy all other colors again. This has 6 color tanks all independently replaceable. Nice.
PROS: USB2.0, individual color tanks, scan negatives,LCD screen, front loading usb input for cameras, built in card reader on the front,great b/w quality, killer photo print quality, minimal/incremental/customizable software/driver install (extremely flexible and lightweight)
CONS: doesn't work w/ LinkSys print servers

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EPSON Stylus RX600 -- Now you can have a powerful photo center right at your fingertips -- one so user friendly you'll create brilliant, borderless prints first time, every time. The RX600 all-in-one offers all this and more, delivering photo quality prints, copies and scans with or without a computer.Scans slides and negativesEasy Photo Fix technology restores faded color photosUnique scan-to-card technology writes to optional removable media via built-in card slots (CompactFlash I & II, SD, MMC, Microdrive, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick (all versions), SmartMedia)Up to 17 ppm black text printing (up to 12 ppm color)Prints a 4 x 6 color photo in under 37 secondsUSB 2.0 - 1.1 interfaceSize -11.9H x 23.3W x 17.7L; weighs 19.21 poundsActual print speed will vary according to use

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4/29/2012

Pana-Vue Pana-Scan 35mm Negative and Slide Scanner Review

Pana-Vue Pana-Scan 35mm Negative and Slide Scanner
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Bought this to scan over 2,000 slides, some over 40 years old. Software installation is not intuitive, but fairly easy. Slide holder is cumbersome but once you figure out how to load the slides is not too bad (open the slide tray and load slides upside down in the TOP tray). You can only scan/transfer three slides per tray. The quality is not digital because the source (slides) are not digital. However, slides deteriorate over time and I wanted to save them before it's too late. Scanned picture quality is OK but don't expect digital HD results! So far I've scanned over 1,000 slides. It's time-consuming. Tried scanning color negatives but haven't gotten that feature to work yet - maybe I'll look at the PDF instructions (last resort of course!) For the money it's OK. When I scan in all my slides I'll have an obsolete piece of equipment.
Update: Scanning negatives works. Once you transfer them to a file, use a photo editor and click on "Negative" which turns the negative image into a positive image (nowhere in the directions could I find this - I just experimented). Results are sharper than scanning slides.

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4/28/2012

Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer (1438B002) Review

Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer (1438B002)
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The Good:
-Outstanding output quality for the price
-Good speed
-Automatic Duplex printing
-Lightweight drivers/software
-Inexpensive ink
The Bad:
Aside from a slightly cheap asthetic feel, I can't find a thing. And for such a low price, it's to be expected. Other manufactures might have shnazzier printers at the same price point, but keep in mind most other manufacturers don't sell printers, they sell ink, so you pay for it in the long run.
Overall I am extremely satisfied with this printer. Coming from an IP4000, I had high expectations, and this did not dissapoint. I have owned every major brand of printers (HP, Epson), and Canon is absolutely where it's at. Cartridges are much more affordable, you aren't forced to install 400mb of junk that loads 5 processes at windows startup (HP), and the attention to detail is great (i.e., you can program the printer to shutoff after X minutes of being idle). Do yourself a favor and buy a Canon.


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Exceptional Photo Lab Quality Performance with Advanced Paper Handling

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Epson Stylus CX7400 All-in-One Printer (C11C689201) Review

Epson Stylus CX7400 All-in-One Printer (C11C689201)
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Here's the deal... EPSON tricks you. Does it print well? Yes, but you can't print a B&W page without having color working. And worse yet, it uses teeny bits of color each time you print B&W so that you can't just NOT use color. I am a PhD student. I discovered this in the middle of printing an assignment. I scrambled to the lab at the university. Later I found out the whole thing STOPS and cannot be forced if you don't have ALL your ink loaded. So Cost of ink: Black: $16, colors, $13 each, times 4= $68; New canon printer at Wal Mart--which ALLOWS you to force B&W printing and has all the same functions of my EPSON rip off: $54.88.
Peace of mind: Priceless

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The Epson Stylus CX7400 Color All-in-One printer prints up to 28 pages per minute of black and color text with its advanced DX3 print head technology, and just as easily transitions into a high-quality photo printer that can print vibrant color images straight from your memory card or camera. The Stylus CX7400 also includes Auto Photo Correction capabilities that reduce photo red eye, while vibrant color copies can be made with just one touch. Preserving family photos and electronic documents is made easier with the printer's high-resolution scanning techniques, while each printed document or photograph from the Stylus CX7400 will resist fading up to six times longer than those from other printers.
The streamlined design of the 17.7 by 18.7 by 10.6 inch Stylus CX7400 makes this 20 pound machine incredibly versatile and easy to use. One standard ink set is used for printing both documents and photos, eliminating the need for special ink cartridges, while documents and images print out smudge free and fade and water resistant. And when ink runs low, replace only the colors you need with individual DURABrite Ultra Ink cartridges. In addition, this useful printer comes with a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box Stylus CX7400 ink jet all-in-one, 69 black ink cartridge (T069120), 69 cyan ink cartridge (T069220), 69 magenta ink cartridge (T069320), 69 yellow ink cartridge (T069420), documentation, CD-ROM (drivers and software), and power cable.

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4/27/2012

HP HEWLJM2727 HP Laserjet M2727 Network Laser Fax Copier Printer Scanner Review

HP HEWLJM2727 HP Laserjet M2727 Network Laser Fax Copier Printer Scanner
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Bought this All-in-one printer to replace an older HP in our office; paid $500 new plus toner. Printer is noisy with every print, but print quality is fair. After less than 1000 prints the 2727 will no longer work. Spoke with HP and they gave option of 1)pay to ship it to/from a shop an hour away 2)pay to ship it to HP for a turnaround of 4-5 weeks 3)pay $70 for another printer to be mailed to me. After expressing frustration with such poor quality and even poorer options for support, they agreed to ship a refurbished model to me @ no cost. If I had the option, I would return it (or throw it in the trash.) As it is, they are holding my credit card hostage until I return the defective machine. Would not buy again. For that matter, I will be much more hesitant to buy HP in the future.

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4/26/2012

Epson Stylus NX-127 All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer - Copier - Scanner Review

Epson Stylus NX-127 All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer - Copier - Scanner
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This is by far the WORST printer I have ever had. We got it during Thanksgiving when Best Buy had their $30 deal. It worked okay (just noisy and slow) until it ran out of ink, which was really quickly. We've now gone through two ink replacements just trying to get it realigned, the nozzles cleaned, etc. All inks must be full to work, which stinks since you use up the entire new ink cartridges very quickly after loading them just trying to get the heads realigned. Going through Epson's help center came up with "There is no solution to your problem." After spending several hours and all of my paper running through all the tests and trying to get it not to skip lines when it prints, I'm done. It's not worth the hassle. The scanner is ok, so I'm going to hook my old printer back up and just use this thing to scan. If it weren't for that I'd take it out to some lonely rural area and run over it repeatedly with my car. Spend your money on something better and save the frustration and hundred dollars' worth of ink!

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HP Officejet 4315 All-in-One Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier (Q8081A#ABA) Review

HP Officejet 4315 All-in-One Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier (Q8081A#ABA)
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I bought the 4315 about one month ago, primarily because it has a sheet-fed scanner. I have scanned 200+ pages and have not had one problem. The software is very easy to use. I set the software to scan documents as "searchable PDFs." Also, it is much faster to scan documents with the 4315 than my flatbed scanner.
I also printed a few brochures using the color printer, and the quality was great.
I would highly recommend the 4315.
****************************************
Here is a 2008 update to my 2006 review: Since then, I have been using the 4315 regularly and have not any problems. In fact, it has worked perfectly. I primarily have used it for scanning. Using the settings of black and white, PDF, and 300 dpi, I have scanned in hundreds of documents --which converted to more than 1 gigabyte of PDFs.
One of the great things about the 4315 is that it is a sheet-fed scanner, so I can put in several pieces of paper, and they automatically feed in one at a time.
The software is very easy to use. In preview mode, you can preview your scans and modify them via a variety of options including "resize," "sharpen," and "B/W threshold."
Also you can add additional pages to a scan. So for example, to convert a 60-page document to a pdf, you would place several pages in the autofeeder and scan them, and then select "Scan Additional Pages" and repeat this process--until you have scanned all 60 pages.
The quality of printing is quite good even for very small fonts such as subscript. I do not use it to fax because I simply scan in documents and then use XP's fax utility or faxaway's service.


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Ultra-compact all-in-one that's easy and efficient The HP Officejet 4315 is a reliable sheetfed all-in-one with print, fax, scan, and copy capabilities--you get the power of four machines in one in an ultra-compact, space-saving solution. Its sleek design with fold-up sheet feeder tray compactly fits almost anywhere, easily freeing up more workspace in your home office. Efficiency is the key with this HP all-in-one. With just the touch of a button you can easily print a family letter, fax a resume to a potential employer, make a quick copy of a receipt, or scan your photos and documents.

Impressive quality for your documents and photos With the HP Officejet 4315 you'll make a bright and bold impression on your audience with every document or photo you print out. Using HP Thermal Inkjet print technology, the HP 4315 conveniently prints in both color and black-and-white at a speed of up to 20 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 14 ppm in color.
Print resolution with the HP Officejet reaches up to 1200 x 1200 dpi black and up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi color and 1200 input dpi. High-quality sheetfed scanning with 1200 x 1200 dpi optical resolution, resolution, 48-bit color. Archived documents maintain text and color quality for decades without fading. Also, with HP Real Life technologies you can automatically remove red eye and enhance detail in dark areas of your photos.
Powerful and efficient faxing The HP Enhanced fax features included memory for up to 200 pages1 plus fax broadcasting to multiple locations, quick and easy faxing with one-touch buttons, and up to 80 speed dials. The HP 4315's powerful plain-paper faxing clock can send out letters at up to three seconds per page in black and color using a 33.6 kbps modem. You can also conveniently copy and send multi-page faxes with its 20-sheet automatic document feeder tray.
Save valuable time by faxing to a group of people with the touch of a button using broadcast fax feature. The convenient scan-and fax feature lets you scan your documenta into the fax memory so you can walk away with the document and get to work on other projects.
What in the box HP Officejet 4315 All-in-One (Printer, Fax, Scanner, Copier), HP 21 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge, 5 ml HP 22 Tri-color Inkjet Print Cartridge, 5 ml HP Photosmart Essential software, setup guide, reference guide, power supply, power cord Note: USB Cable not included
1 Based on ITU-T Test image number 1 at standard resolution. More complicated pages or higher resolution will take longer.

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4/25/2012

Canon PIXMA MP250 - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - printing (up to): 7 ipm (mono) / 4.8 ipm (color) - Hi-Speed USB, USB host Review

Canon PIXMA MP250 - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - printing (up to): 7 ipm (mono) / 4.8 ipm (color) - Hi-Speed USB, USB host
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This is the best printer/copier I have ever travelled with. It is lightweight and I can copy from books, as well as, individual sheets of paper. The ink lasted as long as any other inkjet I've had and longer than most. This is a basic unit which does what intended for an economical price. It is not designed for high volumne use, for that you need laser.

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4/24/2012

Brother MFC-665CW Photo Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking Review

Brother MFC-665CW Photo Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking
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Having gotten a new desktop replacement computer which lacked the parallel cable port for my old Xerox 490cx multifunction, I got this model because of its functions, wireless capability, and cost (one-fifty at office depot). It's also the first flatbed device I have gotten. Its relatively small footprint was also a selling point. My use is light home office and personal use - short work-related text documents, recipes for wife, color pictures the kids make, simple copying tasks, and for sending and receiving short faxes.
Set-up - a little bit involved as far as setting it up for wireless on my somewhat old netgear router. Still it found my network, and entering the security key was fairly straightforward. It would be nice if its mac address was more obvious. It might be hard for a total novice to hook this up to wireless unless s/he were running an open and unsecure network. While the box touts its wireless capability, the instructions time and time again recommend using usb or Cat5 connection for best results. Rather disturbing they would choose to discourage you from actually using a feature they tout so prominently on its packaging. I had to turn off the computer's firewall for it to find the printer on the network the first time. You have to use the install disk on every computer you want to enable to access this printer. But I got it working, and all connected computers can find it and print to it. Nice to cut down on a single wire (usb or LAN), but you still have a power cord and a phone-in and phone-out cord so you still have a heavily wired set-up.
Features - the LCD screen is a nice touch and it folds up so you can see it from different angles. It has card reader slots so you can print directly from flash memory cards. The print quality is just so-so. I easily could see the grain on text; on graphics the colors bleed a little. Even using photo paper the results are not satisfactory for printing photos. It has individual ink cartridges which is a plus, and they are very elegantly and easily accessed from the front of the machine. Can't comment on ink cartridge duration yet. I like to refill my own cartridges especially black, but don't know yet if these are amenable to after-market ink refilling. Print speed is a little slow for color, and adequate for text. You can load up to 100 sheets in the cartridge easily accessed at the front of the machine. As a scanner, the resolution certainly should be adequate for most home user tasks, but i found the colors of scanned photos lack vibrancy. This could perhaps be touched up using photo-editing software. After getting a question, i checked it out and you can indeed scan to PDF format - just set up a custom scan program.
Other - It has a built in phone handset and answering machine which are a nice touch if you also want to get rid of a separate phone/answering machine. In retrospect the phone is almost useless to me. You can set the machine to answer faxes only, or phone calls also. The PC fax is a great feature, and you can create a cover page in a snap - all you do is "Print" and select PC-fax from the drop-down menu. Unfortunately you can't preview your scanned fax before sending. I have not received a fax yet, but you are able to save these faxes directly as computer documents - not sure which format yet but another great saver of paper and time. I haven't tried the document feeder yet but if it works for a few pages without a jam, i'll be delighted.
I've not owned a brother brand printer before; I hope it lasts as long as previously owned canon and Xerox devices I've had. For its price, I'm satisfied but not blown away.
UPDATE:
It's Broken
I bought all this Brother ink and now it doesn't work.
Upon starting the machine there is a grating sound as if plastic gears are turning against resistance and then the "Paper Jam" message appears. But there is no paper stuck inside. Rebooting (which you can only do by unplugging) doesn't help. A plastic gear has broken off in the cartridge housing. It is out of warranty. This is after 7 months of very light household use, so you might want to refrain from buying this. And this after I bought alot of Brother LC51 ink.

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The Brother MFC-665cw is a powerful color multi-function center with wireless (80.211b/g) networking capabilities, making it a great addition to your home or small business office.
Color Printer The MFC-665cw features a flip-up, 2.5-inch color LCD so you can control all of its functions at a glance. Enjoy up to 27 ppm black and 22 ppm color print speed, as well as photo quality printing up to 6000 x 1200 dpi. With a droplet size as small as 1.5 picoliters you can be assured of fine details and color accuracy. The unit's front loading paper tray holds up to 100 sheets, while a photo by-pass tray holds up to 20 sheets of 4x6 glossy paper. Borderless photo printing is possible, and USB, ethernet, and wireless 80.211b/g interfaces are included. The printer works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Color Copier With a versatile flatbed design, the MFC-665cw offers easy copying. No PC is required for copying, and you'll enjoy up to 20 cpm black and 18 cpm color copy speeds. The copier also offers up to 1200 x 600 dpi resolution, as well as multi-copying for up to 99 copies. Reduce or enlarge your copies from 25 percent to 400 percent, in 1 percent increments.
Color Scanner Use the MFC-665cw for flatbed color scanning at up to 19,200 dpi (interpolated) resolution, and up to 600 x 2400 dpi (optical) resolution. The unit includes award-winning ScanSoft PaperPort SE with OCR Software for Windows and Presto! PageManager for Mac.
Photo Capture Center Use the color LCD display to preview, print images or even an index--all without a computer. The MFC-665cw features convenient digital camera media card slots for high quality photo printing (Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, xD-Picture Card Type M/Type H, CompactFlash, Secure Digital, and MultiMediaCard). The memory card system also works as a removable disk drive, and there's also a PictBridge interface to print photos directly from your PictBridge-enabled camera.
Color Fax When it comes time to send a fax, you can choose black and white or color faxing using the ITU-T30E standard. A 10-page auto document feeder makes big faxing jobs a snap, while the 14.4 Kbps high-speed fax modem delivers your documents quickly. The fax machine supports caller ID and distinctive ring modes. No PC is required for faxing. You can also take advantage of 80-station auto dialing, and 32 MB of total memory means you can store up to 480 pages.
PC Fax The MFC-665cw comes with the Brother PC Fax Driver for sending and receiving faxes from your computer. The software supports fax broadcasting from your PC, as well as network PC fax send and receive. PC fax functionality works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Message Center The MFC-665cw's built-in digital answering machine records up to 99 messages or up to 29 total minutes. The unit features a built-in telephone handset, as well as a full-duplex speakerphone for hands-free operation. Volume controls for both the handset and speakerphone are provided.

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Lexmark P6250 Photo All-in-One (21B0000) Review

Lexmark P6250 Photo All-in-One (21B0000)
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First of all, The P6250 printer may come in boxed with or without the USB cable. The model 21B0000 does not include the cable. Model 21B0281 includes it. For those of you planning to purchase the printer with no cable it will be good to know that a standard USB cable will work just fine with the printer, I tell you from actual experience since I accidentally purchased the model with no cable. Make sure to grab a USB 2.0 compatible (or better) cable.
This printer uses two ink cartridges simultaneously. The factory-installed cartridges are Photo (#31) and Color (#33). You can optionally purchase a Black cartridge (#32 or #34) to replace the photo cartridge. The color ink cartridge must always be there. Lexmark also has a high yield color cartridge (#35) that provides a higher quality image from the printer. If you don't do much photo printing I recommend purchasing and using a black cartridge when not printing digital photos. Is not that that the photo cartridge is limited for pictures only, but with the black cartridge you obtain a faster output rate for other types of documents, and you save on precious photo ink. There is a cartridge storage area inside the printer where you can conveniently place your extra ink cartridge. The printer's front panel displays the ink levels as they get quickly drained. You should purchase your replacement cartridges from a store that sells two-pack ink bundles. Heavy printing could result in a very high total cost of ownership.
I mostly use the P6250 for normal printing, copying and sometimes for scanning. You can make color or b&w copies and there is no need to interact with the computer for simple photocopies. I have not tested the faxing capabilities of this printer.
For photo printing, a few sample copies of photo paper are included. The output is colorful and sharp. Photos may be printed from your computer's hard drive or from a memory card connected directly to the printer's front panel. The front panel supports Compact Flash Type I/II, SmartMedia, Microdrive, Memory Sticks, Secure Digital (SD), Multimedia and xD cards. Inserting a memory card on your printer initiates the Fast Pics software from Lexmark where you can adjust your pictures and print them later.
The printer includes the All in One software from Lexmark. With this user-friendly software you can manage all the printer features such as Scanning, Printing, Photo Editing, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), Faxing and Photocopying. There are also troubleshooting options in case your printer starts misbehaving.
This printer was the perfect choice for me, it should be ideal for any home user. However, you should know that this family of printers, as with any inkjet family is not designed for heavy, commercial-like use.
I hope that my review helps with your purchase decision.

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The Lexmark P6250 All-in-One lets you quickly print, scan, and copy documents, and even print photos directly from your digital camera's memory card. Print speeds reach up to 22 ppm in black-and-white with an optional black print cartridge, while everyday color prints can be achieved at a very respectable 15 ppm. The P6250 also features fast 15 cpm black-and-white copying, 9 cpm for color, plus 48-bit color flatbed scanning at up to 1,200 x 2,400 optical dpi. The included software lets you touch-up photos and e-mail them to friends and family in a flash. (Print speeds are reported by manufacturer and will vary.)
Print photos with or without a computer--simply insert your card into the front mounted slot and preview images on the convenient 2.5-inch LCD. When not in use, the P6250 has a flip-up dust cover to prevent dust and debris from fouling the card slots. Another option for photo printing is to simply connect your camera directly to the P6250 via the USB 2.0 port. Either way, the P6250 produces quality photo prints with little wait time, with or without borders.
The P6250 really does come complete, right out of the box. It ships with a media sample pack and both regular tricolor (cyan, magenta, and yellow ink) and photo (photo cyan, photo magenta, and black ink) cartridges, so you can start printing beautiful photos right away. A dedicated black cartridge (sold separately) can also occupy the photo cartridge slot, and if you plan to print text documents, you will want to buy the black cartridge so that the photo cartridge's ink supply can be conserved.
Additional features include step-by-step animated prompts on the preview screen, including an alert to replace an ink cartridge. The P6250 supports an optional Lexmark N4000e for Ethernet 10/100Base TX for network printing.
What's in the BoxP6250 All-in-One, power supply and cable, CD-ROM (drivers and utilities), setup sheet, assistance and warranty sheet, User's Guide, photo print cartridge, color print cartridge, media sampler pack; USB cable and black cartridge are not included

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4/23/2012

Epson WorkForce 315 All-In-One Inkjet Printer Review

Epson WorkForce 315 All-In-One Inkjet Printer
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Don't know what's up with that other guy, but this thing is not slow. It's probably the fastest printer I've owned. Mine Prints about 20 sheets a minute.
Couple of tips for the noobs: Don't buy official Ink. You want to pay $20 per cartridge instead of $3 for generic, you'd save money by going to the copy shop instead. Also, the handy dandy feature which tells you when your ink is low, is nothing but an ink/money waster. The software will claim your ink is out when you can shake the cartridge and easily see that you have more than half left. This was done on purpose to sell more ink. It will not let you continue to use a cartridge it believes is empty. You need to get the refillable cartridges with the reset chips. After that, all you need to buy is ink. Also, if you have a Mac, or something weird, go to the website and download the latest drivers (duh).

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4/22/2012

Brother MFC-290C Color Inkjet Multifunction Center Review

Brother MFC-290C Color Inkjet Multifunction Center
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So far so good. Absolutely no paper jams for the past year of use. Very good quality for black prints. Color printing on the other hand, is very dull. Even the black comes out looking gray.
Positive:
* Quick and easy setup. Software included does quick and simple scanning.
* Print time is decent for both color and black
* Very sturdy construction
* 4 separate print cartridges
* Printer cleans itself
* Auto feeder for copying multiple pages. (very useful while filing tax documents and making copies of it.)
* Also, has an open door option for manual feed scanning.
Negative:
* Black prints comes out looking dark gray. Not as rich as it should be.
* No USB cable provided (Like selling a car with no steering wheel)
* Printer uses INK to clean itself. 2-3 times a month. Even when the printer is OFF. ???
* Color photo prints on regular paper comes out dull. Very dull. haven't tried printing on photo paper yet.
* No envelope feed option on the paper tray. Very confusing at first, but after 2 attempts, I eventually figured it out.
* No WIFI connection
I still gave it a 4 because the majority of prints I do are black and white prints. (resumes, school work, labels, etc"). For Less than $100, you can't complain. Replacement cartrdiges are also very affordable.
For Photo printing, LOOK ELSEWHERE!
----------------
UPDATE:
After using the inks until they were near empty, the colors seem to be more brighter for some reason and the blacks now looks black. I guess it needs some breaking in time?
Also, Printer will warn you that the cartridge are empty and must be replaced, even though there is a good amount of ink left. Enough for 30-50 more normal prints I would say. You can trick the printer into using it again just by removing the cartridge and reinserting them.
Looks like the printer is set to a certain amount of prints for each cartridge and just tells you to replace a cartridge after a certain amount of prints. It doesn't actually know when the cartridges are empty. There is a small window on the cartridges to let you see how much ink is left.
UPDATE 7/27/10
After updating the firmware from the Brothers site, you can now continue to print in (black only) if a color cartridge is empty. Before the update, if any of the color cartridges were empty, the printer would demand that you replace the color cartridge and would not allow you to print at all. Not even in black.

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Print, copy, scan or fax with ease! Unattended fax, copy and scan with 15-page auto document feeder. Direct photo printing from media card slots or USB direct/PictBridge Interface. 4-ink cartridge system replace only the cartridge that needs to be replaced. Fast print speeds at up to 30ppm black and 25ppm color. Print vibrant, borderless photos on demand at up to 6000 x 1200 dpi resolution. No PC required to print photos, fax or copy. Use the fax and phone on one line with the Auto Fax / Telephone switching feature. Up to 100 sheets in the paper tray.

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Kodak ESP 9 All-in-One Printer Review

Kodak ESP 9 All-in-One Printer
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First off, I ordered this printer on a home shopping network because I was so impressed with everything this printer offered. However, after I ordered it, I was really worried because of so many negative reviews, I was SO WORRIED in fact that I had just about decided that when my printer did arrive through UPS, I was going to send it back right away! Well, thank goodness I didn't do that, I decided I have 30 days to try it and if I don't like it, I can always send it back. When you first take your printer out of the box, there is alot of tape and styrofoam blocks that you have to take off and out of the printer, so make sure you get all of it, there are even some styrofoam blocks taped inside where the ink cartridges go.
Installing this printer was absolutely the easiest I have ever done on any printer. (took me less than 10 minutes!) My old HP printer took almost an hour to install! I connected my printer using my USB port first, then I also installed it using the wireless connection....everything went perfectly. Then came the printing!
I printed out 2 documents, one in color and the other in black and white, both came out perfectly. No errors in printing and the colors and blacks were perfect. I have had my printer for 3 days now and I am still printing photos, so far I have printed out about 12 4x6 color photos and about 40 black and white documents (front and back sides with the 2 sided printing option) My ink cartridges are now showing 60% full in color and 70% full in black. One thing you want to make sure of is that you use only KODAK paper because when I used my old HP photo paper, the colors were not as vivid as when I used the Kodak paper. (some of the customer complaints were about the reds not being very red and yellows not yellow) When I use my Kodak Premium Photo paper, the photos come out flawless, absolutely stunning in detail!Reds are just as red as can be!!! On my old HP paper, the photos still came out great but just not as vivid as on the Kodak paper.
One thing I did have to do is update the drivers on the Kodak website, because when I would go to print a 2 sided document (which you have to do all the necessary adjustments in the printers options menu) it would print the first side perfectly but when you turned your paper over, the text would be upside down! (hmmm!) AFTER I updated my drivers on the Kodak Website, it fixed that issue and now prints a 2 sided document like it is supposed to. The only other issue I had was when I used my "duplexer" after I updated my drivers, all of a sudden my duplexer started printing only in black and white. I tried to make the necessary adjustments in the printer menu but nothing worked. So I called tech support (which was very fast and courteous towards me, no waiting and very fast and knowledgeable about this printer) and the girl told me to go in and reset the printer to "default settings" under the configure settings menu, so I did and then the duplexer started printing in color and/or black and white like it is supposed to do!!!
Now everything is like it should be. The printer is not noisy at all while printing, it is however "a little noisy" while "spooling" or when you first turn your printer on and it performs it's usual setting up functions. Not so noisy that it bothers me in the least, but some people referred to the noise as being so terribly loud, mine is not that loud at all...yes it is a little louder than my old HP but not so loud that it is a concern. (I guess that is a big issue for some people)
The touchscreen is a very nice feature and works like a charm! The screen on the front is very clear and large and you can preview and edit your photos before you print them out directly from your printer!
Another thing that was a big complaint with alot of people is how the paper shoots out of this printer. WRONG! I don't think alot of those people even realized that when you pull out the paper catcher (which is located right above the paper drawers) there is a 3/4 inch lip or piece on the end that you have to slide up first. (I didn't even notice it there until yesterday!) It folds flat down on the paper catcher and it is hard to notice that piece at first but after I realized it folds UP and OUT, it catches ALOT of paper!!!! I printed out a bunch of documents and it caught everyone of them. Nothing flew out of my printer.
The paper drawers are really great, you can put regular printer paper in the bottom drawer and photo paper in the drawer just above it and the printer automatically knows what paper to use. The 2 sided printing is really great, it prints the first side of your paper, then sucks the paper back in and prints on the other side! (really neat feature!) It saves me alot on wasted paper too!!!
The camera card slots that are on the front of this printer is a nice feature too because as soon as you put in your SD card (or memory card) all your photos come up on the screen and you touch the arrows on the touchscreen to choose which picture you want to print and edit them if you wish and then print right off your memory card! You can even zoom in (or crop) your photos and the pictures come out really nice in your final prints! The scanner works really good - no problems at all scanning and printing, the copies come out perfectly for me!
I hope my review helps you in deciding whether or not you want to try this printer and if you have doubts, do like I did and try it first! (most stores allow you X amount of time to try it out and if you are not happy you can always return it) But truth be told, I know you will be impressed with this machine just as I am! I am so glad I tried this printer out first before relying on the negative reviews.
BUT TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE... I have only had this printer for 3 days now so if I do encounter any problems, I will update my review and let you know about it but so far so good!!!! I am highly impressed with this printer!!! The ink cartridges are so very inexpensive ($10.00 for black and $15.00 for color) and this Kodak ESP-9 prints out breathtaking photos and texts!!!

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Item #: 46031N. Kodak ESP 9 features advanced productivity and professional quality results. Print up to 2x more photos and documents for your money. Print, copy, scan and fax and save up to 50% on everything you print compared to similar consumer inkjet printers. It's the ultimate printer with unlimited productivity. Device Type: Fax / copier / printer / scannerFax Type: Plain paperDimensions (WxDxH): 17.6 in x 10 in x 17 inWeight: 21.8 lbsPrinting Technology: Ink-jet ( color )Inkjet Technology: 6-inkMax Printing Speed: Up to 32 ppm (mono) / up to 30 ppm (color)Max Fax Transmission Speed: 14.4 KbpsScanning: 2400 dpiDisplay: 3"Original Size: 8.5 in x 11.7 in (max)Original Type: SheetsDocument Feeder Capacity: 35 sheetsMedia Size: Legal (8.5 in x 14 in) (max)Media Type: Transparencies, envelopes, plain paper, labels, greeting cards, photo paperStandard Media Capacity: 100 sheetsPC Connection Availability: YesPC Connection: USB, Ethernet 10 Base-T, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, USB hostPower: AC 110 V ( 60Hz )Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year warranty Customers also search for: Technology\Printers and All-In-One Machines\Inkjet Printers and All-In-Ones\Inkjet All-In-One Machines Discount Kodak ESP 9 All-in-One - multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) ( color ), Buy Kodak ESP 9 All-in-One - multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) ( color ), Wholesale Kodak ESP 9 All-in-One - multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) ( color ), 041771349479, 1349471, Inkjet All-In-One Machines

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4/21/2012

HP Scanjet 3500c Scanner Review

HP Scanjet 3500c Scanner
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I bought the HP Scanjet 3500c 2 weeks ago (Christmas 2002) and found it did a great job scanning black and white drawings.
The Scanjet driver software looks very similar to the HP Scanjet II software but the implementation of this "modern" release made using the scanner slow and a chore both via the TWAIN interface or the included HP software. This software was obviously thrown over the wall and into production without any thought to making life easy for the user.
The major problem with the software is how it will automatically crop black and white (BW) documents incorrectly. I had to hand reset each page after a preview or I'll end up cutting off the upper margin of the page and scanning the cover on the bottom. Yes HP, the auto-crop check box is unchecked.
I scan mostly BW documents. I want to set the scanner to scan 8.5x11 every time and simply can't. I have to manually reset the scan area EVERY page. So the software is half baked but at least it didn't crash. I would have kept the scanner if that was the only problem I could report.
I was playing around with different originals and stumbled across a serious problem when scanning originals at 600 or greater. The RED color channel is stuck "on" 100%. This causes the photos to have a serious reddish hue to them (or BW scans using the RED channel to be all white). This only happens when the resolution is set at 600 or greater. Is this a HP hardware or a HP driver problem? I don't know but it's serious. The HP web site is no help and has not updated the 3500c drivers in the 4 months since release v1.0 was chucked out the door.
The software annoyances, red channel problem, and 90 day warranty made me decide not to chance exchanging the scanner for another HP an being left hanging after 90 days while other manufacture's backup their products for a full year.
I returned the scanner and will not purchase anything HP (to include Compaq now that they've merged with HP) that has to do with PC's (I was witness to a bad HP Pavilion computer experience 4 years ago) or photo imaging. Somewhere between the Scanjet II and today HP made their software harder to use, is content to ship products rushed to market, and reduced their warranty to 90 days.

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The HP Scanjet 3500c scanner boasts a slim profile and provides sharp 1,200 dpi scans in rich 48-bit color. You can scan, copy, and even e-mail images using the scanner's one-touch buttons, making these functions easy enough even for beginners.
An economical solution for home offices and students, the Scanjet 3500c can scan photos, text, graphics, and 3-D objects, making it ideal for general-purpose use--everything from presentations to managing family photos. The relatively intuitive software turns printing, e-mailing, and posting images to the Web into simple step-by-step processes.
An optional 35mm transparency adapter lets you process negatives and slides. The unit is backed by a 90-day limited warranty.

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4/20/2012

HP ScanJet 4070 PhotoSmart Scanner Review

HP ScanJet 4070 PhotoSmart Scanner
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I was recently given the task of selecting a flatbed scanner for public use in an academic setting. We didn't need anything fancy - just a good flatbed scanner with which patrons can scan photos and text documents. The main criteria I focused on were reliability, cost, OCR capabilities, and easy of use. Since I will be supporting any patrons with questions or problems using this scanner, I wanted a unit that would be as simple as possible to use. The designated PC has sufficient but not an extraordinary amount of memory, so I didn't want to go for extremely high resolution capabilities, either.
After looking long and hard at a variety of choices from leading producers, I chose the HP Scanjet 4070 Photosmart Scanner. Truth be told, it really wasn't that hard of a decision in the end. The HP Scanjet 4070 seemed to have everything I was looking for as well as some additional capabilities we don't really need but which could possibly be of use in the future. This sassy little convertible features a Photo Door which allows for the rapid scanning of 4 x 6 photos as well as the scanning of 35 mm slides and negatives. More importantly, it seemed to offer some of the most impressive OCR capabilities among the flatbed scanner candidates I was evaluating. Happily, the unit has lived up to its promises so far, doing a wonderful job of scanning text into an editable format with its Integrated I.R.I.S. Readiris OCR software - errors have been few and far between in this regard. No OCR software is perfect, but this does seem to do one whale of a job.
The optical resolution of this scanner is 2400 dpi, and the color is 48-bit; these settings meet our needs quite well. Our scanner's intended purpose does not involve high resolution scanning and advanced photo editing. The HP Image Zone software provides more than enough photo editing capabilities for us, such as the ability to remove red-eye problems automatically and easily breathe visual life into old, faded photographs. Unless you're doing some serious graphics design, Image Zone should have everything you need. The HP Scanjet 4070 also comes with ArcSoft Collage Creator software. We don't have any real need for this particular program, but it's a nice extra and can be fun to play with.
This scanner is pretty darn simple to use, I'm happy to say. The HP Director software provides an easy-to-use interface to all scanning options, and the front button panel on the scanner itself allows for basically one-touch access to the most common functions. The only way this scanner could be simpler to use would be for those buttons to actually spell out Scan Photo, Scan Document, etc. As it is, though, the icons on the front button panel are essentially self-explanatory. I can't really comment on the scanning quality of slides and negatives, since that is a capability we have no use for at this time, but the HP Scanjet 4070 does a wonderful job scanning photos and, as I have mentioned, a very impressive job of scanning documents into editable text.
Finally, this scanner could hardly be simpler to set up and install. USB makes everything easy. Install the software, hook up everything on the scanner, then plug the scanner into an available USB port on your PC, and you're ready to rock and roll. I personally had no trouble installing the included software, and I tested everything on my own Dell PC with Windows XP Pro before setting the scanner up at its permanent home connected to a HP PC running Windows 2000.
If you're looking for a flatbed scanner to do basic scanning of photos and text, I think you would be wise to include this particular model in your list of candidates.

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HP's Scanjet 4070 Photosmart Scanner provides an easy way to quickly convert stacks of traditional photos, 35 mm slides, or negatives into digital files for printing, e-mailing, and storing. Scans at 2400-dpi optical resolution and 48-bit color.Use HP Image Zone software to automatically remove red-eye, restore faded photos, and brighten dark photo areas. Plus, organize photos, create enlargements, album pages, and moreEasily scan a stack of photos to share as album pages, e-mail, and prints.One-touch automatic photo-correction restores colors and shades to make digital copies of old photos more true to originals.Task speed - Less than 25 sec -4 x 6-in color photo into Microsoft Word; less than 35 sec -OCR a full page of text into Microsoft Word; less than 22 sec -e-mail photoMaximum scan size is 8.5 x 11.7 inHi-Speed USB (compatible with USB 2.0 specifications)System requirements, minimum,USB-compatible PC with Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000, XP (Professional and Home Editions) Unit Dimensions (w x d x h) 11.73 x 18.58 x 3.54 in / Weight -7.2 lbHP USA Warranty -90 day limited hardware warranty

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Lexmark X4550 Wireless All-in-One Photo Printing/Scan/Copy/Print (1410600) Review

Lexmark X4550 Wireless All-in-One Photo Printing/Scan/Copy/Print (1410600)
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Easy to setup. Got it today and I love it. The wireless feature extends to my walk-in closet. That is where I decided to keep the printer. So far, no problems. I tried scanning and it is awesome. It lets you choose the software you wish to save your scanned document to. The copying is super easy. I mean, this is a great product overall. And, last but not least, I checked the prices of the ink cartridges, and compared to other brands, these are very affordable. Highly recommended printer!

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The Lexmark X4550 Wireless Color All-in-One Printer gives you the ability to print documents and photos, scan, and copy from anywhere in your home, thanks to built-in 802.11g wireless networking. The printer can be shared wirelessly among multiple computers, and it can also be connected to a single computer via USB. The printer offers up to 26 ppm black and 18 ppm color printing, and can print at up to 4800 by 1200 dpi for breathtaking photos. Using an optional six-color print cartridge, you can achieve even higher quality photo prints. PrecisionSense technology detects the type of paper being used and automatically adjusts the print resolution to suit it. You can print directly from a USB flash drive, digital memory card slots, and PictBridge compatible digital cameras, and you can even apply photo effects without need of a PC.
The X4550 allows one-touch copying without any need for a computer. It can reduce and enlarge from 25 to 400 percent and can do borderless copying in popular photo sizes. You can set from 1 to 99 copies at a speed of up to 17 cpm black and 11 cpm color. The flatbed scanner supports a maximum scan area of 8.5 by 11.7 inches and easily handles thick books. You can use the included Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to easily scan documents into editable text. The Lexmark X4550 Wireless Color All-in-One Printer is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Windows XP Professional x64, Windows Vista, and Windows 2000 (release 5.00.2195 or later), and Apple Mac OS X 10.3.x to 10.4.x (Power PC) and 10.4.4 to 10.4.x (Intel). It is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box X4550 all-in-one printer with wireless built-in, black cartridge (23), color cartridge (24), power supply and line cord, user's guide and setup sheet, installation CD-ROM, service and guarantee information, wireless setup cable, and two return program envelopes.

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