THE NEWS IN PRINT

Samsung has unveiled a compact monochrome laser printer from its quiver which does more than just printing documents. The SCX-4521F is an all-in-one printer which can scan, copy and fax along with the routine printing.

The SCX-4521F is a monochrome printer unlike the latest laser printers which can print in colour. The printer is capable of printing at 20ppm on an average.

Organisations and people talk about reducing costs these days. The price of a printer doesn't matter anymore; but the juice it consumes does. Samsung has incorporated a toner saver mode in this printer which is estimated to reduce toner consumption by 25%.

We usually don't mention much about the scanner as there isn't much depth in the topic. But the scanner placed in the SCX-4521F is a powerful one. The flat bed scanner can scan up to a best resolution of 4800 dpi and is capable of scanning 3D objects as well.

It's a neat little printer to have in SOHOs. The 4521F carries a price tag of around £150 which is expensive when compared to others in the same category. But, by reducing toner consumption, this one could prove to have the edge.

Brother seems to have outdone their opponents by packing a host of features into MFC-665CW printer. It's an all-in-one printer which has faxing, digital answering along with others. It's apt for homes, home offices and small offices.

It is apparent that customers appreciate numerous features than the quality associated with it. The MFC-665CW is an all-in-one inkjet printer. It can scan, copy and print as other all-in-one printers do. Additionally, it has faxing capability and an in-built digital answering machine with decent capacity.

This printer is Wi-Fi capable with 802.11b/g network schemes. Along with wireless, it is equipped with Ethernet connectivity as well.

A 2.5"� LCD screen on the printer helps users browse through pictures on the storage card before printing sans PC.

The MFC-665CW should carry a price tag of around £90 which is reasonable.

Earlier this week, Brother International debuted HL-2170W, a monochrome laser printer with Wi-Fi functionality. The HL-2170W is compatible with Windows and Mac. A lower model of the same printer without wireless functionality, HL-2140W was also introduced.

Under ideal conditions and minimal printable items, it is estimated to print at a speed of 23ppm. It includes a 32MB memory card for caching prints and faster delivery. It can deliver a best resolution of 2400 X 600 dots per inch and can handle a maximum of 250 pages in one tray.

The HL-2170W is powered by 802.11b/g wireless scheme. It also offers Ethernet and USB connectivity. Another interesting feature is the auto-configuration with popular routers which should help non-technicians in setting up as a network printer.

The price of Brother printers is usually inexpensive; this one is no different. It should be available in the retail market early next year and should ideally cost below £100. It's pretty reasonable for a wireless laser printer and with its compact size, suits homes and home offices.

Panasonic has announced the arrival of a new monochrome laser printer that does more than just print. The Panasonic KX-MB781 is a multi-functional printer which can print, scan, copy and fax as well. Panasonic calls it a 5 in 1 multi-function printer by including the networking capability of the printer as one of the main functions; but as far as we are concerned, it's only a 4 in 1 printer.

This printer is aimed at SOHOs and SMBs and it can handle big loads. It has a memory capacity of 32MB for caching and speed printing. It takes around 15 seconds to warm up and print the first sheet. After the warming process, it can print at a maximum speed of 18ppm. We are yet to obtain information regarding the number of pages that can be printed with a single cartridge.

The in-built fax machine works at a maximum speed of 33.6 kbps which can theoretically download and print a page in 4 seconds. The machine can store around 170 fax messages in its memory for reprinting.

KX-MB781 has the capability of scanning pages and storing them as pdfs. These pdfs can be emailed across without the need of a printer. Grand, isn't it?

This printer has a price tag of around £100 depending on where you purchase it. It's a pretty neat product which can do much more than other office printers. But, a lot of reviewing and testing needs to be done before it's implemented across organisations.

Samsung Electronics has recently introduced a new monochrome printer targeted at SOHOs. The ML-2851ND is aimed at reducing the printing costs and claims to match larger laser printers in functionality and performance.

This printer comes with a 400MHz processor and has an integrated tiny memory of 32MB. The internal memory can be expanded up to 160MB.

2851ND has an estimated duty cycle of 30,000 pages per month. The Samsung patented TonerSave mode reduces toner consumption by a whopping 40%. That's a lot of savings if the printer can really save so much. Also, the latest trend among laser printers, automatic duplex printer is another striking feature in this printer. It is Ethernet ready for networking.

There is no compromise on the speed of printing while it tries to reduce the costs. It can print at a speed of 30ppm. The first print takes around 8 seconds which is normal for laser printers these days.

The Samsung ML-2851ND is priced at around £165 and is available at any Samsung authorized reseller channel partners and select retail stores.

via Reuters