Canon, Samsung and Konica Minolta Unveil New Printers

Canon Unveils Affordable All-in-One Inkjets

Small-business operators and home-based workers will appreciate the sophisticated paper handling, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and advanced document and photo options of the two models Canon has added to its office all-in-one lineup: The Pixma MX860 and Pixma MX330 combine color inkjet printing with copying, scanning, and fax capability and a flock of convenience features.

Priced at $200, the MX860 includes automatic duplex copying, printing, and two-way paper feeding, for two-sided copying or scanning of letter-sized documents without the need to flip and re-feed pages. The unit can also scan and print at the same time during copying jobs and combines 802.11b/g wireless with Ethernet and USB connectivity for multi-PC sharing.

Its five-color individual tank ink system, print resolution of up to 9,600 by 2,400 color dpi, and one-picoliter minimum ink droplet size help the MX860 produce photo-lab-quality borderless 4- by 6-inch prints in approximately 41 seconds. Its CIS scanner has an optical resolution of 2,400 dpi.

The $110 Pixma MX330 features slightly lower scan and print resolution, with a four-color, two-cartridge ink system and a 1.8- instead of 2.5-inch color LCD control panel. Like its higher-priced sibling, however, the MX330 offers an Auto Scan Mode that recognizes the type of document being scanned so it can be saved quickly in the right format; the ability to save scanned JPG and PDF data directly to a flash drive or memory card; and Auto Photo Fix red-eye correction and brightness and contrast optimization.

Both printers also help protect important documents with secure fax dialing — asking for a confirmation of the number entered to avoid misdialing — and the ability to create PDF files with password protection that restricts access to printing or editing files without the proper authority.

A Slew of New Laser Printers from Samsung

Monochrome laser printers are the workhorses of many a small office, and Samsung‘s newest models are ready for work with enhanced connectivity and productivity.

The Samsung ML-2855ND offers output speed of 30 pages per minute, helped by a 400MHz processor and 64MB expandable to 192MB of memory. The $358 compact has built-in duplex printing and a TonerSave feature to cut its total cost of operation, as well as a USB 2.0 interface and 250-sheet cassette and 50-sheet multipurpose paper trays. It’s rated for a monthly duty cycle of a sturdy 50,000 pages.

Two new Wi-Fi-equipped black-and-white lasers target the home- or small-office crowd seeking what Canon calls a small, sleek and silent solution. At 13.1 by 14.8 by 4.8-inches, the ML-1630W ($286) is one of the smallest network-ready laser printers in the world, but delivers sharp 17-ppm output as well as both 802.11b/g and Ethernet connectivity and a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages. The SCX-4500W ($429), is a copier and 4,800-dpi (enhanced) color scanner as well as a printer; it uses the same engine and 100-sheet sliding input cassette as the ML-1630W.

Users seeking a more robust monochrome multifunction platform can check out the SCX-4826FN ($429), a 30-ppm printer that measures 16.2 by 17.5 by 15.6 inches and handles walk-up and PC faxing as well as copying, scanning, and printing. The network-ready machine also features automatic double-sided printing.

Konica Minolta Launches Color Laser Quartet

Looking to trade up from an inkjet printer or all-in-one? Konica Minolta has four compact color lasers to show you. The two printers and two multifunction peripherals in the new Magicolor 1600 series are the company’s smallest and most affordable to date, and their Simitri HD color polymerized toner saves up to 15 percent of the energy usually required for laser printing.

All four printers produce crisp copy at 20 ppm in black and white and 5 ppm in color. The simplest, the Magicolor 1600W ($229), is a Windows-only printer with a USB 2.0 interface and 200-sheet input tray; its rated duty cycle is 35,000 pages per month. For $329, the Magicolor 1650EN adds PostScript 3 and PCL6 emulation for Mac and Linux as well as Windows systems, as well as Ethernet network connectivity and an optional 500-sheet second input tray.

Need to replace more than merely a printer in your office lineup? The Magicolor 1680MF ($379) adds flatbed copying and scanning capabilities to the 1600W chassis, while the model 1690MF ($449) combines the 1650EN’s extra office functionality with fax as well as scanning and copying, with an automatic document feeder to speed multipage jobs.

Adapted from Hardwarecentral.com.