Multifunction printers
Those looking for a printer can now choose between a basic A4 product (see our previous roundup), a 4”x6” printer (see this summary of 4”x6”s ) or a multifunction. What is a multifunction? It’s a standard inkjet printer with a flatbed scanner able to reproduce documents in color and black and white.
Far from being just a fad, multifunction printers are progressively replacing standard ones. In France "monofunctions" are slowly losing market shares. From January to October 2004 (Gfk sources), 1,284,000 printers and 1.1 million multifunctions (+87% compared to last year) were sold. In terms of overall sales, the printer market has decreased by 25%, while the multifunction market has increased by 39%. This year more than one out of two printers sold will be multifunctions. They aren’t necessarily bulkier than A4 printers. For example, the HP PSC 1350 is quite compact, similar to the Canon iP3000 (which look a lot like the PSC 1350), a monofunction.
Most of the time these product have memory card players (all four printers tested here have them). Once the memory card is inserted, it’s possible to transfer files to a computer or automatically print on photo paper. You may also be able to make contact sheets. Once this sheet is printed mark the desired pictures with a pen and select a format (still on the same index). Once you have done this put the paper in the scanner and it’s magic! All the desired pictures are automatically printed to the correct format. This feature has existed for more than three years now, but it still impresses us each time.
Finally, the price for all-in-ones (the other name for multifunctions) isn’t always more than standard printers. However, like monofunction printers the less expensive the product the costlier it will be for consumables.
