How to Look After Your Photocopying Machine
Every modern office will have a photocopier. This equipment forms a vital part of office operations. The copying of documents for referral is a necessity for all businesses. Despite the...
One of the most important components of an effective and efficient office is its printers. It is used every day so it has to be the best of the best. A faulty printer in the office doesn’t really lead a client to display confidence in the company. We are going to list the Top 10 printers of 2016, this list is going to be based on suggestions from top electronics and printing review sites. The best printers for use within the office setting are a multi functional printer which is why we plan on focusing on only multi functional printers.
8. Utax P3020/P3025: This 50sheet automatic feeder is a must have for medium scale offices. With a maximum print of 250 pages per minute and mobile connectivity features including (Wi-Fi Direct and USB). The sheet tray has the capability to handle 50 sheets at once with an option to upgrade tray. Some of its functions include scanning to email, scanning to USB, SMTP authentication and more. As far as laser B&W printers go the multi-functionality of P3020/P3025 makes it ideal for new small to medium sized businesses, however printing graphics or designs can become a bit of a challenge. Although this printer is black and white it does allow for scanning in colour which is an added advantage for scanning graphs and charts. In terms of size the printer weights just below 40 pounds to it’ll probably require its own space and be a two man job when it needs to moved.
7. Brother MFC-J985DW: Coming off the hype of introducing INKvestment an ink delivery system that reduces the cost to maintain their printers, Brother has now released their latest version which is INKvestment compatible. With the intention of saving their customers money the printer also comes with enough ink for 7,200 black and white prints or less than that for colour print. Whilst on the topic of saving costs they have also lowered the cost of replacement ink cartages. Apart from the lost cost of maintaining the printer and now being INKvestment compatible not much else has changed in terms of the design and features. It is still an all in one printer with up to a 20 page automatic feeder for the scanner and quite quiet. The printer weights just over 18 pounds which means it could easily be on your desk without any noticeable shaking or noise. The main advantage of this printer is the simplicity of it, from getting it out of the box to installing the network drivers to printing requires minimum effort and about 30 minutes to spare. Although this printer can be considered basic but you truly appreciate the overall saving you’ll get in maintenance costs like to cost of ink cartridges. For a low volume printer the overall cost per page of printing works out to be approximately 14p per page which again for a low volume printer is quite good. In terms of performance Brother rates it at up to 12 pages per minute for black and white prints and 10 pages per minute for colour printing. Obviously the numbers would differ if you take into account printing out graphics or images. For a small to medium sized business or for an office that doesn’t require printing with the speed of lighting then the Brother MFC-J985DW could be the one for you. In conclusion from an economic stand point this printer makes more sense than any of its more expensive counterparts.
6. Canon ImageClass MF227DW: As opposed to the previous printer Canon ImageClass MF227DW has an automatic feeder that doesn’t require human intervention to print on both sides. This printer is small enough to be used at home and fast enough to be used in a medium sized office. One of the features that stand out is its touch screen capability, apart from its touch screen features it also offers faster engine ratings along with your Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB options for users. Although mobile printing and scanning requires Wi-Fi connections it makes up for this in its paper handling. It handles a 250 sheet feed and prints about 16 pages per minute on default setting. The downside to this printer is that the maximum about of sheets it can handle is 250 and Canon offers no upgrade options so if you are considering a printer for a large office you might be better off looking at your other options. But for personal use or for use in a small to medium size office the MF227DW works.
5. Canon Pixma MG5720: Another easy to use Printer what it lacks in speed it makes up for in print quality. The MG5720 is especially good with printing photos and graphics, although it does have some mobile connectivity it doesn’t support SD cards or thumb drives. It also has no document feeder so it has to be done manually. The tray can only accommodate a limited amount of paper so for a medium to large scale company this might be incontinent. If speed is not an issue for you and you mostly print out photos then the MG5720 might be the one for you. As with most Canon printers it isn’t really different from the previous versions in terms of speed or quality, only a few additional features have been added to it mostly relating to mobile connectivity.
4. Dell Colour Cloud Multifunction Printer H625CDW: The H625CDW is the go-to printer for small and medium sized offices, it offers a variety features and the speed is consistent every time. With its 4.3 inch touch screen and alphanumeric keypad, Wi-Fi option and Fax related controls it is nearly identical to its last two predecessors. The H625CDW is large enough to need its own space and weights almost 70 pounds so moving it would be a two person job. It also has cloud services that are compatible with Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote and more. The cloud service enables users to print and scan to and from the cloud and its 250 sheet tray allows for printing on both side with its auto duplexer. Unlike the Canon MF227DW dell has provided the option to upgrade the sheet tray to a 550 sheet tray. The battle for the most convenient mobile connectivity continues among printer brands as dell throws their hat in the ring as well. With this version they have along with its Ethernet and USB it also allows for peer to peer connection, Wi-Fi direct and 802.11 bytes. In conclusion the H625CDW would serve as the prefect office printer in terms of speed and quality. The connectivity includes wireless printing, NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity, lastly considering its capabilities the price is considered reasonable.
3. Konica Minolta C220 Colour Multi-functional: Prints in colour and black and white both at 22 pages per minute. The standard sheet tray for the C220 is 500 sheets and it comes with space for 4 trays, they also offer an upgrade for 2,500 A4 sheets. The automatic document feeder can take up to 100 sheets before manual intervention. Depending on the operating environment the printer may take from 45 seconds to 1 minute to load and magnification of up to 400%. When it comes to storing jobs the Konica Minolta C220 has a 250GB system hard disc and 2048MB system memory so it can store up to 3000 documents or 10000 pages with options for the documents to require a security code. The automatic document feeder can consume up to 100 sheets before manual intervention. Although mobile connectivity is not at the forefront of this printer Konica Minolta does include 1GB Ethernet and for the benefit of the environment the printer is also certified by the German Blue Angel and Energy Star as low energy consumption units.
2. Epson Workforce Pro WF-6590: At the high end of Epson printers this Workforce Pro WF-6590 symbolises a change in the way their previous printers run. The most noticeable part of the printer is its speed and size, at almost 70 pounds is commands the attention of those around it. The automatic feeder handles up to 50 sheets and supports double sided printing. The sheet tray handles up to 500 sheets plus an additional 80 sheets with the multipurpose feeder. Extra tray sheets can be bought for a price. Epson offers a wide range of connectivity choices including Wi-Fi, MFP, USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi direct and more. The printer also supports Epson’s remote print, iPrint for android, printing via email, Google drive and lots more. As was mentioned at the start the Workforce Pro WF-6590 prints about 12 pages per minute which for a light duty printer is quite impressive. In conclusion although the Workforce Pro WF-6590 sounds like a good office computer before purchasing you should consider the intended use. The quality of colour print and black and white print are above average however printing out brochures and other graphics might require a more graphic compatible printer.
1. Epson Workforce Pro WF-8590: With a 5 inch touch screen the Workforce Pro WF-8590 is the latest in Epson’s attempt to create a printer for a medium to large scale office with the printing speed and running cost of a smaller printer. Weighing less than 80 pounds this multifunctional printer can print tabloid sized paper and accommodates up to 580 sheets with options to upgrade your sheet tray. Among other features of its 5 inch screen is an alphanumeric keypad and number function buttons. The connectivity option on the printer is varied including USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, NFC and more, it also enables cloud printing from cloud services like Google drive and Epson iPrint services. As mentioned earlier the printing speed is nothing short of astounding for it’s size with up to 12 pages per minute. With regards to the quality of its print out it is well above average for black and white and colour print outs for texts, when it come graphics the quality is pretty standard for an inkjet printer. In conclusion the Workforce Pro WF-8590 gives colour laser printers a run for their money in terms of setup, usage and value for money. It has a low cost per page and apart from printing graphics it surpasses all of our other recommendations earning its spot as our number 1 top printer of 2016.
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