Technology

Types of multifunction printers for home and office

Multifunction printers To find a printer, even a very cheap one, in the past it was enough to go to the mall or to the various computer and electronics stores so as to take any model, without looking much at the brand or any added features.

But choosing so randomly was not efficient at all, given the hidden costs and the sure lack of some highly sought-after functionality: it was better to buy one of higher quality to keep for a long time.

Let’s see in this guide the best printers for home use they have scanner and copier function, with Wi-Fi connection, so you can print files from any PC or device connected to the same network as the printer.

READ ALSO -> Guide to buying a printer: laser or inkjet?

Type of multifunction printers

In addition to reading the dedicated guide that we find above, we can briefly summarize the types of printers we can buy.

  • Inkjet printers: They are the cheapest to buy, but the expense of cartridges can become significant if you are printing more than 100 sheets per month. They are ideal for home use, with cartridge changes every 6 months or more (especially on models that support oversized cartridges)
  • Laser printers: they are much larger and more expensive, but it is possible to print quickly and thanks to the powder ink technology (toner) it allows you to print many sheets in a month. Ideal for use in the office but also at home, especially if you print more than 100 sheets per month; the only thing remember to always ventilate the room where there is the laser printer as the toner powders are easily dispersed in the air and can be harmful (in the long run)
  • Sublimation printers: these are the most modern and small-sized printers, capable of printing on paper ends in very small formats. They can usually be quickly connected to your PC or smartphone via Bluetooth, so you can take pictures quickly.

On the traditional multifunctional devices we will also have a scanner incorporated in the upper part (usually of A4 size, but you can find office multifunctionals to support even larger sheets), so you can print even without a PC and make photocopies using the keys incorporated in the machine. .

On some office models there is also a fax modem, even if it is now less and less used thanks to the spread of PEC (Certified Electronic Mail).

With these printers we will be able to print both in black and white and in color: the inkjet multifunctional always provide various cartridges for the supported colors (at least red, blue and yellow), while the laser printers can be both monochrome (faster) both in color (for printing photos).

Sublimation printers allow you to always print in color, but they hardly have an integrated scanner: in this case multifunction indicates the printer’s ability to quickly connect to any nearby device, so that photographs can be printed quickly.

Buying Guide

After having seen the types of printers available, let’s see together the models that you can buy online, so as to save something on the final price. In fact, we can find laser, inkjet and sublimation printers of all kinds, with dimensions that allow the printer to be placed comfortably on a table, desk or shelf.

The following printers can be purchased online on Amazon by following the purchase links (which often lead to discounted prices), although nothing prevents you from writing down the models to find them in electronics stores and buy them live.

Inkjet multifunction

The cheapest inkjet multifunction printer we can buy is the HP DeskJet 2720e (€ 59).
HP DeskJet 2720e This printer has an A4-size front-facing printer and scanner, Dual Band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct support, HP Smart App support, AirPrint, USB 2.0 port, and 6 months of ink included with HP +.

For small offices and quick prints, you can also opt for the Epson WorkForce WF-2830DWF (€ 77).
Epson WorkForce WF-2830DWF This compact all-in-one features a print, scanner and fax module with 5,760 x 1,440 dpi printing, ADF sheet loading system, Wi-Fi module, separate single cartridges 3.7cm LCD screen, Epson iPrint support and Wi-Fi printing support Direct.

Monochromatic laser multifunction

For those looking for a good monochromatic laser multifunction can point to the HP Laser MFP 137fnw (184 €).
HP Laser MFP 137fnw On this multifunction we find a printer, a scanner and a fax, a front paper loader with a capacity of up to 150 sheets, Wi-Fi connection, ReCP technology (Rendering Engine for Clean Page) optimizes the quality of prints and monochrome display.

Another office printer that you can view is the Brother MFC-L2730DW (€ 267).
Brother MFC-L2730DW This MFP features a printer, scanner and fax and provides 34ppm print speed, LAN connection, Wi-Fi connection, automatic duplex printing system, 50-sheet ADF and integrated touchscreen display.

Color laser multifunction

Color laser MFPs are extremely expensive and usually reserved for large offices. The best printer we can buy is the Xerox C235 Laser Multifunction A4 (309 €).
Xerox C235 Multifunction On this business multifunctional we find a copy, print, scan and fax system, 22ppm print speed, wireless module, automatic duplex printing system and color touch panel to control all functions.

Another color laser multifunction that we can see is the HP Color Laser MFP 179fnw (320 €).
HP Color Laser This printer has an A4 Color print and scan module, copy function, ADF module, Fax module, Wi-Fi module, Wi-Fi Direct printing system, Ethernet connection, USB port and 18ppm black and white print speed. black and 4 ppm color.

Sublimation multifunction

Sublimation multifunction printers are the latest in printer technology and are presented as small accessories designed to print from several different sources using only the Bluetooth connection. As an example for this type of printers we can see the Xiaomi Mi Portable Photo Printer (48 €).
Xiaomi Mi printer This small accessory looks like a small portable laser printer on glossy photo paper, sublimation thermal printing system, Bluetooth / USB / WLAN connection and AR technology (to make small videos that can be loaded directly into printed photos).

A larger version of the sublimation multifunction is certainly the Canon Italia Selphy Cp1300 (€ 127).
Canon Italy With this printer we can quickly print wirelessly from Smart devices with the Canon PRINT app, Apple AirPrintTM and the Wi-Fi button, create and share printed photos.

Conclusions

Multifunction printers are truly complete printers for photocopying, for printing and for everyday scans, both in the home and in the home. If we are looking for pure speed we choose monochrome lasers, while to print photographs in color, it is better to focus on inkjet or sublimation multifunction.. Color lasers are very expensive and do not print good quality photos, so best to leave them only for large offices.

Still on the subject of sublimation printers we can take a look at portable printers to buy, so as to be able to view other models similar to those seen above.

If, on the other hand, we focus everything on printing speed, we can achieve it by choosing the high PPM printers, very popular in modern offices.

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