[G4] All-in-one recommendations

[perry at cynic.org]

On Thu, Jan 22, 2004 at 12:43:14PM -0500, David Carroll wrote:
> Looking for recommendations for a color all-in-one printer/scanner/copier
> for home office use. Fax is not a requirement but would consider if it was
> included. Ease of use, Maintenance are key. Thanks in advance.

Don't sneer now, but you may want to look at Brother. I realize it's not
the first name that comes to mind, but they make solid products that are
in many ways (orgonomically, and often economically) better than the
"computer" related companies.

We've had the Brother MFC-5100c for 2 years now. It's a flat-bed scanner
with page feeder (20 pages) that can copy and fax (color or B/w) independently
(even if the computer is off). USB connects it to the Mac. Printing is through
its own driver; scanning via a Twain driver, so you can scan from either Image
Capture, or any Twain-supporting host program. Using Panther's USB sharing,
you can share both the printing and scanning function with other Macs
on the network. You can fax from the computer (an option in the print
dialog), though you can't receive faxes on the computer. (But then,
Panther can do that through the built-in modem if you need it.)

Print quality is fine, though color prints aren't quite in the "dedicated
photo printer" class. Plenty good enough for proofs and casual photos
though, if you use proper paper.

Brother performs warranty service through local affiliate stores; the one
time we needed it (a severely clogged nozzle), we dropped it off locally
and got it repaired within a few days (with a "sorry about that" free set
of ink cartridges, too). Oh, and the ink is actually (comparatively)
affordable, and in separate tanks (CMYK).

We're quite happy with it. Take a look and compare features. The MFC-5100c
sells on Amazon for $120; for $170 or so you can get its newer version
(with USB-2, though otherwise little different).

Cheers
  -- perry