If it's super MFD performance you're after, you normally have to deal with a kryptonite-like problem somewhere. We put two MFDs head to head to find a printer of steel.

Do you want your multifunction printer to do it all or to do just some? All multifunctions print, copy, and scan, but they don't all print in color. They often don't have flatbed, photocopier-style platens--and when they do, they usually don't have a sheet feeder as well. And as for fax, well, that's often off the feature list.

But the multifunctions in this lineup truly do it all. Canon grafted sheet-feeding and faxing capabilities to its ImageClass MPC400 model to produce the ImageClass MPC600F. And Hewlett-Packard introduced the OfficeJet d145, which raises the stakes with built-in card readers for direct printing of digital-camera images and optional features such as a duplex- printing attachment.

While all of these extra features add to the bottom line, they also let you copy a stack of papers or a bound book and transmit them to anyone programmed into the fax speed-dial memory. Multifunctions can save small offices time, effort, and expense in the long run; however, they still have to manage that same old juggling act in which they do some things better than others. Find out how these two products fare in our reviews.

Canon ImageClass MPC600F
This Canon all-in-one printer should appeal to home and small office users with its ease of use, fast prints and photo quality printouts.

HP OfficeJet d145
HP ups the multifunction ante with its new OfficeJet d145. Unfortunately, it ups the price as well.

Canon ImageClass MPC600F

Like most multifunction devices (MFDs) nowadays, the Canon ImageClass MPC600F comes equipped with the standard fax, scan, print and copy functions. Available for AU$1,099 this all-in-one device has a maximum 2,400 x 1,200dpi inkjet resolution, fast 17 pages-per-minute (ppm) monochrome prints, 3-second fax transmission and dual port (USB and parallel) connectivity.

Intuitive User Interface
We weren't impressed with the features of the new Canon MFD, considering the recently launched HP OfficeJet d145. The latter costs AU$300 more but also has Ethernet connection upgrade, optional duplex printing and dedicated flash memory slots for printing digicam pictures. However, a product's performance is not based solely on its specifications. For the Canon MPC600F, its strength lies in its user interface.

Whether you're planning to scan, print, fax or copy, operating the Canon MPC600F is a breeze. On the front panel, three big backlit buttons give users one-touch access to scan, copy and fax, while the prominent start and stop buttons intuitively provide control over the desired functions.

Users can also make changes to various settings on the device itself, such as image print quality and print format. For those who prefer utilizing the desktop to control the functions, the bundled MultiPASS suite software offers customizable settings for print, fax and scan as well as the convenience of instant access to various operations through the MultiPASS Toolbar.

Hassle-Free Setup
At 12.2kg, with a bulky 440 x 584 x 326mm form factor, the MPC600F may be slightly smaller than an average-sized monochrome laser printer, but it sure isn't compact, either, especially when the paper feed tray extension and paper holder tray are attached in place.

Nevertheless, once out of the box, the rest of the device setup is rather straightforward. Even technophobes will find putting in the ink cartridges, connecting the cables (USB, phone line and power cord) and installing the MultiPASS suite software quite elementary.

Sharp Prints
The MPC600F features Canon's established inkjet technology which, not surprisingly delivered sharp text prints that were readable even at 2-pt. Photos printed at the highest 2,400 x 1,200 resolution also displayed a good mix of clarity and color balance, although some of our test samples showed slight bleeding in the black text prints and minor under-saturation of red color tones.

Performance wise, a 10-page monochrome text print took 10 seconds each, with the first page sliding out within 15 seconds. A color 3,000 x 2,000-pixel image was in the out tray in less than 2 minutes, but expect to wait an extra minute when you are printing in the highest resolution on Canon's Photo Paper Pro.

We particularly liked the layout options given in the print menu. Through an illustrated preview window, users can choose to print up to nine different images on one sheet. We found this extremely useful for printing two 5 x 7-inch photos on a single sheet of A4 media.

What About The Rest?
While the machine wasn't as efficient as dedicated photocopier machines would go, the MPC600F churned out monochrome duplicates in about 20 seconds and color ones in under 1 minute, inclusive of both scan and print. We noticed that some light color tones were not reproduced when copying in color, but the copy quality was generally comparable to standard photocopiers.

The MPC600F does not have a preview scan mode but we figured the 45-second A4 color scan at 300dpi isn't too long a wait. Besides, users can customize buttons on the MultiPASS toolbar to perform various pre-programmed scan operations, such as scan to mail, scan to fax or even scan to photo. The integrated 30-page automatic document feeder (ADF) also proved to be time-saver for batch scanning and copying.

With the built-in 33.6kbps modem, one page of fax takes as little as 3 seconds. If you run out of ink, the MPC600F comes with a 270-page memory buffer. Color faxing is supported on the machine but when executed through the PC, only monochrome faxes can be sent.

Quiet Operation
One of the things we liked best about the MPC600F was how quiet the print operations were. Other than the loading and release of the paper, you could hardly hear the device printing. If you're worried about when the printing ends, the machine beeps once after every print job.

Made For Home and Small Offices
Clearly, the limited 100-sheet capacity and lack of network connectivity in the Canon ImageClass MPC600F does not allow it to be used as a heavy-duty printer in busy office environments. Instead, it should appeal to home and small office users with its ease of use, fast prints and photo quality printouts. Those who can do without the fax function and the ADF can consider the MPC400, which costs AU$200 less at AU$899.

Canon ImageClass MPC600F
Company: Canon Australia
Price: AU$1,099
Distributor: Selected Resellers
Phone: 02 9805 2000

HP OfficeJet d145

Driving a tank
Getting started with the OfficeJet d145 is easy. The unit comes with two illustrated setup posters, one for Windows users and another for Mac aficionados. HP also includes a handy supplemental guide for Windows XP users. The OfficeJet d145 supports Microsoft Windows 98 and above and Macintosh OS 9.1 or later. It connects solely via USB (cable not included), but it has an open connectivity slot for an HP Jetdirect 200m print-server or parallel-cable adapter. The bottom-mounted paper tray holds up to 150 sheets of plain paper and supports various HP specialty papers, including photo paper, transparency film, iron-on transfers, and greeting cards; the output tray sits atop the input tray.

On the downside, the OfficeJet d145 is a bulky, 35-pound tank that needs to have its double- sided printer attachment snapped into place before it's ready to roll. And the unit we tested was very noisy, whirring, snapping, and grinding more loudly than the Canon MultiPass F50 while starting up and photocopying. The photocopier's lid caused us some trouble, too. It tended to slam down under its own weight. Also, its handgrip is small; it's easier for larger hands to lift the lid by gripping the sheet feeder, which often results in the paper guide falling off.

But wait, there's more...
The OfficeJet d145 costs more than other d-series OfficeJets, but its unusual features--three card readers for digital-camera memory and the aforementioned duplexer--justify the price. The printer's overall high quality of photo printing makes the SmartMedia, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick slots a natural choice. When you insert a card, the unit's LCD gives you your options: printing contact sheets with thumbnails of all the pictures, printing all the images, or downloading them speedily to your computer. After viewing the thumbnail sheet, you can select some pictures for full-page printing by filling in circles with a dark pencil or pen (test-style) and pressing a few buttons on the OfficeJet d145's front panel. As for producing double-sided printouts, you can do this with a few selections in the computer's print-dialog box or by selecting options in the photocopier's LED menu.

Quick, not dirty, color
In our tests, the OfficeJet d145 discharged itself honorably. While plain-paper text appeared gray with slight hairs, quality improved when we used HP's coated paper. The OfficeJet d145 had little difficulty with our graphics and photo test documents. Both plain- and coated-paper graphics looked excellent, with good color matching and attention to detail, especially in the tricky shading, line-drawing, and photographic elements of our document. The test photo also looked excellent, with smooth skin tones and vibrant color. And while the HP's grayscale scans lagged behind those of the MultiPass F50 in terms of both speed and quality, the OfficeJet d145 did reproduce slightly better color scans.

If you can afford its premium price, the OfficeJet d145 offers more features than you'll know what to do with. With its 50-page sheet feeder, three media slots, large scanning area, and good overall performance and output quality, the HP is sure to meet the needs of any small or midsized business.

HP OfficeJet d145
Company: HP Australia
Price: AU$1,399
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 13 13 47

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