The M425dn features a generous 3.5-inch control panel that lets you scroll through the print, scan, and copy functions. Designed with the workforce in mind, it also features automatic duplexing to save you money on double-sided printing as well as an automatic power switch that flips to save energy in the office.

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 also gives users the ability to register the printer with the company’s ePrintCenter app store for use directly on the touch screen. The ePrintCenter is an online hub where you can view job history, change settings, add printers to your account, browse and install apps, and cancel print jobs. All of the extra applications are free, and HP breaks them down into categories within the app store: entertainment, home, kids, news/blogs, photo, and tickets. Each one promises to streamline the printing experience by offering shortcuts to your favorite coupons, news articles, weather reports, recipes, and so on.

The ePrintCenter also lets you set up an ePrint account for use with mobile devices like tablets or smartphones that don’t have a USB port to connect with a traditional printer. ePrint bypasses this issue by enabling you to send jobs directly to the printer using a unique e-mail address. With that address, you can print from virtually any device that can send out messages.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Question #1 – What category of printer do you need?
There are three categories of printers, with a few options in each category. They are:

1) General Purpose or Special Purpose – The vast majority of printers on the market are general purpose (they are good for doing a little bit of everything). Special purpose printers are designed to do specific things (photo printing, document printing, label printing). Figure out what purpose you need your printer to serve.

2) Home Use or Office Use – Where will you be using your printer? Home use printers are more likely to print photos. Office users will focus on printing text. Maybe you are a home office user. If so, get a multifunction printer.

3) Laser Printer or Inkjet Printer -  Laser printers are designed for text heavy printing. Inkjet printers are better for photos and graphics. What you print will determine what you need.

Question #2 – Do you need a single function or multifunction printer?

If all you want to do is print, go with a single function printer. If you would like the option to make copies, scan documents/images and fax, you are going to need a multifunction printer.

Question #3 – Do you need to print in color?

If the answer is yes, you are probably leaning toward an inkjet printer. If you answer no, then find yourself a laser printer.

Question #4 – How much space do you have for your printer?

Consider the size of the printer you are buying in relation to the amount of space you have to store it. Some printers are to large to put on your desk.

Question #5 – How are you going to connect?

In addition to USB ports, most printers now allow you to connect via an Ethernet connection or Wireless connection. The advantage of Ethernet and Wireless is that they allow you to add your printer to your home network. You can link all your computers to a single printer.

Question #6 – What kid of print quality do you need?

Print quality differs by the type of printer. Check the print quality for text, graphics, and photos separately. Just because a printer prints high quality text does not mean it will print high quality graphics and photos. Find a printer that produces high quality results for what you print.

Question #7 – How much speed do you need?

If you typically print 1-2 pages at a time, you probably don’t need a printer with a lot of speed. If you are printing documents with many pages, you are going to want a printer with a high print speed.

Question #8 – How much do you print?

Make sure you check the printer’s monthly duty cycle.The duty cycle the manufacturers recommended number of pages you should print each month. Each printer has a different duty cycle. Printing in excess of this number may cause your printer to wear out faster.

Question #9 – How much does it cost?

Be sure to check the total cost of ownership for any printer you are thinking about purchasing. You’ll pay a certain amount for the printer when you buy it, but remember you are going to need to buy cartridges in order to continue to use it. To get the total cost of ownership, calculate the cost per year for each kind of output (monochrome, color document, photo) by multiplying the cost per page for that kind of output by the number of those pages you print per year. Add the three amounts together to get the total cost per year. Then multiply that by the number of years you expect to own the printer, and add the initial cost of the printer. Compare the total cost of ownership figures between printers to find out which printer will be cheapest in the long run.

Design and features
The Officejet Pro 8600 Plus printer strips away the glossy veneer of the past and replaces it with a modern matte paint job that does its best to hide dust and fingerprints. It has a professional look that should easily fit into any office or home decor, though at 12.4 inches tall, 19.4 inches wide, and 18.9 inches, you’ll need to clear a sizable amount of space to fit its large chassis. The printer’s sides feature two indented handles that make it easier to carry around, although you won’t want to move it on a daily basis.

A single 250-sheet input tray protrudes 4 inches out of the front of the 8600 Plus and a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF) resides on top. You won’t find a manual feed tray in the center console like you would on a laser printer, which might be irritating if you print on irregular media like heavy cardstock or nonstandard envelopes. If that’s the case for you, I recommend the HP LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP, a capable Hewlett-Packard laser printer with similar all-in-one functionality (scanner, copier, fax, and printer).

On the other hand, if paper input capacity is a hindrance, HP also sells a version of this printer called the Officejet Pro 8600 Premium that comes with an extra 250-sheet paper tray, an additional set of ink cartridges worth $60, and a 50-sheet pack of HP Premium Glossy Brochure paper, priced for $14 in HP’s online retail store. By upgrading to the step-up Premium package, you’ll save about $50 on your overall consumables cost, and I recommend taking advantage of these savings up front if you plan to print lots of photos or graphic documents.

The HP’s ample 4.3-inch touch-sensitive color display makes navigating the print, copy, scan, and fax functions a breeze. The screen is the same size as the Officejet Pro 8500A Plus’ screen and the competing Epson WorkForce 840, but the WorkForce 840 surrounds its color LCD with a larger 7.8-inch touch panel that provides additional navigation buttons. The HP’s entire touch panel, on the other hand, resembles an iPhone on its side and measures 6 inches on the diagonal.

In the end, both printers do an admirable job of providing a simple and clear menu system for navigating their many functions. However, HP makes it easier than Epson to enter text thanks to a full QWERTY virtual keyboard; entering data such as a wireless password on the Epson requires scrolling through the alphabet for each letter and is akin to entering your initials for a high score in an old arcade game. This version of the display also has less mushy play between the outward-facing screen and the hard registration pad below it, so you’re less likely to mistakenly press a button. The screen still isn’t perfect–for some of the onscreen features I needed to repeatedly push the corresponding virtual icon until the action finally registered. With no way to recalibrate the screen in the settings page, you’re in for a frustrating experience until the printer gets it right.

In addition to using a direct USB connection (like most vendors, HP does not include a USB cable with the printer), you can set up the Officejet Pro 8700 Plus on your network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. We tested the Wi-Fi connection and the process was easy; using the printer’s touch screen, we navigated through a few setup screens to find our network, quickly entered its password using the virtual QWERTY keyboard, and established a connection within a minute. Macs and PCs alike on our network were able to see the printer without the need to install any additional software.

Once you connect the printer to a wireless network, you can use HP’s AirPrint feature to print from any iOS device without an additional application. Using AirPrint, you can print out a photo from your iPhoto library by simply choosing the connected printer and hitting Print. You can’t adjust any print properties, however; and our Hipstamatic test photo printed with a portion missing on both letter-size paper and 4×6-inch photo paper.

In addition to AirPrint, the Officejet Pro 8500A Plus also features HP’s ePrint technology, which enables you to send jobs from any connected device to the printer using the uniquely assigned e-mail address. You can find this address using the control panel (Wireless > Web Services > Display Email). It’s a convenient feature, to be sure, but it comes with a few restrictions. For one, the printer must be on and also connected to your network. For another, it can’t print Web pages, although you can simply copy and paste the text into a document as a workaround.

Along with the standard Copy, Fax, and Scan options listed on the home screen of the Officejet Pro’s control panel, you get a fourth icon labeled Apps. Our test unit came preloaded with 21 apps that let you print new pages from outlets like the Financial Times, Yahoo, Reuters, and USA Today. Others from DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, and Disney let you print coloring pages, paper airplane templates, and other crafts. You can install additional free apps, but you must do so from HP’s ePrint Center Web site after creating an account.

The standard flat-bed scanner/copier measures 8.5×14 inches, meaning it can scan or copy letter- and legal-size documents. With its 4,800-dpi resolution, scanned and copied documents look crisp and sharp, and you can send scans to a PC, a memory card, a network folder, or an e-mail program. The duplexing autodocument feeder on top of the machine can also flip pages around for hands-free scanning of single and double-sided originals.

Performance
The HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus registered similar scores to the preceding Officejet Pro 8500A Plus, with a slight bump in print speeds across all four output tests. Despite the improved engine, the Epson WorkForce 840 was still able to outgun HP in the presentation and plain black-text speed tests, albeit only marginally. You could easily mistake the excellent print quality of the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus for output from a laser printer. With solid lines in both color and black and white, and especially darkened grayscale prints, the documents are of high-enough quality that I wouldn’t hesitate to hand them out at a client meeting. Like the WorkForce 840, the Officejet Pro 8600 Plus exhibited impressively crisp photo output quality with bright, vivid colors and minimal blurring even in finer text sizes.

Service and support
HP backs the Officejet Pro 8600 Plus with a standard one-year warranty, which includes 24-7 toll-free phone support and live Webchat during weekdays. HP’s Web site also contains downloadable drivers, software, and manuals; e-mail tech support; FAQs; and a troubleshooting guide. You can return the product within 21 days of delivery.

Conclusion
HP succeeds again in building a classy, fast, reliable all-in-one imaging device for the business market, but I wouldn’t end my recommendation at the office door. With its spread of convenient connectivity features and cloud printing that includes ePrint and AirPrint compatibility, the affordable Officejet Pro 8600 Plus will earn its place as a solid performer in any environment that demands high-quality document and image prints.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Printer ink uses bio-derived renewable raw materials. This is just a fancy way of saying to produce printer ink we need to use materials that occur in nature. Given the proper amount of time these materials will reproduce themselves and we should have an endless supply. I stress the word “should” because in order to produce pritner ink (and other products) we harvest the naturally occuring materials at a rate that exceeds their ability to naturally renew themselves. We’re depleting our natural resources and giving no opportunity for repleneshment.

Petroleum (crude oil) is the most common component in printer ink. The majority of printer inks are petroleum based, and are thus not considered to be environmentally friendly. Petroleum is one natural resource that is being consumed at a rate that exceeds the rate nature can produce it, thus damaging the environment. Petroleum based inks relase Volatile Organic Compunds (VOC’s) in to the atmosphere. VOC’s are gasses that contain harmful chemicals which cause netative health effects. They are released in to the air as the printer ink dries on to paper.

Printer inks also have a high heavy metal (arsenic, cadmuim, chromium, mercury, lead, zinc) content. These damaging metals end up in our soil when printed pages end up in landfills. Printer inks absorb in to the paper they are printed on. When printed pages end up in landfills the paper decomposes and the heavy metals are released in the soil. Once in the soil there are many ways that the metals are damaging to the environment.

The good news is that the negative environmental impacts caused by printer ink can be minimized or avoided. There are alternatives to petroleum based inks. Soy or vegetable based inks are made from renewable materials with a maintainable repleneshment rate (there are also some environmental impacts here, but that’s another discussion). These inks have a VOC percentage of less than 5%.  Petroleum based inks have a percentage of 40-80%. The VOC level of any ink can be found on MSDS sheets produced by the ink manufacturer. IF possible use “lower grade” inks for the bulk of your printing. Ink manufacturers, in their quest to produce more “life like colors” and longer lasting prints have depended more on petroleum based inks to do so. The higher the quality of ink, the more VOC’s and heavy metals.

If you don’t feel you can lessen your environmental impact through printer ink, focus on the cartridge the ink is in. The plastic a cartridge is made from is petroleum based and contains heavy metals. When cartridges end up decomposing in landfills they release VOC and heavy metals. Properly disposing of an ink cartridge is easier and does just as much good, if not more, for the environment than changing the type of printer ink you use. Cartridge manufacturers and office supply stores all offer cartridge recycling programs. If you want to do some good for the environment and your community, find a local organization that collects empty printer cartridges. The organization will receive some money for recycling the cartridge to help fund their programs. If “reusing” is your thing, have your empty ink cartridge refilled. Once refilled you’ll be able to put it back in your printer and continue printing with it.

Printer ink and cartridges are hard on the environment, and can be very harmful. Fortunately, you have some choices! Take a minute and decide which way you would like to lessen your impact on the environment: Change the type of printer ink you use or recycle your ink cartridge. Both are easy changes that will help you lessen the negative impact on the environment.

“With these new additions to our imageCLASS and FAXPHONE lines, we are delivering on today’s tough market demands for greater value and performance by providing end-users powerful tools to meet their individual document needs,” said Sam Yoshida, vice president and general manager, Marketing, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A. “These imageCLASS models offer a compelling blend of speed and functionality, ideal for busy offices.”

imageCLASS D1300 Series Copiers – High Performance and Reliability

Developed to address the needs of today’s fast-paced end-users, the imageCLASS D1370, D1350 and D1320 laser multifunction series copiers allow small businesses, medium businesses and workgroups to maximize productivity with convenient copy, print, scan and fax (excluding the D1320) functionality in a fully networkable device. Ideal for multi-user environments, the copiers feature a variety of technologies found in many high-end commercial copiers to maximize office efficiency, including “Department ID Management” control, which allows network administrators to monitor and control device usage, and a 50-sheet Duplex Automatic Document Feeder that provides two-sided copying, printing, scanning and faxing to help reduce paper costs and increase productivity. Expandable up to 1,050 sheets of paper in a variety of sizes, the D1300 series copiers deliver quick copy and print speeds of up to 35 pages per minute (ppm), simplex and 17 ppm, duplex. All three models deliver a first print time of six seconds or less.

Beyond the basic features of the D1300 series, the Canon D1370 supports PCL 5e/XL 3.0 and PostScript 3 Emulation languages in addition to Canon’s host-based UFR II LT language to provide printing versatility. Furthermore, the D1370 adds Secure Print, which asks a user to simply enter a unique PIN code during printing to ensure confidential document handling, and it can send scanned documents or route incoming faxes directly to email or network folders as compressed PDF files for additional office efficiency.

imageCLASS LBP6670dn Laser Printer – IT-Ready, Hassle-Free Network Solution

Businesses can lose significant time and money if any part of their operational infrastructure, such as printing, goes down. Canon addresses this issue with the imageCLASS LBP6670dn, which provides IT administrators with the ability to manage the device via a powerful remote user interface. Built on a foundation that includes Canon’s legendary imaging technology, the imageCLASS LBP6670dn has print speeds of up to 35 ppm, simplex, and 17 ppm, duplex, utilizes a simple, easy-to-navigate, 5-row backlit control panel and is expandable to 800 sheets from a standard front-loading 250 sheet paper cassette and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. The LBP6670dn also delivers on Canon’s environmental goals by using just one watt in Energy Saver Mode and by delivering two-sided printing right out of the box. The compact imageCLASS LBP6670dn offers a quick first print time of seven seconds or less.

FAXPHONE L100 – Radically Redesigned Desktop Laser Fax

Targeting small businesses such as insurance companies and restaurants, the FAXPHONE L100 is a speedy and compact laser fax that delivers quick results whether faxing, printing or copying, with the added convenience of a telephone handset. Sporting a radical redesign including a flip-up control panel, while delivering exceptional fax capabilities and a 19 ppm laser printer engine, this space-saving business machine functions in the place of three devices with the performance quality of laser output. The FAXPHONE L100 incorporates a 30-sheet automatic document feeder, Super G3 facsimile technology and more than 500 sheets of memory capacity. Rich with features such as Fax Forwarding, Error Correction Mode and Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection, this machine allows users to manage fax operations efficiently. The directory search function allows users to look up and dial the correct number by easily viewing the up-to-30 stored speed- dial phone numbers and 100 coded dials for a comprehensive address book.

To deliver high-quality prints and copies, each model announced today incorporates the Canon Single Cartridge System which combines the toner, drum and development unit into one easy-to-replace cartridge. With this system, the end result is excellent image quality retention and eliminating the complication and warehousing of separate toner and drum consumables.

The new imageCLASS models meet the ENERGY STAR guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) and exceed the European Union RoHS Directive standards.

The $250 Hero 9.1 is Kodak’s newest flagship printer with do-it-all features including a fax machine, a 4.3-inch touch screen, and dual paper trays, and for only $50 more than its linemate, the Kodak Office Hero 6.1. Competing models from HP, Canon, and Lexmark offer similar features to the 9.1 at the $250 price point, but Kodak sweetens the deal with its new e-mail print feature that lets you send jobs from any Web-based device. Despite its minor setbacks like a smaller paper input capacity than the 6.1 and average print speeds, the Kodak Hero 9.1 remains a smart all-in-one device for getting work done quickly and efficiently in the home or office, and I recommend it to anyone shopping for a do-it-all device.

Design and features
The Kodak Hero 9.1 does away with the tactile keypad and speed-dial buttons that gave the 6.1 its business-friendly productivity. This one has an adjustable 4.3-inch touch-screen display with a slim profile that matches the chiseled angles and alternating glossy black, silver, and perforated matte black finish of the whole machine. In fact, if you don’t necessarily need the buttons, I don’t see why graphic designers and general offices wouldn’t be satisfied with its aesthetic. Like the 6.1, the Hero 9.1′s exterior gives off a more streamlined attitude than the older Kodak ESP line with a small red strip marking off the control panel and the hidden scanner bay. The angled display contrasts with the narrow auto-document feeder up top that can hold up to 30 sheets of a document at a time for hands-free copying and scanning.

The printer also has a small green Wi-Fi indicator LED on the right side of the control panel, and just below the buttons you’ll find a multimedia card reader for Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card, SD, and USB via the PictBridge-compatible port just above it.

The auto-duplexer that flips pages over for double-sided printing adds a bulky extrusion to the back of the printer, but the extra weight is offset by its economic benefits for offices that print more than the usual amount. Kodak estimates that the 9.1 can handle about 12,000 printed pages a month before it loses steam, which should be more than enough for SMBs and home offices with moderate to large output.

Kodak throws in two separate paper trays along with the matte touch screen to lure shoppers into choosing the 9.1 over its Hero line cousins, and with good sense. You get a diminished 100-sheet main paper tray for everyday printing on the bottom of the unit and another 40-sheet tray on top for smaller media. Depending on your intended uses and monthly output volume, the 140-sheet total input capacity may dissuade you from purchasing this printer. If that’s the case, the Epson WorkForce 845 all-in-one serves your needs better, with a combined paper input capacity of 500 pages.

The Hero 9.1 uses Kodak’s model 10B and 10C cartridges with a single tank for black ink and a separate five-ink cartridge of pigment color. Kodak claims its ink totals the lowest cost per page in the industry, and my calculations based on their XL-capacity cartridges corroborates those claims at just 2.4 cents per black page and 7.2 cents for a page of color, but keep in mind that all five inks are bundled into one cartridge, so you’ll need to buy a new one when the first color runs out. That’s why it makes more fiscal sense for photographers to print snapshots on competing photo printers that house five and sometimes six individual ink tanks.

Kodak offers several ways to print to the Kodak aside from the standard USB connection. You can hook it up to an office network using wired Ethernet or distribute it wirelessly using its 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi server.

Headaches quickly arrive when its time to connect a printer to a wireless router, but I’m impressed with Kodak’s streamlined handshaking–the printer is set up for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) computing standard that boils the process down to a push of a button, if you have a compatible wireless router. It’s just as easy to connect without WPS, however, but you’ll need to create an ad-hoc connection using the USB cable first. Unfortunately, Kodak doesn’t provide this cable in the box.

The printer ships with a helpful driver disc that walks you through the installation process and includes Kodak’s All-in-One Home Center software. The Home Center acts as a hub for the copy, print, and scan functions, but remember to check for firmware updates soon after you connect the printer; Kodak said version 7.3 is coming soon. The copy feature is easy to navigate and offers a unique collage copy setting that duplicates several pictures in the same orientation as the originals. The scanning center is simple as well, but lacks the option to scan directly to a fax in lieu of scanning directly to a Google Doc, which serves a similar purpose if you want to send a link to a PDF file.

The new Home Center also lets you print 3D images, which means you’ll need a pair of red-and-blue glasses to see them pop. The 3D print process works as you’d expect, with the device printing dual images close together but slightly offset so viewing through the paper glasses makes the image come alive. The 9.1 comes with a 3D starter kit that includes two pairs of 3D glasses and a sample pack of photo paper for experimentation.

The Hero 9.1 is also accessible on the run using the free Kodak Pic Flick App for iOS, Android, and Blackberry device. Though the app doesn’t offer the opportunity for heavy photo editing, you can specify the print quality and canvas size from 2 inches by 3 inches all the way up to the standard 8.5 by 11.

Printing from the cloud is perhaps the most convenient feature across Kodak’s entire Hero line, and you get two simple ways to print from any computer with an internet connection. The most ubiquitous is Google Cloud Print, a free utility that lets multiple users share your printer over the Web with a simple username registration and a compatible device running the Google Chrome Web browser. Google stores your device information on its servers to keep your computer clutter-free and simplifies the process even further by keeping drivers and firmware up to date.

The other side of the 9.1′s cloud-printing diligence is Kodak E-mail Print. It’s designed to release users from the shackles of the print driver by assigning a unique e-mail address to every printer that you can use to send jobs directly from any connected device. When you send an e-mail to the printer, you can choose to either attach a compatible file (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Excel, PDF, text files, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF) for formatted documents or just paste text in plain or HTML form to the e-mail body. Kodak provides the address for your particular device during the wireless setup process, and the virtual instructions walk you through it step by step.

Performance
The Hero 9.1 neither impressed nor disappointed us with its output speed results, though it did print at a noticeably slower rate than other printers in the $250 range. Kodak couldn’t keep up in three out of the four tests, but actually fared well in the single-photo print test, placing third in the lineup with 0.96 page per minute (ppm). The disparity in the other three will likely appear negligible unless you’re printing long-form documents.

Once the printer eventually spits out your job, you’ll be impressed with the resolution quality. Graphic documents and everyday text prints came out looking the best out of all the tests with acceptable saturation levels that I wouldn’t hesitate to use as presentation materials for an office meeting. Scan quality is satisfactory as well thanks to the 9.1′s new 2,400 dpi scanning bay, and the upgrade resolves the dark compression issues that marred previous Kodak models.

Service and support
Kodak supports the Hero 9.1 with a one-year warranty for toll-free phone and online-chat tech support available every day. The Kodak Web site provides access to manuals, driver downloads, troubleshooting tips, graphic tutorials, and a list of frequently asked questions.

Conclusion
Kodak’s latest all-purpose machine shows off Kodak’s versatile set of features like a fresh exterior design, cloud printing, and mobile print apps coupled with dual paper trays, an auto-document feeder, and simple double-sided printing. It might not outshine the competition in performance speeds, but homes shopping for a new multifunction printer certainly won’t be disappointed by the Kodak Hero 9.1′s array of intelligent technologies.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Before you replace the cartridge that is low on ink, here’s a secret your printer manufacturer doesn’t want you to know.  A way to avoid getting cheated by your ink cartridge.

Most inkjet cartridges have a circuit board on them (see image above). The circuit board has a small amount of memory that keeps track of the amount of ink within the cartridge. Unfortunately, and more often than not, the memory is not very accurate. Here comes the cheat! For some reason it always reads that there is less ink in the cartridge than their actually is. What can you do to make sure you get as much ink as possible out of the cartridge? Reset the cartridge memory.

Find the circuit board on your cartridge. Often its brown or green in color with black, white, or gold circuits. Just above the circuit board you will see a small hole. Press a paper clip inside the hole (see image below) and the memory on your cartridge should be reset. Put the cartridge back in your printer and your ink level monitor should now give you a more accurate reading.

The next time your printer tells you the cartridges are low in ink, avoid getting cheated and try to reset your cartridge’s memory.

A quick disclaimer – This tip was supplied by the folks at BRUSSPUP. After watching and doing some research I cannot guarantee the tip will work, but it does seem to be a valid option for those of you with Epson cartridges. Cartridges by other printer manufacturers don’t seem to have the same hole above the circuit. After studying various Epson cartridges, it seems only new model cartridges have this capability. If you test this tip out, make sure you come back and let me know how it works.

The Lexmark Office Edge Pro5500 and OfficeEdge Pro4000 color MFPs are built for fast, professional, heavy-duty printing and scanning. The new additions to Lexmark’s lineup boast faster print speeds than most similarly priced color laser MFPs, up to 21 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 14 ppm in color, and the fastest time to first page compared to laser devices in its class means users spend less time waiting for a print job to complete.

Additionally, the Lexmark OfficeEdge Pro5500 is highlighted by a single pass, duplex, automatic document feeder (ADF) with a capacity of up to 50 sheets to save users time by simultaneously scanning both sides of documents, while accommodating a variety of paper sizes up to 8.5 inches by 14 inches.

The utilize Lexmark’s new pigment-based Vizix Pro ink formula. Utilized in both the standard and high-yield OfficeEdge Series ink cartridges, Vizix Pro produces color output with the crisp text quality of a laser printer and the brilliant color of an inkjet. The Lexmark OfficeEdge Series ink cartridges are made from plastic that contains post-consumer recycled content and are are eligible for the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP).

“Epson is excited to expand our business-class product offerings with new wide-format solutions that allow small businesses to deliver top-quality materials but also ensure a speedy and efficient workflow,” said Rodrigo Catalan, senior product manager, Business Ink Jets, Epson America, Inc. “As with all Epson WorkForce printers, the new wide format line delivers unprecedented quality and speed, with the added versatility to accommodate larger documents.”

The WorkForce wide format printer line is ideal for small businesses such as architecture firms, engineers and other creative business professionals that require large-format printing, superior dependability, performance and speed. All three models deliver high quality and productivity features including fast single- and double-sided print speeds – 15 ISO ppm black and 8.0 ISO ppm color single-sided; 7.8 ISO ppm black and 5.2 ISO ppm color two-sided. The all-in-ones are the only devices in their class to offer both 13-inch-by-19-inch printing and an 11-inch-by-17-inch scan bed, allowing businesses to maximize efficiency and streamline workflow and utilizing one device for all printing and scanning needs, from specialty large-format jobs to every day printing and scanning, such as email and documents.

The all-in-ones also offer Epson Connect for hassle-free printing on the go. With Epson Connect, mobile device users can print web pages, photos, documents and email attachments directly from tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices.

Replacing the popular WorkForce 1100 model, the WorkForce WF-7010 printer offers built-in Ethernet networking to easily connect and share with workgroups as well as versatile paper handling, allowing business users to print everything from index cards to 13-inch-by-19-inch layouts.

Available for both new wireless models is the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint mobile app, for use with compatible Apple and Android smart phones and tablets, allowing documents to be scanned on the printer and sent directly to a compatible device. Users can print PDFs of documents that were created with the app directly from compatible devices, whereas in the past only photos could be printed.

With 802.11n Wi-Fi capability, the PIXMA MX512 and MX432 Wireless Office AIO Printer models are capable of a high-speed network transfer rate. Setting up a wireless network can be easily accomplished with the press of one button when using Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS).

“With many people making the decision to work from home, it is more important than ever to have a printer you can rely on to produce high-quality prints no matter the project,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies and Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. “Canon has recognized this trend and will continue to make products designed to satisfy the needs and wants of the end user.”

Located on the front of the printer, the FastFront system allows users to open the front panel of the printer to easily access both the ink and paper for easy replacement. Each printer utilizes the two-cartridge ChromaLife 100 ink system – one black cartridge and one color cartridge- providing high-quality prints on plain paper, while still delivering high-quality photo prints. With the exposed user interface, the user can scan or copy important documents without having to worry about the document blocking the control panel and buttons required to perform the task.

The Canon PIXMA MX512 Wireless, MX432 Wireless and MX372 Office AIO printers deliver high-quality output whether on plain or photo paper at a maximum color resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi. For the first time in a Canon printer at the $149.99 price point, the PIXMA MX512 Office AIO printer will feature a Dual Function Panel for easy navigation through menus, an Ethernet port for increased connectivity and Auto Duplex printing to help conserve paper usage. This new model also features a 2.5-inch TFT screen for easy viewing of menus and images while producing output at approximately 9.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.5 ipm for color⁸.

The PIXMA MX432 Wireless Office AIO printer delivers output at approximately 9.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.5 ipm for color. The PIXMA MX372 Office AIO printer provides output at approximately 8.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.0 ipm for color. All three printers can produce a 4-inch-by-6-inch borderless photo in approximately 46 seconds.

The PIXMA MX432 Wireless and MX372 Office AIO printers will have an estimated selling price of $99.99 and $79.99, respectively.