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Five models that do it all for less
KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, THE SAYING goes. Since you're hunting anyway, how about killing three or four desktop peripherals with one device? That's the appeal of the multifunction peripheral (MFP), which saves you money and precious desk space by combining a copier, fax machine, printer, and scanner into a single box.
MFPs may come up short in terms of features and performance compared to their standalone counterparts. The scanner might not offer a high-enough resolution for your needs, or maybe the copier is too slow to be practical. Still, when you consider the space and cost savings, you'll probably be willing to accept a few limitations. Purchased separately, a copier, color printer, scanner, and fax machine would cost at least $600, and that's for entry-level hardware. The most expensive MFP in our roundup costs $400.
We tested five inexpensive sheet-fed models, all based on color ink-jet print engines and all offering color scanning and copying (two even perform color faxing). Why choose a sheet-fed model over a flatbed? Flatbed models are more expensive, take up more desk space, and without a pricey document feeder, require you to work with one page at a time.
Most of these MFPs can function independently of your PC, sending and receiving faxes and making copies even when the PC is off, and four of the five MFPs offer both parallel and USB interfaces. Alas, while USB's ubiquity would indicate widespread Macintosh compatibility, only the Brother and Epson models support the Apple operating system. All of the units we tested are diminutive and inexpensive-perfect for the home office.
Brother MFC-7300c
HOC RATING 12345678
As the only MFP in the group to include a telephone handset, the Brother MFC-7300c instantly earned our approval. And that's just one perk on a long list-this MFP also serves up video-capture features, versatile desktop software, Macintosh compatibility, and some of the fastest printing speeds around.
A quick-start poster walked us through the relatively painless setup process. The MFC-- 7300c is a model of simplicity, with all the front-panel buttons logically grouped and labeled. The unit has three one-touch buttons that let you scan an image, scan to the optical character recognition (OCR) software,...