SCM SCR331 - SMART card reader - USB Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent product. Just make sure you download a good description of how to install. Also, in order to update the firmware for it, you need a Windows computer, so Mac buyers should make sure they have access to a Windows computer prior to ordering this. Still, once set up, it works well.

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Canon Pixma iP4500 Photo Inkjet Printer (2171B002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had a Canon BubbleJet BJC-4200 long ago, and after that printer I was very hesitant to even consider another Canon printer. When my most recent printer died, an HP DeskJet 970cse, I needed to find a good printer that could print duplex and produce quality output. After reading many, many reviews I decided to give Canon another chance. I am very glad that I did so.
The Pixma iP4500 arrived in a huge box, and as it turns out it needed the space. This is a larger printer than I expected, and as a result I had to rearrange my desk to find room for it. That's a small oversight on my part. The printer itself is an unassuming-looking box of a machine, though it resembles more of a printer when the paper trays are populated.
Setup was easy and straightforward, though I do recommend using the "getting started" insert before setting everything up. Though setting everything up is relatively self-explanatory, it is helpful to see the illustration of what to do in order before making the leap. Overall, setup took maybe 20-30 minutes once the parts were all out of the box and everything was set up.
Once configured, installing the drivers is simple. Drop in the CD, follow the prompts, and turn on the printer at the right time. No fuss.
Once set up and powered on, the printer is ready to go to work. I print a majority of my things in duplex mode so I tweaked the driver configuration to make it the default, after which the setting is more or less invisible. Everything in the driver configuration is very easy to find, straightforward, and simple.
There are two ways to feed paper into the iP4500. There is a top-loader which is the default paper source and there is a front-loading paper tray ("cassette" according to Canon's documentation). Heavier papers such as card stock should be loaded from the top-loader.
So, how does this printer perform? I'll break it down into two parts, speed and quality.
Speed - this is a relatively fast printer! Feeding it a print job that conists of a two-sided black and white print this printer can churn out the pages, including the dry time for the front page, in about 20 seconds. Granted, this is my experience and your mileage may vary but it's a good starting point from which to base your evaluation of the speed. My previous printer would take at least a minute to print the very same documents, and it still couldn't keep up when in draft mode. For photo printing it churns out a full-page 8.5"x11" borderless photo in roughly 45 seconds.
Quality - what good is speed without quality? This printer backs it up. The text and basic image quality is acceptable, though it could be a touch better. This is not noticeable in day-to-day print jobs. On photo printing, though, this printer is an absolute showstopper. The photos it prints, on photo paper, are better than most magazine prints and could easily be used for photo studio gallery shots.
It would be nice if the printer actually had a USB cable in the box, but this is a small thing.
Overall, this is a high-quiality, high-performance printer that is sure to please even the staunchest of critics. It is fast, creates beautiful output, and is very easy to set up.

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The Canon Pixma iP4500 is a stylish unit that boasts both a five-color ink system and a 4,608-nozzle print head to deliver wonderfully lifelike color, along with bold, laser-quality text. How does it work? The print head ejects precision droplets as small as one picoliter, resulting in a breathtaking 9600 x 2400 color dot-per-inch (dpi) resolution as well as a truly exceptional level of detail. Remarkably efficient, the iP4500 also will print a borderless 4-by-6-inch photo in only about 21 seconds. And you can store both photo paper and plain paper in the two paper trays at the same time, so you're always ready to print exactly what you need.The user-friendly iP4500 provides lots of options, so you can indulge your creativity. With this system, you get four dye-based inks plus a pigment-based black ink, the option of printing two-sided documents to save paper, and the ability to print right from your infrared-enabled mobile camera phone. Simply capture an image with a PictBridge-ready digital camera or DV camcorder, then connect and print--it's that simple. And to make sure your favorite shots look their best, the built-in automatic image-fixing feature via Easy PhotoPrint EX also helps ensure that each image is as clear and vibrant as possible.What's in the Box Pixma iP4500 photo printer, document kit (cross sell sheet, easy setup instructions, quick start guide), setup software and user's guide on CD-ROM, PGI-5 pigment black ink tank, CLI-8 (black/cyan/magenta/yellow) ink tank, sample media (five 8.5-by-11-inch sheets and four print alignment sheets), power cord, and print head.

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Brother MFC-845cw Color Photo Inkjet Flatbed All-in-One with 5.8GHz Cordless Handset Review

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(More customer reviews)Voice quality is great -- printing, faxing, etc. excellent. Only shortcoming is that it doesn't have an envelope bypass. Had to buy another printer for envelopes because changing paper in try from letterhead to envelopes too cumbersome.

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The Brother MFC-845cw is a powerful color multi-function center with wireless (80.211b/g) networking capabilities, making it a great addition to your home or small business office.
Color Printer The MFC-845cw features a flip-up, 2.5-inch color LCD so you can control all of its functions at a glance. Enjoy up to 27 ppm black and 22 ppm color print speed, as well as photo quality printing up to 6000 x 1200 dpi. With a droplet size as small as 1.5 picoliters you can be assured of fine details and color accuracy. The unit's front loading paper tray holds up to 100 sheets, while a photo by-pass tray holds up to 20 sheets of 4x6 glossy paper. Borderless photo printing is possible, and USB, ethernet, and wireless 80.211b/g interfaces are included. The printer works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Color Copier With a versatile flatbed design, the MFC-845cw offers easy copying. No PC is required for copying, and you'll enjoy up to 20 cpm black and 18 cpm color copy speeds. The copier also offers up to 1200 x 600 dpi resolution, as well as multi-copying for up to 99 copies. Reduce or enlarge your copies from 25 percent to 400 percent, in 1 percent increments.
Color Scanner Use the MFC-845cw for flatbed color scanning at up to 19,200 dpi (interpolated) resolution, and up to 600 x 2400 dpi (optical) resolution. The unit includes award-winning ScanSoft PaperPort SE with OCR Software for Windows and Presto! PageManager for Mac.
Photo Capture Center Use the color LCD display to preview, print images or even an index--all without a computer. The MFC-845cw features convenient digital camera media card slots for high quality photo printing (Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, xD-Picture Card Type M/Type H, CompactFlash, Secure Digital, and MultiMediaCard). The memory card system also works as a removable disk drive, and there's also a PictBridge interface to print photos directly from your PictBridge-enabled camera.
Color Fax When it comes time to send a fax, you can choose black and white or color faxing using the ITU-T30E standard. A 10-page auto document feeder makes big faxing jobs a snap, while the 14.4 Kbps high-speed fax modem delivers your documents quickly. The fax machine supports caller ID and distinctive ring modes. No PC is required for faxing. You can also take advantage of 100-station auto dialing, and 32 MB of total memory means you can store up to 480 pages.
PC Fax The MFC-845cw comes with the Brother PC Fax Driver for sending and receiving faxes from your computer. The software supports fax broadcasting from your PC, as well as network PC fax send and receive. PC fax functionality works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Message Center The MFC-845cw's built-in digital answering machine records up to 99 messages or up to 29 total minutes. The unit features a built-in 5.8Ghz digital cordless telephone handset which is expandable to four handsets, as well as a full-duplex speakerphone for hands-free operation. Volume controls for both the handset and speakerphone are provided.

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Samsung SCX-4216 Flatbed Laser Multifunction Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had this for past year. Use it for home use. Use it as fax, scanner, printer and copier. Satisfied with all those functions.
- Simple to use.
- The auto sheet feeder is very useful.
- Software is good also.
- Also, the scanner works well. I scan in documents mostly and it works well. No problems with scanning magazines or newspapers. As for scanning color photos, the detail is there, but the color saturation wasn't perfect. What I mean is that when scanning a color photo with some dark areas in a photo with high contrast areas, I was unable to make it so that the dark areas came out clearly. Perhaps I have't tried it thoroughly. I wasn't too concerned about it, so haven't spent much time tweaking it.
- Print quality is good. Of course, the print quality from more expensive HP printers I use at office has better print qualities. But for everyday home use, this is more than sufficient.Bottom line: I would buy this printer again. Good quality and value.

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A flatbed laser multi-function from Samsung, the SCX-4216 consolidates important office functions into one unit, saving on both space and money. Designed with home office and small business users in mind, the SCX-4216 can scan, copy, fax, and print, and has a number of useful, time-saving extras.
A maximum optical resolution of 600 x 600 dpi (scan, print, and copy) can be enhanced up to 4,800 x 4,800 dpi when scanning, while 256 levels of halftone and 24-bit color depth produce high-quality, accurate scans suitable for a wide range of applications (scanning function not available for Macintosh systems). Print speeds are as fast as 17 ppm for letter-sized documents, with copy speeds of up to 17 cpm and scan speeds of around 25 seconds (depends on the document).
A multi-copy capability of up to 99 pages provides a convenient way to copy multi-page documents, while one touch scan-to-web, image, OCR, fax, and e-mail buttons offer a quick and easy way to perform these often-used functions. The fax machine has a 33.6Kbps modem, with fax speeds of up to 5 seconds per page. An automatic document feeder lets you easily fax multiple pages, and a broadcasting feature lets you send a single fax to as many as 109 locations.
A 250-sheet input tray is standard, as is a 150-sheet output tray and a single sheet bypass input. The SCX-4216 has an 18.7-by-17.2-inch footprint and connects to the host computer via either its USB or parallel ports. PC and Mac compatible, the unit also comes backed with a three year parts and labor warranty.
What's in the Box SCX-4216F, starter toner cartridge, AC power cord, CD-ROM, quick install guide, telephone line cord, TAM lead; printer cable not included

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Lexmark X3350 All-in-One (23A0000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was a bit skeptical of purchasing another Lexmark after such bad luck with the others I have purchased at the company I work for. The sale price was pretty decent & this printer had a lot of functions I needed especially the ability to scan. After deciding to go ahead & pick this one up as well as a few extra ink carts, which were cheaper than the lex16&26's my previous printer used, I brought it back to the office to setup.
It didn't take long to rip into the packaging & get it all hooked up. When I went to install the printer however that was a different problem. The setup was slow & would sit at the same screen for 10 - 20 minutes at a time before finally disappearing & never returning. I'm the computer tech here & all my settings on my profile as well as locally on the machine are set for full access. I tried installing the software/drivers about 3 times before giving up & logging out. I logged into the local administrator account & tried the driver/software install again. Low & behold this time I had similar issues with long pauses between screens, but was greeted eventually with an option to start the driver install.
After finally getting it all setup I was able to finally give this puppy a run for the money. I've printed roughly 250 pages so far on these factory cartridges & am very surprised the ink hasn't run out on them yet. The colors come out very clear especially on pictures & when printing cd labels. On my previous printer (Lexmark z33) pictures would be fuzzy & the ink carts wouldn't last but maybe a week if that.
I haven't scanned anything really yet, but I did try to make a copy of a receipt & it came out looking blank. I'll have to test some other things, but so far as just a printer this machine has exceeded my expectations on the fact the ink consumption has been so slow & how fast my pages come out. Normally the ink they give you with a printer is a half-full cart you have to replace almost instantly.
If you're looking for a printer that doesn't guzzle ink & has a lot of nifty extra features, you might give this printer a shot.
::Update::
I've been using this printer for nearly a year & the scan ability is fairly good. Most copies don't look identicle, they look slightly faded, but usually not too bad. The printing is still great on this printer & color photo prints are incredible. I've had to print about 500 full page photo's so far & it does a wonderful job. Unfortunately alot of ink is used up for pictures printed on photo paper. The paper sensing feature on the printer is a big help so you dont have to change it everytime, just when printing to legal now. This printer has been well worth the money & I definately would buy one for my home.

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With its 48-bit color scan depth, one-touch color and black and white copies with or without a PC using PictBridge technology, print speeds of up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) in black and up to 15 ppm in color, the Lexmark X3350 is one of the fastest All-in-One printers in its class.
What is PictBridge? PictBridge is a CIPA (Camera and Imaging Product Association) standard that provides a direct connection between digital cameras and printers. In PictBridge, the digital camera is connected directly to a printer via a USB cable to print photos without using a PC. Both the digital camera and the All-In-One must be PictBridge Certified to communicate.

Highlights of the Lexmark X3350 include:
Photo Features
PictBridge--print photos directly from your compatible digital camera
Brilliant 6-color 35 mm photos with optional photo cartridge
Borderless 4" x 6" photos as fast as 38 seconds1
Built-in exclusive Lexmark Imaging Studio Software featuring red-eye reduction, auto image enhance, cropping and resizing

Color and Black and White Printing
Up to 22 ppm black; up to 15 ppm color
Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi print resolution
Media sense automatically detects paper type
Accu-feed paper handling--virtually eliminates paper jams
Color and Photo Copying
One-touch, PC-free copying
Reduction/enlargement capacity from 25 percent to 400 percent, including popular photo sizes
Copy up to 15 ppm black; up to 9 ppm color
1 to 99 copies at a time
Color Scanning:
CIS flatbed scanner easily handles thick books, reports, brochures and more
48-bit color scanner depth; 16-bit grayscale
Up to 1200 x 2400 ppi optical resolution
Scan directly to e-mail and fax
Automatically scan four photos with 1-touch
Lexmark's close relationship with its customers, allow them to continuously develop high-quality, easy-to-use business products and services for both the home and smalloffice.
What's in the box Lexmark X3350, one color cartridge, one black cartridge, One power supply and cord, setup sheet, quick reference guide, Installation software (CD-ROM)
Note:USB cable not included
1. Printing without a PC in Quickprint mode and excluding processing time

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Samsung Monochrome Multifunction Laser Printer (SCX-4826FN) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros:
-Samsung packs a lot of value into their machines. I paid about $50 less than it is currently going for here.
-Network scanning actually works well!; unlike many network MFPs.(Buying a standalone network scanner that works this well would cost more than this machine-though it does not have auto duplex scanning like some costlier devices)
-Direct to USB scanning and direct from USB printing might be useful for some.
-Duplex printing works well and saves paper- more mid-range printers should come with this feature.
(note: if you have ever used a printer with duplexing capabilities before you will have no trouble enabling this feature.)
-Most setting are easily configurable with the web interface so that you need not scroll through multiple menus on the machine itself.
-Has powerful scan to email features usually only found on high end office machines.
-Handles standard envelopes better than I expected.
Cons:
-Samsung documentation is not for the uninitiated.
-By default it installs some not very useful programs (a quicklaunch toolbar and a printer status monitor)
-Does not support Postscript (you need to pay a little extra for the Samsung SCX-4828 Laser Multi-Function Printerfor this feature- that's the only difference between them).
-For some strange reason you cannot scan to B&W PDF directly from the machine. You can scan to color or grayscale PDF, or you can scan to B&W PDF from your computer, but not directly from the machine. No idea why.
-Generally, MFPs do not last as long as regular printers, and are a pain to fix if they break. Think of it this way: If the chance of a printer breaking within 3 years is 1/100, and the chance of a scanner breaking is 1/100, then the chance of a MFP breaking is 1/50.
Workarounds:
-If you connect this to your computer via USB (presumably you bought this for its network capabilities so you would normally have it connected via Ethernet) you can flash the device with the firmware from the 4828FN to enable postscript emulation. This will undoubtedly void your warranty. You can then manually install the 4828FN postscript printer driver and configure it to print to the correct port. (The only reason I did this is because samsung previously had incorrectly listed this machine as having PS support before I bought it)
-If you only need network scanning and printing (not faxing) and do your scanning with programs you already have (such as Acrobat or Omnipage) then I highly recommend installing only the printer and scanner drivers and forgetting about the rest.
-A generally good idea with network printers is to configure them to use a static IP address (outside the normally assigned range) even if your network is running on DHCP. This will potentially avoid many headaches down the line.
Bottom Line: A great value if you know what you need and know what you are doing.

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Brother DCP-9045CDN Color Laser Copier and Printer with Built-in Ethernet Network Interface and Duplex Review

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(More customer reviews)The Brother DCP-9045CDN (the listed model number was incorrectly stated as DCP-9045CDW at the time of this writing) is a very well designed color laser printer/scanner/copier with impressive built-in networking and duplex capabilities.
First, it performs very nicely as a network color laser printer. It uses four toner cartridges (black, yellow, cyan, & magenta) that are easily accessed via a simple sliding drawer at the front of the unit. The toner cartridges are available in standard-capacity and high-capacity. While it is a little disappointing that the machine ships with the standard-capacity cartridges, this seems to be the 'norm' in the printer industry. However, I recommend purchasing the high-capacity cartridges when it is time to replenish your supplies, since they are a better value.
The machine comes with a 250-sheet standard paper tray as well as a 50-sheet "Multi-purpose" paper tray that folds down from the front of the unit. Many printers that we have used in the past also had one of these "multi-purpose"-type trays, but they usually amounted to nothing more than a single sheet manual feeder or an envelope feeder; we like the fact that this one holds 50 sheets and can actually be used as a second paper tray. We also purchased the optional 500-sheet paper tray so that we can have plain paper, letterhead, and labels loaded at the same time. The unit can use legal size paper in addition to letter size.
We really love the built-in duplex feature, and it is one of the main reasons that we purchased this model, as it saves us a ton on paper costs. We found that the prices of machines with built-in duplex capabilities (especially color models) were typically substantially higher than machines without duplex, and, initially, we didn't think we could afford a color laser with duplex. However, the 9045CDN was surprisingly within our budget.
As for network printing, this machine has very robust network support. It supports TCP/IP v4 as well as TCP/IP v6, which means its network capabilities should be about as future-proof as possible. The 9045CDN supports peer-to-peer type networks as well as server-based networks, and the included software and setup guide make it very easy to setup the unit to work with either type of network. The machine includes drivers for Windows 2000, Windows XP (32-bit & 64-bit), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 (32-bit & 64-bit), and Mac OS X 10.2.4 (or greater.)
Second, this machine not only scans, but it is actually a network scanner. We looked at several other network printers that had scanning capabilities, but most of them could only scan to a single computer through a USB cable - their network capabilities were limited to printing only. However, the 9045CDN can scan directly to any computer that is attached to our network! In addition, it can scan directly to an FTP server on the network or on the Internet. The automatic document feeder is very handy and this machine will even perform duplex scanning and copying! The scanner glass is large enough for legal size paper; however, the automatic feeder only supports up to letter size paper, so legal size documents must be scanned or copied one at a time.
Beyond network printing and scanning, the 9045CDN, of course, has the obligatory USB port on the rear so that you can attach the machine directly to a single computer rather than to a network. There are also several nice features that allow you to use the machine without even having to boot up any computers. For instance, you can print directly from or scan directly to a USB memory key (i.e. flash drive, etc.); just plug your flash drive into the USB port on the front of the machine, and print your documents and pictures that are stored on the flash drive. You can also attach a PictBridge compatible camera to the machine and print your photos without a computer. The machine also works great as a standalone color copier.
We were able to replace two non-network monochrome laser printers, a color inkjet multifunction printer/scanner, and a copier with one 9045CDN. For most of our printing/copying we use the 9045CDN in black and white mode, but when we need color it is there, and it is substantially less expensive per page to print in color than the color inkjet printer that this unit replaced. We are very pleased with this unit.

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