Canon PIXMA MX330 Inkjet All-In-One Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This review is actually on the Canon MX320. It is the MX330's little brother. Both printers are identical except the MX320 does not have the color lcd screen, it has a 2-line dot matrix screen. Since I do all of my editing on my computer, and can't see much on the little screen anyway, I chose to save about $40. Either printer offers great value in my humble opinion.
PROS:
1. Photo quality equal to my Canon MX830. I don't know why or how but the prints look the same. Even better if you use Canon's "VIVID" setting in the Easy Photo Print software under paper selector.
2. The scanner reproduces colors and details that are very close to original and you have the option to touch up photos after scanning. Using the ADF you can copy legal size papers.
3. The fax options are not perfect but they work. This is the first all-in-one that I've owned that I can actually leave the fax running in the back round without it interfering with phone calls on the same line. Using the TEL Preferred setting the fax will start automatically if you answer the phone and it is a fax. This even works from a remote phone by dialing 25 if you hear the fax noise when you answer. Up to 50 (20 pages of documents) faxes will be stored in memory if you run out of paper or ink.
4. My favorite option on this printer is the fact that you can choose which cartridge to print from. This will save a lot of the more expensive color ink, especially from advertisements faxed to you. Simply follow these steps to print from black only:
a. Click on the MY PRINTER icon the software installed on your desktop
b. Click on the PRINTER SETTINGS tab
c. Click on the MAINTENANCE tab
d. Click on the INK CARTRIDGE SETTINGS tab
e. Choose from using BLACK ONLY cartridge, COLOR ONLY cartridge, or BOTH cartridges
The black only setting only works with plain paper and envelopes so photos will still print in color. Plus it takes only seconds to change settings if you need color in your text documents. This setting works great if you have teenagers that print everything they see.
5. You can fax straight from your computer without first printing the fax. Just click on PRINT and choose Canon MX330 Fax as your printer. The fax works just like you ran it through the printer, including printing a receipt if you have set this up on the printer.
6. At about $.05 per black and white page printed, using the XL ink cartridges, and the ability to print photos that will last up to 300 years I feel the print costs are reasonable.
7. I bought the MX320 after trying the Epson NX300. There is no comparison between the 2 printers. The Canon exceeded my expectations in every category. At $69 the MX320 (MX330) is an all-in-one printer that works perfectly for a small home business on a tight budget.
CONS:
1. The lcd screen on the MX320 is hard to read sometimes because there is no backlight. Luckily you only have to use it to set up the printer and fax one time.
2. There is only 1 paper tray.
CONCLUSION:
Every printer requires a compromise in some area. Users of the HP printers I was interested in are reporting problems with Windows Vista, which I confirmed on HP's own site. The Epson model I tried was noisy, slow, and draft text was barely readable. Not to mention I went through 2 Epson's because of print head clogging problems. Brother and Kodak printers are unknown entities to me, although I bought one of the first Kodak printers when they came out and returned it the same day.
I have had good luck with other Canon printers and I like their print quality. The MX320/330 seem to be following in the Canon tradition of good quality printers. Unlike many others, I chose a 2 cartridge print system on purpose. My Canon MX830 was an excellent printer but if you change inks one at a time to save ink it seems like you are changing inks 2 times a week. For the money I don't think you can beat the MX320/330 for an all-in-one printer with a G3 fax. If fax capabilities are not needed I would buy the Canon MP480 or MP620 as these are both excellent all-in-ones without the fax at reasonable prices.

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HP Deskjet 3050 All-in-One Printer (CH376A#B1H) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I needed to replace an old HP deskjet that I've had for more than 5 years that finally decided to stop working properly. I did a lot of research online and quickly got very caught up with all of these massive all-in-one devices that had way more functionality than I would ever need. If you are like me and just need a home printer to print the occasional directions/maps, recipes, coupons, bills, etc., then this is definitely the printer for you.
Before you buy a printer online you need to go to a store and see just how large these all-in-one devices actually are. My wife took one look at them and told me there is no way that is going in our home office even if it also served as a micro fridge and coffee maker. The great thing about this HP 3050 is that it has a much smaller footprint than most all-in-one printers. It has print, copy, and scan functionality, but no fax. Who needs a fax these days anyways when you can just scan a file and then email the scanned document. Most devices don't have a fax out capability anyways so unless you are operating a business out of your house and you receive a lot of faxes the lack of fax on this model should not be a problem.
The printer is not too heavy and it's packaged really well in the box. Instead of being wrapped in styrofoam it is secured with recycled cardboard and wrapped in a reusable canvas bag that you can use for your groceries. It comes with a quick installation guide, as most HP printers do, and the set up went very smoothly with no problems. There is one piece of cardboard wedged inside near the ink cartridges that I missed, but the printer told me of my error and it was easy enough to remove.
Setting up wireless was also not a problem, but you will need to be familiar with your wireless network security settings in order to get the printer connected. An alternative is just using the USB cable, which is nicely included in the box. I haven't played around with web printing yet, but it's not hard to just plug the USB cable into my desktop or laptop and print what I need.
The only negative I can think of is that the printing is a bit loud, but unless you're keeping the printer in the room with the baby crib the noise isn't THAT loud that it would be a dealbreaker. Ink consumption so far is not noticeably different than my prior HP, but I don't print all that much all that often so this is tough to measure for me.
Overall a high quality printer with all the functionality non business users would need with a smaller footprint and lower price tag than most other all-in-one printers.

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HP Deskjet 3050 J610A Inkjet Multifunction Printer - Color - Plain Paper Print - Desktop CH376A#B1H 74. WHAT′S IN THE BOX: HP Deskjet 3050 All-in-One - HP 61 Black Ink Cartridge(190 pages), HP 61 Tri-color Ink Cartridge (165 pages)-(NUMBER OF PRINT CARTRIDGES-2 [1 black, 1 Tri-color (cyan, magenta, yellow) ), Software CD, Setup Guide, power supply, power cord, USB cable, Reusable Tote.

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