Multifunction Devices Are Hot

There was a time when I recommended against multifunction devices, but those days are over. In today's home office, having a single device to perform the task of several can save money and space, and simplify purchasing supplies.

A typical multifunction device will take the place of a fax machine, a copier, a printer and a scanner. Some might not offer faxing features while others might have additional functionality such as a speaker phone, a memory card reader and a kitchen sink. Just kidding about the kitchen sink.

When buying a multifunction device, the first thing you should think about is what features are most important and how much you will use them. If you think you'll be receiving a lot of faxes or printing a lot of documents, then you should consider one with a monochrome laser printer. Laser printers, including those within multifunction machines, are more expensive than ink jet, but they're cheaper to use because laser toner is less expensive per copy than ink jet cartridges.

If, however, you only expect to print or copy a few pages a day or get an occasional fax, you can save a lot on your purchase price by getting an ink jet system. As an added benefit, ink jet multifunction devices can also print and copy in color and, in some cases, can print stunning color photos. Many also claim they can ''fax'' in color, but that's sort of a gimmick. Most fax machines that you'll be sending to can't print them out in color and, if you really need to move color documents electronically, you can scan them, save them as a file and e-mail them.

This column is based on personal experience. I already have a laser printer for high-volume, black-and-white printing as well as a good ink jet printer for color work. But I needed a fax machine and a copier, and it turned out that a multifunction device -- that includes printing and scanning -- was actually my least expensive option.

I bought a Hewlett Packard OfficeJet 6110 All in One Multifunction and here's why. It has a flat bed scanner that I can use to copy pages from books, magazines and other bound material and it has an automatic document feeder that can be used to copy, scan or fax up to 35 loose leaf pages without having to feed one page at a time. That's very handy when you want to fax, copy or scan a long document. Because it's, at heart, an ink jet scanner and printer, it can copy both black and color documents and even does a pretty good job of copying color photos.

The suggested retail price is $299 but I paid $269 at a warehouse membership store. You can also find it for that price or a bit less on the Internet if you search using www.froogle.com.

The printer function is also quite good. It prints black-and-white pages at up to 19 pages a minute in draft mode and seven pages in normal mode. In addition to being a lot faster, draft mode also uses less of that precious (and overpriced) ink, so it's far more economical. The quality of draft mode is surprisingly good, especially if all you're doing is proofreading a document. As it comes from the factory, the printer does an excellent job with black text and a pretty good job with color photos. An optional color photo ink cartridge ($34.95) is recommended for high quality photo printing.

This particular device is designed for a ''duty cycle'' of up to 3,000 pages per month including printing, incoming faxes and copying. That's more than enough for the average home office. If you print a lot more than that, you're probably a candidate for a laser printer.

The 6110's scanning component is also up-to-par with 48-bit color depth and resolution of up to 19,200 dots per inch. I scanned and then printed several color photos and was pleased with the results. My only complaint is that the scanner lid doesn't lift up to cover thick documents. You can still copy or scan pages from a thick, bound book, but you have to leave the cover open.

The PC and Mac software allow you to control the machine from the computer as well as to add names to the fax machine's auto-dial list and download them to the device.

I'm also pleased at how well this unit fits into my limited space It's 18 inches wide, 11 inches deep and about 12 inches high.

It's not the fastest multifunction device on the market, but I found the scanning and printing speeds acceptable. Like all devices with an ink jet printer, it will cost a bit to use. HP and the other companies know that they can practically give away the hardware and make their money on supplies. Still, if you're only printing, copying or receiving a few incoming faxes a day, the cost of supplies won't break you considering the reasonable price of the device itself.

By Larry Magid