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Ten... mono laser all-in-one printers

Multi-function masters

Product Roundup The mono laser all-in-one has taken the place of the friendly photocopier in many an offices, at home or at work. In some cases, it has incorporated the fax machine, too. Although in essence it’s a laser printer with a scanner stuck on top, it’s more than the sum of its parts.

Most folk use laser all-in-ones as much, if not more, for making copies than for printing, with scanning coming a useful third and fax bringing up the rear. Laser print continues to offer better black text quality than inkjet. Although page print costs are rarely lower than those of equivalently priced inkjets, the much higher capacities of toner cartridges make them seem cheaper to run.

Brother DCP-7070DW

RH Numbers

Brother’s print engines are notable for their print quality and reasonable speed. The 600 dots per inch (dpi) one in this machine is coupled to a 600 x 2400 pixels per inch (ppi) scanner, so gives well matched copies, though only one sheet at a time. The control panel is simple, but sufficient. Although there are no fax facilities, the machine offers duplex print and wireless networking. I saw speeds up to 22 pages per minute (ppm), and a duplex speed of over ten sides per minute (spm). The page cost, using the high-yield, 2600-page cartridge, comes out at 2.6p, which is a bit high. But the only real snag with the DCP-7070DW is the purchase price, which, for a machine with no automatic document feeder (ADF) or fax, looks expensive.

Brother DCP-7070DW
Reg Rating 75%
Price £263
More Info Brother

Brother MFC-7460DN

RH Recommended Medal
RH Numbers

A brief comparison of the specs of this machine with those of the DCP-7070DW appears at odds. This one has both fax and an ADF, yet the asking price is lower. Here, though, there’s no duplex print and no wireless connection. The control panel is much the same, though with added buttons for fax speed dials. The paper handling is identical and, again, I saw a speed of 22ppm. It uses the same consumables, too, so offers identical page costs and it really comes down to which features in the two devices’ sets meet your needs better. I think many will opt for this one.

Brother MFC-7460DN
Reg Rating 85%
Price £239
More Info Brother
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