What is a multifunction printer?

Multifunction printers or “MFPs” put together, in one single machine, the features of a printer, a copier, a scanner, and sometimes also of a fax machine. By definition, MFPs are necessarily connected to a computer by wired or wireless connection but can sometimes be operated directly from their own control panel like standalone copiers.

In 2019, multifunction printers can be:

- Inkjet multifunction printers, almost always allowing colour printing as well as black-and-white printing,

-  Black-and-white laser multifunction printers,

-  Colour laser multifunction printers,

- 3-in-1 multifunction printers (print-scan-copy) using either inkjet or laser technology, printing either in black-and-white or in colour,

- 4-in-1 multifunction printers (print-scan-copy-fax) – because fax is falling out of favour in the UK,  multifunction printers sold on this market now rarely have fax feature.

Note that black-and-white versions can scan images in colour.

Advantages of these machines include:

- Convenience in usage compared to separate devices,

-  Much smaller footprint than a combination of all respective devices,

- Cost savings related to lower electricity consumption.

Discriminating factors which can be looked into to select the best multifunction printer include:

- Number of functions (with or without fax),

-  Colour printing support,

- Printing technology (laser is better for fast printing, inkjet better for colour printing),

-  Scanner resolution (if you need high-resolution scanning, check the scanner resolution of the model carefully. Scanner resolutions for multifunction printers are often low),

-  Printing resolution (the standard resolution of 300 dpi will be good enough for most printing, unless you require photo quality),

- Available connections (wired, wireless, network like Ethernet or Wifi or simply local like USB),

-  Related applications and software, especially for mobile printing,

-  Multitasking capabilities,

-  Total cost of ownership and cost-per-page.

We therefore recommend comparing several  quotes in multifunction printer to choose the best device for your business at the right price.