Cramming an entire company into the garage isn't unusual anymore. Realizing that, manufacturers have started offering space-sensitive computer equipment. But how useful are these tiny all-in-one products?
Inc. tested three popular brands of machines that perform several office functions, including printing, scanning, and faxing. Two required a companion printer or a fax to make good on their claims of multifunctionality. We connected all three to a home phone line (some models don't work on office phone networks), using a Toshiba 486 laptop computer with 8 megabytes of memory and a 14,400-baud internal modem. For the machines requiring a printer or a fax, we used a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 540 and a Brother IntelliFax 680.
We scanned four different kinds of printed material -- a newspaper article, a magazine article, a response postcard, and a business letter -- into the computer and then faxed and printed the documents. We timed each function.
Our results:
| Delrina WinFax Scanner (11.5" by 4.2"), 800-268-6082, $299 | Brother Multi-Function Center 4500MI (17.9" by 16.9"), 800-284-4357, $1,900 | Trio FaxConverter (2" by 3"), 919-846-4990, $79 | |
| Connects to: | a computer modem and a printer to act as a scanner and fax machine | a computer modem to act as a printer, fax machine, and scanner | a computer modem and a fax machine to act as a scanner and printer |
| Works with a Mac? | No | As a printer only | Yes |
| Hardware installation time: | 3 minutes | 30 minutes | Less than one minute |
| Software installation time: | 17 minutes | 8 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Scan time: | One minute | 8 minutes | 3 minutes |
| Scans immediately to screen? | Yes | No | No |
| Print time: | 15 minutes | 4 minutes | 6 minutes |
| Fax time from machine: | 9 minutes | 3 minutes | Not applicable |
| Fax time from computer: | 15 minutes | 3 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Tech help: | The line was always busy; we couldn't get through. | Toll-free line was repeatedly busy; when we finally got through, we had a 10-minute wait. | After several minutes on hold, we spoke to a patient, knowledgeable person. |
| Comments: | Pages tilt easily while being scanned, but software has an "auto straighten" command. | Fussy feed slot jams easily. Print quality is excellent. | This device was easy to use but required batteries, which weren't included. |
| Summary: | Speedy and reliable, this is a sturdy scanner/fax to buy if you already have a printer. | This is a good choice for start-ups setting up from scratch but not for busy offices. | This peewee unit prints to your fax machine, so you must have a plain-paper fax. |
