Dell says that the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 962 ($179 direct) is meant as the next step up from the 942. In truth, however, it's less of a photo printer than the 942; it can print from PictBridge cameras but not from memory cards. On the other hand, it's more of a full-fledged AIO. With its built-in fax modem and 50-page ADF, it works as a printer, scanner, standalone copier, and standalone fax machine. And it will let you fax, as well as scan and e-mail, through your computer. Setting up the 11.9- by 19.6- by 16.5-inch (HWD) 962 is standard for an AIO with a USB 2.0 port and two print cartridges.

The option to use a photo cartridge along with the tricolor cartridge for six-color printing helps justify the photo-printer designation. But the unit ships with only black and tricolor cartridges for four-color printing, and Dell didn't supply a photo cartridge for our tests. Using six colors would likely improve photo quality marginally, but it would almost certainly yield slower performance than we found. The 962 has a Lexmark design (Lexmark is one of the sources for Dell printers).

So it's not a complete surprise that on our performance tests (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing, ), the 962 proved a close match, test for test, to the physically similar, but more expensive, Lexmark X7170 The 962's total time on our business-applications suite was 23 minutes 22 seconds, just one second off the X7170's time. Only two ink jet AIOs with prices below $500 have been faster, with the Brother MFC-3420c the fastest, at 20:24. And the 962 actually beat the MFC-3420c in six of the 13 tests in the suite.

For photos, the 962 averaged 2:12 for each 4-by-6 print and 5:30 for each 8-by-10. Output quality is marginally below par, primarily because of text output. We rated text at the high end of fair, with fewer than half the fonts we test easily readable at 5 points or below. Graphics were at the high end of good, and photos were very good, but these are middling ratings for an ink jet. More troublesome, when we handled photos even after a full day for drying, the ink still smudged. (Dell recommends a 48-hour drying time. Mach3 Serial Port Control here. ) Consider the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 962 a reasonable choice as an all-purpose AIO, but don't expect too much from it as a photo printer. Sub-ratings: Text: Graphics: Photos: More multifunction printer reviews: • • • • • • • •. Opendns Roaming Client Download.

David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for the Hewlett-Packard HP Invent Awards. His more than 30 years of experience in writing about science and technology includes a more than 25-year concentration on.

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