The Epson WorkForce WF 3540 is a multifunction printer that can conveniently take care of your scanning, faxing, and copying tasks besides printing. It uses the inkjet printing technology and is the world’s fastest two-side printing option. In case you have large printing jobs to get done, don’t worry about its ink running out. Its extra-large ink cartridge capacity will let you complete all tasks easily. It consists of dual-250 sheet paper trays and its automatic dual sided printing enables you to cut down on the consumption of paper and reduce paper waste as well. If you felt like, you could increase the dry time as well before the page automatically flipped over. To do it, you can alter the settings and give more time for the ink to dry before the page flipped over. This will prevent unnecessary smudging of ink in the document.

One of the highlights of this printer is its 3.5inch touchscreen with gesture navigation facilities that aids the user to easily navigate across the menu. It carries 4 separate ink cartridges, which let you replace the particular color that is finished.

From mid-sized printing tasks at home to printing large volumes of documents in the office, the Epson WorkForce WF 3540 is ideal for all.

To print from your iPad, you require a modern multifunction printer that can print for you while on the go. This Epson printer facilitate this and much more. From printing documents, photos, and e-mails to printing web pages, this printer uses EPSON Connect Mobile App and Epson Remote Print so that you can comfortably print from wherever you are; whether at home or in the office. Its in-built memory card slots let you print from your smartphone or iPad without having to engage a PC or a laptop as an intermediary.

An easy printing solution, print images from your smartphone and iPad using the Epson WF 3540.

Even though you are a supporter of green environment and would not like to waste paper taking printouts, you wouldn’t deny when we say that there are times when you just can’t do without that ‘essential printout’. And what would you do if that essential document lay in your smartphone and you did not have access to a laptop or a desktop to get the printouts? Simple… you will use the advanced mobile printing technology and get the prints. Wireless and Bluetooth printers are no longer the newest arrivals here. Now you have AirPrint and Cloud Print that lets you comfortably print from mobile devices and that too in a jiffy. If you are in a mall or at the airport, there are apps that can guide you to a nearby printer by detecting accessible printers in your vicinity. If you have an iOS-based device, you can use the AirPrint technology to directly print from the device (smartphone, etc.) without engaging an intermediary (computer/laptop). There are several third-party apps also available that aid in printing tasks if your printer and device aren’t compatible.

If you are an Android user, you can use the Google Cloud Print technology to take out printouts of your documents, wirelessly. This technology complements the old as well as the relatively new printers and therefore irrespective of the brand of printer that is available to you, you can get a decent job done.

However, like all things come with a set of pros and cons, the mobile printing technology too isn’t without a few glitches. First and foremost, security is quite vulnerable here. As you may be approaching someone’s printer to get your printouts, likewise even your printer will remain at risk from the intruding eyes of strangers and hackers. In addition, most direct printing connecting apps leave you with little control over the print jobs. Therefore, you will have to take whatever you get. Sometimes this may pose a problem for you.

Nevertheless, the idea of mobile printing is more a boon than a problem and for most of you who frequently travel, this can actually help you a great deal.

Curious to know how does it work?

To get instant printouts from Pocket Photo printer, all you need to have is a NFC enabled LG handset and the LG Pocket Photo app (which can be downloaded from the Android website). This app comes with the ability to take photos directly using the phone’s camera. In addition to this, the features of the LG Pocket Photo app lets you add text, add Instagram-style filters, edit pictures and create QR codes to your photos.

When it comes to taking printouts of the photos, the tiny printer uses Zink photo paper 2.0 and printing technology to work. The paper is embedded with four different color dyes, which, when heated changes into the actual colors to form the picture. The printout of the pictures measures 2×3 inches.

What’s disappointing?

Although the speed and ease of printing out a photo is quite impressive, the quality of the photos is not professional.

Easy to setup and share on your network, the WF-2540 printer includes ‘Epson Connect’ feature that allows you to print and scan at anytime, from anywhere. The WorkForce WF-2540 has a compact design that’s 15.4-inch wide and 14.8-inch deep, making the printer the smallest built in its class. It bears an additional 7-inch tray to accommodate up to 100 sheets of paper. The 2.5-inch LCD display screen sits in the center and buttons surrounding the screen give you a quick access to copy, scan, and fax functionalities coupled with a number pad and a list of speed dial entries to make your work quicker and easier. The printer also bears a scanner and a 30-page automatic document feeder that outputs brilliant text and graphics and has triple-threat USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity for a convenient connection to a PC or any other device in the network.

On the performance front, Epson WorkForce WF-2540 printer comes bundled with basic, but capable software that promise quick and reliable prints that easily match the crispness and quality of expensive laser printers. Its whisper-quiet operation sound and full-colored graphics and presentations make it a best-suited printer for office environment. Epson Scan program can handle all your scanning tasks, albeit the two-sided scanning that WF-2540 does not support. The built-in AirPrint technology enables instant wireless printing of photos, e-mails, and other documents directly from your smartphones, iPad, and iPod touch.

At a price of $129.99, Epson WorkForce WF-2540 is a worthwhile investment that offers “out of the box” print speeds in a real-world printing scenarios.

Image credit: mLive

But this holiday season, you can custom create some simple and fun-loving gifts at the comfort of your home, without spending a bubble. Choose from our list of photo printers and create your own customized gifts and presents, like holiday cards, 2013 calendars, photo albums, photo collages and cubes, downloadable greeting cards, and much more, for your loved ones:

HP Photosmart 7520

The first one in the list, HP Photosmart 7520 is a dedicated mainstream, home-oriented multifunctional printer that offers high-quality photo prints at the convenience of your home. This multifunctional inkjet printer is a well-rounded unit that offers a good speed and quality prints on both plain and photo paper. This photo printer also offers ubiquitous cloud-printing capabilities with HP’s own web-based apps. Using HP’s ePrint and Apple AirPrint technology, you can easily print masterpieces directly from your mobile devices.

Canon Pixma MG6320 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One 

At a price tag of $199, Canon offers Pixma MG6320 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One printer that sports an attractive new design and control options. Its six-ink printing system is capable of producing photos with vivid quality at a price that’s little higher than the rest. The six inks in the printer include cyan, magenta, yellow, black, a photo black, and photo gray. This high-end multifunction photo printer boasts Wi-Fi connectivity, USB port, and Ethernet, so that you can easily use this printer in practically any networking environment.

Hammacher Schlemmer’s Wireless Smartphone Photo Printer

Hammacher Schlemmer has recently launched a smartphone photo printer that can easily connect wirelessly to any iPhone or Android-powered smartphone to print sharp and bright color photographs. An app-based printer, Smartphone Photo printer enables users to wirelessly send photos across a home Wi-Fi network to print quality images. The main advantage of the printer is that no ink cartridges are used in the printer and the images are printed on a special patented paper with yellow, magenta, and cyan dye crystals embedded on it. You can own this amazing printer for just $219.95.

Epson Expression Premium XP-800 Small-in-one printer

This is a full-featured photo printer from Epson that boasts of excellent design, brilliant and high-quality printouts, superior text, and Wi-Fi connectivity. A perfect choice for families, this small-in-one printer has a compact multifunctional design with 3.5-inch color touch-screen panel with gesture-based navigation. Five different color choices are available for color printouts, including Black, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Photo black. At a price tag of $279.99, Epson Expression Premium XP-800 is a powerful small-in-one printer for printing your own photo frames, canvases, holiday themed cards, as well as posters.

Image credit: About.com

Technology is all about making things possible and printing from anywhere is no longer a fantasy. Whether you use a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop for your normal workflow, you can easily print all your documents with the help of Google’s Cloud Print technology. The ace technology allows cloud-ready printers to directly connect to the web through your Google Cloud Print accounts. It has made printing more intuitive, accessible, and useful. Using Google Cloud Print technology, you can print documents from your smartphone, tablet, Chromebook, PC, laptop, or any other web-connected device at home, work, or on the go.

How to connect your printer to Google Cloud Print?

To connect your printer to Google Cloud Print, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Sign in to your Google Chrome browser through a desktop or a laptop that is already connected to a printer.
2. Using the browser toolbar, click the Chrome menu.
3. Select ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Show advanced settings’ link.
4. Scroll down to the ‘Google Cloud Print’ section and click ‘Sign in to Google Cloud Print.’
5. Now sign in with your Google Account and enable the Google Cloud Print connector.
6. You will receive a printer confirmation message. Now click on ‘Finish printer registration.’

After performing these steps, you’ll see a confirmation message that Google Cloud Print has been enabled on your device.

Now on your Android device, go to Google Play and download Cloud Print. This is a free app. Using this printing app, you can directly print any of the tabs opened on Chrome through Google Cloud Print by clicking on the ‘Print’ command from the menu and selecting ‘Print with Google Cloud Print’ from the dropdown.

Using Google Cloud Print, you can also share your printer with friends and colleagues. Thus, through Google Cloud Print technology, you can directly enable your computer to connect to the Internet, skipping the need of an intermediary computer.

Image credit: Future Shop

Loaded with features, the Expression Premium XP-800 prints crisp, clear text, thanks to Epson’s MicroPiezo printing technology and Claria premium inks. It offers both color and black & white printing and scanning. Even at a speed of around 120 ISO ppm (black) and 11 ISO ppm (color), you get clear, vibrant pictures with the touch of a button. Color printouts are available in five different colors, including Black, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Photo black. Its enhanced scanning features allow you to scan right from your computer or your printer. You can print from or scan to a memory card or a USB thumb drive. It gives you the option to store your scanned documents directly to your PC, your network folder, or on the cloud.  Not just this, it offers hassle-free wireless printing right from your iPhone, iPod, or iPad due to Apple’s AirPrint technology. Along with this, it also supports Google Cloud Print and Epson Connect technologies.

Its dedicated main paper tray can hold up to 100 sheets, making it convenient for both home and small office use. Additionally, it also sports an output tray that has 50-sheet capacity and an additional input tray for photos and can hold up to 20 photos.

Additional features include: 

• Built-in Ethernet networking
• PC-free photo printing
• Eco-friendly features that are ENERGY STAR qualified and RoHS complaint
• Smudge-free, scratch-resistant prints
• High-capacity ink cartridges

Available at a price of $279.99, Epson Expression Premium XP-800 promises to be a powerful small-in-one printer.

Image credit: pcmania

Features of Canon Pixma MG5320

Canon Pixma MG5320 is a Wi-Fi multifunction device that prints, scans, and copies. It has five individual ink tanks and supports duplex (i.e. double-sided) printing. It has a 3-inch color LCD, offers borderless 4×6-inch photo prints, and supports AirPrint, which means you can give printout commands directly from your iOS-powered Device.

Features of the X Mark Mouse

The X Mark Mouse is not only a wireless wheel mouse with Bluetooth technology, but also functions as a 10-digit calculator and numeric keypad. Compatible with both Mac and PC, the 1200 dpi laser emitted by the mouse delivers precise and smooth cursor control. The mouse is available in black and white colors. The standalone cost of this wireless mouse alone is US$ 39.99.

For US$ 50, the promo is a not-to-be-missed offer.

Image credit: Canon USA

“When a multifunction device receives data and processes it for printing, copying, scanning or faxing, it becomes susceptible to malware attacks, a risk that often is overlooked,” said Tom Moore, vice-president (security) at McAfee, during the McAfee’s Focus 2012 conference.

The Xerox and McAfee security solution will simplify processes for IT administrators with software embedded into a multifunction device’s controller (the machine’s main onboard computer) to raise an immediate alert and audit trail to track and investigate the time and origin of security threats, and take appropriate action. This will eliminate the need for IT administrators to constantly stay on top of malware threats and proactively block them.

According to Rick Dastin, president of the Office and Solution Business Group at Xerox, print-centric devices are forgotten parts of a company’s security stance – with only 13% of organizations mentioning printers or MFPs as a potential “at risk” device in a recent joint survey by the two companies.

To know in detail how the Xerox-McAfee partnership is going to protect your data, click here.

1. Keep printer ink nozzles clean: Printer ink nozzles use a spray function to get the ink onto the paper. Therefore, the printer nozzles can find build-up occurring. If the ink collects on the dispensing head excessively more ink will likely build-up on the head then the paper. Clean the nozzle heads every few weeks or more often if you use your color printer more frequently.
2. Do you need this? When it comes to printing, most of us just click the print icon and it’s done. Therefore, before printing anything just ask yourself once whether it is actually needed. Don’t print a complete book, if you’re interested in a few paragraphs only. Similarly, don’t print images, if only text is required. In this way, you can save paper as well as ink.
3. Print in different colors and reduce size: If you are in the habit of printing only in any particular color, then you should start printing in different colors. In this way you will balance your overall cartridge use. Secondly, you can even reduce the font size of the text on the documents that you are printing.
4. Configure your printer’s settings: Configuring the settings of your color inkjet printer can save you the most when done right. Instead of manually choosing “low quality” settings for each print job, it is recommended to make “low quality” the default. Select “high quality” settings manually only when required. If you wish to permanently change the default settings of your printer, go to Windows >Start >Printers, right-click on your printer and select >printer settings.
5. Keep your printer in ready mode: Generally color inkjet printers require a steady stream of electricity. If an inkjet printer is disconnected completely from electricity, then switching on the electricity again will make the printer to go through a cleaning cycle once again. If this procedure is repeated on a daily basis, it not only costs energy, but also a lot of ink.