Where can I find a simple, compact printer scanner?

July 27, 2009 10:31 AM

Recommendations for a compact laser printer + scanner? (Am not looking for an all-in-one with fax option.)

I've searched on the web and in metafilter but can't find a solid recommendation for a simple, compact laser printer + scanner for home use. Our requirements include:

- printer must be laser
- printer must have scanner
- preference for no fax (makes machine bulky and complicated)
- preference for black and white
- must operate with a mac

The search for a new printer has been interesting, as I'm finding that there are very few printer+scanner options, and most are all-in-one printer+scanner+copier+faxing, which is too much functionality for us. I found posts that are similar to what I'm looking for here and here, but we're not looking for color, and we are looking for scanning functionality.

This is the closest I can get to what we're looking for.

Preferences are for as simple as possible and as compact as possible.

Any recommendations based on what you've used??

posted by cranberryskies to Technology (6 answers total)

I can't recall seeing a printer scanner WITHOUT fax for a long time.

I would recommend a cheap laser printer (I have a HP laserjet 1505) and a scansnap scanner (I have the s1500). Two devices, yes, but with a small footprint and the simplicity that comes from single-function devices. FWIW the scansnap is about the size of a printer toner cartridge.
posted by anti social order at 12:12 PM on July 27, 2009

The SCX-4300 is a newer, faster (19ppm vs 16ppm), smaller, cheaper ($135.84 from NextWarehouse dot com) Samsung machine.
posted by paulsc at 12:47 PM on July 27, 2009

I can't recall seeing a printer scanner WITHOUT fax for a long time.

And further, any printer scanner will have copying functionality, because it's a free feature.
posted by smackfu at 1:01 PM on July 27, 2009

It takes very very little circuitry to add fax capability to a printer scanner, maybe a single chip. I'd say it would be hard to find a device without this feature simply because it is so cheap to add.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 2:02 PM on July 27, 2009

I use a Brother DCP-7020, shared between a Mac and a PC. No fax! It is b&w only. The only drawback is that the scanner function is not networkable (it needs to be connected via USB to one machine to scan so far as I can figure). If you have it attached to one Mac, I think it meets all your criteria.

It's been trouble-free and really inexpensive to run.
posted by zepheria at 8:28 PM on July 27, 2009

Is your requirement for compactness just for desk area or for cubic volume?

I recently got a Canon MF4360 to replace a standalone laser printer and standalone scanner.

It has roughly the same footprint as the Brother laser printer that it replaced. I don't have a mac, buy they claim compatibility. The features that I desired were network support, sheet feeder for the scanner and duplex printing. I've had it for a few weeks and am very happy so far. Installation was a little tricky, as the CD auto installer actually didn't install the required software.

You can use both the printing and scanning features over the network. Probably the faxing too, but we don't have a home phone line, so I don't know. Also, as a tip, assign it a fixed IP address if you put it on a network.
posted by reddot at 3:40 PM on August 1, 2009