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[ Go to July 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinLab Reviews
-- by Cheryl Dominianni
You've typed your last speed-dial number into that clumsy keypad on your multifunction device. Hewlett-Packard's new OfficeJet 570 lets you type fax and speed-dial numbers directly into an on-screen phone book on your PC. In fact, the OfficeJet 570, targeted to SOHO users, distinguishes itself from other multifunction devices by its software and ease of use. The OfficeJet 570 can scan documents at 600 dots per inch enhanced; bundled software includes limited-edition OCR and Corel Print & Photo House Select. It comes with a 14.4Kb per second modem, can memorize 45 fax pages for scheduled deliveries and accommodates 50 speed-dial entries. Print quality showed sharp, crisp text and bright, rich colors (monochrome resolution is 600dpi and color is 600x300dpi). In our testing, Normal mode monochrome print speed averaged 2 pages per minute for straight text (after a 20-second wake up), but increased to almost 4ppm in EconoFast mode. Consumables include the $32.95 black cartridge and the $34.95 color cartridge; cost per copy is approximately 5 cents for black and 11 cents for color. The OfficeJet 570 is compact (10.15 by 17 by 11.25 inches), but still holds 150 sheets of paper in its rear tray, 50 sheets in the front output tray and 20 sheets in the document-feed tray. Supported paper types include letter, legal, Executive, index cards, envelopes, labels and transparencies. Because we found the OfficeJet 570 noisy while printing or receiving faxes and slow in faxing long documents, it won't replace the more expensive Sharp F-2700M on our WinList. But its great color and monochrome print as well as its excellent software make it a good choice for its target audience.
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