Paper size
The largest paper size that the MFP can work with. Most often, the formats are marked from A0 to A10; it is from here that the famous “A4” is taken, denoting a standard landscape sheet. The main formats used in modern MFPs:
A3 — 297x420 mm (2 times larger than the landscape sheet). They are commonly used in offices for printing large forms, brochures, announcements, posters, copying large-format printed materials, etc.
A4 — 210x297 mm, standard landscape sheet. The most common paper size for home and office use — usually this size is sufficient for non-specialized printing.
A separate category are the large-size models for A0 format. The standard size of such a sheet is 1189x841, however, MFPs of this format, usually, are industrial-grade devices that work with media on rolls.
Number of colors
The color palette that a printer or MFP can print.
A large number of colors is required for high-quality photo printing and obtaining color prints with many shades. As a standard, for a color MFP,
4 colors are provided.
B/W printing
The number of pages the printer can produce per minute in black and white mode. Typically indicated for low print quality, higher print quality takes longer. This setting is important if you need to frequently print text documents.
Ink Type
— Pigment. Ink based on pigments — solid dyes, which are diluted in the form of microparticles in a liquid filler to a state of suspension. Compared to more popular water-based inks, these inks are noticeably more expensive, and the finished image may turn out to be somewhat less bright (compared to printing with water-based dye on the same MFP). On the other hand, pigment ink gives higher detail, which is especially important for photo printing. In addition, finished images resist humidity better and do not fade as quickly in bright light — this resistance is not enough for outdoor use, but indoors such prints can be stored for a very long time.
— Water soluble. Inks based on water-soluble dyes allow achieving high realism of colour reproduction in colour printing, they are well absorbed into the deep layers of paper and are cheaper than pigment inks. Also, water-soluble ink does not dry as quickly in the cartridge or print head of the MFP. They are recommended for use with inkjet paper — ordinary thin paper strongly absorbs dropsy, which can cause ink to show through on the back of the sheet. At the same time, water-soluble ink is afraid of moisture and direct exposure to ultraviolet light — when water gets on, the paint on paper “floats”, and it fades under the sun light.
— Pigmented / water soluble. Some MFPs have a print head that allows you to print with two types of ink at once. A common case is when their black cartridge is filled with pigment...ink, and the colour one is filled with water-soluble ink.
Cartridge model
Types of cartridges (both black&white and colour) used in the MFP. Some models of the MFP are able to work with third-party cartridges, but this feature usually refers to undocumented, and the manufacturer's warranty applies only to specific types of cartridges. So, use third-party compatible cartridge models with caution.
Higher capacity cartridge
The MFP cartridge is designed for a certain duty cycle. However, the device compatibility with different cartridges sometimes allows you to install a cartridge with higher capacity, which can result in more pages being printed. These models with
the option to expand the print cycle that are included in this paragraph.
Diagonal
The diagonal of the display installed in the MFP.
The larger the display, the more convenient it is to use, the better you can see the image on it.
MFPs with a large display(from 7" and above) are especially convenient when you need to view various graphic materials on the screen — for example, photos for printing or scanned results. In addition, a large diagonal is highly desirable for touch screens (see "Display "). On the other hand, the larger the display, the more expensive it is and the more space it takes up, despite the fact that a small diagonal is enough for basic tasks and settings (this is already better than
models without a display). Therefore, even in the most advanced models this indicator does not exceed 10.4", and in general, large screens are typical mainly for high-end MFPs with an abundance of additional features.
RAM
The amount of built-in memory provided in the MFP.
This parameter determines not only the amount of information that can be simultaneously stored in the device, but also the specifics of memory usage. With relatively small volumes of the built-in storage (up to 400 – 500 MB), it is mainly used to store print tasks and scan results — until the tasks are completed and digital copies of documents are transferred to their destination. Among high-end MFPs, there are modules, which volume is already calculated in gigabytes. Usually, the presence of this amount of internal memory means that the device has an extensive set of built-in tools, including the ability to use it as a temporary storage for document files.
Scanner Colour Depth
The colour depth supported by the MFP scanner. This setting determines the number of colour shades that the device can recognize. Therefore, the overall quality of the scan directly depends on it (although other features of the device also affect this quality).
Of course, it makes sense to be focused primarily in colour depth if you plan to intensively use the scanner for full-colour images like photos, paintings, etc. If the MFP is purchased mainly for documents, where the maximum variety of colours is the logo on the letterhead or the stamp, it barely makes sense to pay special attention to this spec.
As for the colour depth, we note that the total number of recognizable shades can be determined using the formula “two to the power of the number of bits”. For example, a 24-bit scanner will recognize 2^24 = 16.7 million colours (approximately). This value is considered quite sufficient for everyday use, and 36-bit is also sufficient for relatively simple work tasks such as printing brochures and other images that do not require high colour fidelity. But for professional work with colour, you should choose more impressive scanners; in the most advanced models, the colour depth can reach 60 bits.
