Adding functionality: multi-function peripherals easing workflow.

As discussed in recent columns, the "Paperless Office" is pulling closer. While many nonprofits are pretty far from completely abandoning paper, more and more organizations are incorporating document imaging and management into their work flows.

That's fortuitous timing. A variety of inexpensive scanners are available to make document capture a quick and easy process. Even better, multi-function peripherals (MFPs), sometimes also called All-in-Ones (AIOs), continue to improve. In many cases, they offer a much better value than a stand-alone printer and scanner combination provides and are available at all levels of affordability.

What is best for you is really just a matter of matching your needs with the features and functions of the available products. Here are five products that merit your consideration.

At an entry-level price are two inkjet-based models; the $149 Lexmark P6250 and the $299 Canon PIXMA MP760. Both of these are "photo quality," capable of using up to six different colors of ink to produce prints on gloss and semi-gloss papers that are virtually indistinguishable from film-based photography. This is a handy feature if you need to produce a limited number of brochures or fliers that contain color photos or graphics.

The Lexmark MFP uses two tri-color ink cartridges while Canon's MP760 uses the popular "ThinkTank" design that puts each color of ink in its own replaceable cartridge. With Canon's design, you never replace a cartridge that might still contain useable ink.

Lexmark's P6250 uses a scanner based on CIS (contact image sensor) technology while the Canon model uses a CCD sensor that's a bit more color accurate. Both are capable of excellent results and come with software to perform scanning and optical character recognition (OCR.) Both the Canon and Lexmark MFPs are also capable of batch scans. This lets you place several photographs on the scan platen and scan all of them in a single pass. If you have a digital camera that uses flash media memory cards, both the Canon and Lexmark units have media card readers built-in, as well as a small color LCD so you can see, or even edit an image on the media card before it's printed.

Both of these color inkjet MFPs can produce excellent output, but they share the same two "cons" that may make them less than the perfect choice for office use. One of the features missing from both entry-level inkjet MFPs is an automatic document feeder. When the MFP is going to be used for document imaging, having to hand-load each piece of paper in a large stack is a great waste of a staff member's time.

A second missing feature, the lack of an internal fax modem, will prove an even greater problem for some offices. In the past, many MFPs eliminated the fax function because the dial-up modem in the PC or Mac that the peripheral was connected to also had the capability to act as a fax modem. That's simply not true anymore.

With the greater penetration of broadband, many PCs have eliminated the internal modem. Sure, you can still add one, and this peripheral still provides fax compatibility. At the same time, do you really want to have to power up your PC or Mac if it's turned off just to send or receive a fax?

A middle-of-the-road MFP, such as Lexmark's $399 X215 solves both of these problems. The X215 uses a monochrome laser printer engine and is capable of cranking out crisp, good-looking pages at up to 17 pages per minute. A 30-sheet ADF makes it easy to scan loads of documents and provides an optical resolution of 600 x 600 dpi. You can scan to multiple formats including TIFF, JPEG, and PDF.

The X215 has a built-in fax modem, so it can be used as a stand-alone fax when the PC is powered off. About the only "con" in using the X215 is that Ethernet connectivity is an option - the standard interfaces are parallel and USB. The external USB to Ethernet print server adds another $129 to the bottom line.

A big step up in capability (and somewhat, in price) is Hewlett Packard's Color LaserJet 2800 All-In-One series. At introduction, this series consists of two models, the Color LaserJet 2820 AIO and the Color LaserJet 2840 AIO. Both models are based on HP's Color LaserJet print engine, which is capable of printing 20 ppm in black and white and 4 ppm in color at 1200 dpi resolution. Both the 2820, priced at $799, and the 2840, priced at $999, have a built-in 1200 dpi optical resolution flat-bed scanner and can make terrific color copies as well as serving as a workgroup color laser printer. Both models also offer a 50-sheet automatic document feeder to speed up copying and batch document scanning.

The 2800 Series AIOs feature both USB and HP's JetDirect Fast Ethernet connections, so it's easy to attach the AIO to either a single PC/Mac or a network. The more expensive Color LaserJet 2840 AIO has two additional features. The first feature is a set of flash media card slots, so that you can print images directly from a digital camera's memory card. For most offices, this feature will take a back seat to the built-in V.34 fax modem, which allows the 2840 to function as a stand-alone fax machine without requiring that a PC be powered on, or even attached.

Finally, for larger workgroups, or perhaps even small to mid-sized offices, there's the Xerox WorkCentre C2424. This AIO, which is priced starting at $2,999, is built on the highly regarded Phaser 8400 solid-ink color printer engine. This printer engine uses blocks of solid resin-based color inks rather than powdered toners, and produces outstanding color output at up to 24 ppm in both color and monochrome.

A 40GB internal hard disk drive lets the printer store print jobs and print them out in whole when the entire job has been received by the printer. It also allows the 50-sheet automatic document feeder and scanner to work at full speed. The document feeder is a duplex-capable unit, so you can set it to scan both sides of a document automatically.

The WorkCentre C2424 is a large unit, taking up a fair amount of table space and weighing in at just under 100 pounds before you add any of the optional paper drawers. It will need its own sturdy table, or even better, the optional storage cart that Xerox has available, so it may need to be located off the beaten office path. At the same time, if you can make use of its capabilities, the WorkCentre C2424 can function as a high-volume color printer, color copier, and color scanner. Unfortunately, though, it does not have any fax capabilities.

Ted Needleman is the former associate publisher and editor-in-chief of Accounting Technology magazine. He is now a technology consultant and writer based in Stony Point, N.Y. His email address is [e-mail]