Epson EcoTank M3170 all-in-one printer, mono, A4, fax, Wi-Fi

The M3170 replaces four separate machines on the desk: a printer, a scanner, a copier and a fax. Printing and copying are in mono, while scanning and faxing are in colour. A stamped contract or a colour form can be digitised with its colours intact and sent on by fax, while everyday documents are printed economically in black ink.

Under the ISO/IEC 24734 standard, mono print speed is 20 ipm, meaning 20 images per minute on a standard test document. In a home office or a small team, a report of twenty-odd pages is ready within a few minutes. Two-sided printing saves paper and makes bound documents thinner, which is convenient both in the archive and in a briefcase.

The input tray takes 250 sheets, a whole ream of paper, so there is no need to top it up every day. The output tray holds 100 printed sheets. In the EcoTank series ink is poured from a bottle into a built-in tank rather than replaced as a cartridge; the specific bottle code and its yield are not stated in the manufacturer data here.

The scanner resolution is up to 1200 × 2400 dpi, enough both for archiving documents and for digitising photos and drawings. The fax is listed as colour in the manufacturer data, so a colour original can be faxed too. That is useful in accounting, healthcare and legal work, where fax is still an official communication channel.

The printer supports Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, so it can print over the home or office network or straight from a phone without a router. The interface list also includes a wired network and Hi-Speed USB compatible with the USB 2.0 specification. The grey housing fits in with office furniture and a home work corner alike.

Small offices and accountants who need a printer, scanner, copier and fax in one device; entrepreneurs working from home who print black-and-white documents regularly; medical practices and law offices where fax is still in use; and any small team that values two-sided printing and a roomy paper tray. It also suits associations and housing co-operatives that handle regular paperwork and the occasional fax.