Photo All-in-One Printer 942 and 1-Year Technical Phone Support review

Against other multifunctions, the Dell 942 delivered middling scanning speeds, at 4.2 documents per minute for grayscale and 3 color documents per minute. Though it copies at the head of the pack, churning out 3.5ppm, you'll still need to visit the local copy shop for long jobs.

We were impressed by the Dell 942's ability to distinguish between close shades of both light and dark grays in scans. However, it rendered solid black areas, even text, with a grainy, grayish look. And despite its sensitivity to gray shades, the 942 failed to pick up subtle details. Its color scans impressed us less, since they suffered from a soft focus and faded colors, with color tints mysteriously creeping into monochrome areas.

CNET Labs' multifunction printer performance  (Longer bars indicate better performance)

Copy speed

Color scan speed

Grayscale scan speed

Photo speed

Text speed

Dell 942

3.49 

2.99 

4.15 

0.21 

6.90 

Brother MFC-420CN

2.27 

3.1 

2.95 

0.15 

3.19 

Epson Stylus CX4600

1.66 

2.96 

4.82 

0.27 

1.3 

Lexmark x7170

0.75 

4.68 

5.34 

0.1 

1.12 

CNET Labs' print-quality performance  (Longer bars indicate better performance)

Color scan

Grayscale scan

Photo

Graphics on inkjet paper

Text on inkjet paper

Epson Stylus CX4600

Excellent 

Excellent 

Good 

Good 

Excellent 

Dell 942

Fair 

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Brother MFC-420CN

Fair 

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Lexmark x7170

Poor 

Poor 

Excellent 

Good 

Poor 

Learn more about how CNET Labs tests printers.

Performance analysis written by CNET Labs project leader Dong Van Ngo.

We were mostly satisfied with Dell's documentation. The printed manual, also available on the CD-ROM in PDF, provides good information on standalone copying and printing. We found no instructions for installing drivers, but fortunately all that involved was inserting the CD and letting it rip for a while, then connecting the USB cable. Documentation for the third-party bundled applications is spotty. Dell usually provides driver and documentation downloads, e-mail tech support, and a wealth of troubleshooting information on its Web site, though the details on this model weren't up yet at the time of our review.

The warranty length of the Dell 942 varies with the price. As of October 2004, the $179 package includes one year of advanced-exchange warranty coverage and 24/7 toll-free tech support; the $204 package includes the same warranty plus tech support for two years; and $224 includes three years of support.

What You'll Pay

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