The problem is that your credentials aren’t passed along properly and this causes an annoying pop-up window to appear.

The “Remember this password” check box does nothing to help, either. I use DeployStudio a lot around our campus and they have a free utility called ksmbprintd which alleviates this problem. Their utility passes your credentials along with the print job and you no longer get the error window above. Here’s how to easily change your printer to make this all work.

1. Download and install ksmbprintd. When the install is finished, it will want you to log out and then back in to startup the utility.
   
2. You can modify the printer URL through the terminal, but I like to use the CUPS web interface instead. To do this, goto http://localhost:631.
   
3. Click on the Administration tab and then the Manage Printers button.
   
4. Click the printer you want to edit. On the next screen, select Modify Printer from the drop down menu.
   
5. Now this is where we modify the printer’s URL. Copy the original URL at the top of the page. Then click the button next to Windows Printer via SAMBA with kerberos support v1.0.
   
   
6. Paste the original URL in the Connection: box and add a k to the front of it so it says ksmb.
   
7. Continue through the other two windows quickly since nothing should need changing. Click the Modify Printer button to save the changes.
   

Now you should be able to print without having to enter your Active Directory credentials every time. This can be really useful if you are charging for prints. Trying to make people retype in their credentials when ever they print is not very acceptable in our environment. I thank DeployStudio for making such a nice little app that saves us a lot of headaches.

Before you make the jump into consolidation of those separate devices with a new AIO printer, you might want to define some simple criteria. What is your budget? What are your needs? Do you know? Well, hopefully this article will set you down the right path. For one, let’s start with a modest budget of $300-400. Next, let’s define some functional criteria.

Recommended Features

• Excellent print quality (documents are readable) even with prints from draft mode
• Network capable (Ethernet), so it can support printing and scanning from the device to a computer and vice-versa
• Automatically copy, print and scan on both sides of the paper (duplexer)
• Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) for multiple page copies/scans
• Separate trays for printing paper vs. photos/envelopes
• Stores at least 150 sheets of paper
• Fax support with memory and auto-redial/fax
• 8.5×14 paper support for printing and scanning
• Color screen for easier readability of device functions
• Excellent customer/technical support
• Great software support for drivers and provided applications
• Six-ink system for more flexibility
• Low total cost of ownership (TCO)

Optional (Bonus) Features

• Wireless network capable
• Printing directly to CDs/DVDs
• Memory card access/support (over the network)
• Photo printing: 4×6, 5×7, 8×10 or larger
• Quiet or moderate noise production

Performance

Printer speed is always subjective, as most manufacturers provide the best specs based upon the lowest quality settings. For example, you will see that at an AIO prints 32 pages per minute in black and white. This seems impressive, yes? Well, this speed example is in draft mode, not full quality.

Until there are metrics that define the entire spectrum of how each unit performs when printing in draft vs. best and color vs. black & white, it just doesn’t make sense to use speed as a realistic criteria.

What are the choices?

Using the above requirements, it probably makes sense to visit your local office supply/big box store and try some of the printers in person. I took the liberty of doing this for you and here are some of the choices available in the specified price range (please note, the prices mentioned are current retail at publishing):

• Canon Pixma MX850 – $199, 5-ink, comes close to meeting the criteria except in build quality as the ADF seems flimsy
• Epson Artisan 800 – $299, New model on the market, ADF does not support duplex copy/scan, print duplexer is a separate purchase, comes with a 2-year warranty
• HP Photosmart C7280 – $269.99 (usually $299.99, although HP has instant rebates now), ADF does not support duplex copy/scan, all other above required features met
• Lexmark X9575 Professional – $249.99, New model to the market, 4-ink, duplex copying and printing (not clear about duplex scanning – although it can duplex copy), comes with 5-year warranty
• Brother MFC-6490CW – $299.99, New model to the market, 4-ink, no duplex support

If you want to stretch your budget by a little:

• Canon Pixma MX7600 – $399, excellent build quality, all criteria met
• HP OfficeJet Pro L7880 – $349.99 (usually $499.99, although HP has instant rebates now), very large dimensions, all recommended criteria met

Getting to one printer from seven

With seven (including the two that stretch the budget) different printer models to choose from, here are some considerations to minimize that choice to one or two.

Let’s take the Brother MFC-6490CW, Canon Pixma MX850 and Lexmark X9575 Professional off the list because they are not traditional six-ink printers. The Lexmark has the option to go six-ink, although there is additional cost.

Printer count: 4

Let’s remove the HP Photosmart C7280 because it neither supports duplex copy or scan. Anecdotally, I really like the form-factor and build quality of the Photosmart. It is a very nice printer with a pretty comprehensive feature set. If duplex is not important, then this model is an excellent choice.

Printer count: 3

The HP OfficeJet Pro L7880 was removed because of its sheer size (it has the largest dimensions at 20.91″ x 19.09″ x 17.48″) and the fact that it is outside the budget of $300. However, with an extended budget, this is a very nice printer as it meets every requirement, including printing 8×10 photos.

Printer count: 2

Recommendations

$300 range – Epson Artisan 800 (full review) as it meets most of the recommended and most optional requirements. It’s only missing feature is the ability to duplex copy and scan.

$400 range – Canon Pixma MX7600 (full review) does meet every recommended and most optional requirements as well. The added bonus is that it, like the HP OfficeJet Pri L7880, has the ability to duplex copy and scan.

Additional Resources

I recommend that you read as many professional and blogger reviews of the products to see if anyone has found any particular issues with the printer you want. Other than some hardware failures, most of the AIOs were reviewed well, so I don’t think you can make a bad choice here. Good luck in your decision making process and toward improving and consolidating your SoHo environment.

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Full disclosure: I have owned two other Canon printers (a MultiPASS MP390 and a Pixma MP970) and they both have been exceptional in terms of print quality as well as being made like tanks.

One of the novel features of this device is the way in which it puts the ink to the paper. Initially, the Pixma 7600 lays down a layer of clear ink and then begins to add the respective colors. Honestly, this seemed like a marketing gimmick, until I viewed the print quality.

To be clear, the Pixma MX7600 print quality for documents is fantastic. Color pops on the page and even small point sizes (6-8pt) are readable. Further, when using relatively inexpensive paper, the ink does not bleed. I have not printed any photos, although the demos from within the store I have seen are exceptional. As an additional bonus, the Canon prints in near silence and includes a quiet-mode setting.

The Pixma MX7600 supports duplexing for copying, scanning and printing. It supports networking over Ethernet, although it is not wireless capable. From the unit, you can scan items to any Mac on the network.

One annoyance with this unit is that setting it up over the network is a little clumsy. First, you must connect the printer to the Mac via USB while at the same time, connect it to the router over Ethernet. This happens because Canon implemented their own network discovery software rather than using Bonjour from Apple.

On the positive side, each time you print, the printer tray door opens automatically, avoiding any potential paper jams. It’s nice to see Canon consider small touches like this for an AIO printer because in a network environment, it is possible that users will be printing where they cannot directly access and/or see the printer and ensure that the print tray is extended.

Another small issue with the printer is that you cannot mount media cards (compact flash, etc.) over the network. This feature is only available via USB. If this is an important feature for your SoHo, consider it in your evaluation.

Faxing with the Canon is relatively straightforward. Insert your document into the ADF, utilize the touch screen to specify the destination and send it. The Pixma MX7600 can store up to 100 speed dials and has a 250 page memory for previously receive faxes, making it easy to reprint them.

As an added bonus, this printer is built like a tank, which is pretty exceptional seeing how it is made of recycled plastics. Nothing feels flimsy or under-developed.

If I were to make any recommendations for the next generation of this printer, I would suggest that Canon increase the size of the small 1.8″ color screen for additional readability. Epson sets a new standard here with their 7″ touch screen display. Canon could consider this as well, although call me old school, but I like the mixture of simple screen and hard buttons with the Pixma MX7600.

Canon’s support team is excellent. The standard business reply time via email is 24 hours. I received a reply within two hours of problem submission. Further, the answer was clear and solved my problem immediately (setting up the printer over IPv6).

The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of this printer includes the following:

Capital costs

• Canon Pixma MX7600: $399 (MSRP)

• Replacement Inks: $92.94 (5 x 14.99 low capacity + 1 Clear Ink @ 17.99)

The inks can print approximately 800 pages (averaged across all colors) before replacement. If you print a ream a month, expect that you will be spending about $60 (average). Granted, this is just printing/copying regular paper. Your mileage may vary if you print photos and other types of content. For more information, Canon has this information at their support site.

Please note, it appears you can only currently purchase the ink cartridges from either Canon directly or at Amazon.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a new all-in-one printer, and have a more sizable budget, then you should consider this device from Canon. The Pixma MX7600 is a very solid device with a rich feature set.

Personal Sidebar

After five weeks of research and testing printers, there was much learned. For one, there are many great products out there for SoHo users to choose from when selecting an AIO printer. Second, be clear on your personal/business needs for selecting a printer. Lastly, make sure that you understand the costs of what you are purchasing, as buying a printer is not a one-time action.

For me, the Canon Pixma 7600 met my requirements and is becoming the SoHo daily workhorse in our household. Its print quality, build quality, relatively manageable TCO and ability to duplex copy/scan/print made it the clear winner.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• Report: 3-D Computing From Digital Cinema to GPUs
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