

To begin using the Pinnacle, users must first become comfortable with the Printer Control Panel, a smallish touchscreen that manage the functions of the machine. Panasonic adds phone to multi-function printer

Multifunction printers finally get their act together Cons: Might have a few more features than most need. Performance: A Ease of Use: A Features: A Value: A Price: $299 Pros: A different approach to printing for home and small office work, great price. Color ink cartridges are a little more expensive, but still reasonable at $20 for a 600-page yield cartridge. Compared with others that go for $30 or so, that’s a strong case for Lexmark. New B&W ink cartridges cost only $4.99 each for the Pinnacle, which gives a 500-page yield. In such a competitive environment, a new printer needs to make a strong play, and the Pinnacle does that. At its most basic, the Pinnacle is an entry into the crowded printer/scanner/copier/fax machine marketplace. That’s the approach Lexmark has taken with its Pinnacle printer. The choices satisfy very few in the market and that creates a hole of opportunity into which a wise printer company could insert a good, stand-alone model that doesn’t require breaking the bank for ink supplies. Anyone working from a home office must either spend real money for an expensive laser printer, which will usually be black and white, or perhaps go for a cheaper color machine from a big box store, for which the ink cartridges are likely more expensive than the hardware. There’s no doubt that printers are a frustrating part of the telecommuting experience.
