The Konica Minolta Magicolor 1690MF is a color laser printer with multifunction capabilities, designed for the home or small office user. Its multifunction capabilities include printing, scanning, faxing, and copying. The 1690MF offers a wide array of features for a great price, and upgrade options allow it to grow along with your needs.

Multifunction devices are designed to simplify an office environment, replacing multiple devices with one machine. The 1690MF accomplishes this task admirably, replacing the need for a printer, copier, scanner, and fax machine in one fell swoop. Its compact size and relatively light weight (46 pounds) reduce the bulk in an office even more.

The 1690MF has some nice bonus features included that one might not expect. First, network scanning and faxing is supported. This allows users to scan from the unit to their networked computer, or to fax directly from their computer. Faxes can also be sent to a computer on the network. Also, a USB port is included on the front of the unit, for connecting USB flash drives. It is possible to scan directly to a USB flash drive, but unfortunately it is not possible to print from the drive. This is one glaring omission, as many competing units support both features.

Setup is fairly simple and straightforward: remove packing materials, plug in all cords, and load paper. Network setup, however, may pose some difficulties. The unit sometimes has a difficult time incorporating itself into a network. The user manual or tech support are usually able to straighten out any issues you encounter, but many competing products do not exhibit these networking problems.

Print quality is excellent, with well-formed text and decent graphics quality. Print speed is relatively fast, at 20 pages per minute black and 5 pages per minute in color. These speeds are slow compared to dedicated laser printers, but on par with most multifunction lasers.

Overall, the Konica Minolta 1690MF is a very capable multifunction printer with some nice features and a few problems. Print speed and quality are both good, but setup problems may cause more headaches than necessary.