Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-05-25)

26

Reviews

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WHAT SHOULD I BUY? We solve your buying dilemmas

What’s the best MFP for printing in bulk?

SPECIFICATIONS

1TB or 2TB capacity •• USB-C port •• Up to 1,050MB/s

read speed •• Up to 1,000MB/s write speed ••

88x59x13mm (HxWxD) •• 98g •• Three-year warranty

bit more up front, and are prepared

to compromise slightly on the capacity

of the ADF, the Epson EcoTank ET-3850

(£335 from http://www.snipca.com/41913,

reviewed in Issue 626) is a good

option and can accommodate 30 sheets

in its ADF. If that isn’t a deal-breaker,

the ET-3850 produces better quality

photo prints and has miniscule

running costs thanks to its generous

ink tanks.

intended more for home-office use than

for creative projects and photos. We

reviewed the HP OfficeJet 8012e (£143

from http://www.snipca.com/41912, pictured)

in Issue 617, which can scan 35 pages

from its ADF. It comes with a free six-

month trial for HP’s Instant

Ink subscription

service.

If you need a

printer with

cheaper running

costs, can spend a

Q

I’m looking for a multifunction

printer for home use that has

an automatic document

feeder (ADF) that can scan 35 pages at

a time. Please can you let me know

what the best option is?

Kevin McAndie

A

Most home printers

with ADFs don’t

support that many

pages. The exceptions are

HP’s models, which are

our benchmark tests, reading

ranged from 827 to 970MB/s,

while writing ranged from 812

to 944MB/s. In our 10GB

file-transfer test, it averaged

477.3MB/s which is about 20

per cent slower than the

Kingston XS2000 (see

Alternative below).

Inside its rugged shell it

uses most of the same core

components as Samsung’s

older, less robust models, the

T7 and the T7 Touch. These

were launched around 18

months ago, so have been coming

down in price recently. At the time of

writing, the standard 1TB T7 model

cost £103 (www.snipca.com/41928).

These standard portable SSDs are

reasonably sturdy anyway, as they have

few moving parts that can be damaged,

so it’s only really worth buying the T7

Shield if you think you’re likely to put it

through the mill.

If 1TB isn’t enough, there’s also a 2TB

model, which is slightly better value in

terms of price per TB, costing £250. Both

The latest in Samsung’s external SSD

range is designed to survive a few

knocks, with its aluminium case

wrapped in a layer of rubber. This gives

it a protection rating of IP65, which

means it’s resistant to dust and water

jets, but can’t be submerged in water,

and will survive falls of up to three

metres. Weighing just 98g and measuring

88x59x13mm, it’s also very portable.

The drive comes with two cables,

one USB-C, the other the older USB 3.0

type. The USB-C cable means you can

connect it to a tablet or smartphone. It

also comes with two software tools – one

which helps to maintain the drive and

another that can be used to protect it

with a password.

Samsung claims that the T7 Shield can

reach read and write speeds of up to

1.05GB/s and 1GB/s respectively, which is

in line with the older T7 Touch model. In

25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

VERDICT A sturdy external SSD that

can survive knocks and the odd splash

of water, but its protective layer adds to

the price

★★★★★

ALTERNATIVE Kingston XS2000

1TB £135 For the same price,

this Kingston IP55-rated

drive performed

significantly faster

in our tests

External SSD can

survive a life of hard

knocks, but there are

better-value options

models are available in blue, black and

beige.

SOLID-STATE DRIVE | £135 from Amazon http://www.snipca.com/41907

Samsung T7 Shield 1TB

Protection at a price