The cost of outfitting your office with a scanner, printer, fax machine, and copier doesn't end with your credit-card bill. There's also space to consider. Can you afford the real estate required by these bulky but necessary business machines? To cut down on expenses and space problems, you might consider a multifunction device, which combines all four tools into a single, compact, economical unit.

The latest of these hybrids to hit the street is Canon Computer Systems' MultiPass C2500. While most multifunction devices are limited to monochrome printing, the MultiPass offers four-color output based on Canon's BJC-4100 print engine.

The MultiPass borrows its appearance from a traditional fax machine. Its control panel features a two-line LCD status window, an oversized start/copy button, and a set of speed-dial buttons. At 14x18.8x19 inches (HWD), this factory renewed, factory sealed and factory guaranteed MultiPass requires only about as much desk space as a business-class laser printer.

Installing and configuring the unit is fairly simple. The MultiPass employs a bidirectional parallel interface and requires a bidirectional cable (not included) to connect to your PC's parallel port. If you have an older PC with a nonbidirectional port, you'll still be able to use the MultiPass, but at the cost of a few key capabilities, scanning among them.

After you've made the parallel connection, you only have to attach a phone line. You can also connect a modem, telephone, and/or an answering machine. The MultiPass has special provisions for the last, letting a caller send a fax after leaving a message. Furthermore, it can automatically distinguish between incoming fax and voice calls. Faxes of up to 42 pages are automatically stored in the unit's memory, and you can print or transfer them directly into your PC. Voice calls are routed to your phone.

As a fax machine, the MultiPass rivals standalone plain-paper models. Its 20-page document feeder deftly handles 8.5x11-inch sheets, although it had some difficulty with smaller items and glossy originals such as magazine pages. The device's auto-halftone feature supports 64 levels of gray, letting you send documents containing photos. The MultiPass also offers group dialing, broadcast faxing, and delayed transmission. You can program up to 106 speed-dial locations, 16 of which may be accessed with a single button press. Oddly, the faceplate that covers the 16 speed-dial buttons offers little space for writing location names.

Powerful Printer

The MultiPass does its best work as a printer. The BJC-4100 engine affords the same speed (about four black-text pages per minute) and output quality (720x360 dpi in monochrome and color, using glossy paper) as its standalone counterpart. Canon even bundles the same software package, Canon Creative, which offers five printing applications targeted specifically to home users. Among the highlights: Hallmark Connections, for creating custom greeting cards, and Crayola Art, a drawing program you can use with special transfer paper to make T-shirts.

The MultiPass employs a dual-cartridge printing system to achieve dazzling four-color output. (Previously, Lexmark's Medley 4x was the only multifunction device to offer color, but it was limited to a single three-color cartridge.) If you do a lot of text printing, you can swap the dual-cartridge print head with a double-wide black-ink one. A storage bay cleverly hidden inside the paper tray holds whichever cartridge isn't in use.

As a scanner, the MultiPass offers only entry-level functionality. Limited to black-and-white scans at a maximum resolution of 200 dpi, the MultiPass has no provision for working with photos. This is especially frustrating in light of the device's ability to fax 64 levels of gray. Furthermore, the low resolution precludes using OCR software to convert scanned text. On the positive side, the scanner is relatively quick. It processed a full page at 200 dpi in just 34 seconds.

Ironically, although the scanner is limited to 200 dpi, Canon claims the MultiPass can deliver copies at 360 dpi. Indeed, copies looked good, although we did notice a bit of banding in documents containing dark photos. Our six-page test document took about 4.5 minutes to copy. The MultiPass is acceptable for small, in-house copying chores, but it's not the logical choice for large jobs.

The MultiPass's paper handling is mixed. Sheets that travel through the document feeder rest awkwardly on a too-small output tray, eventually spilling to the floor. Copies and printed pages are deposited more securely in a built-in bin. You must slide the bin out of the MultiPass to load paper into its 150-sheet input tray. The tray can also accommodate up to 20 standard-sized envelopes.

The software side of the operation is Desktop Manager, a fairly simplistic utility that works in Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Desktop Manager incorporates an address book for fax recipients; in- and out-boxes for storing incoming files and those waiting to be printed or faxed; a fax log; and a viewer for scanned documents.

Canon provides toll-free technical support almost around the clock. We called the number--which is not hidden inside the manual but printed on its cover--during regular business hours and waited only 8 minutes to speak to a technician. Canon backs the MultiPass with a commendable two-year overnight-replacement warranty.

With better scanning features and the ability to make color copies, the MultiPass C2500 would merit must-have status. As it stands, it's a good choice for space- and budget-conscious buyers needing an all-in-one office solution.