Print Quality
No surprises (either good or bad) were evident in the print quality results, which is what we've come to expect with Lexmark inks. As usual, the printing head uses two separate cartridges, one for the three primary colors and the second for black. This cartridge can be replaced by a cartridge combining light cyan, light magenta and black to get the best results in photo mode. In this configuration, the color printing results are of acceptable quality, but there is often a little graining, notably at the base of skies or seascapes. As for black and white, it's rather disappointing, with a strong tendency towards the blue.
Print Speed
Dell hasn't made any progress in photo mode print speed. It takes several minutes to produce an A4 photo, and you'd be better off settling for 4x6" mode. In text mode, on the other hand, the throughput is very good, and draft mode gives good quality results.
Cost Per Page
Whenever we talk about combined colors we're talking about increased page costs, and the Dell AIO 944 Photo is no exception to that rule. Even if Dell has put effort into reducing the prices of its cartridges, their limited lifespan increases the cost significantly. For example, it reaches 56 cents for an A4 photo, and this can climb still higher if you choose standard capacity cartridges.
Scanning And Copying
Copying is the nice surprise on this multifunction printer. Benefiting from compatibility between the scanning and printing components, the Dell AIO 944 Photo is able to reproduce a black and white document in 20 seconds, which is excellent. Copy quality is average, however, and we would not recommend using it for copying important documents.
