Over the last couple years printers have gone through several evolutions. Now it is not good enough to have just a printer. Instead, it must be a printer, scanner, and something else. The Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 is a printer, scanner and it also adds a PictBridge so you can print from your camera.
Features
- Print, Scan and Photocopy
- Up to 20 ppm (pages per minute) black, 16 ppm color
- Up to 17 cpm (copies per minute) black, 12 cpm color
- Borderless Printing
- 6 color printing with optional photo cartridge
- Wireless capability
Most All-In-One (AIO) Printers are a printer, scanner and fax. Dell has deviated from that design and instead of a fax they have included a PictBridge for printing directly from your digital camera. Not having to include a fax modem probably decreases the cost a little, which explains the low retail cost of $89. To make up for this the 924 can scan to just about any fax software and then you use the modem in your computer to send the fax.
Because this is an AIO photo printer you have the choice of either 4 color printing or 6 color printing. This can be achieved by installing either the black and tricolor cartridge that it ships with , used for four-color printing or replace the black with a photo cartridge for six-color printing. While this sounds like a clever feature we will talk later about how this may be more of a bother than a help.
The scanner is fairly standard as far as scanners go. It supports resolutions up to 19,200 interpolated and outputs at 48 bits. It is a standard flatbed scanner without an automatic document feeder (ADF). For a scanner that is fine because you will mainly use it for scanning photos and an occasional document. For a copier it is terrible, how many of you want to stand there for an hour while you scan a large document by hand? For this to really succeed as a copier, it really needs an ADF.
In case you don’t have a spare USB port, or you don’t have one close to you, there is the option of purchasing a wireless adapter for the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924. With the wireless adapter you can quickly turn this into a network printer and share it will all the computers in your home or office. You also have the freedom of placing the printer in a central location that may not be near a computer. The wireless adapter costs $99 so if you have the money I think the investment is well worth it.
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Design
With dimensions of 11.4 by 17.2 by 17.5 inches (HWD), the 924 is very compact. Most All-In-One printers are not known for their compact design. In fact they look more like copy machines then printers. This printer is small enough to share a desk with other devices or keep nearby on a flat surface. Because it lacks an ADF you may spend a lot of time copying pages if you have a lot.
Because this is a photo printer it supports 6 color printing. The way that Dell implemented this is a little different and not all that great. By default the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 ships with one tricolor (cyan, yellow, magenta) cartridge and one black cartridge. This gives you 4 colors which is just fine for standard document printing and really good photo printing. If you want to do even better photo printing you can replace the black cartridge with another tricolor (black, light cyan and light magenta) cartridge. I have always questioned why a printer would use multicolor cartridges rather then separate cartridges for each color. The only reason I can think of is that multicolor cartridges are smaller and because of this the printer can be smaller. While this is a space saving design it is an ink waisting design. You will probably never use all the colors in a cartridge equally and because of this when you run out of one color you have to replace the other colors even if they are not empty. In addition to waisting ink when you put in the photo colors what are you suppose to do with the partially used black cartridge? You don’t want it sitting around drying out. So far I have not found a good solution for this, so if any of you have any suggestions please let me know. I would ask Dell to revamp their design to allow for single color cartridges so that we don’t have to waist so much ink. Especially since it costs $55 to get a black and color cartridge. Over the life of the printer you will probably spend hundreds of dollars on ink.
Performance
For a photo printer the only real question is how do the pictures look? Well in order to really answer that question I tried several different things. I printed all the following pictures on 4×6″ photo paper that was supplied to me by Dell. I first printed a picture with my old Epson Stylus Color 900, this would give me a way to compare the pictures. I also went down to the store and had a picture printed professionally. Now I have the low end and the high end. I expect the 924 to fall in the middle somewhere, hopefully closer to the high end then the low end. For good measure I am also including the original digital image, reduced in size, so that you can see what it originally looked like. I first printed the picture using the 4 color process. Even for a 4 color process the picture looks really good, especially when compared to the Epson. If you look closely though, you can see that it is not as good as the store printed picture. I then took out the black cartridge and put in the photo cartridge and printed the picture again with 6 colors. This picture is better than the 4 color picture and it is fairly close in quality to the store and original picture. If I were to use this as just a photo printer I would probably forgo the black cartridge and just use the photo and color cartridges.
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The speed of the printing was really good. On full color the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 averaged about 1 minute and 14 seconds for each 4-by-6, and 2 minutes and 42 seconds for each 8-by-10. For text and other black and white, the printer was much faster. The print time for an 8-by-10 page full of text it only took about 10 seconds. For a page with graphs and things other than text it took about 40 seconds. This is about on par with most laser printers that often cost much more.
The quality of the text is also a consideration when you purchase a printer. Most people don’t have the luxury of owning both a laser printer and an inkjet, so they have to buy one that does both photos and text. Inkjets have never been able to produce crisp text like a laser printer and they have even had more trouble with text that gets smaller than 6 pts. As you can see the text quality of the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 is really good. I do not have any complaints about this, obviously it is not as good as a laser printer, but you are also not paying as much for the printer. If you are going to be doing a lot of professional document printing I highly recommend a laser printer.
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Another part of the performance that most people don’t consider is how long the photos will last once they get on the paper. This is affected by so many different things including the quality of the paper, ink and the environment that you keep the picture in. Pictures printed on the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924, if used with the special photo paper, have a life span of 50 years. Dell will soon be releasing a new type of paper that will extend that to 80 years. Of course since this is an ink jet the photos are not water proof. If you live in a very humid climate you may want to consider having your pictures printed at the store.
When you are printing, the software not only gives you the amount that is done, it also tells you approximately how many more printings you can do and it shows you a graphical representation of how much ink you have left. When you have the tricolor cartridges in then the graphic changes to let you know. One strange thing that I noticed is that the CPU usage while printing is rather high. I have a 1.4 GHz AMD processor and it seemed to really raise the usage up to the maximum. I am sure that if you have a faster CPU then you will not see quite the same spike.
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The scanner is also a huge part of the system so lets see how it performed. I tried scanning several different images at different resolutions and the results I got were promising. To scan a 8.5 x 11 full color page at 600 DPI it took about 2 minutes and 6 seconds. To scan a 4 x 6 full color page at 600 DPI it took 1 minute and 15 seconds. These are great numbers especially for the resolution. 600 DPI is the highest that this scanner can go so this is not intended for really high resolution scans. The above pictures, that I used to compare the print quality, were also scanned using this scanner.
Conclusion
For the retail price of $89 you are not going to find a printer that prints a better photo. I am so impressed with the quality of the scans and pictures that the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 puts out that I cannot say enough about it. If that is what you are looking for then you will also be really happy. The part that I am not happy with is the handling of the cartridges. All my feelings were expressed earlier, but to sum them up I do not like multicolor cartridges and I don’t like having to switch between black and photo cartridges. Currently Dell is running a sale on these printers and you can pick one up for $79. For that price I would be willing to put up with a few quirks and I think that you will also.
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I read about the AIO 924 dell printer/scanner. I HAVE ONE. It worked well ntil October, meaning using as a Fax machine, that is. NOW, one program won’t “talk” to another!
I have used all the help sections from all of the softwares, including my Windows XP help, Dell help, and the troubleshooter for the printer itself. I can FAX the cover page, but canNOT fax the docs that I have scanned. Waht a crummy deall, because I am trying too fax info for a very lucrative job position. I will have to snail mail all this crap to them. Unless, of course, I am willing to pay 98$ for a Dell techie to tell me what I’m doing WRONG, which of course, I’m NOT doing anything WRONG, as this machine WORKED fine up until October. I DID have several Trojans, which have since been quarrantined and are froze. At least, that’s what the techies have told me from Grisoft AVG. I’ve seen it in my quarrantine folder also.
I suspect some bug is in here, but have checked by deep scanning, every single application, file, etc.
Also, I bought the “regcure” cleaner. I also suspect it’s got something to do with a mis-appropriated registry key. I don’t dare restore to a different configuration. What to do?
lostincyberspace!!!!!!!
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Thank you for the question. It sounds like the software got messed up. I would suggest that you uninstall all of the software that goes with the dell printer. Then turn off your computer and unplug the printer. After that turn back on the computer and double check that ALL the software from dell is gone, the printer should not show up in your printers list. Then after that is all taken care of install the software again and AFTER the software is installed plug inthe printer.
This should restore the printer software back to the default setting and incase one of the files got infected this should also take care of that.
Let us know what happens.
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I have had my Dell All-in-one Photo 924 printer for years now. Recently I got a new lap top and new programs. I hooked it all up and it was working great. Then all of the sudden my printer would not work from my computer. It will copy if I do it manually, but will not send anything from my computer to my printer.
I cannot find my software program. Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can go and download the software so that I can reinstall it?
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The drivers are available from the Dell website. I easily found them by clicking on the support tab, then drivers and downloads. After choosing the 924 printer the next page had the drivers.
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I have a Dell 924, when i power it up i get “cover Open” and it is not. what is wrong and is there a fast solution
thanks
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I would guess that the switch that tells the printer then the cover is open or closed is broken. If that is what is broken then it may be difficult to fix, but you may be able to jerry-rig it. You need to look for a switch or button that gets pressed down when the lid is closed. I don’t have this printer anymore so I have nothing to look at, but it should be fairly obvious. If you cannot find it try closing the lid until you can just bairly see inside and see if anything gets pushed down. If that gets the printer working then you need to find a way to keep that button down, like tape or something.
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I just wanted to say I did what you suggested and it worked beautifully. Thanks so much!
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Since this worked for you, please tell me where the switch or button is, what it looks like, and how you found a way to keep it down. Thank you so much!
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I need the drives for a printer i have but i dont know where to access it or them.
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If you look about 4 comments up you will see where I tell another person how to get drivers.
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When I change the black cartridge, it says left cartridge incorrect. I tried 3 cartridges, one of them being new and I have the same problem. When I put the photo cartridge it is OK.
Anyone ever had this problem
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I know a lot of Dell cartridges have little computer chips on them that tell the printer if it is authentic. If you bought the ink from someone other than Dell it may not have the chip and so the printer may not recognize it. If they are Dell ink cartridges then I would call Dell and get new ones.
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Christmas I recieved a new gateway e-machine, all i need was a printer. my daughter gave a Dell aio printer photo 924, it looks good but she can’t find the disk that go with it. I have went to dell and driver detictive, but can not download the software or driver. When i turv on the pc it says windows need to find software & driver for dell aio photo printer 924. Need to printer my black history celebration for my church. Got a king size headache, and i m old- 60 april 2nd. Could you try to help, on a fixed income, so i need free help. Thanks alot, glad the computer came out im my time frane, see u on the net.
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If you go to this page and select your operating system you will get a list of all the drivers and applications that are available for this printer.
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Our computer and printer unplugged for several days while room painted. Upon restarting the unit I noticed the printer power light on and unit would not shut down. I went through all the troubleshooting in my manueal, uninstalled the software, went to support site online to get the drivers. From there it appeares as though the computer is not recognizing the usb port. I then contacted Dell as advised and was told that because my warrenty has now expired (as of Jan) that they can’t help me unless I pay $49.99! Seems pointless when I can get a new printer for not much more, unless you would have any suggestions for me.
A friend has also looked at it and done the same steps and says its as if the printer has froze up.
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Mine hasnt been working for a while. Whats happening is the paper wont feed correctly, crinkles up, and cannot continue down. I have to pull it out to avoid the noises it makes trying to “pull” the paper down. Sometimes it stops and says to load paper, but there is paper in the printer, (jammed up)in the process. I’ve tried everthing I can think of, and there is no small bits of paper fallen in the printer (I’ve read somewhere this might be the cause). Sorry about the foggy description. Any at-home fixes? Thanks so much.
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I have a dell 924 and it has an invisible paper jam. The paper goes almost all the down into the printer and then gets stuck. It’s almost like the paper will not feed all the way through. Can you help?
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My dell924 has a roller problem. the roller seems to turn but it wont pull the paper. I have to practically feed it one piece at a time and when i do that, the printing seems off. Id like to try to be able to fix this darn thing rather than give it away on the freecycle website or storing it in my shed. Can you help? thanks.
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Hi Michelle and Kay,
I had the same problem and after a lot of frustration and a lot of reading on FIXYOUROWNPRINTER.COM I learned that like 90% of cases where the paper stops and crinkles is some sort of an obstruction. Does the paper skew before it stops? Mine did…I took a flashlight and tweezers and looked at every nook and cranny that I possibly could and low and behold; it was an allergy pill still in the little bubble pack. If you read the forums on the site I mentioned above, you’d be amazed at some of the things that people find in their printer and also amazed how tiny of an object it took to mess it up. The most common culprit I believe was staples.
Just get a good flashlight and something small enough to move anything that you can without breaking it and BE THOROUGH! I used tweezers to lift a piece of plastic like a millimeter but it was just enough for me to catch a glimpse of the white paper backing.
Sorry this is so long but I wanted to make sure I was detailed.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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I took your advice, and I actually had to dump the printer upside down and shake it. A pen fell out!!!! Anyway, it’s working now. Thanks so much for your help.
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Sorry, my earlier post was meant for Cassady and Kay.
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Thanks Tricia , Ill try it out ASAP!
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I have turned the printer upside down, ran plastic thru the paper feed.. still it has the paper jam error. It was working great, then all of a sudden it jammed on me. I had removed the paper that was stuck & it still is not able to recognize there is not paper jam. HELP!!! I really like this printer a lot & I have ink catridges I need to use up before I say good bye. thx for trying to help!
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Dell 924 lights & mode display not lighting up when powered. Power is getting to the printer as the cartridges move into center when power is turned on and colored lights by the connections in the back (usb and power cord) are working.
Any help would be appreciated. Is this printer toasted?
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Does it print? If not, I would say it is toast.
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I have a similar problem to one of the other users. I recently inserted new cartridges, however they are not dell. The guy in the shop said they would be fine as they are same model etc. Unfortunatley my printer will now not recognise them and still says my cartridges are empty. Proberly because of this chip thing you described. Is there anything I can do? Iv’e bought them now and tried everything. I am about to give up and throw my printer out the window. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
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i have a gateway laptop that i just upgraded to windows 7..before the program was windows vista…my printer Dell AIO 924 was working before the upgrade and now it is not…can someone PLEASE help?
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The drivers you used in Vista should work in 7. If you don’t have them anymore then you will have to download them from the Dell website.
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ok..i tried that and i have downloaded the software..now this shows when i try to print “windows cannot print due to problem with printer set up….” unable to find printer”…did i not download the right vista driver? i downloaded the 32bit
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You may want to check out these two forums:
http://en.community.dell.com/f.....06019.aspx
http://en.community.dell.com/f.....06922.aspx
Make sure you read the entire thread so you can see where others got stuck. You need to double check and see if you are using a 32bit or 64bit version of Win 7 and then get the drivers that match. Good luck.
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Hi, I have a Dell all in one printer 924…. i had it working fine on my mothers dell computer but now i have a different computer and i cant seem to scan anything to the computer itself it just prints the page out… Please help.!!!
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Found one that someone was throwing out; even came with a USB cable! Cleaned it up and now I have a free scanner; I needed one anyway, so this sure beats paying for it. It’s missing the lid & the ink seems to be empty, but I can use a piece of cardboard or something in place of the lid & I was never very big on ink jet printers anyway. Who knows, maybe I can get someone to refill the cartridges and if not, no big deal. Managed to install the scanner driver without the printer components and I use the built-in Windows image acquisition, so no need for all that extra junk on the system.
Does anyone know if the scanner is lit by LEDs or by a fluorescent tube? It looks like LEDs but I haven’t found a definite answer either way.
PS: This started out as a review of the printer, then when you look at the comments all of the sudden it’s free tech support! WTF?!?…LOL!@!
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I have the all in one 924 printer thingy and it says left cartridge ncorrect. Ive tried loads and nearlly fixed the problem but it stopped working again. On the cartridge it says ” COMPATABLE WITH DELL 922bk DELL SERIES 5 BLACK CARTRIDGE” any ideas for help please
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I have this printer. It will only scan in TIFF format; how do I change the default to scan in PDF?
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I have a Dell All In One 924, that all of a sudden made a jammed noise, but there is no paper in any of the areas to check, but will not print a page and keeps giving me a error page jam error; is there anyone who can tell me what to do, or just get a new printer. I would prepfer a laser, since I do invitations and flyers on this one?
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