A:AnswerIt would really depend on the volume of use expected. The volume specifications for this model are:
Maximum Monthly Duty Cycle‡ Up to 30,000 pages
Recommended Monthly Print Volume‡ Up to 2,000 pages.
A:AnswerThe machine is covered for two-years (excluding damage and normal wear and tear). Consumables and accessories are warrantied for 90-days from purchase date (essentially the ink and paper that comes with it).
A:AnswerYes, it does both. Once you put the USB in the printer, it automatically reads the drive and brings up a menu that will allow printing of documents from the drive, and allow you to select a "Scan to Media" option. It was amazingly easy both ways!
A:AnswerI think it can do photos very well, but you'll need to find the right paper. I use it to print small photos (4x6" max). I am an amateur photographer but not very picky about my prints, so my opinion may not carry a lot of weight. It's nowhere near as good as a true photo printer that does 4800x2400 and has more than 4 inks. The "right" paper will vary with the print. I've found that smaller prints on Canon 8x11" matte photo paper turned out beautifully, while larger ones on no-name paper were way too faded--sort of the spectrum from best case scenario to worst. Most of what I print are black and white photos which I deliberately make low contrast and print on 28lb Hammerhill Digital Copy paper as part of small books that I produce (typically no larger than 5x8"). Bottomline: if you're picky this is not the printer for you.
A:AnswerThe manual feeder tray in the back will support several envelopes to be fed one at a time. I haven't tried to determine how many total it will hold. I believe it supports 50 pages, so I would assume ~25 envelopes. Haven't checked if envelopes could be fed from the trays.
