Printer Reviews

It's the time of giving again, and one of the most popular gifts at Christmas is a new printer. But what printer should you buy this Christmas? We've trawled through existing special offers and used our industry expertise to select the best printers for your requirements. We've also used our knowledge of printer cartridge running costs. If a printer is incredibly expensive to run, we haven't...

Make/Model: Kodak ESP 7 Type: Home/home office, inkjet all-in-one Web site: www.kodak.co.uk Typical online price: £135 (£117 ex VAT) |400 words copy| The ESP 7 is the next-to-top Kodak all-in-one and uses the same print engine as all its stable-mates. It lacks the Automatic Document Feeder and fax functions of its big, ESP 9 sibling, but is also £50 cheaper. Finished in gloss and frosted black,...

Overview The Dell 3130CN is a big machine with cheap OEM costs per page - when compatibles or remanufactured cartridges are readily available for it it will be incredibly economic to run. Ratings Paper Capacity 950 sheets Print Speed (A4) 31 ppm Print Cost (A4 Original) 1.39 pence Machine Cost £380.00 Resolution 2400 dpi Loudness 61 db Dell 3130CN Main...

Overview This is a workgroup level LED colour printer, designed to handle single and double-sided documents at high speed. While that speed isn't quite as high as OKI seems to think, it's duplex speed is one of the best available. Print quality is high, with the exception of photo prints, which are a bit gaudy. Running costs are good in comparison with other machines aimed at this market and...

Overview Dell claims that the 2330dn offers ‘great performance for small business networks’ and this is borne out from our tests. The machine delivers crisp print in all areas except photo reproduction and print speeds came close to maker’s claims. Running costs are impressively low too, so all in all, this is a very welcome addition to the mid-range mono laser printer market. A 500-sheet...

Overview The Lexmark C736dn is a good all round performer. It proves itself to be an exceptional colour laser printer for the medium to larger workgroup. It is speedy and economical to run and has expansion options to suit the most demanding workloads. Print quality is impressive and printing from a USB drive – PDF and graphic files – coupled with its PIN-based security system make it an...

Overview This is a heavyweight colour laser printer, with a price to match. It produces good quality black and colour prints, even of photographic images, and although it doesn't match Samsung's rated speeds, it prints quickly enough not to hold you back. Print costs are remarkably low, so you can recoup some of the high purchase price of the original machine. With the main paper tray taking...

Overview The Aculaser C1100 uses an unusual carousel mount for its toners, giving it high quality output, yet Epson have managed to ensure that it doesn't lose any of the speed associated with laser printers. Ratings Paper Capacity 180 sheets Print Speed (A4) 25 ppm Print Cost (A4 Compatible) 0.92 pence Print Cost (A4 Original) 1.79 pence Machine...

Overview Though it uses consumables that are more expensive than are ideal, the F2480 is otherwise a reliable, no-frills all-in-one printer, with reasonable print speeds and resolution, that would serve many university students well once away from their parents’ undoubtedly more expensive printer. Ratings Paper Capacity 80 sheets Print Speed (A4) 7 ppm Print Cost (A4...

Overview This is one of Brother’s low-profile, inkjet all-in-ones. It includes a couple of interesting extras, such as its double-width LCD display and the paper tray which holds both plain and photo paper, but connects via USB only. Print speeds are a lot slower than Brother’s claims, but are not that far away from its main rivals. It produces reasonable text and graphics prints, though...