Printers for Windows Vista – the top 10
jjones | Guides | 10/04/2007 17:00pmWhilst a lot of us now live in a paperless world, there’s some things you just need in print. As an added bonus, most printers now come with all kinds of additional features, incorporating scanning, photocopying and faxing into their ever growing list of features. If you’re in the market for a new one, here’s what we recommend.
10. Sagem Photo Easy 110
A very reasonable dye-sublimation printer at a very affordable price. It produces quality single-sized images with much better durability than any done by an ink-jet printer
9. Lexmark X9350
The X9350 is a great home office all-in-one, complete with Wi-Fi, Ethernet connection, fax capabilities and an LCD display.
Price £211 (Get it at microwarehouse)
Three things to look for
1. Printing method. Assess what you need from a printer. There’s no point buying an individual ink printer for printing pages of text when a cheap black and white laser printer would do.
2. DPI. The amount of dots per inch the printer can manage. The higher the number, the more detailed your image will be. 9600 x 2400dpi is good for photos.
3. Pages per minute. If you print large documents, look at how many pages per minute the printer can produce. Laser printers are generally fastest, though on lower quality settings an inkjet printer also keep an impressive pace.
8. HP Photosmart 375
With a big screen and wireless printing support, this HP is a good choice if you want a feature-packed photo printer on a budget.
7. Epson Stylus DX6000
A great all-in-one design that packs in a high-resolution scanner and PictBridge support so you can print straight from the camera. Print quality is excellent, though it isn’t the quickest around.
Price £89 (Get it at technoworld)
6. Xerox WorkCentre 3119
An above average 3-in-1 office scanner, printer and copier; this one’s black and white only, but what it does it does very well.
Price £139 (Get it at insight)
Buying Advice
Ink is expensive, so when choosing a printer think about what suits your needs.
There are three types of printer: single cartridge, individual ink and dye sublimation.
dye sublimation is common on small, 6×4in photo printers, but isn’t designed for printing text.
Single cartridge’s contain three colours, so if one of the three runs out, you waste the other two.
Individual’s use separate cartridges for each colour, which is more expensive first time around, but in the long term they’re cheaper to replace.
5. HP PhotoSmart 325
The 325’s results are astounding, offering great colour and good sharpness. The HP is one of the few models on the market to offer the option of battery power, although the battery does cost extra.
Price £129 (Get it at Computerwebstore)
4. Canon PIXMA Mini 260
From subtle skin tones to vivid, high-contrast detail, the 260 delivers great results every time, and doesn’t make you spend a fortune on ink and paper.
Price £90 (Get it at shop-com)
3. Epson Stylus Photo R360
A basic photo printer that prints great photographic images for the price. Text printing isn’t bad either, though it is slower than most dedicated text printers.
Price £67 (Get it at ebuyer)
2. TallyGenicom 8108N Colour Laser Printer
Gone are the days when a colour laser printer would cost you way over a grand. This budget beige box is perfect for any home office and it’s extremely impressive considering the price.
Price £149 (Get it at Insight)
1. Canon PIXMA iP6600d
With two paper trays and a huge screen, this is a superb all-round printer that’s particularly suited to printing directly from a digital camera – just preview your snaps on the screen and send them straight to the page. Like many photo printers, though, it’s far less impressive at printing text.
Price £109 (Get it at Curry\’s Online)
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