In most respects, the DX6000 is very good, and the list of features is perfectly acceptable at this price point. So while you don't get a fax or LAN, you do get PictBridge, 1200 x 2400 scanning resolution and a 2-inch LCD screen.

Even for a postcard photo printer, the new Selphy CP720 is so compact that it makes Canon's new inkjet - the PIXMA mini 260 - look positively chubby

From an aesthetics point of view, the Canon PIXMA MP460 is a disaster, as it looks big and boxy, while the sloping top is simply unappealing. Does its performance makes up for it?

Wrapped in its smooth and shiny white plastic shell, Canon's new PIXMA mini 260 looks very much like a postcard printer for the iPod generation.

Built to travel, the eminently portable PIXMA mini 260 folds away into its trendy, white shell complete with pull-out carrying handle. Especially neat is the way the input and output paper trays combine to cover and protect all the fragile switches.

The DCP-540CN (£132 inc. VAT) is part of the recently redesigned Brother MFD range where the four ink tanks reside behind a flap on the front of the printer. Previously you had to open the top of the printer, which could be awkward...

Aside from being a competent label printer, there's great value in the bundled Seiko software, and it'll be of particular interest if you run a mail order business or online store

This is by no means the only dedicated photo printer on the market - indeed, it's a very crowded area, bridging the gap between digital photography hobbyists and the ever-increasing reliance on home PCs.

Spare a thought for owners of high-end photo inkjet printers such as the Canon i9950, which uses eight different individual ink tanks. What these people save in ink costs they usually spend in petrol...

Rather than using liquid ink which is sprayed on to the paper through fine nozzles, the Xerox Phaser 8500 uses sticks of solid ink, which are melted and transferred in dots to a drum.

HP's Photosmart 8750 is a medium-format printer for semi-professionals and small businesses. It can theoretically print up to A3 , though because it uses horizontal feed trays, it still has a comparatively large footprint, even when closed.

When it was launched, the R220 was a real bargain. However, prices ofother models have dropped significantly, making the R220 look almost dear, considering its lack of direct printing facilities; you don't even get a PictBridge port.

When it was launched, the R220 was a real bargain. However, prices ofother models have dropped significantly, making the R220 look almost dear, considering its lack of direct printing facilities; you don'teven get a PictBridge port.

The Stylus Photo R1800 is in many ways a Stylus Photo R800 with a stretched carriage. It offers a similar feature set, uses the same set of eight ink cartridges - including matt and photo blacks and a 'gloss enhancer'...

Canon has chosen a very no-nonsense design for its iX5000 printer. It's square- cut and has a conventional paper throughput from rear to front, using a four-stage telescopic output tray.

The PIXMA iP6600D is a smart and professional looking printer. Styled in silver and black and about the size of a hi-fi amplifier, it has two ways of feeding paper. There's a paper feed tray at the back, which can take up to 150 sheets at a time.

The new iP6200D takes a leaf out of HP's book by building the printheads into tri-colour cartridges, rather than having them mounted in the printer. The bonus is that you get a new print head...

The Pixma iP5200 costs just £50 and you get a lot for your money. While it doesn't have memory card slots or an LCD display, it does have both a feed tray and a cartridge, so you can load plain and photo paper simultaneously

The Xerox Phaser 6120 looks strikingly familiar to its rival, the Konica Minolta Magicolor 2450. The only difference is the deep blue top plate and lack of front-mounted USB port on the Xerox machine.

While the design isn't the be all and end all, it's the performance that makes up for the lack of style. The Intelliprint 8008N certainly makes an immediate impression.

Samsung CLP-510 is a rather large beast, so if you have workspace issues it's worth taking a closer look at how much square footage thisprinter swallows up before you buy. It also doesn't perform quite how you'd expect.

The Lexmark has nearly everything going for it; with fast output and high quality prints the C522n is a very capable machine. The price is a little high for a budget machine, but the performance more than makes up for this.

Konica Minolta has been producing top-notch laser printers longer than many people realise. The Magicolor 2450 is the company's low-end offering but it has a good range of features, including a 600x600dpi print engine and 128MB of RAM.

The HP Color LaserJet 2605dn may seem a little expensive, but it's got the specifications to back it up. A 600x600dpi print engine lies underneath the bonnet of this solid, attractive machine, and both duplex printing and Ethernet are supplied as standard.

Epson has a long history of producing some of the best workhorse lasers in the business, and the AcuLaser C1100 is no exception. From the moment you unpack it, you can tell you're dealing with a well-built machine.