Ten budget inkjet printers

Canon PIXMA MG2150

A lightly textured black case, holds a simple flatbed scanner to the right of a busy control panel with only two, seven-segment LEDs for display. The front panel folds down as input and output trays and cartridges load awkwardly from the front, too. USB is the only data connection.

I recorded print speeds of 6.9ppm black and 1.7ppm colour, with the colour speed slow for class. Black and colour print is among the best you’ll see under £100 and software for HD video frame print and Web page collage is useful. Ink costs are around 3.2p for black and 7.8p for colour and the use of a tri-colour cartridge may put running costs up further.

Epson SX235W

Although a budget printer, this machine offers a wireless link as well as USB. There’s no LCD display and a sparsely arranged control panel, spread across an angled flap above the output tray. The scanner lid is a bit flimsy and scanned and copied pages are lighter than originals.

Black print quality is marred by some jaggies and occasion head-pass misalignment, but colours are bright and photos are good. The black speed is low, at 3.9ppm, but colour speed is very low at 1.1ppm. Ink costs, if you use the high-yield cartridges, are good for black, at 1.5p, but high for colour, at 10.0p.