FREE Independent advice on buying and maintaining a home computer - PCAdviceNow

Printers etc.

Printers, Scanners and copiers for home use have improved considerably over the past 5 years to the point where the choice for the home computer user is both extensive, feature packed and best of all great value for money.

During this period MFD's (Multi Functional Devices) have come to the fore and unless you are looking for professional quality finish then these devices that can print, scan and copy in colour are ideal for the home user.

Most of these are Inkjet based and are capable of producing high quality photo prints and documents as well as being able to scan at a good resolution. MFD's capable of all the above can be purchased for well under a £100.

In terms of specifications, I would look for the following:

Printing Speed - Black and White around 7 pages per minute upwards, colour about 3 pages per minute upwards

Scan Resolution - 1600 x 1200 dpi, the higher the better

Print Cartridges - Seperate colour cartridges rather than a combined one, as these are cheaper to replace.

Connectivity - USB 1.1 / 2.0, this will make connecting to your computer easy (as long as it has a USB port!)

Card Slots - These MFD's often come with slots whereby you can just insert the memory card from your camera and view your pictures before deciding which ones to print, make sure the slot is compatable with your camera memory card e.g. SD

The most successful manufacturers in this market are Canon, Epson and HP all of which produce great machines for less than a £100.

Visit the computer store or some of the advertisers on this site to see what's currently available.