Printer Reviews

The Canon Pixma iP1800 is an entry-level, photo-oriented, single-function printer, and is the successor to the Pixma iP1700. For $50, you get a basic inkjet printer capable of printing decent-quality documents and photos. Though it lacks photo-oriented features such as media card readers and a PictBridge port (not surprising, considering the price), it does come with a comprehensive and easy-to-use software bundle that can help you create photo projects. We like this printer for home users with basic needs and a tight budget. We also like its print quality better than that of its low-cost competition, including the Lexmark Z845. Compared to the iP1700, the iP1800 offers a more complete software package and slightly faster photo prints, though the print quality is comparable. Read full Canon PIXMA iP1800 Review »

The Dell 1720dn is a low-cost mono laser printer that provides fast, high-quality prints for small offices or work groups. For $300, you get a built-in duplexer and Ethernet networking, as well as low print costs. The $350 Samsung ML-3051ND offers the same print quality but faster text prints (and slightly slower graphics prints), a 50-sheet multipurpose tray, and a straight pass-through. If these extras are worth the $50, go for the Samsung. Otherwise, the Dell 1720dn is a great choice for its target audience. If duplex printing and networking aren’t high priorities, the baseline $200 Dell 1720 is a good option for home offices. Read full Dell 1720 Mono Laser Printer Review »

The HP Officejet J5780 is an inexpensive multifunction inkjet printer that’s suitable for a home office with light printing needs. Without an Ethernet jack, it’s not suitable for larger, networked offices, while the lack of media card slots limits its appeal for general home use. For a home office, however, it serves up the right mix of features–fax, copy, scan, and print–for a mere $150. In terms of print speed and quality, it’s a middle-of-the-pack machine. We think that a home office user would be satisfied with this printer, but we like the slightly more expensive Canon Pixma MP530 better because of its superior print quality, particularly with black text. If you can spare the extra $50, we say go for the Canon. Read full HP Officejet J5780 Review »

The Canon ImageClass MF4690 has all the trappings of a great small office printer. This multifunction laser printer is network-ready, offers lots of attractive features for work groups, and is reasonably priced at $400. Unfortunately for Canon, the Dell 1815dn offers the same feature set and faster prints for the same $400. The one advantage the Canon MF4690 has is the ability to scan documents to a file server on the network. If that feature trumps the slower print speeds, go with the Canon MF4690. Otherwise, the Dell 1815dn is a better choice. Read full Canon ImageClass MP4690 Review »

The HP Officejet Pro L7500/L7600/L7700 is a new office-oriented inkjet series of all-in-one printers that boasts fast print speeds, high-quality prints, and lots of features. We reviewed the L7680 model, which is a step up from the L7580 base model, but its print speeds and quality are representative of all three members of the series because they all employ the same print engine. Most of the office all-in-ones we’ve reviewed are geared toward the home- or small-office environment, whereas the L7680 is aimed squarely at small to medium businesses or work groups, featuring built-in networking, scan-to-network functionality, and monthly recommended volume of 7,500 pages. We can’t make direct comparisons (based on price) to other printers we’ve reviewed because we primarily review home and home-office products, but we found the $400 Officejet Pro L7680 to be an excellent multifunction for its target audience. If your small office or work group has high-volume print needs (that is, you print more than 7,500 pages a month), you should consider a laser multifunction such as the comparably priced monochrome Lexmark X342n or the more expensive Epson AcuLaser CX11NF. Read full HP Officejet Pro L7680 Printer Review »