Ratings: All-in-one and regular printers[SIZE=-1] Need a printer to go with your new desktop or laptop computer? We?ve updated our printer Ratings (available to subscribers) with all-in-one and regular models. You can spend as little as $50 for a regular printer (that prints very good photos and text, fast), as long as you don?t mind that it?s very much a no-frills model with no LCD viewer, no PictBridge connection for your camera, and no memory-card slots. Or you can shell out close to $300 for an all-in-one that faxes, copies, scans, and prints excellent photographs. But there are also plenty of models in between.
Whatever you decide, give a little thought to what you want to do with the printer before you buy it. Do you print a lot of text? Look for a model that can churn out seven to 10 very good or excellent pages for less than four cents per page. If you want to add faxing, copying, or scanning to your printer?s capabilities, check the all-in-one Ratings.
If you?re a photo buff, look for a print time of under two minutes for a 4x6 photo. Consider the tradeoffs if you want to save some cash: For example, some lower-cost models might print average-looking text, but still perform very well printing photographs.
More importantly, make sure you choose a printer with low photo-printing costs. The best of those we tested will provide excellent photos for 35 cents apiece. And if all you want to print are snapshots, check our Ratings of snapshot printers. The Recommended models print 4x6 photos for a quarter each.
Don?t forget to look for extra features like a separate tray for 4x6 paper, or automatic two-sided printing. Also take a few minutes to view our video on choosing a printer.
?Donna Tapellini
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Subscribe now![/SIZE]
Subscribe to [SIZE=-1]ConsumerReports.org[/SIZE] for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. [SIZE=-1]Update your feed preferences[/SIZE]