Colour inkjet multi-functional devices aren't quite ten-a-penny, but the starting price is well under £100 and there are dozens of models to choose from. By comparison, colour laser printers with built-in scanners are scarce

Dynamic and crisp, Good detail, Strong construction, Small and lightweight, Standalone photocopying

Mixed printing results

Convenient, but print quality could be better

With a footprint barely bigger than many A4 inkjet printers, the new 1320c is Dell's smallest colour laser to date.Refreshingly, the 1320c also lacks the hernia-inducing properties of many colour lasers

Lightweight for a laser, Good driver software, Fast in operation

No Ethernet connectivity, Frequent need to change cartridges

Compact, quick and produces reasonable quality prints

The latest in HP's long and illustrious history of LaserJet printers, the 2600n has an inline toner cartridge arrangement and, with no carousel churning around, it's remarkably quiet in operation. And in performance terms, it more than meets expectations

Economical in the long term, High-quality results, Built-in Ethernet

Initial cost quite high

You pay a little more up front, but this LaserJet will repay your investment in spades

Comparatively compact and light in weight, the 2350DL jumps the first hurdle of installation by being refreshingly easy to get out of the box and position on your desk. Once there it looks stylishly designed, well finished and built to a high standard

Well built, Excellent photo printing

Slow colour prints, Expensive to run

Superb colour quality, great for photos - but beware the running costs

Everything about the Laser Shot LBP-5000 screams simplicity. With a modest footprint and easily inserted toner cartridges, which are based on a vertically stacked, inline system rather than relying on a carousel.

Simple to set up, Great value for money, Quiet in operation

Occasional flaws with colour prints

Quick and easy to set up and use

Despite its reasonably compact size, the TallyGenicom 8108N feels like it weighs a ton, although the actual weight is 29kg. It's loud, too, even when sitting idle, with two fans and an intermittent pinging noise emanating from the machine

Fast, goo quality mono printing, Network port

Very noisy, Awful colour accuracy

Fast for mono, but poor colour accuracy makes it impossible to recommend

There's always somebody that has to be different, and this time it's Oki. Just when you thought that all colour printers were one of two basic shapes, along comes the C3300n. It's much longer than it is wide and not very tall at all

Individually replaceable drum assemblies, Ethernet port, Fast and quiet

LED, not laser, Poor print quality, Expensive to buy and run

Daringly different, but too pricey to buy and run, with poor colour quality

Compared to some of the more lightweight models around, you can tell the Epson really means business as you struggle to lift all 28kg of printer out of its box. It's two to four inches larger in every direction than many other desktop colour lasers

Good print speed, Decent supplied software

Expensive to replace drum, Bulky

Fast, vivid colour, but expensive. It's bulky, too

The Samsung CLP-300N is only slightly larger than many an inkjet printer. Yet it still comes with a full compliment of features. It offers an effective 2400 x 600dpi, just like the big boys in its class, and sports a healthy 32MB of memory

Very small and easy to use, Ethernet port, Reasonably economical to run

Paper tray smaller than most

It's small but full of a surprising amount of goodness

Tune into TV advertising and you'd think that most of the business world is running on Lexmark printers. Unlike some of Lexmark's flimsier inkjet printers, the C500n has a real business-like feel to it with seemingly rock-solid build quality

Easy to replace cartridges, Good plain paper printing speed

Low toner capacity, Pricey running costs

High speed mono, decent colour quality