Tom's Hardware has done a massive testing on several inkjet printers to produce a bible-like document for inkjet printer buyers. The inkjet printers that were pitted against each other are all-in-one printers that have a good market. There are over 200 inkjet printers in the market that meet the above criteria and TH settled in to test the top 11 inkjet printers in the market. Prices range from £15 to £130 for the printers mentioned below.

The Contenders

- Canon Pixma iP1800
- Canon Pixma iP4300
- Canon Pixma iP6310D
- Epson Picturemate Pal PM200
- Epson Stylus Photo R260
- Epson Stylus Photo R380
- HP Business Inkjet 1200
- HP Deskjet 4160
- HP Deskjet 9800
- Lexmark Z1300
- Lexmark Z1420

A list was prepared with features on the rows and printers on the columns for comparison. This table is useful if you are looking for some specific features before buying an inkjet printer.

All 11 printers were tested for quality, speed, price and features offered against price.

TH team couldn't converge on one buyable printer as there was no single printer that outdid others in every category tested. Here's my favourite part, the conclusion:

We give special marks to the Lexmark Z1300 for offering decent print and photo quality at a very low price, and also to the Canon Pixma iP6310D and Epson Stylus Photo R380 for delivering outstanding photo-handling features at very reasonable costs. Any of the printers in this guide is likely to satisfy your needs for low-volume output, but only the HP Business Inkjet is likely to be able to satisfy needs somewhat beyond such modest levels. That printer and the Lexmark Z1420 also earn bonus points for offering a wireless 802.11b/g interface, in addition to more typical interfaces (USB for both and parallel for the HP).

It is surprising to find that three major printer companies are missing from the list. Brother, Dell and most importantly Kodak are notable omissions. I have been a great fan of Kodak printers for its quality and reasonable price, and its non-consideration raises some doubts on the printer selection by TH. Still, this is the most comprehensive buyer's guide that I have come across for printers. There are more to follow for other categories.