Printers Tested
Canon S300 Photo
This is the cheapest version based on the S600. Although it has virtually the same motor, it uses single cartridges (one black and one color). Canon also does this in a model tweaked for photo-printing, making it one of the cheapest on the market.
Canon S500
Officially, this is the printer most like the S600. If the manufacturer is to be believed, it is the "fastest, cheapest" and produces "high quality" print.
Canon S630
The S630 is a faster version of the S500. Print quality is the same, cartridges and heads are the same, but the pages come out faster.
Epson Stylus C60
Unlike the new C70/C80, the C60 uses only two cartridges. This is the real replacement for the Stylus Color 880.
Epson Stylus C70/C80
Epson has never given in to temptation and was always ready to condemn systems using separate cartridges. But now they have yielded - its two middle- and top-range models come with four cartridges.
Epson Stylus Photo 820
The Epson site claims that its new baby can offer outstanding photographic quality because it has added two light hues (cyan and magenta) to the three basic colors, resulting in unequaled quality for flesh and pastel tones. It also claims that the 2880 dpi resolution and the imperceptible dots produce prints of absolutely perfect quality. Nothing less.
HP Deskjet 932c/940c
The Deskjet 930c was loved by many. This year it has been replaced by two models whose only difference is in motor speed.
HP Deskjet 960c
This replaces the Deskjet 959c and features more speed, as well automatic paper analysis and resolution adjustment functions.
HP Deskjet 990cxi
This is the luxury Deskjet. Basically, it is very similar to the 960c. The main difference is that for about $100 more, you have a duplex unit as a standard feature.
Lexmark Z43
This is the cheapest photo printer in the test, though it is not dedicated to photo mode. In ordinary office mode, it prints up to 12 pages per minute.
Lexmark Z53
Lexmark claims this to be the fastest printer in its class. This speedy model is supposed to reach 16 pages per minute in black and white. And by the way, it is the only one in the test to feature Linux-compatible drivers.
