The Colour LaserJet CM1312nfi packs in a decent number of features for a low asking price, but significant drawbacks ultimately make it uninspiring. This is a jack of all trades and master of none.

The HL-4040CN is designed to be, and is priced as, a low-end machine. Its only option is a networking add-on.

In spite of the corporate edge, the overall verdict on the Konica Minolta Magicolor 2550EN has to be that it doesn't stand out from the competition.

Mostly a very good MFD for the money, the CLX-2160N offers good quality, features, and performance at this level. It's a shame it's marred by the slightly skimpy paper catch and paper curl.

The performance of this sub-$1000 colour laser printer is fast and we're happy with its ease of use and installation. Its colours could have been a little more vibrant, but its overall print quality was impressive. Consider this model if you want a fast printer for a small workgroup environment.

The Dell isn't cheap, but its running costs are among the lowest available. Add strong output, some heavyweight specifications (with options that'll beef it up considerably) and network support as standard, and you have an excellent colour laser that should go down extremely well with small and medium-sized businesses.

A multifunction device that has lots of features, unfortunately none of them are very good

Faster, better-quality monochrome laser MFPs than the LaserJet 3030 are available.

The Dell Laser Printer 5100cn is fast and should be an economical choice for a workgroup that plows through paper, but its image quality could have been better.

The wide-format Deskjet 9650 delivers consistently good print quality on many kinds of documents. This printer is no speed demon, however, and its costs per page are quite high.