Should your business need to add scanning to basic mono print facilities, the HP LaserJet M1120 MFP will cover both tasks with reasonable aplomb. It's not super fast, and you won't want to rely on it for huge print jobs, but for running off a few text documents it'll more than suffice. Should you not need scanning, though, you can find better dedicated printers elsewhere.

While the C3530n performed quite well in our tests, its hidden consumables costs make it less of a bargain than it appears.

The focus of the Brother HL-2140 is clear, and as a good little text churner this laser packs the goods. Use it extensively and, in the long-term, you'll end up paying considerable amounts. But for the typical family, this is an excellent complement to a quality inkjet and thus an ideal way to arm your home with strong text to go along with great colour graphics.

The very stylish Samsung ML-1630 flouts the monochrome laser printer's reputation for dull efficiency. It's a decent machine whose low-capacity input tray and pricey toner restrict it to individuals or small offices that wouldn't mind sacrificing some usefulness for style.

Kodak deserves credit for its economical inks and focus on photo quality. Unfortunately, these attributes together cannot overcome the Kodak EasyShare 5500 All-In-One's disappointing speed and fairly high price.

Pumpkin-coloured people aside, the Canon Pixma MX700 is, overall, one of the strongest multifunction packages we've seen to date. It stuffs a lot of functions into a fairly user-friendly package and offers scads of software to help you along.

The LaserJet P1505 doesn't look like much, but it is a fast printer. We think HP cut a few too many corners in designing it, but those seeking a no-nonsense workhorse may be willing to put up with some of its shortcomings.

The 1720dn Laser Printer offers a lot of features and flexibility for an accessible price. A small office with big ambitions won't have to leave this printer behind.

The MFC-685CW is a burger with the lot, with wireless connectivity thrown in for good measure. Its print quality for documents is adequate, and its scanning capability is good, but it's not a good choice for photo prints.

Oki's B4400n deserves credit for its performance and its sturdy design. Even the seemingly ho-hum monochrome printer category has hot competition, though, and other printers offer as many or more features for less money.

Suitable for the small or home office, this unit will print, copy, scan and fax, and it also has handy camera photo printing features. Its output was a little dull, even on glossy paper, but nevertheless adequate for typical business use.

The imagePROGRAF iPF6100 should put an end to talk that Canon can't compete in the professional photo printer market. With a better ink formulation and an improved printhead, this 12-ink printer produces excellent images on both glossy and fine-art media. Canon needs to clean up its profile management, but overall, the iPF6100 is a very good printer that fits in well in a competitive market.