The Samsung CLP-315 is relatively light on dimensions and rather pleasing to look at. For home users who need to run off numbers of text documents mixed in with the odd colour image, this printer's $269 price makes it an enticing buy. Just don't expect it to run at a blistering pace.

You can’t expect a $390 colour laser printer to demonstrate the very latest in performance and quality. However, for those who primarily want decent graphics, and who would also like to occasionally run off text jobs, this printer is better than its low price tag would suggest. It’s not fast though, so patience will be required.

A low price and great-looking photo quality helps this model stand out, but its toner cartridges are expensive.

This economical laser prints text quickly, but its output quality could be better.

For individual users or a small office, the Color LaserJet CP1518ni's minimal paper handling and toner supplies are probably adequate. Only extremely patient people will find it easy to tolerate the slow engine, however, especially when similarly priced models are much faster and have better features.

Lexmark's budget-priced colour laser delivers fast, high-quality text. Albeit without the option for a duplexer, but you can increase your paper tray to a 530-sheet tray for an additional cost.

The Epson Aculaser C1100 is a good choice for low-volume colour printing, with best of breed output quality, providing you don't mind the slightly higher than average running costs and slow colour output.

The Konica Minolta Magicolor 2530DL is an economical choice for printing text and photos, if space and convenience are more important to you than print quality. It will appeal especially to professionals in need of quick, tolerable-quality photo prints from a digital camera.

If space is at a premium in your office and you aren't too concerned about print quality or page costs, the Samsung CLP-300N makes an easy-to-use, no-nonsense color printer.

While there are some minor flaws, Fuji Xerox's DocuPrint C1110 is a great colour laser printer with fantastic everyday colour quality.

Canon's LBP-5200 offers straightforward colour laser printing for a single machine or small workgroup. Unfortunately, you'll be struggling to get it to work with Mac OS or Linux

Given the 2600n's high costs per page and lagging print speeds, consider spending more for the much faster and more efficient Dell 3000cn.