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Top 10 Inkjet Printers

New models from Canon and HP capture our two Best Buys this month, and the Canon also zooms to the head of the class.

Eric Butterfield

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PIXMA iP4200 Photo Inkjet Printer (29 PPM, 9600x2400 DPI, Color, 42KB, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0

Last Rated: September 27, 2005

1. Canon PIXMA iP4200 Photo Inkjet Printer (29 PPM, 9600x2400 DPI, Color, 42KB, PC/Mac)

Rated 29 ppm monochrome; 20 ppm color, 9600-by-2400-dpi maximum color resolution, Legal-size paper, maximum, 300 pages input, 150 output, 16.5 by 11.8 by 6.3 inches; 14.8 pounds, Street price when ranked: $130

Bottom Line: Fastest text printer here has lots of paper capacity and a duplexer for making two-sided prints. Glossy photos showed sharp details and vibrant colors.

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DeskJet 450WBT Inkjet Printer PCW Rating: 89.7PCW Rating: 89.7PCW Rating: 89.7

Last Rated: June 22, 2004

2. HP DeskJet 450WBT Inkjet Printer

Rated 5 ppm monochrome; 2 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, Legal-size paper, maximum, 45 pages input, no output tray, 13.3 by 6.5 by 3.2 inches; 4.2 pounds, Street price when ranked: $350

Bottom Line: Portable model is slow but makes printing on the go extremely convenient. Graphics print quality was very high; vendor rates the battery to last 350 pages.

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Deskjet 5740 Inkjet Printer PCW Rating: 78.0PCW Rating: 78.0PCW Rating: 78.0

Last Rated: November 03, 2004

3. HP Deskjet 5740 Inkjet Printer

Rated 23 ppm monochrome; 18 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, 8.5-by-24-inch paper, maximum, 100 pages input, 50 output, 17.7 by 8.4 by 6.3 inches; 7.3 pounds, Street price when ranked: $90

Bottom Line: This no-frills model delivered high print quality overall, and it produced the sharpest line art we've seen from an inkjet.

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Deskjet 5440 PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0

Last Rated: September 27, 2005

4. HP Deskjet 5440

Rated 22 ppm monochrome; 21 ppm color, 4800-by1200-dpi maximum color resolution, 8.5-by-24-inch paper, maximum, 100 pages input, 50 output, 18.1 by 8.7 by 6.7 inches; 7.6 pounds, Street price when ranked: $80

Bottom Line: The 5440 printed very sharp text and attractive graphics on plain paper; glossy photos, however, looked grainy and lacked some details reproduced by other models.

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PIXMA iP90 Portable Inkjet Printer (16 PPM, 4800x1200 DPI, Colour, PC/Mac) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated:

5. Canon PIXMA iP90 Portable Inkjet Printer (16 PPM, 4800x1200 DPI, Colour, PC/Mac)

Rated 16 ppm monochrome; 12 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, Legal-size paper, maximum, 30 pages input, no output tray, 12.2 by 6.9 by 2.0 inches; 4.0 pounds, Street price when ranked: $250

Bottom Line: This speedy portable printer delivered good overall print quality; optional equipment for it can be pricey, though.

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Deskjet 5940 PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0

Last Rated: September 27, 2005

6. HP Deskjet 5940

Rated 30 ppm monochrome; 24 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, 8.5-by-24-inch paper, maximum, 100 pages input, 50 output, 18.1 by 8.7 by 6.7 inches; 8.0 pounds, Street price when ranked: $100

Bottom Line: The 5940 printed nice-looking color graphics on plain paper, and it has a direct-print port; but glossy photos suffered from obvious banding.

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Deskjet 6840 PCW Rating: 77.0PCW Rating: 77.0PCW Rating: 77.0

Last Rated: November 04, 2004

7. HP Deskjet 6840

Rated 30 ppm monochrome; 20 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, 8.5-by-24-inch paper, maximum, 150 pages input, 50 output, 17.7 by 14.5 by 5.7 inches; 13.2 pounds, Street price when ranked: $180

Bottom Line: Wireless and ethernet ports are attractive features, but print quality was unimpressive. Color graphics on plain paper earned a Poor rating.

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Inkjet 1200d PCW Rating: 75.0PCW Rating: 75.0PCW Rating: 75.0

Last Rated: November 03, 2004

8. HP Inkjet 1200d

Rated 9 ppm monochrome; 8 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, Legal-size paper, maximum, 150 pages input, 150 output, 19.9 by 16.5 by 8.3 inches; 20.7 pounds, Street price when ranked: $200

Bottom Line: This business-focused inkjet includes a duplexer (for two-sided prints) and high-capacity ink cartridges, but its graphics print quality was disappointing.

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Canon PIXMA Photo Printer (IP1600) PCW Rating: 77.4PCW Rating: 77.4PCW Rating: 77.4

Last Rated: September 28, 2005

9. Canon Canon PIXMA Photo Printer (IP1600)

Rated 19 ppm monochrome; 16 ppm color, 4800-by-1200-dpi maximum color resolution, Legal-size paper, maximum, 80 pages input, no output tray, 17.1 by 9.8 by 6.5 inches; 6.1 pounds, Street price when ranked: $50

Bottom Line: Unit printed text quickly, but letters lacked sharp edges. Glossy photos looked attractive, though colors seemed slightly undersaturated.

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Stylus C88 PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0PCW Rating: 79.0

Last Rated: September 27, 2005

10. Epson Stylus C88

Rated 22 ppm monochrome; 12 ppm color, 5760-by-1440-dpi maximum color resolution, 8.5-by-44-inch paper, maximum, 120 pages input, 30 output, 9.5 by 18.1 by 7.8 inches; 10.1 pounds, Street price when ranked: $80

Bottom Line: Colors in photos looked accurate but with slightly grayish skin tones. Graphics quality on plain paper was subpar; line art was very unappealing.

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The overall rating we assign to each inkjet printer is based on price (25 percent), print quality (20 percent), features (15 percent), ease of use (15 percent), speed (10 percent), service and support (10 percent), and cost of consumables (5 percent). For all ratings, higher is better. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved.

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