Review: Top 10 ink jet printers

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By PCWorld Staff

(IDG) -- A $50 price drop shoots the Sharp AJ-2000 to the number one spot this month. Of two new photo-quality printers from Canon, one earns a place on the chart: The $199 S600 hits number ten, with smooth text and low costs per page. Output from its sibling, the $299 Canon S800, was less impressive. We also tested HP's new DeskJet 960C, but at $299, it costs more than other units that offer comparable speed and print quality.

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Top Ten Ink Jet Printers

1. Sharp AJ-2000: Sharp's AJ-200 offers a reasonable compromise between price and performance, and it should fit well in a small office, dorm, or family room.
2. HP DeskJet 932C: Strong print quality and now even better performance make the 932C welcome in any office or home.
3. Xerox DocuPrint M750: The M750 would make a fine printer for heavy text and graphics work in a home office or hobby room.
4. Lexmark Z42 Color Jetprinter: Fast text performance and reasonable black ink costs make the Z42 a good candidate for printing business memos and reports.
5. Lexmark Z52 Color Jetprinter: The versatile Z52 can keep your small office humming, and it can entertain your kids. But its high cost of operation may not make it the best choice if you plan to print a lot of photos.
6. Epson Stylus Color 980: The 980 makes a workhorse machine for the small office or home, though print quality could be better.
7. HP DeskJet 952C: The DeskJet 952C performs quite well, but you can save $50 with the DeskJet 932C if you're willing to put up with slightly slower print speeds.
8. HP DeskJet 842C: Go with the 842C if you are committed to buying an HP and can't afford to spend more than $150. However, other inexpensive printers offer better performance and similar quality.
9. Epson Stylus Color 880: This might be a good inexpensive printer for simple jobs that need to be turned out quickly, but other choices produce better graphics.
10. Canon Color Bubble Jet S600: Somewhat slow print speeds keep the S600 out of the small office; it fits best in the home, with a moderate $199 purchase price and reasonable ink costs.

Beyond the Top Ten

• Canon Color Bubble Jet S800: Good photo quality and extra features make the S800 a suitable photo printer, but painfully slow printing speeds mean it won't double as a day-to-day printer.

• Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 960c: With all-around decent print quality and reasonable performance, the DeskJet 960c could work well in a home office, but its $299 price is pretty steep these days.