Printer manufacturers have steadily been increasing the number of ink cartridges in their top of the range photo printers on the basis that the more basic colours they have to work with the more precise the overall result.

Expensive but solidly built – a fast way to get superbly vibrant A3 prints.

It doesn't seem likely that one device could be all things to all people, but the Canon PIXMA MP780 is the closest thing we've seen yet. It has a feature set that would leave few wanting, and is capable of professional results. Not only that, but this is by far the quickest inkjet in this roundup.

Digital photography is gaining in popularity, and the features offered by the HP PhotoSmart 2710 are designed to cater to this: PictBridge, a large colour screen and on-printer photo editing. The HP is the most expensive machine here, but isn't geared to one particular market or another.

Epson has gone all-out on their digital photo flagship -- it has eliminated all office-centric features to deliver an enthusiast's juggernaut with film scanning, a six colour ink-tank, and plenty of memory card slots.

Large form factored and decked out in buttons, this unit features the incredibly easy to use Canon Toolbox 4.1 software

The absolute epitome of 'feature-packed', the number of inclusions on this unit floored us. Its whopping 162 point feature score is over one-and-a-half times the average point score and comes on the back of its big feature line up.

The Photosmart 7960 is HP's flagship photo inkjet and comes with the new Photoret Pro engine. It's a development of Photoret IV, and a fourth cartridge containing three grey inks has been added too. The 7960 can print 4,097 shades of grey - ideal for black-and-white photographs.

Canon's S820 has persistently fought off numerous challengers and remains one of the best photo printers on the market.

The MultiPASS C100 is a matured version of the C75 yet still manages to keep its price low. Many of the features in the C75 have been kicked up a notch, and the improvements make the C100 more productive and better value for money.

For the price, the performance and feature set, the MultiPASS C75 represents good value for money for those who want a cheap, all-round performer.

Like the HP PSC750, the LexmarkX83 is designed with style in mind. While not as aesthetically pleasing, the X83 offers productivity and features, and top value for money.

The HP K80 takes our Quality Award this month, nudging ahead of the competition in all our speed, quality and features tests. Alongside the HP PSC750, the K80s highly specified 2,400 x 1,200 inkjet printer produced noticeably top-quality colour prints.

You're taken through each step by a series of onscreen animated diagrams that are a far sight more helpful than other guides the competition offers.

As a television-based photo printer, the NX-500 is quite capable

In Epsons more than comprehensive range it sits near the top, offering high speed in addition to impressive print quality.

Colour Inkjet PRINTER

Epson are marketing this scanner as a versatile unit, capable of meeting the demands of home, school, office and graphics users.