Printers have moved beyond just printing documents. Some all-in-one printers let you remove red-eye when you print photos. Some can even print from your cell phone.

So Consumer Reports wanted to know: Should you push your plain printer aside for a multi-purpose, all-in-one machine?

To compare quality, Consumer Reports put 45 printers through a number of tests. Standardized documents were printed and then compared. Testers also printed photos and evaluated them.

Tests showed both kinds of inkjet printers were pretty comparable in performance, but there could be big differences in how much it cost to print a page of text or a photo.

"Over the long haul of the printer, that can actually add up more in terms of price than the initial sticker price," said Consumer Reports' Terry Sullivan.

For an all-in-one inkjet printer, Consumer Reports recommends the Canon Pixma MP520 at $140.

If all you do is print, and you don't need an all-in-one printer, Consumer Reports named another Canon Pixma a best buy. It's the Canon Pixma iP4500 for $120.

(Copyright © 2008 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Email To A Friend