$400 - $500 Printers

The Bottom Line: The Canon Pixma MP970 isn't up to the company's usually high standards. You're better off spending more for last year's version.

Specs: Copier, Printer, Scanner, Ink-jet, 4800 x 4800 dpi

The Bottom Line: In a vacuum, the HP LaserJet 2727nf is a fine mono laser multifunction for small offices. But its price and feature set are out of whack with the competition: you can get more for the same money, or you can pay less for the same features.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 1200 x 1200 dpi

The Bottom Line: The Samsung CLX-3160FN isn't the best or fastest multifunction printer, but it offers a good value for small offices and work groups with basic needs.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 600 x 1200 dpi, None

The Bottom Line: The Canon Pixma iP90v is the Vista-enabled version of the older Pixma iP90 and offers nearly the same print speeds and quality. It's a very useful printer if you travel a lot and need to print often, but consider the purchase carefully because it's quite expensive.

Specs: Photo printer - Ink-jet - Color, Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, Wireless, 12 pages/min, 16 pages/min, 1.4 min/page, PC, Mac, USB, Infrared, Direct print USB

The Bottom Line: The HP P2015dn has the right features to make it a good fit for a small office or home office, but the competition offers a better printer for less money.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 27 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The HP LaserJet P3005 is a great mono laser printer for small- and medium-sized offices, but it's expensive. We think Lexmark's E350 series offers a better value.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 33 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The HP LaserJet P3005 is a great mono laser printer for small- and medium-sized offices, but it's expensive. We think Lexmark's E350 series offers a better value.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 33 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Parallel

The Bottom Line: With fast speeds and impressive print quality, the Lexmark C530dn is a great color laser printer for the price. We prefer it over a more expensive color printer from the competition.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 22 pages/min, 24 pages/min, 21 pages/min, PC, Mac, Unix, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: With fast speeds and impressive print quality, the Lexmark C530dn is a great color laser printer for the price. We prefer it over a more expensive color printer from the competition.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 22 pages/min, 24 pages/min, 21 pages/min, PC, Mac, Unix, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: Photographers will love the Canon Pixma iP6700D's speedy, high-quality photos, but sluggish, mediocre text output will be a turn-off for the SOHO/business crowd.

Specs: Photo printer - Ink-jet - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, Wireless, 18 pages/min, 17 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Infrared