Ten budget inkjet printers

Bargain basement all-in-ones

Product Round-up As money continues to be tight, buying a new all-in-one often takes a back seat. However, if an old machine has died, or a son or daughter needs something to print coursework, you may be forced to flex a card. On the up side, you could be surprised at some of the bargains which are available in the inkjet market.

You can pick up a serviceable machine for under £40 and one with a touchscreen, wireless and economical separate ink cartridges for £50. Even at these squeezed asking prices, you don’t have to pay the balance in increased cartridge costs. There really are some bargains out there.

Brother DCP-J125

With Brother’s signature gentle curve to its lid, this machine is the company's entry-level all-in-one. Its festures a small, but effective colour LCD and a simple control panel which handles scan, copy and photo print. In the front panel is a dual SD/MemoryStick card slot and a 100-sheet paper cassette, with USB the only data connection.

Under test I only saw a maximum black print speed of 3.2ppm, against a claim of 33ppm. Print quality is fair for black, but a bit insipid for colour, particularly in copies. Ink costs, at 1.6p per page black and 7.6p colour are good for a budget printer. The price might look high, but discounted it drops to around £65.

Reg Rating 70%
Price £90
More info Brother

Brother MFC-J430W

A few steps up the range, Brother offers the MFC-J430W, with built-in 20-sheet Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and fax, as well as print, copy and scan – no photo print, though. A 51mm LCD screen works with a well laid-out control panel and there’s a 100sheet paper cassette. WiFi and USB are supported, with WPS setup for the wireless.

I measured a maximum black print speed of 7.7ppm, healthy for this class of machine, with 4.8ppm for colour. Text print looks a little fuzzy and colour is light, more so in copies. At 2.6p and 7.6p for black and colour print, it’s reasonable to run and is discounted to around £90.

Reg Rating 65%
Price £108
More info Brother