Group test: what's the best budget printer?

The Top 5 sub-£150 printers you can buy

By | PC Advisor |

PC Advisor reviews the Top 5 printers you can buy in the UK right now for less than £150. Updated, 24 April, 2012.

5. Canon Pixma MG4150

Canon Pixma MG4150
  • Reviewed on: 13 March 12
  • RRP: £120 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 7 out of 10

As a colour printer, the Pixma works very well. Its runnning costs are decent and the quality is high. It's also very solid as a text printer, and it has an appetising range of features – particularly for connectivity. We found some areas (paper handling, panel ease of use) which could be improved. Overall, it’s a decent MFD, but one that could easily have been even better.

4. Canon i-SENSYS LBP-7010C

Canon i-SENSYS LBP-7010C
  • Reviewed on: 12 January 12
  • RRP: £155 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 7 out of 10

The Canon i-SENSYS LBP-7010C printer is very much a no-frills model to look at. However, if you can ignore the lack of facilities then you may find that it offers strong capabilities exactly where they’re needed. Print quality is impressive, and the price tag is low. Only the running costs prevent this from making a bigger splash, so keep an eye on our charts section to see if we have cause to revise this opinion as the toner becomes more freely available.

 

3. Kodak Hero 5.1

Kodak Hero 5.1
  • Reviewed on: 8 November 11
  • RRP: £99 inc. VAT
  • Rating: Rated 9 out of 10

The Kodak Hero 5.1 isn’t the slickest or most stylish printer we’ve seen. And its speed is slightly uninspiring in places. But it proved reliable in our tests, comes with a multitude of connectivity options, and its running costs are remarkable. It gets a thumbs-up from us.

2. Brother HL-2130

Brother HL-2130
  • Reviewed on: 13 June 11
  • RRP: £90 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 9 out of 10

The Brother HL-2130 isn’t rich in features, and its ability to print graphics is limited. However, if you’re after a straightforward text-churner, the Brother is fast and extremely effective. Given that it’s available on the street for not much more than £80, that makes it a very impressive deal.

1. Oki C110

Oki C110
  • Reviewed on: 26 October 09
  • RRP: £120 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10

Those in the market for a colour laser probably won’t drop their sights to the Oki C110, but as an alternative to an inkjet it makes an incredible amount of sense. Fast and capable of high-quality print that comfortably outclasses almost all inkjets, it’s excellent for text work. And the Oki C110's colour output is, while a bit slow, quite good enough for most tasks. Those who do lots of photo printing might want to look elsewhere, but for the general purpose user who can look past the C110’s lack of physical flair, this is an excellent model.

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Comments

Jaffacake2000 said: yeh, i agree! You call these budget printers at £75 ? £90 ? no way! thats not budget thats misleading. Budget printers would be in the range of £50 or under.

Lawsonmartin6 said: Budget?????

Cyberniv said: Really, get yourselves beamed back down to planet earth.  Oh and look up budget in the dictionary on the way.  Won't be bothering with this publication then.  Idiots.

David Price said: It got lost down the back of the PC Advisor sofa, but we've managed to dig it out again. Enjoy!(Thanks for the spot.)

Matt Egan said: Minor technical hitch. Now restored to its previous glory. Thanks for the heads up.

Flipperty said: Where is the article then?

Lottie said: Where??

Agree with errm said: Seriously, these prices are a joke, I was expecting sub £50! Ur cheapest starts at £75! No real world experience.

errm said: no offence but....what sort of world do you live in to make you think that these prices are 'budget'?

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