If your budget is limited and you print only a small number of pages a day, one of today's monochrome ink-jet printers can offer quality competitive with a laser's for half the price.
We tested eight monochrome ink-jets that sell for under $1000. The five that support both monochrome and color printing start at $719, while the monochrome-only models average under $400. (For rankings in this section, we considered only monochrome performance.)
The four ink-jets that we ranked Best Overall help the technology overcome its low-speed stereotype: Performance as a group approached the ppm rate of under-$1000 lasers. In addition, ink-jets can be more flexible than low-cost lasers; for example, the CalComp TechJet Personal can handle 11- by 17-inch paper.
Another notable runner-up is the Texas Instruments M
icroMarc, which doesn't win any categories outright but bundles fast speed and high quality in an affordable ($329) package. Its performance (third-fastest among all ink-jets in draft mode and second-fastest in high-quality mode) is even more remarkable given that this was the lowest-priced printer in the entire sample.
Macintosh support was lacking in the test sample of monochrome ink-jet printers we received. HP does sell a Macintosh version of the new DeskJet 520, called the DeskWriter 520. Like its PC cousin, the DeskWriter offers 600- by 300-dpi resolution and sells for $365. We did not receive a DeskWriter for testing.
The Brother HJ-400, with an 8-pin serial port, comes ready for easy connection to a Macintosh. However, it is the slowest printer in this category (40 percent slower than the BJ-200e).
Need the best in Ink-jet economy and speed?
BEST OVERALL
Canon BJ-200e
The BJ-200e delivers clean, readable output at speeds comparable to those of a 4-ppm las
er, for about half the cost. It easily outpaced the runners-up in draft-mode speed, and its high-quality-mode score also set the pace for this category. Its quality score lagged that of its big brother, the BJC-600.
SPEED (PPM) QUALITY CLASS
PC MAC INDEX (PPM)
BEST Canon BJ-200e 2.81 N/A 5.98 4
RUNNER-UP CalComp TechJet
Personal 2.41 N/A 6.20 3
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 2.16 N/A 5.61 4
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 1.76 N/A 7.04 240 cps
RESOLUTION
PRICE (DPI)
BEST Canon BJ-200e $399 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP CalComp TechJet
Personal $699 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc $329 300 x 300
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 $719
360 x 360
STANDARD WARRANTY MAXIMUM
MEMORY (YEARS) INPUT (SHEETS)
BEST Canon BJ-200e 256 KB 2 100
(host-based)
RUNNER-UP CalComp TechJet
Personal 40 KB 1 100
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 24 KB 1 100
RUNNER-UP Canon BJC-600 60 KB 2 100
* Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
-- = data not available at press time
Is $500 your limit?
LOW COST
Canon BJ-200e
The BJ-200e outclasses the under-$500 competition with fast speed--almost 20 percent faster than its closest competitor, the TI MicroMarc. The BJ-200e also offers the best print quality in this price range.
SPEED (PPM) QUALITY CLASS
PC MAC INDEX (PPM)
B
EST Canon BJ-200e 2.81 N/A 5.98 4
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 2.16 N/A 5.61 4
RUNNER-UP Lexmark IBM
ExecJet II 4076 2.03* N/A 5.02 3
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 1.66 N/A 5.67 3
RUNNER-UP Citizen Projet II 1.91 N/A 5.09 3
RESOLUTION
PRICE (DPI)
BEST Canon BJ-200e $399 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc $329 300 x 300
RUNNER-UP Lexmark IBM
ExecJet II 4076 $349 600 x 300
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 $365 600 x 300
RUNNER-UP Citizen Projet II $349 300 x 300
STANDARD WARRANTY MAXIMUM
MEMORY (YEARS) INPUT (SHEETS)
BEST Canon BJ-200e 256 KB 2 100
(host-bas
ed)
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 24 KB 1 100
RUNNER-UP Lexmark IBM
ExecJet II 4076 21-KB buffer 2 150
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 -- 3 100
RUNNER-UP Citizen Projet II 128 KB 2 70
* Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
-- = data not available at press time
Not for PCs only...
MACINTOSH
Brother HJ-400
This was the only monochrome ink-jet in our test sample to support the Mac. It gives Macintosh users output quality that ranks above average and acceptable print speed.
SPEED (PPM) QUALITY CLASS
PC MAC INDEX (PPM)
BEST Brother HJ-400 1.18 1.08 5.91 2
RESOLUTION
PRICE (DPI)
BEST Brother HJ-400 $419 360 x 360
STANDARD WARRANTY MAXIMUM
MEMORY (YEARS) INPUT (SHEETS)
BEST Brother HJ-400 64 KB 2 100
* Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
-- = data not available at press time
Need high quality at a low price?
HIGH QUALITY
Canon BJC-600
The BJC-600 took almost twice as long to complete our printer tests as its sibling, but the BJC-600 compensates with top-notch output. Text was sharper and line rendering clearer than with any other printer in this class.
SPEED (PPM) QUALITY CLASS
PC MAC INDEX (PPM)
BEST Canon BJC-600 1.76 N/A 7.04 240 cps
RUNNER-UP CalComp TechJet
Personal 2.41 N/A 6.20 3
RUNNER-UP Canon BJ-200e 2.81 N/A 5.98 4
RUNNE
R-UP Brother HJ-400 1.18 1.08 5.91 2
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C 1.55 N/A 5.87 3
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 1.66 N/A 5.67 3
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 2.16 N/A 5.61 4
RESOLUTION
PRICE (DPI)
BEST Canon BJC-600 $719 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP CalComp TechJet
Personal $699 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP Canon BJ-200e $399 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP Brother HJ-400 $419 360 x 360
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C $719 600 x 300
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 $365 600 x 300
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc $329 300 x 300
STANDARD WARRANTY MAXIMUM
MEMORY (YEARS) INPUT (SHEETS)
BEST Canon BJC-600 60 KB 2 100
RUNNER-UP CalCo
mp TechJet
Personal 40 KB 1 100
RUNNER-UP Canon BJ-200e 256 KB 2 100
(host-based)
RUNNER-UP Brother HJ-400 64 KB 2 100
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 560C -- 3 100
RUNNER-UP HP DeskJet 520 -- 3 100
RUNNER-UP TI MicroMarc 24 KB 1 100
* Native mode, not PostScript
N/A = not applicable
-- = data not available at press time
BYTE BEST: Draft Quality
