Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Special > Miscellaneous > Canon, HP's Xmas Ink-Jet Printer Fleet

Canon, HP's Xmas Ink-Jet Printer Fleet

06:00 - Thursday 8 December 2005 by Vincent Verhaeghe

1. Introduction
2. Separate Or Combined Inks?: The Debate Is On Again
3. The Test Procedure
4. Canon Pixma IP4200
5. Printing Speed
6. Canon Pixma IP5200
7. Printing Speed
8. HP Photosmart 8250

9. Printing Speed
10. HP Photosmart 8050
11. Printing Speed
12. Performance Tests
13. Quality Tests, Colour Photo Mode
14. Quality Tests, Black-and-White Photo Mode
15. Quality Tests, Text
16. Cost, Continued

As a general rule, each fall back-to-school season coincides with the arrival en masse of new models of inkjet printers. While there are only a few players in the printer market - HP, Canon, Epson, and Lexmark comprise practically the entire market - each one feels obligated to bring out as many products as possible to try to cut into the competition.

Interestingly, that hasn't been the case in 2005; Only HP and Canon have made big changes in their lines. Epson has simply made a few minor changes, slightly improving already existing models - the Stylus Photo R320 instead of the Stylus Photo R300, for example - or staying with entry-level models like the Stylus Photo R220. As for Lexmark, they've concentrated on the multifunction market and have no printer-only product that can rival the latest models from Canon and HP.

That's why this roundup boils down to a duel between those two manufacturers, and we've chosen a pair of models from the midrange / top-of-the-line categories for each. For Canon, they're the Pixma iP4200 and Pixma MP5200, and for HP, the Photosmart 8050 and 8250. These products are offered at prices from $130 to $200. That might seem expensive in a market where entry-level products sometimes sell for just $50 or $60, but the choice was prompted by the promising qualities of these four models, and certain, sometimes major, technological innovations.