Epson Stylus Photo R220

The no-frills R220 offers top-quality photo printing from a PC and prints onto discs.

The Epson Stylus Photo R220 costs just $99, but it omits many of the features that set photo printers apart from everyday inkjets. On the front panel, you won't find a colour LCD or media card slots, and the USB 1.1 port located there connects only to a PC, not to a digital camera. (Another USB port is at the rear, but it also connects only to a PC and you can only use one of these ports at a time.)

The upright feeder at the rear of the printer holds up to 120 sheets of plain paper, but the output tray becomes full after just 30 sheets. On the plus side, the R220 can print directly onto specially coated CD and DVD discs, and you don't have to rearrange the paper tray because it has a separate tray that feeds one disc at a time. Unlike with most modern inkjets, aligning the print head is a manual process; you have to examine a test print and fiddle with some figures on screen. The R220 uses six individual ink cartridges.