Canon Pixma MP130

Canon's Pixma range of printers and multifunction devices has been making waves, and if you look at the quality rating below you'll see why. A score of five out of six means there's no image this well-built machine can't handle.

Our mono quality test showed that the MP130 is capable of smooth fades with no stepping or grain, while our photomontage was similarly impressive, with realistic skin tones and, again, step-free colour gradients (so you can expect smooth colour transitions in photos).

The MP130 will print a 6 x 4in photo in just under four minutes and costs are relatively low too: just 16.1p per 6 x 4in photo and 3.8p per mono page make the MP130 affordable to run.

It was too much to hope that the MP130 would match the outstanding mono quality of the MP780, but we were nonetheless pleased by the mono output from such a cheap printer. Slightly spidery characters were the only downside to otherwise great plain-paper quality. Our DTP document also printed well, with the MP130 handling coloured text and solid black backgrounds particularly impressively.

The main drawback to the MP130 is speed, or the lack of it. A maximum of 7.6ppm (in Draft mode) means this isn't the ideal printer if you're in a hurry, but 4.6ppm in Normal mode wasn't much slower than average.

Unlike its bigger, more expensive brother, the MP130 features a media card reader. It's a useful addition and caters for all the major formats, but note the lack of a colour TFT. This means the only way to gauge what's on a memory card is to print a proof sheet, and you'll need a lot of paper (and time) if you happen to have a 1GB card full of images.

The lack of a decent display hamstrings copying as well, as menus take ages to navigate. Fortunately, print quality was good, with mono text copies almost identical to the originals. Copying photos in Best mode left prints looking fuzzy and grainy, but more than acceptable overall.

In spite of its USB 2 connection, the MP130 took a leisurely seven minutes, 25 seconds to scan our demanding 1,200ppi photo. We were pleased with the quality of scans, although the mono text scan showed some discolouration.

The Pixma MP130's price can't be argued with: at £94, it's a good deal, and its low running costs make it even better value for money. Quality is better than you'd expect, even if speed isn't. Ultimately, the HP 1215 is cheaper to run and pips the Canon to the Best Value award.