Canon's Pixma MP470 prints nice photos and costs just $100.
Inkjet MFPs continue both to proliferate and to drop in price, to the point where buying a stand-alone printer almost doesn't make sense anymore. The two new models (both of them from Canon) that we looked at this month--the Pixma MP210 and the Pixma MP470--cost $80 and $100, respectively, and they aren't the only MFPs vying for thrifty buyers in this price range. The Pixma MP210 is best suited for light use, given its spartan design and limited copy functions. For just a little more money, its Pixma MP470 cousin offers a much better design, with a 1.8-inch LCD and two media-card slots, so you can print photos without ever firing up your computer.
Want even more? Check out the recently introduced HP Photosmart C5280--it has a bigger LCD plus the ability to print onto CDs and DVDs. With this MFP, HP bundles scanning and photo-editing software that automates common tasks such as scanning to a PDF or creating a greeting card.