Jet Set Ink different.

Look at all the pretty colors. Warhol paintings. A bag ofSkittles. Care Bears. Your next printout. There's a reason theydon't make black-and-white TVs anymore. We've been watchingthe same slow phase-out with gray-scale-only inkjet printers. Colorinkjet printers are the beasts of burden of choice in many smallbusinesses. The initial investment is cheap; every company andtheir dog makes one; and you can dress them up with fax, copy andscanning functions. For our nefarious purposes, we'll stickwith straight-up, printing-only color inkjets.

We're not trying to steer you away from a laser printer. Ifyour business can afford one, go for it. They're usuallycheaper to keep up in the long run. An inkjet may cost $99 in thebargain bin, but soon you're bound to notice how you have toshell out $60 for new cartridges every other month to feed itsinsatiable appetite for ink. They may look cute and fluffy, but youhave to shop smart to keep them from biting your budget.

Higher dpi resolutions make for higher-quality printed images.This doesn't matter much when you're just printing out amemo or invoice, but it makes all the difference when it comes tographics and photo-printing. All the printers we assessed come withink cartridges and the appropriate software drivers, and cost lessthan $300. The Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Epson will work with yourMac as well as a PC if you spring for an optional USB cable or, inthe Canon's case, an optional USB kit.

HP Deskjet 882C

Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

Model: HP DeskJet 882C

Street price: $249

Phone: (888)?99-4747

Web site:www.hp.com

The 882C moves along at up to 9 pages per minute (ppm) in blackand 6.5 ppm in color. While the HP DeskJet 882C claims only a 600dpi black resolution, it boasts "photo-quality" colorprinting with PhotoREt II color layering technology. It connects toyour Windows 3.1/95/98/NT or MS-DOS machine through a parallel portor to your Mac with OS 8.1 or higher through a USB port. Thesoftware bundle includes Microsoft Picture It! Express, ProfessorFranklin's Instant Photo Effects and Mindscape'sPrintMaster Gold Publishing Suite. It may be one of the mostexpensive printers reviewed here, but Hewlett-Packard has a solidinkjet reputation, and their PhotoREt II technology should givegood results on graphics and photo projects.

Lexmark Z51

Manufacturer: Lexmark

Model: Lexmark Z51

Street price: $249

Phone: (888) LEXMARK

Web site:www.lexmark.com

For your Windows 3.1, 95, 98 or NT 4.0 machine, this littleLexmark provides a hefty 1,200 x 1,200 dpi maximum resolution. Thatspiffy resolution will come in handy if you need to print outhigh-end graphics or digital photos. For those times when looksaren't everything, its Quick Print mode automatically sets to600 x 300 dpi. The Lexmark Z51 sports a fairly speedy 10 ppm inblack or up to 5 ppm in color. A 100-sheet input tray means youwon't have to baby-sit the paper feed all day. It can alsohandle up to 25 sheets of labels or transparencies. A one-yearLexExpress next-business-day exchange warranty comes standard.

Nec Superscript 650C

Manufacturer: NEC

Model: SuperScript 650C

Street price: $130

Phone: (800) NEC-INFO

Web site:www.nec.com

Somewhere down at the lower end of the price pile resides theSuperScript 650C. It comes ready with 1,200 x 600 dpi resolutionand prints up to 6 ppm in black and 2 ppm in color. It's alittle slow, but hey, it's cheap! The 120-page input tray spitsout to a 60-page output tray, and the SuperScript 650C works withWindows 3.x/95/98. The software bundle includes PhotoFinish,Calendar Creator, Student Research and Writing Center,Madeline's European Adventure and, best of all, Sesame StreetArt Workshop. However, you can choose only one program to keep. Asyou can probably tell, this printer is aimed mostly at thehome/family user, but if you don't mind the not-real-usefulsoftware bundle, you probably won't find resolution this highat a lower price.

Compaq IJ750

Manufacturer: Compaq

Model: IJ750

Street price: $150

Phone: (800)?45-1518

Web site:www.compaq.com

Compaq's top model inkjet printer is thesecond-lowest-priced shown here. Still, it features a high 1,200 x1,200 dpi max resolution. At 7 ppm in black and 3.5 ppm in color,it's no slouch in the speed zone. An optional photo cartridge($44.99 street) can be purchased to increase the printer'scolor range for more accurate photo printing. The bundled softwarepackage includes Corel Print House Magic 4.0 Select and ArcSoftPhoto Printer V2.OLE (Web enabled). Requirements include Windows3.1/95/98/NT 4.0.

Epson Stylus Color 740

Manufacturer: Epson

Model: Stylus Color 740

Street price: $199

Phone: (800) GO-EPSON

Web site:www.epson.com

This printer gets around. Its USB connection is good to go forany USB-equipped PC or Mac. It can also hook up to a parallel portPC or regular Mac serial connection. Adobe PhotoDeluxe andBroderbund's Print Shop PressWriter are included on CD-ROM. Anice 1,440 x 720 dpi max resolution keeps you covered on both thetype and graphics fronts. The print speed of 6 ppm in black is justslightly slower than most other printers shown here. Color printingstill matches up with 5 ppm. Paper feeder capacity is 100 sheets ofpaper and up to 10 envelopes. Also, this Epson is the only printerhere that's compatible with older, non-USB Macs.

Canon BJC-6000

Manufacturer: Canon

Model: BJC-6000

Street price: $249

Phone: (800) OK-CANON

Web site:www.canon.com

The BJC-6000's maximum resolution of 1,440 x 720 dpirequires special photo glossy inkjet paper. But for most purposes,you probably won't need to print at 1,440 x 720. At lower dpis,this printer clocks in with up to 8 ppm in black and 5 ppm incolor. By purchasing an optional Canon USB kit ($69 street), thisWindows 3.1/95/98/NT 4.0 printer becomes a Mac printer. It has a130-sheet paper capacity and comes with a host of software,including Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, Design Essentials,Office in Color and Web-Record. The BJC-6000 comes with a one-yearwarranty.