Labs

We decided to include the Epson Stylus Photo 1290S as it's cheap enough to fit into this category while still being able to produce A3+ prints. It may be overkill to print all your holiday snaps at this size, but the ability to produce portfolio pieces, full-bleed A4 or just to showcase shots ready for framing will be enough to persuade many people.

It lacks the ease of use demonstrated

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by the HP Photosmart 8450, and its print quality is no match for the excellent Canon Bubble Jet i990, but the flexibility offered by its large-format capabilities goes some way to obviating these concerns.

That said, its print quality is by no means shabby. It's a six-colour printer (CMYK plus light versions of cyan and magenta) so tones are smooth and light areas not speckled with drops of full-strength ink. There are no separate ink tanks; instead, all five colours are housed in one unit, making it less economical to run than Canon's Bubble Jet i990.

Its photo output is great, with solid, well-balanced colour and plenty of detail on specialist media. Text quality is less impressive, though, particularly on plain paper, but it's not bad enough to worry us.

As very much an entry-level A3 device, the Epson Stylus Photo 1290S cuts some corners to keep the price down. Accept these shortcomings, though, and you could land yourself a bargain A3+ printer.