It was less than a year ago that Epson released the DX3800 and DX4800 All-in-One machines, designed to appeal to the customer with a limited budget who wanted to be able to combine printing, copying and scanning in a relatively small space. Now Epson has launched three series updates - the DX4000, DX5000 and DX6000 - with a user-friendly price range of $120-$150.

The DX6000 is the top of the range and there are significant improvements over the DX4800. For a start, the new model is in stylish black and silver tones rather than cream, it’s slightly smaller in height and width (463 x 354 x 181mm) and a touch lighter at just 6.5kg.

The conclusion is that what could have been a well-nigh perfect All-in-One for the customer on a limited budget is still seriously let down by ruinous ink usage. Print quality is of a high standard, though, and the new LCD viewer is very welcome.