You can't possibly buy a decent printer for $50. Or can you? Canon's new BJC-1000 Series color bubble-jet printer combines pared-down functionality and acceptable output with a rock-bottom price. Of course, getting that price involves mailing in a $30 rebate. Even so, this printer is worth investigating.

The diminutive BJC-1000 is a snap to set up and use. It's so lacking in features it doesn't even have an on/off switch. It has a maximum resolution of 720 by 360 dots per inch (360 by 360 dpi for color) and comes with a CMY color cartridge to print reasonable text and images. You can avoid the dark greenish-blacks the color cartridge outputs by purchasing a black cartridge. The photo and neon cartridges are optional as well and you must change them manually.