Lexmark's P706 has the 'P' prefix that denotes it is a photo printer, and sure enough it can hold either a photo cartridge or a black cartridge, as well as the standard colour cartridge.

You don't get the full selection of cartridges in the box, oh no, but instead you receive the photo cartridge and colour cartridge. If you're planning on printing black text documents you'll want to get a black cartridge ASAP.

As a result, the black text quality of the printer as supplied is unsatisfactory as it is not actually black. How could it be, as there is no black ink in the printer? Instead the colour is a very dark grey that is achieved by mixing up all the colours.

Incidentally, both Lexmark printers are shipped with cartridges that are described as 'moderate use' and that retail for a few pounds less than the standard part, so it's safe to assume they contain less ink. This is quite common practice, and the only surprise is that Lexmark is decent enough to make the situation clear, assuming you understand its part numbers, that is.

In our photo test, the Lexmark took nearly half an hour to print the photo, but as it has the same 3ppm rating as the company's Z605 that should come as no surprise.

Unfortunately, despite that photo cartridge the P706 failed to impress and print quality was poor. In fact it was little better than Z605. The problem isn't one of colours, but instead seems to be rooted deeper in Lexmark's printing technology.

This is a cheap photo printer, and it is also surprisingly light, weighing slightly less than either the Z605 or the Canon i320. However, its relatively poor speed and print quality mean that it's hard to recommend it.