Although the idea of the multifunction or all-in-one device was originally HP's, in recent months the company has lost out in the budget sector of this market to companies such as Lexmark. By highlighting the very low purchase price (and arguably recouping costs through expensive consumables) many people have been persuaded to buy sub-£100 scanner/printer/copier devices to go with new or existing PCs.

HP is fighting back, though, with a new design of ink cartridge enabling a new breed of very small footprint devices, such as the PSC 1205. This device is actually one of a range of similar machines, varying mainly in print and scanning resolutions, but all having the same basic mechanism.

The PSC 1205 has a footprint very little larger than a sheet of A4 paper, yet it's a fully fledged all-in-one, which can even produce mono and colour copies without having a PC connected. The top cover lifts to reveal not just the glass flatbed of the 600 x 1,200ppi scanner, but a well-organised control panel with a column of pastel coloured buttons down the left-hand side and a single, two-digit numerical display for things like copy count.

As with most HP printing devices, the PSC 1205 takes paper from the front, turns it through 180 degrees, prints on it and feeds it out on top of the ingoing paper. In this design, though, the feed tray is no more than a hinged plastic cover which is folded down only when using the device - simple, but effective.

The twin ink cartridges - one black and the other tri-colour - are a bit fiddly to fit, as you have to delve into machine through its front paper entry path. At the back are sockets for the mains lead and a USB cable. The latter is not supplied but is needed in order to connect the all-in-one to your PC.

Print quality from the 4,800 x 1,200 dpi print engine is generally good, though you can tell from some of the colour rendition and just-noticeable micro-banding on prints that this is an entry-level device. Copy jobs can include enlargement and reduction and you can set the number of copies from the control panel.

Consumable costs are quite high, even using HP's quoted figures for ink usage. You can expect an 80% cover A4-page to cost around one pound to print - more if you include photo paper. Even so, for use in the home this little machine represents good value for money in a compact and well-designed package.

HP's entry into the budget all-in-one market is a compact, well-specified little marvel. At under £100, there's not much to touch it for scanning, printing and copying in a home office environment.