The Canon SmartBase MP390 is at the top of the tree in the Canon SmartBase range as it is a printer and scanner that has direct photo printing and a fax; however there is no network option so once again this Canon is probably better suited to the home than to an office.

Surprisingly, Canon doesn't offer Mac drivers for the SmartBase MP390, which is fine for Windows users, but it looks like a bit of an oversight.

On the front is a USB port which supports PictBridge digital cameras, which emphasises its domestic credentials, but the biggest concern is that the two ink cartridges have a rating of 130 pages for mono printing and 160 pages for colour printing. We're not ones to take manufacturers figures at face value but by any standards that's a short life.

The SmartBase MP390 prints photos and PowerPoint pages somewhat slower than the PIXMA MP130, but text prints at exactly the same rate, so the limiting factor would seem to be the CMY colour printing side of things.

Print quality is generally satisfactory but no aspect is particularly impressive. Scanning and copying work well enough, but probably the stand out feature is the comprehensive control panel and the extensive software package. The Canon Toolbox combines with Easy Photo Print, OmniPage SE and ArcSoft Photo Studio to allow you to carry out any task that you wish, but it's not up to the standard of HP's superb suite. We found that the button for colour functions looks rather similar to an On/Off control, but other than that the controls work superbly.

While it is true that any MFD will take up less space than separate printer, scanner and fax units, the SmartBase MP390 is quite large and as the paper input tray stands at the back of the unit with the paper held nearly vertical you'll need to need to allow plenty of space for the Canon.