If you’re running a small business, or if you’re self-employed and working from home, you’ll probably need a printer and a scanner; maybe even a photocopier. You’ll also not want to spend too much on these items, or have them take up too much space in your office as you may work from your spare room or share a small office space with other freelancers.

Invest in a multifunctional machine

Even better is the fact that a lot of these printer-plus machines cost around £100, which is ideal for a start-up or a sole trader in his or her shed! Canon’s PIXMA 6850 printer has three functions – printing, scanning and copying, all together in a 45cm x 37cm x 15cm form. It’s small enough to tuck under a desk, or on a smaller shelf or, indeed, any nook or cranny you can find. It’s a great example of what you should be looking for in a multifunction printer, and here’s why:

It’s wireless-enabled and even creates its own wi-fi network

It’s great when you find a small printer, but then you have to find room for all the wires and cables to connect it to your laptop or any other devices you use with it. Not so with the PIXMA 6850, as it can work with lots of cloud services, once you’ve downloaded the Canon PRINT app. You can sync the printer with a number of smartphones and other devices to access the cloud. You don’t even need a wireless router or internet as there’s the Wi-Fi Direct® mode which makes its own wireless network.

It makes cloud printing and uploading effortless

This printer has its PIXMA Cloud Link which allows you to instantly print photos from social media sites like Instagram, Flickr and Facebook, as well as allowing you to print documents from the more well-known cloud services like GoogleDrive. You can also upload scanned documents and photos.

It’s incredibly user-friendly

The PIXMA 6850 has a large – 7.5cm – touchscreen that’s based on a smartphone screen, so it has the user in mind and is very intuitive and easy to navigate. You can upload scanned images and documents or print them out with just a few swipes.

It produces amazing, professional-quality photos

The PIXMA 6850 can deliver incredibly sharp photos – 4,800dpi (print) resolution. It uses five discrete inks to form the images, using Canon’s FINE (Full-Photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology to place microscopic droplets of ink exactly where they need to be. This makes for brilliant detail, with intense blacks and colours, with most photos taking less than a minute to produce.

It doesn’t cost you a fortune to replace ink cartridges

Having to replace an entire cartridge just because one colour has run out, rendering the entire cartridge useless, is a serious drain on money and on resources. The PIXMA 6850 allows you to replace just the ink tanks that have run out, saving you money and reducing the impact on the environment.