Q: I'm trying to make the most of a small apartment in DC. We need a new printer, and I'm looking for a small, minimalist, handsome printer to buy. It sits out, so it's very visible. I don't require scanning or photo printing or anything extra, just plain old black and white ink jet printing. Any leads for me? Thanks!

Sent by Nadia

Editor - The days of plain old monochrome printers have passed us by, with most affordable model ink jet printers offering photo capability at the bare minimum, if not more capabilities like scanning, emailing or offering widgets. But we certainly sympathize with your quest for a printer with a slim, space saving, and eye-pleasing design. Although it is equipped as a photo printer, we think the Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer is one of the slimmest, least of an eyesore ink jet options out there. It's just 12.7 x 2.4 x 7.2 inches in dimensions, so hiding it should be easy and it could be a strong contender if you don't print high volumes.

But since you've mentioned only requiring monochrome output, a laser printer might be a better option. The Samsung SCX-4500 is larger in size, but the design is one of the nicest in the laser printer category and relatively small for a laser model. And the SCX-4500 is currently heavily discounted, available for under $150, even with the built-in scanner (an extra unneeded feature for you, but think of it as a bonus).

Our other recommendation is to just hide away your printer altogether with a wi-fi compatible small space mobile printer, like the HP OfficeJet H470. In our home office, we simply hooked up our boxier (but very affordable) Canon inkjet to our Apple Airport base station and hid both components in another room, away from view.

Any other recommendations out there for Nadia in the printer category?

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