It's always frustrating when things don't work, and in the world of computer peripherals that's something we've all suffered at one time or another.

Our expectation of trauma tends increase proportionately with the complexity of the product, which is exactly why the Pixma MP800R from Canon is such an unexpected delight to use. Everything it does, and it does a lot, just works.

Installation and setup is very easy indeed. Itís a joy to see trouble-free automated configuration of such a complex device. Animated diagrams show you exactly what cables need to be plugged in and connection to your wireless network is made as simple as possible.

During the installation, supplementary information is provided on dealing with issues such as personal firewalls and wired 10/100 Ethernet - infrared and optional Bluetooth connections are also available.

The MP800R's many media handling capabilities include dual paper trays, automatic double-sided printing and CD/DVD printing.

Nearly all printing and scanning options are available over the network, including access to the built-in card reader. This makes the MP800R ideal for sharing with multiple PCs located around the house.

Operation from the front panel is just as simple. The 3.5in LCD presents clear menus with plenty of large icons and helpful information.

Without going near a PC you can make prints directly from digital cameras, memory cards or even 35mm film and slides, the latter two using the supplied adapters.

Photo print quality is excellent thanks to the five individual ink cartridges and 1picolitre drop size. They also don't take long to appear either, with a 6x4 print taking just over 30 seconds to arrive. Text output is similarly impressive and readable right down to 2-point.

Should you want to tinker with your photos, there are plenty of image enhancement options available from the front panel menu.

These include red-eye correction, automatic face brightening, brightness, hue and contrast adjustments. You can also scan documents directly to your networked PC as images or using the built-in pdf creation function.

Considering the wealth of features, it's a wonder Canon made the Pixma MP800R so easy to use.