Parents looking to purchase the latest gadgets to help their child in the next school year may find a printer and ink supplies are useful products.

It was suggested by Techilicious' Suzanne Kantra that, while a simple device for producing text documents may be an essential, students could discover a model that is capable of producing high-quality photos is an added bonus.

Therefore, she recommended the Canon Pixma MG6120 as one good option, which has the benefit of wireless capabilities in order to hook up to a home network.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Herald said that, if a machine is only likely to be used for producing written assignments, a more basic device could be all that is required, as it will be simpler to set up and use than a feature-packed multifunction printer.

Other tech gadgets that were highlighted by the newspaper as being useful included a lightweight notebook PC, which it stated is a better choice than a netbook as it offers more storage and power.

Ms Kantra noted the HP Pavilion series features a range of laptops, from entry-level models to more powerful computers than can be used for gaming or video editing.