Most people who are looking to purchase printer supplies will use their device to produce photos, a new survey has found.

The study, conducted by PC Advisor in partnership with Kodak, revealed 88 per cent of home users said they use their machine for this purpose.

Models that can deliver high-quality graphics may therefore be a priority for many individuals, as 37 per cent also stated they made posters with their device.

PC Advisor noted that "photography used to be an expensive and exclusive hobby, but these days millions of people have digital cameras and mobile phones with built-in snappers", which may be one reason for the popularity of this use.

It also recommended users consider the software that comes bundled with a printer when they make a purchase, as some offer basic features that can be controlled directly from the machine, such as red-eye removal or the ability to adjust the colour balance, removing the need to turn on a computer to perform these edits.

One device recently praised for its image output was the Epson Stylus Photo R3000, which was named the best photo printer by the European Imaging and Sound Association.