Printer quest - which model is best for personal use?

A few weeks ago Nigel Harris's desktop laser printer gave up the ghost. Here he talks us through the through process of finding a replacement.

My printer sits next to my screen and gets some fairly heavy use at certain times of the year as I tend to print a lot of company accounts and the top copies of Self Assessment tax returns. I also like to print my own invoices direct from our time and fees system, so I need an easy way to switch between plain paper and printed invoices.