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Printers

ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
in Zocalo v2.0
My last printer (an Epson) decided that it wouldn't accept anything other than the ridiculously expensive 'official' ink cartridges, and then decided it would literally spit all the ink from the aforementioned out all over the desk once it got them, so needless to say it took a swan dive out of the nearest window.

I am therefore on the hunt for a replacement, but printers are generally not something I really care to know much about, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to good makes/models. Obviously I'm looking to spend as little as possible, but really I need an all-in-one type affair. My Dad has a Lexmark wireless one which he says is pretty reasonable, but I thought I'd ask for opinions first
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Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Croxis should be able to give you some good advice.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    I recommend Croxis for all your printer needs. He'll even volunteer to fly to your place to install and trouble shoot the printer, free of charge to you.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    As my job description currently includes "Sales of Business Machines/Printers," I feel I may be useful here. What is your typical monthly print routine for the Epson, and what do you foresee doing with it in the not so distant future?

    I do generally believe that Lexmark has managed to produce a fairly good machine these days (only one base printer spread across the entire lineup in different dress and features), but they are not the only choice. If you don't intend to do any photo printing, consider the HP Officejet 6500/6500a series, as they have an extremely affordable ink, individual color ink tanks, and a reasonably decent build and feature set. I'd avoid epson at the moment, as their ink cost is fairly high and the end quality not so much better as to offset the ink cost for most units. Also, their build quality is complete crap right now.

    If color isn't important to you, then consider a Brother all-in-one laser such as the 7000 series offerings. the 7340 or its networked (wired and/or wireless) kin. Any one of those three are fantastic in terms of reliability, base feature set, and supply cost.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    Avoid the HP Photosmart C305 it may be the biggest pile of shit i've ever seen in my life.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    C305, or C309? There is a pretty big difference between models using the 02 series ink tanks and the 564/920 series ink tanks. The current generation (B210a, C310a, C410a, etc) are all very reliable, decent machines that get a good page count out while producing some fantastic photo prints.

    Also, if you buy HP (or any other brand with high-yield cartridges/tanks as an option), buy XL/High-yield cartridges. They may cost more up front, but are nearly always cheaper per page.
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    I hate you all
  • E.TE.T Quote-o-matic
    I wouldn't consider "water colour" printers to anything else than printing of photos.
    Laser printer is just so much easier to use when there's no danger of ink drying, clogged print head/nozzles, need of special papers for any better prints.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE=croxis;191542]I hate you all[/QUOTE]

    That may be so, but is that any reason to deny someone your expertise in printers?
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    I got the photosmart to replace an Officejet Pro 7650 that died (well just the encoder strip snapped) and i had to have one that day, so i went up to Sams club and this was the best one they had, when the printer prints it's really nice, but it goes offline a lot! wired or wireless, it just dissapears from the network. Go onto HP's support forums and search for it, dozens and dozens of people with the same problem, and no solution from HP. On several occasions i have been tempted to bring it down to the ocean and toss it in... I want my 7650 back, i even got a new encoder strip for it off ebay, but it didn't work.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I shall bear that in mind whilst researching tomorrow. I definitely wont be getting another Epson tho. The printer I had before last was also one, and it was shite too, but my last was on offer....I should have known better really!

    [QUOTE=croxis;191542]I hate you all[/QUOTE]

    And we love you for it :p
  • PSI-KILLERPSI-KILLER Needs help
    I am still using an hp psc 950 from 2002. For some reason it just wont die. Fax's are are still clear, copy scan is still clear, color pictures are still clear. I have heard good things about lexmark. I won a color laser printer at work it is a Ricoh Aficio SP C231N but no reason to open the box plus it has no fax and scan. Laser color toners are super expensive too.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Laser color toner is expensive PER CARTRIDGE, but cheaper by far than inkjet ink per page. What you have to weight is the up front cost of a laser and the intended use (if you want high resolution photo printing, a laser just won't work).
  • SeafroggysSeafroggys Ranger
    My Canon BJC-4100 from 1995 still works!
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Speaking of printers...does anyone know of a inkjet with white ink capabilities?

    Jake
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    I remember reading somehwere that it is often cheaper to buy a new discount printer on sale than to replace the ink cartridges. I also remember reading that printer ink is one of the most valuable liquids. Cost more per ounce than oil or even human blood on the black market.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Oh it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest. Infact, when the cost of the new ink cartridges the Epson insisted I use, before spitting it out across my desk, probably was within a few quid of what I paid for the printer in the first place.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Freejack, you probably don't want an "ink" jet for white ink. More likely you want another type of printer, such as a wax printer. I don't know any that are out now, but back in the late 90's there was a really nice line of printers that did white wax printing - great for decal paper.
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Those were ALPS printers, but the replacement toner for those is becoming very hard to find. And yes, I'd like to be able to print decals on a clear substrate.

    Jake
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    Generally speaking, most printers come out of the box with nothing more than limited capacity starter cartridges (25-50% page yield vs. new standard yield cartridge). It isn't until you spend big bucks that models begin to come with standard or high-yield cartridges standard (typically Lexmark and high-end HP). While a low-end printer is cheap, that low-end printers are typically subsidized by higher cost-per-volume ink. More often than not a cheaper printer carries a significantly higher cost-per-page than a model costing only slightly more. Take, for example, the base model HP Deskjet All-in-one (retailing for $70) versus the base model HP Photosmart (retailing for $100). The Deskjet uses HP 61-series ink tanks with a volume of 100-150 pages per tank that cost roughly 20-30 a tank. The Photosmart uses the 60-series ink tanks with a volume of 150-350 pages that cost the same exact amount. Compare this to the Photosmart Plus/Premium/UltraMega models that use the 564-series ink cartridges, whose base page counts start at 300 and rise all the way to 800 with the high-yield cartridges, but cost 30-50 for a full tank swap. The base model of these series start at $140 and rise to $250 depending on what features are desired, but ink costs are dramatically lower in the long term and build quality, print quality, speed, and [I]fancy features[/I] are all improved throughout. This same pricing strategy applies through nearly every other brand's print systems (excluding Lexmark and Kodak, who have adopted a single cartridge series at a fixed price point for the entire lineup with vastly differing features at a slightly higher entry price).

    Summary: Buying a cheap new printer for the ink is not as cost effective as it may first seem.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    It used to be, until they started using "Starter Carts"

    I need to get my officejet fixed as i loved that printer, also need to pick up a new color laser for work. Yay, more money to spend.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I think I'll probably go for something by Lexmark as they seem to be getting slightly better reviews. Not decided on a specific model as such yet, I'll see what deals I can find first.
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    There are twelve models.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Funny, I could only find 7...
  • sinclairsinclair Ranger
    I heard that the top models are called as Final Five, sadly I don't have a list to deliver.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    They will reveal themselves when the time is right.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Which will be shortly after you buy one, when they will turn out to be far better value for money in every way.
  • PSI-KILLERPSI-KILLER Needs help
    They have a plan?
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX38dJCBpV0&feature=player_embedded"]Breakfast.[/URL]
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    Hey sanfam, any ideas about replacing an encoder strip on an officejet pro 7650? :)
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    Easy! Walk into any electronics store and buy a new printer. Bam! Problem solved, and it also comes with shiny new plastic trim ;)

    The 8500 series is far better, anyway.
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