Which Ink Printer Do You Recommend?

[Ruben]

I am looking for recommendations from people that actually use or used a model they recommend (or speak against).

This is for mostly black and white printouts, probably 600-1200 pages monthly and for occasional photo-quality picture printing (20-30 printouts a month).

What are my best options here?

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I personally recommend Canon printers.

I`ve got the mp360 smartbase all in one and have never had a problem with it. I`ve had the printer for over two years.

The ink cartridges don`t cost an arm and a leg like a lot of other brands do.

I use my printer mainly for photo`s and the results are outstanding.

Regards Howard

 

[iss]

HP, Epson, or Canon. Everyone I know that has ever bought a lexmark has regretted it. all kinds of problems and they overcharge for thier ink.

 

[N3051M]

canon.. have an i560 and its still going strong nearly 2 years plus, although i think due to my unhanded stupidness i screwed up the usb port on it.. but its still got parrelell on it so still good . Good photo quality, but now old model compared to the pixma range..

HP is becoming very good, especialy with their new 5-6 colour cartridge lineups like the 3110, 3310, and that buisness 1000 one i forgot.. better efficiency comparing to the old tricolour cartridges..

epson are nice for photos, but depending on what model you get, inks may cost a bit...

best thing is to try and find out if they have value packs for inks like 3 colours in a pack or something.. it usualy saves you about 20% from buying individualy..

How come you havent considered getting a mono laser printer for the black and whites? it will save you a bundle compared to ink purchases.. and much faster and efficient for that amount of pages..

i think a combo like a brother 2040 laser + a pixma 6210d or hp 3110/3310 would be good.. what situation is this? office? and do you require network printing or is it just to be on one pc etc? and if you need multifunction stuff like scanner/photocopier?

i like minor details

 

[Ruben]

Thanks for all the replies so far. It is for home based office, no need for networking at this stage. I am budget limited so 2 printers is rather not an option. I do understand this would be more efficient in the end, but I can't spend $700 on printers and $300 on toners and cartridges like that.

Does anyone know if these canon, hp and epson etc. printers can use non-original cartridges?

It used to be no problem and quality was good - at least last time I used ink printer on regular basis and was paying for cartridges myself
This was about 3 years ago in Eastern Europe. Not-original cartridges were 1/3 of the price and NOT WORSE or if they were I was lucky not to see the difference...

I read now cartridges are protected with some sort of a chip so you are locked into particular brand and they can overcharge you easily..
Do you know any work-arounds? Or simply put how to deal with it?

Any experience with refill services? Are these any good?

Once again thanks a lot for your time

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I know my Canon can use unbranded cartridges.

The easiest way to check is once you decide what printer your want, just do a google search for Canon compatible cartridges. That should give you a fair idea of what`s avalable.

Regards Howard

 

[halo71]

As already said, whatever you do. Dont buy a Lexmark!! I have an 'el cheapo HP printer/copier/scanner that i paid like $180 almost 2 years ago and havent had a bit of trouble with it! It prints pretty decent photos as well, not the best but not bad.

If you get the refillable cartidges you can save money there too! I've always had good luck with Hp printers. We have severallaser jets at work that are real work horses!

 

[N3051M]

canon and hp are good with refills as far as i've tried and heard, but i like to stick to my genuines. Epson i think have that chip security thing on it, but i'm not 100% on that. If you do opt for DIY self refill kits then there are "chip resetters" or some sort of device, but i've never used them. Also do take care not to spill ink all over yourself.. it very hard to get rid off. Some shops can do it for you.. and they even sell already refilled ones as well..

the only drawback of it, is that if your printer breaks, and under warranty, then the manufacturer can say its the cartridge's fault, and wont repairing it without $$. which is why one should keep genuine as long as needed, and buying "value packs" even better..

$700 budget for a printer is actualy quite generous.. im assuming american $ right?

this is from a aussie site, so its in $AU.. and a general office supply shop, not a pc specific retailer like newegg or Harris tech and others, so prices can be different.. and so could be the models..

anyways.. this is what i was thinking..
brother 2040 AU$199
http://officeworks.com.au/shop/cata...K&PR=Q66&SID=4L45QDEUR06K8NAECFG1ERDLHJ0V9NF9

toner (2025) is about AU$95 for ~2500 pages..

and hp 3110 http://officeworks.com.au/shop/cata...K&PR=Q66&SID=4L45QDEUR06K8NAECFG1ERDLHJ0V9NF9

and a combo pack like this (american site): http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11109504&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1

so 199+379=578, consumables you shop around..

That said, if you think thats overkill, the HP will do the job nice enough by itself

 

[Tedster]

I've used refill kits for my canon printers for years. Works fine.

 

[nork]

I cant say anything bad about Canon, thats for sure. I had a cheap i450 that was doing me fine. It won some award. I broke it myself, simple as that, not even sure how i broke it, but i did.
Anyway, i got this HP deskjet 5550 in the other day, part of a big trade. I checked and found it only had 900 pages made on it. Being a business machine thats very few. And its supposed to do color photos, even 8 x 10 real well. And thats something that is of interest to people who want to do photos like that as a lot of printers will do photos ok but only smaller photos and some do 8 x 10's very poorly indeed.
so if you want big photos then you want to check around and make sure the printer you want can do that job well.
I do know that canons and hp's will re-fill pretty easily. I have also refilled some lexmark without a problem, but indeed there are some out there that you cant refill so easily, and i think that involves some lexmark printers, but im not totally sure on that.
Canon and HP are good bets.