Printer advice please...

[masmdu]

Getting a new printer soon.

Advice on what's a good one?

Which are to be avoided?

Thanks

[SoCalDem]

1. I have a canon multiPASS F-60...love it

but of course, NOW, I wish I had gotten the one with the built in fax..



mine scans copies and does a bunch of stuff that I am to lazy to read the manual to find out HOW to use :)

Here's the CNET review

http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_MultiPASS_F60/4505-3182_7-20439011.html

[Kellanved]

2. depends on the use

Text or Photos?
A Laser for text, as the results are sharper, cheaper and more durable.
For photos a good Ink Printer: color, but the prints fade and the ink dries in the printer after a time.

If you can afford a color-laser (they got affordable lately) take one; the photos aren't as good as a ink-photo printer's, but more durable and cheaper.

[Deja Q]

4. disagree on color laser for photos

An inkjet using pigment inks can last up to 80 years on the right sort of paper AND with higher resolutions that color lasers can't even hope to dream of right now. On most glossy papers, it's closer to 40 years, so I'd stick to semi-gloss, luster, or archival quality (no acid) matte papers.

The Epson Stylus Photo 2200 is, by far, the best choice for photos and it costs less than a color laser.

[Kellanved]

6. interesting but AFAIR only under archive conditions

25 years max and only if you store the prints in a dark place. In daylight they will fade really fast (1 month).

And (I don't know the prices in the US) I can print a color page for a few cents; with a inkjet it would be approaching the Euros range. As I hardly use the color feature the ink would dry in the printer BTW.

For good photo prints I use the shop around the corner; it takes a few days but is far cheaper and better than any Inkjet on the market.

[Deja Q]

10. Possibly

But I've made bumper stickers on the Stylus Photo 2200 which have lasted longer than a month (2 months and counting and no fading yet, the black looks very black and the colors are still saturated) and the car sits outside all day long, exposed to direct bright sunlight and rain... I've read that other people using dye-based printers have their bumper stickers fade out as little as 2 weeks.

The HP 1220C ink was rated at 25 years under the conditions you've said and it does not use pigment-based inks. I've made posters I've hanging in the living room, under acrylic (not glass), and does get exposed to indirect sunlight (the window is on the east side and the poster is almost perpendicular but the sun still hits it). 3 years and counting, it has not faded at all. I can no longer tell since my 1220C died on me :grr: and can't print new samples to test from. I should re-print them on the new 2200 printer as I know they'll last...

[matt819]

3. HP

I've had Epson and Canon and HP over the years. The first two did pretty well for a while, but the HPs have outlasted them. I have two -- model 6122 and model 5550. The latter has trouble feeding the paper sometimes, but it has been generally reliable. The other one is a workhorse and hasn't let me down in the 10 months or so that I've had it.

I would argue for a printer that prints. If you want a scanner or copier, get those separately.

I got reasonably confused over whether to get a copier with separate color cartridges. I gave up and got the one cartridge printer.

Good luck.

[Deja Q]

5. I had a HP 1220C...

For shortly over 3 years. Just after the warranty expired, the darn printer wouldn't print on glossy paper anymore and you could see smoke and thin rubber shavings coming from the friction. :eyes:

Epson and Canon are, by purport and visual results, more highly rated for color photo printouts anyway.

For a laser printer, I would stick to HP - that's where they're best at.

And I agree, separate fax/printer/scanner(copier) components are best. All-in-one units may be convenient, but component quality is much less. And if any one part of it fails, then you're usually SOL for the whole thing.

And always go for separate color cartridges; when one color runs out you don't need to throw out the whole cartridge, unable to use the remaining ink. My printer (Epson Stylus Photo 2200) eats up light magenta and light cyan at twice the rate of the other colors. That alone makes me appreciate the separate cartridge issue.

Just my two cents.

[Kellanved]

7. I don't know

I had two HP lasers; both died shortly after the warrantys had expired. Never again : crappy quality, expensive printers and expensive toner.

[Deja Q]

11. They are expensive

HP's brand name.

I know they're all for globalization, so I'm wondering how much of the price they charge goes to US workers...

With Lexmark suing using the DMCA as an excuse, I'd avoid them too. Especially when they make toner cartridges for other brands, and here they are suing because someone made a toner cartridge for their laser printer. :eyes:

[this_side_up]

8. The current issue of

Consumer Reports might be in your library by now.
They did an excellent coverage and comparison on
lasers and inkjets.

Unfortunately our printer came with the computer
and the ink is killing us $$$. It is an Epson.
I miss my old HP.

[radfringe]

9. check the prices for the ink cartridges

I had an old Canon printer - cartridges were costing anywhere from $30-$50 EACH

Never had any luck with the "refill" kits - got more ink on me than in the cartridges

When we went to buy a new printer - other than the print quality and other bells/whistles - I checked out the cost the cartridges.

all things being equal in the price range we could afford - We went with a Canon S600 because the cartridges are in separate tanks. The tri-color tanks usually end up running out of just one color before the rest and you have to toss the whole thing away.

Printpal - I buy my cartridges here, good prices

[Deja Q]

12. Avoid refill kits!

The ink is generic in most of these kits, though some claim to make ink that conforms to the OEM's specifications (uh-huh).

And Lexmark and HP are getting crafty in their cartridge design; try to refill them and you'll likely destroy the integrated print head, if not getting ink all over your clothes and countertop...

[Catshrink]

13. Check out the cartridges and print heads

If you're buying an inkjet, you want to be sure than when you change the cartridge, you also change the print head. The brands that do this are HP and Lexmark.

Unless they've changed design, Epson and Canon don't do this which means after so many prints you'll need to have it done - and it ain't cheap.

I had a scanner, inkjet, and Laser -- all HP's and a fax machine. The four took up so much space I bought an HP all in one. I still use the laser on occassion, but gave the scanner and fax machine away. For the volume I do, which is school teacher stuff, it works great.

Cartridges are gonna get you any way you go... The best prices I've found are at Costco.

Good luck!

[DavidMS]

14. All I can say is "old HP Laser Jets"

Good print quality, last forever are reasionably cheap.

I would go with a old Laser Jet II or III series or any other used commerical laser printer if space is not an issue. Idealy one with a low page count (under 50K pages) and a built in RJ45 Ethernet port (if you have a home network).

As for ink jets, check out Toms Hardware Guide. www.tomshardware.com

I don't need color for much so I use a laserjet for most of my printing.