OT, Printer Suggestions...

[wrems]

I’m looking for a printer. I’d prefer an all-in-one. All I really need is network printing capabilities, can be wireless too, but I’d be happy enough with wired.

The reason I’m asking at all, is I have such a bad taste in my mouth about my last ink jet printer purchase.

I’d really like to find a printer that doesn’t mysteriously consume ink via a software based estimation that in turn defuncts all capabilities when it says it’s out of ink... and where the black ink is separated from the color, or individual cartridges...

Does anyone have suggestions for printers that are descent and not too costly? I’m about to go Office Space on this POS.

[jbrandon]

I’ll tell you what I did – I opted for a good quality B&W laser printer for the majority (90%)of my printing. I purchase a cheap and what I consider a throw-a-way ink jet for the little bit of color printing I need to do. I also bought a good quality high dpi scanner for my scanning needs. I know this is three pieces of equipment but they are located in a closet (close by) and all are connected wirelessly using a wireless print/scanner server.

I usually buy the cheapest ink jet I can find, open box or closeouts but usually stay within the same brand so the cartridges can be used – Epson is fairly good about this. I am not recommending Epson just what I have been using for the past few years.

I do not print photos unless am forced to, I send them online to a print store so the only color printing I do is an occasional document. I’ve found the photo printing is cheaper and the quality is far better this way than trying to do it on the ink jet.

I usually go through a printer every 15-18 months…

Jim

[wrems]

Yeah, I agree with you about the photos. I don't print them anymore either. THe quality and speed of uploading them is far better imo. I've thought about going the laser route... Since I really don't have much of a need for color prints. But like you said, picking up a cheap inkjet may be the way to go for the occasional color print... I just hate dropping money on a print server, scanner and laser printer...

Regardless, any laser printers worth mentioning?

[tmiranda]

I gave up my color ink jet printer and went with a cheap, on-sale, Samsung ML-2510.

[zoundz]

I just ended up with a Canon MX870 AIO when my last printer died. Don't have a feel yet for the ink consumption, but at least it has separate YCM and 2 blacks. What sold me on this one is the fact that it has a duplex auto sheet feeder which allows it to scan both sides of pages automatically. Lots of AIO's will copy from 2 pages to both sides of one, but not too many inexpensive ones can scan both sides of the page like this can. It's USB, or wired, or wireless net. The reviews say it's a bit slow, which is not a big deal for me. The photo quality seems to be pretty good and it has separate feeds for regular and photo paper.

So far (three weeks) I'm pretty happy with it. $129 @ Frys the day I got mine.

As with all such information, of course, YMMV.

[perf]

For networked laser all-in-ones, Brother beats Samsung and HP (On my third Brother, having gived up on HP). Stable software and drivers without bloat.

/Per

[wrems]

I just bought a HP laser printer p1102w. On sale $99. Wireless too. I haven't hooked it up yet but the reviews seem positive.

The more I thought about this, it seemed like the best route to take. Get a laser printer, extra inkjet for the occasional color, and a scanner. I was never impressed with the scanner on my all-in-one anyway. I will never buy Kodak again! Miserable pos.

[ccsmoke]

FWIW, Monoprice has some cheap, decent ink..though didn't see that model number. Sometimes other model numbers will work. Generally new laser printers come with starter toner and get about 1500 pages out of them. Replacement should get about 3k.

[wrems]

Originally Posted by ccsmoke

FWIW, Monoprice has some cheap, decent ink..though didn't see that model number. Sometimes other model numbers will work. Generally new laser printers come with starter toner and get about 1500 pages out of them. Replacement should get about 3k.

Good to know. I wouldn't have thought about them... Newegg and Amazon both have good deals on toner too. $20 for off-brand toner through Amazon. Can't beat that.

[deanm]

I would always go for Canon

But I would say that lol

[bits]

A few months ago I purchased an wireless HP Officejet AIO and couldn't be happier with its performance so far. It is great to have printing, photo and scanning in one networked centrally located device. I thought about getting one of the less expensive Laserjets but I really wanted an AIO. Best of all WAF is off the charts with this printer.

[Clift]

I have a Brother All in One Laser. After my HP inkjet refused to print because the ink dried up, I was fed up. Best printer decision ever. I got the Brother MFC-7340 (http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/Model...ductID=mfc7340). It's not color, but for the price of <$180 it can't be beat. It's not color, but I couldn't care less. If I have to print in color I still have that HP {shudders}

[korben_dallas]

Another vote for Brother MFC.

[wayner]

I also get a Brother MFC that I am quite happy with so far. And for photo printing I got an Epson Picturemate charm which prints directly on 4x6 photo paper. This sucker is quite small and portable and works well for photos only - my wife loves it and she does most of the photo printing.

[wrems]

Never used Brother... With all the recommendations I think my next printer will be one.

So far I am very happy with the HP I got. I do like the fact that it is small. My MFC, which I loathe with every ounce of my being, is huge. Every time I wanted to use it I had to drag it out to be able to access the scanner bed. The HP is actually really nicely sized.

Now I need to get a scanner. Any scanners worth looking into?

[Wakecrash]

I just purchased the EPSON artisan 835. $150 at office depot after $100 instant rebate and$50 trade in of EPSON R200. The R200 has worked well for years, but wanted wireless connectivity and scanner.
I go with EPSON since it can print on CD and DVD.

[briands]

Do any of the network all in one models have a network scan option?

[wayner]

I would imagine they all do. I didn't attach a USB cable with my Brother so I don't think the printer knows which PC, if any, is local as the connection to any of my PC is via ethernet.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by briands

Do any of the network all in one models have a network scan option?

Last time I was shopping (few years back) there were a few that did network scanning. I ended up opting for the Canon w/ network scanning, and have been really happy with it. Ink is expensive (amazon subscribe and save helps with that), but the CMYK + PhotoK helps distribute the cost. It won't print B&W with out the color cartridges working though. The network scanning works well, and I use it mostly for photos. I have a scansnap for document scanning, and that thing is AWESOME. It has totally changed how I deal with filing. This year I ended up giving my tax guy a zipfile instead of an envelope. Love it.

I'm never going to buy HP again - had a perfectly good printer that they refused to issue Vista compatible drivers for, and trying to find something compatible barely got me anything that would print. Pissed me off completely.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by briands

Do any of the network all in one models have a network scan option?

My old (2004?) Brother's would. Only thing it wouldn't do on the network at the time, was firmware updates.