Advice Needed What printer shall I buy??

[T_G]

Hello lads, I wonder if I can get some advice from you about a printer.

For the past few years I had this printer/scanner combination
http://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/products/mainunits/overview/3837

I was quite happy with it, other than the high cost of cartridges, but not too long ago it simply gave up, nothing lights up and it is simply dead. Considering it cost €49 only a few years ago, it might not be worth repairing.

So, I am looking for a printer/scanner for home use, we don't print a lot, just the usual stuff. My daughter needs it occasionally for school.

Thanks, TG

 

[2cvbloke]

Go for a colour laser printer, they're pretty much out-ranking inkjets on print quality now, and the cost per page is a fraction of that of an inkjet too with toner prices being a lot better than what they used to be...

 

[Vipersan]

Personally ..I like Epson ...with Canon a close second ..
Things to consider imo ..
Can the cartrides/printer counters be reset..?
Can they be easily flushed ?
Minimum colours 5 plus black...
Can they accomodate non branded inks ?
and most imprtant to me ...are individual colour carts used ?
I hate and feel ripped off by multi cartridges where a single colur is predominantly used ..thus you throw away as much as you use..
I still use my Epson Stylus Photo R285..and rarely lets me down even after being stood idle for months.

..and I would Never buy a combo printer/scanner.
rgds
VS

 

[2cvbloke]

I used to use an Epson C46 until recently when it just decided to stop working altogether (I had previously reset it's "service" counter to revive it, now it's just not working at all), but, every time I went to use it, the damned ink had escaped and clogged up the heads, so required many cleaning cycles, some new cartridges and another cleanout, all for the sake of a few pages, not exactly value for money!! I keep meaning to buy a colour laser, but I forget to do so...

The only working, reliable, always available printer I have now is my Oki Microline 280 Elite Dot Matrix printer, plug in, switch on, add paper, print, no fannying about with cartridges or head cleaning cycles, just have to put up with the noise, but I like that noise...

 

[T_G]

OK 2CV, I see your point but i'm not going back to dot matrix whatever happens

 

[Lazarus]

I have an Epson SX515W Copier/Printer/Scanner that cost around £50 and has happily run on fake Cartridges (3 packs of four for around a tenner or less) for around four years now.

No issues with recognising the cartridges, with leaks, blockages or poor colours and print quality.


I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Epson (whatever the equivalent Model is today) if and when this one does go t*ts up.

 

[2cvbloke]

OK 2CV, I see your point but i'm not going back to dot matrix whatever happens

I only use it for things I HAVE to print out there and then, the rest of the time I've gone paperless, for now...

 

[Channel Hopper]

OK 2CV, I see your point but i'm not going back to dot matrix whatever happens

I've got one in the shed if you want it.

I have an HP 2215 all in one thingy - taken from the local dump for the price of a pint of milk - plus a spare carcass just in case. I must have printed out 300 pages with it before it started asking for more ink, and then it went for another 100 + before I replaced them.

 

[bim]

We have a canon mp160 7yrs now with no problems scan and print are not bad it has a lot of features but is still easy to use hope this helps

 

[battenfan]

I'm also fed up with clogged ink heads, spending a days cleaning them just to print a single page.
Are you sure you need colour? I seldom do. If I need something pretty I use a service like vistaprint.
I looked for a wireless so I can print directly from the phone, a linux compatible (hp is probably a safe bet), b/w laser.
I ended up with a Samsung ~£70 a year ago. I still haven't changed the cartridge.

 

[rolfw]

My HP started failing on me a couple of years back and I replaced with an Epson S22, which also started producing less than satisfactory results.

I've recently opted for a colour laser printer, a Zerox Phaser 6600dn, comes with full cartridges, giving around 3,000 copies and benefitted from a cashback. Really pleased with it.

 

[pgh13]

I have an Epson SX515W Copier/Printer/Scanner that cost around £50 and has happily run on fake Cartridges (3 packs of four for around a tenner or less) for around four years now.

No issues with recognising the cartridges, with leaks, blockages or poor colours and print quality.


I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Epson (whatever the equivalent Model is today) if and when this one does go t*ts up.

Thing to remember is not to mix real ones with fake in the printer at the same time.

 

[pgh13]

Morgan Computers do an offer where you buy x sets of fake ink/toner and they give you a new printer to go with it..... which is, of course what the manufacturers do anyway; sell you a printer for 20 quid with enough ink to print 10 pages then charge you twice that price every time for refills

 

[A nonymous]

I've had my HP 2550ln colour laser printer for about 8 years now, I would never go back to an inkjet. I also have a Samsung ML1550 monotone printer which just requires the toner being topped up every three to four months.

In 8 years i have replaced numerous toner cartridges and a few imaging drums on the HP but all in all it owes me about £250 in the time i've owned it. Its now sitting at around 400,000 pages printed.

I wouldn't like to think how much that would have cost on an inkjet.

 

[PaulR]

An inkjet is fine if you're a light but regular user. If you're not then a laser is the way to go.

I have an HP 2605 in both the UK and France. The one in France is regularly left switched off for up to four months at a time and when we get back I switch it on and it just works. An inkjet would have gummed itself up in an act of petulance for being ignored for so long.

 

[T_G]

OK, I am not a regular user so a Laser would probably be better...

 

[sep990]

If you don't print photos have a look at the Dell laser printer. The 3rd party carts are also cheap.

I bought this one when it was £90

http://m.ebuyer.com/433141