Time for a new printer

[Taz]

Hi everyone.

My trusty old HP Photosmart 6510 inkjet is getting a bit worn out now and making all sorts of noises so I've started to look for a new printer. I've managed to get great value out my old one as I bought it for the princely sum of £19 brand new 5 years ago through an internal company site. Of course, the cost of replacement ink cartridges has cost a fair amount over the years.

For a new printer, my requirements are:

1. Compact length, width; but height can be tall (up to 16 inches in height);

2. Well supported in terms of software/drivers on Mac and Windows 10;

3. Doesn't need special paper for general printing and should be able to be fed plain A4 and photographic paper of various sizes;

4. Replacement ink not too expensive and should be easy to change;

5. Outstanding print quality for letters and photos;

6. Doesn't have too many plastic bits to attach all around it - in other words, I'm looking for more of a self-contained 'box' that will have the sheet feeders and output trays all built-in to the main box rather than the many plastic attachments that stick out of printers which end up increasing the footprint by a large amount;

7. Wireless/network printing for Windows/Apple devices;

8. Can do the usual scanning, printing and photocopying.

I don't print a lot - perhaps around 15 pages a month so the cost of ink isn't _that_ much of a problem. However, a compact W x L footprint with input and output trays built in is probably the key requirement.

If anyone has experience of printers available these days that tick those boxes then I'd delighted to hear of them!

[b0redom]

I get this one as a temporary printer after my colour laser packed up:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computi...51721-pdt.html

It gets used more than my (new) colour laser now.

[peterb]

Have a look at www.printerbase.co.uk. They have a good range and very good customer service. I have found Brother to be a reliable make - certainly for lasers, I have no reason to doubt the inkjets either although I have not used one from them.

Good thing is that they sell the ink too, so you can estimate the TCO.

[Taz]

Thanks guys. Lots to consider so I'll spend a couple of evenings creating a shortlist.

[EndlessWaves]

I don't think any of the cheaper inkjets have built in output trays, you're looking at the small office machines for that. The likes of HP's Pagewide 377dw or 477dw fulfills a lot of your criteria and is just 16" deep but the large ink catridges aren't ideal for such light use.

Lasers aren't really an option for outstanding photo quality.

When you say Apple devices, do you mean Mac devices or iOS devices? iOS devices require Airprint.

If you can live with a slide-out output tray then some of the brother machines are pretty compact all in ones, The J4000 series models are 48 x 44-46cm when the output tray is extended.

[Taz]

I mean iOS devices, so the printer would need to be AirPrint compatible. An extending output tray during printing is okay too, as long as I could push it back in afterwards to keep things neat and tidy.