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Hi folks,
Who's the cheapest printer brand to use long-term? I need a printer for home use; documents and some photos from the digi cameras. I bought some super cheap printers from Dell a couple of years ago, but their trial-size ink carts are now empty and Dell are insanely expensive for ink refills.
So... does anyone want to suggest a quality, reliable printer in the sub-£100 bracket, that doesn't have insane pricing for ink refills?
cheers,
Ben
Try the canon PIXMA iP5300 around £80 or Pixma iP4300 £60 ish
They are both good solid alround printers. Good for photos and printing documents. No idea about running costs though maybe you should look around at cartridge prices as well. But i recommend these 2 printers.
I have an HP Photosmart C3180, it's an all-in-one thingy (scanner/printer/copier). Have done some photos, those look very nice, almost perfect I'd say. Prints documents quite fast as well, although takes its time to prepare :) Ebuyer has it for 46 pounds, and if you use it for google checkout, would be 36 pounds, damn, I've paid more :mad:
It's been a while since I did any reasearch but I guess this info is still current;
HP & Lexmark use cartridges with inbuilt print heads hence why these are more expensive to replace, the upside is that because you are constantly replacing the heads you should never have issues with image quality.
Epson & Canon have fixed printheads so the cartridges are less expensive to replace however if they're not used regularly and the printheads get blocked or the heads ever get damaged then you'll need to replace them. With Epson this is a return to manufacturer job, with Canon you can buy the printhead and install it yourself.
In terms of running costs as long as the printer will be well used probably and Epson would be the best choice.
Agreed, it's Canon all the way at the moment. Realistically you can only use the original Canon cartridges (you can use 3rd party, bit it involves changing chips on the cartridge), but the upshot of that is that Canon cartridges are a good bit cheaper than most others.Quote:
Originally Posted by rob4001
The only alternative to Canon I'd personally even consider would be HP, but I've had some poor experiences a few years ago, so I'm giving them a bit of a wide berth at the moment. Just don't go Epson. Just... don't.
Canon are superb. I had one but the cost of the ink cartridges was pathetic! So, i sold it and bought a Brother all in one. Awesome is the word. Pictures and all. Superb! Cost me under £50 for the printer and the inks cost under £2 each!!
Is that for the original catridges?
No. But they are awesome. Never had an issue with them and the pictures are fantastic.
Canon iP5000 here, similarly awesome, even with compatible carts at £10 a set ;)
If I am doing any really serious colour printing, I just stick a set of originals in, run a quick a dirty image print to get the ink through, then change back.
The printer also has the added luxury of a user replaceable print head, not found in any other printer for the price (or so I am led to believe), so if you do cock it up and dry the head up, it can be changed.
Canon - no question about it :)
I didnt realise the chips needed to be swapped? I thought you could still print but it would invalidate the warranty?
On the iP4300s the printer won't accept standard compatibles without changing the chip, apparently.
Yes , but you just peel the chip off and stick it onto the replacement cartridge. See web site 'inkandstuff ' for instructions.:) :)
I used to have a Canon - lasted for a decade before I replaced (not because it was broken... just started to do some more printing and wanted a printer fully compatible with GNU/Linux)
Bought an HP because it works well on GNU/Linux.
Wouldn't go for an Epson. My experiences with them haven't been pleasant.
Personally I would buy a mono laser and a photoprinter. Then you get good cheap documents and good quality photos.
http://www.ebuyer.com:80/UK/product/112911
mono laser - £53 with p&p and google £10 discount
(same one I have - brill; though when it's on offer it's even cheaper - £29.99 at Makro excluding vat)
Help yourself to whatever photo printer, we have an old hp photosmart that needs replacing really. Too much bashing.
Thanks folks. I bought a Canon Pixma iP5300 in the end. So far, I'm pretty darn happy with it. :)