Help! I need a new printer. What should I know?

[Fridays Child]

Recommendations? Advice? I am clueless on the subject:shrug:, and I'd be grateful for any the help I can get from my fellow DUers. :)

[DK666]

1. What do ya Print

n/t

[Chovexani]

2. Under no circumstances buy an Epson

They are the worst pieces of shit known to man. I ditched mine and got myself an HP PSC 750 about 2 years ago. It was one of the best things I've ever done, with regards to my computer. I then took the Epson to a field and re-created the scene from Office Space with it. :P

Regardless of what you do decide to get, be very wary of uber-cheap printers. Check to see how much the ink cartridges cost--that's where you typically get screwed.

G'luck. :)

[Kellanved]

3. More information needed

How much do you want to spend? Text, photos or both? How frequently do you print? Do you print a lot (volume, not frequency)?

[Don_G]

4. I've Always Had Good Luck With Canon

Reasonably priced and long-lived ink cartridges with updated drivers on their web site.

I hate Lexmark with a passion; ink cartridges priced so its cheaper to get a new printer sometimes (besides their attitude).

[Flying_Pig]

5. Here's a top tip. Buy Epson. They have a full line, and you can find

one that will fit your budget and printing needs. Why Epson? Because their ink cartridges are available in aftermarket, unlike most other brands. Some of the other brands sell their printers cheap (like HP), but then you have to buy factory ink carts at outrageous prices. They make their money on the carts. With Epson, good aftermarket carts are available, and cheap.

I have two Epson printers, both work great, and I've never had a problem with them. I buy my aftermarket color carts from a place on E-Bay for around $5.00 apiece (factory carts are almost $20 !!!). Black carts are even cheaper. Go to E-Bay, and look at printer cartridges, and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, good luck.

[Maddy McCall]

9. You can get after-market HP cartridges, too.

[curlyred]

6. Epson Good, Lexmark Bad

We have an Epson going strong after 9 years. The lexmark x83 bundled with my daughter's Dell........sucks.

[Syrinx]

7. inkjet is cheaper, but laser cheaper in the long run.

[Maddy McCall]

8. I have an HP 900 series...

print all my work on it. It also prints pretty good photos. You can pick one up at Walmart for about 150, maybe less now.

This is my second HP printer. I have NOTHING bad to say about either of the two. I know I have been through 500 reams of paper on each of them.

[Fridays Child]

10. I mostly print text--articles, letters. My b/w laser printer is on its...

...last leg, and I'd like to consider something more versatile. But I don't know if I should look at lasers or inkjets. I'd also like to know more about the printers that include scanning, copying, and maybe other functions, as well.

I can't pay a whole lot but I figure that even if putting a new image drum in this old laser printer would cure it, that would cost around $200. So, I'm willing to go that high and even up to $300 or so.

Are there good printers in that price range?

Oh, I print one or two documents a day, one to ten pages per document. But as the election gets closer, I think I'll be doing a lot more printing. And it would be nice to be able to print pictures.

[NJCher]

11. I haven't bought a printer in years

But I know at one time Epson had a very good name in the business. Don't know if that's still true.


Cher

[welshTerrier2]

12. Here's a great website with info and reviews

http://reviews.cnet.com/Peripherals/2001-3132_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.glnav

hope this helps !!!

[SoCalDem]

14. I just ordered a canon i70..can't wait for it to get here

Canon i70

Canon's i70 provides the best, and most expensive, marriage of speed, design, and print quality that we've seen in a portable printer.
Review date: 03/12/2003
Release date: 02/27/2003
Specs: Ink-jet, Cable, Wireless, Color, PC, Mac, 600 dpi x 600 dpi, 4800 dpi x 1200 dpi

Editors' rating 7.9 Good

Design 8
Features 7
Performance 8
Service and support 9

(Editors' rating explained)


Where to buy
Buy direct from
Canon USA, Inc.
$249.99

$203-$249 from 43 stores

Canon's i70 provides the best, and most expensive, marriage of speed, design, and print quality that we've seen in a portable printer.

The good: Fast and quiet; prints high-quality text and graphics; well-rounded software bundle; very compact; great instructions.

The bad: Unimpressive photo printouts; USB cable not included; battery and cradle costs make it expensive; high ink cost.

By Dong Van Ngo, March 12, 2003

No matter how small it may be, a portable printer isn't much good if it can't perform. Fortunately, speedwise, the tiny $300 Canon i70 beats many full-sized inkjets. In fact, it's one of the fastest and most compact inkjets we've had in CNET Labs so far. It's also packed with handy features, such as the ability to print borderless photos. What's more, the i70 connects directly to digital cameras, and its text and graphics print quality does not disappoint. The i70's unremarkable photo quality won't appeal to shutterbugs, but for general office workers with little desk space or for folks with a packed travel roster, the i70 is your best bet. The downside: once you buy all of the necessary accessories, including a battery pack, the i70 costs more than any other portable CNET has reviewed, including the $350 HP Deskjet 450cbi.


I also have a canon multipass f-60 that I really like..

[Fridays Child]

15. If anyone ever does a poll on siglines, you'll win, hands down.

Your siglines always rock! Now I'm gonna read your printer advice. :)

[SoCalDem]

16. Thanks.. It must be divine intervention

:evilgrin:..

I do try very hard to be original with my sig lines :)

and I appreciate the recognition :)

[Fridays Child]

18. Thank you! I'll browse through and see what they have to say.

:thumbsup:

[Kamika]

13. get a REALLY common printer

You dont want to buy a printer that you cant buy new ink too

[elfin]

17. I like my canon i850

Tossed my Epson after 3 years, 1 year too late as I wasted incredible amounts of ink trying to clear out the printer jets.

Chose Canon over HP due to price of ink replacement cartridges - this one has i black and 3 different colors.