New printer -

[Fragbait]

Hello lurkers,

I'm going to get myself a new printer, but I've no clue which fits me best.
I would have to print 10-15 pages per week black/white, and ~5 in color.
The quality should be fairly good, but I don't need photoprinting or other high-end stuff.
Which printers have the best cost/performance ratio?
If possible I want one which has low priced cartridges.
Any suggestions or warnings are welcome.
Thanks!

Greetings, Fragbait

[[wcip]Angel]

I have the Epson Stylus C42 Plus. In Norway we had to pay about $100 for it. The quality is very nice and the ink cartridges are cheap. (black ink cartridges are about $20-30 while colour ones are a little more.)

Good luck finding what you need.

[Quark]

Note #1: Don't get a Lexmark. Trust me as someone who watched two classes worth of students trash them (including me). They suck.

Note #2: If you get an Epson (we currently have C82s), do not get refurbished cartridges or cartridges that are non-Epson. We've had excessive problems with Epson printers breaking, but it only seems to happen after the user has bought a refurbished cartridge from us <_<

[Kevin]

That kind of black and white printing suggests to me that you get a laser. Most lasers are about $.02 to $.05 per page, most inkjets are about $.10 to $.15 per page. Then get the cheapest color inkjet you can find for the infrequent color printing. When the ink runs on out the color, just go to Wal-Mart and get their $30 special in inkjets instead of pay $40 to replace the ink.

O.K. I'm only half serious about the disposable printers because a lot of the cheapo specials aren't coming with ink carts anymore. But you are serious in the range where a laser printer (an HP 1100, 1200, or 1300) would be a good idea. It's what I did. Mine will have made up the difference in cost in about 6 more months, and my print volume has gone down and I paid $400 for it, and you can get one for $200 now.

I like Epsons because the ink doesn't dry as fast if you don't use it. I really like Cannons because they usually don't have the print head in the ink cart so the ink is cheaper and you only need to change the head about every 4 or 5 ink cart changes, that generally makes them cheaper. With pretty much every inkjet printer but HP's you really should stay away from the off brand ink carts. They may be cheaper, but do see more problems with printers that use off brand carts.

Of course that is just my thoughts. Black and White lasers are home printers now. Good color lasers can be had for under $800 now (probably less I haven't looked in awhile) but they still have too high a price per page. Of course most people realize they don't need as much color printing as they think if they start using a laser. I really like my HP 1200. I have an Epson 880 that I got refurbished for $30. I didn't like putting $45 in ink carts in it here a little bit ago, but they lasted me a year and a half because of the infrequency of use. So it wasn't all bad.

[Griselda]

I use an Epson at work and I used to have one at home, but I've found them to be loud and slow and it seems like they use quite a bit of ink. It also seems like they get ink buildup that has to be wiped off pretty often.

I replaced my Epson with a HP printer at home, and I'm glad I did.

-Griselda

[Bob]

I've put this in as a reply to the original post, since it touches on quite a lot of the other posts.

I have an Epson C42UX, it came in a set (with a scanner) which cost under £100. I think I've seen the printers on their own for around £50, that's $70- $80.

However, the quality is sometimes poor (with lines on it and stuff), but that could well be my fault. The original printouts that I made looked very good with it. Epson ink isn't bad, but only use new, official, cartridges. I tried a refill once, I had to purge the head so many times to make it work, that I used 3/4 of the cartridge just doing that. Slow.

Canon. My Dad has a cannon BJC4300. He's had it since 1997, and still still works beautifully. Plain text prints at a phenominal rate. Cartridges are cheap.
My brother has a BJC 3000, newer, eew quality, but I know that's our fault. Sometimes noisy and slow. Cartridges are very cheap, and it has seperate colour tanks (so you only replace wach colour as you need to, instead of chucking the whole tank because one colour is gone).

HP: Deskjet 340c (I think) is that what my grandmother uses. It does adequately for her letters, and the occasional thing that I print. Decent speed, pretty quiet, high-quality. Replacement ink is expensive, at £50 to replace both cartridges, but they are big, and last well.

Epson LQ100: Slow, noisy, B&W only. Low quality, and images look terrible. On the plus side, it has an optional tractor unit and the ink ribbons are cheap if you can find them.


-Bob

[Fragbait]

Hi everybody!

I made up my mind and informed myself a bit. I came up with these models:
- Canon i450 (approx. 110€)
- Canon i350 (approx. 80€)
- Epson Stylus C84 (approx. 90€)

Others, I cannot really afford. Would be nice if someone actually has experience with 2 of these, to compare them. It's a rather tough choice, I think.
Well. Luckily time isn't really pressing...

Greetings, Fragbait

[Artega]

I use a Lexmark X5150. I haven't had any problems with it, and since it also functions as a flatbed scanner and B&W/Color copier, I think it was a good deal at $100.

Unless set for the lowest quality setting, printing times are abominable, but it works fine at the lowest setting. I don't print a whole lot, anyway; if I did, I'd get a laser printer. I got it because I needed a new printer, and I thought it an excellent deal.

[Fragbait]

Hi everybody,

Today I bought a canon i450. I searched the web and found a dealer who offered it for stunning 69.90 €!!!
He was the only one though, so I guessed that these printers would be sold out soon, that's why I acted at once.
I hope that wasn't too bad a deal, since the expected price was much higher...(>100€)
Thanks everyone for your input. It was greatly appreciated...

Greetings, Fragbait