Buying Printer: HP or Canon?

[tosaytheleast]

I'm buying a printer and this is subject for heavy usage. I am a student and would print a lot of handouts and documents for research almost everyday, my mom works at an office and would also print 100 pages several times a week, my brother also is printing his ebooks instead of getting the original copy of the book. Basically I would want a printer that could be able to print fast and could last long with daily use and probably a thousand pages a week.

When it comes to printers, my mom would say I should get an HP printer b ut reviews would tell me that Canon printers are the best. Any advise from your own experience about these two brands will really be appreciated. My mom have already told me to get this HP Color LaserJet Pro 400 from that site but I am leaning towards Canon imageCLASS D320 on Amazon. Hod do you think could I convince her to get the Canon and ignore HP?

 

[Elixer]

Look at the ink/toner prices for each, and then you can make a better decision.
Then, make sure they offer drivers for your OS by looking at their site and seeing when they updated last.

 

[tosaytheleast]

Thank you for the fast reply. Well if I consider what you said, then HP would have the advantage because they would have cheaper ink.toner prices. The website that sells HP also has driver support while I can't find something about it on Amazon talking about that Canon printer. Maybe I will find out if I contact the seller.

 

[Elixer]

The problem with all these things are, it is subjective on what is better.
If you got the time, it might be better to go to local office store, and see what they got, and look at print samples...you might even find a deal since some of them started to price match amazon and newegg...

If you are going to print lots of things, then, that is when the ink/toner price comes into play, if you are only doing it occasionally, then it don't matter that much.

Since you are going to be a heavy user, then it makes sense to get a printer with a good warranty, and has good support driver wise, and the ink/toner fits your budget, and don't run out after 50-100 pages. Guess I should have mentioned, that some makers play tricks on you by offering a smaller ink/toner refill kit, thus making it cheaper, when in reality, you will be using twice as many ink/toner refills to get the same job done as the other printer would.

 

[Wall Street]

Look at the ink/toner prices for each, and then you can make a better decision.

I agree with this. I put a brother laser printer on my wedding registry recently. I received, from a family member as a gift but not wedding gift, a nice but used HP unit that needs new ink replacements. The cost of an ink combo pack with two black and one color ink cartridge is the same as the entire cost of the brother laser printer (which is only black & white to be fair).

 

[Rio Rebel]

Make sure you're getting real ink costs. You have to actually look at the volume as well as the price and compare $/mL. This is hard, since HP refuses to tell you the volume and likes to only rate it "xxx pages".

I owned nothing but HP for years and years. I finally went away from them and bought a Canon, and I don't have a happily ever after story for you - the Canon isn't perfect. But at least the ink is cheaper.

 

[corkyg]

You don't cite ink or laser. Your usage leads me to suggest laser. In the laser world, I prefer HP or Brother. Toner carts can be refilled several times provided the drum is replaced.

Consider a basic difference between Canon and HP inkjets. Canon ink carts are generally cheaper - mainly because they are only ink. Canon uses a "permanent" print head which will eventually need to be replaced. That will cost you over $100 as a rule. HP carts contain the print head, and every new cart is a new print head. They can be refilled up to 3 times as a rule.

 

[bruceb]

A slight correction to what Corky posted about the HP printers. Old units, like the HP7410 did in fact, have the printhead on the ink cartridges. Newer models, that use multiple color ink tanks, do not have the printhead on the ink cartridiges. This all started with HP, when they discontinued the HP7410 and its cousins, about 4 or 5 years back. All that aside, since you are student and will likely be doing heavy amounts of printing (for research or homework), I would suggest an inexpensive laser unit. It will cost a bit more upfront, but it is very fast and cheaper to run.

 

[EagleKeeper]

You can purchase a $200 laser unit only and get toner refills off the internet at much less than the official toner refills at a office store.


We have a Minolta that I purchased in '04 (free due to price matching/rebate error) that still is used. On it's 3rd toner.

A Brother Laser 2010 is wearing out that was purchased in '07 = heavy printing by grandkids once they learned how to use the browser to go to educational sites.
The feed mechanism jams the paper every once in a while.


for what the OP wants; ink is a no brainer - DO NOT get it.

 

[bononos]

A slight correction to what Corky posted about the HP printers. Old units, like the HP7410 did in fact, have the printhead on the ink cartridges. Newer models, that use multiple color ink tanks, do not have the printhead on the ink cartridiges. This all started with HP, when they discontinued the HP7410 and its cousins, about 4 or 5 years back. All that aside, since you are student and will likely be doing heavy amounts of printing (for research or homework), I would suggest an inexpensive laser unit. It will cost a bit more upfront, but it is very fast and cheaper to run.

The cheaper models of inkjet printers for all manufacturers have the printhead on the cartridges instead of permanent ones. Because the printhead on the cartridges aren't as good, they will have to be replaced after a number of refills. Epson (and possibly others) have cheap models like the l100/200 with permanent heads but are only marketed in 3rd world countries and China.

 

[Doomer]

I bought a Brother inkjet and found some after market ink cartridges on Amazon that were ridiculously cheap, less than a buck apiece. They work perfectly and I no longer worry about the cost of ink. And the printer is awesome too.

 

[johnsansom]

Whatever printer you buy just be sure that its cartridges can print you more quality pages. Brand doesn't matter much but quality does. But you asked so i prefer Canon is good choice.

 

[dstevod]

You don't cite ink or laser. Your usage leads me to suggest laser.

Agree. Long-run costs are massively lower for laser printers if they're used frequently.

FWIW Dell lasers tend to ship with standard carts in the box, i.e. not low-capacity 'intro' carts. Makes a bog difference if you're comparing the printer prices.

S

 

[Six]

Neither printer can realistically print "a thousand pages a week." Call up HP or Canon and ask for recommendations.

 

[Zorander]

Pay close attention to:

1) Ink economy: Sucks if you have to keep buying new carts even when you're sure you did not print much
2) Printing speed: Sucks if you have to print 100+ pages and you lose sleep/miss deadline because it prints so slow
3) Price: Spend more on heavy-duty units if you truly will print a lot. They are less likely to break and perform better on points (1) & (2).

I speak from personal experience having owned a few printers throughout university life. Print quality is a nice thing to consider but of less importance as long as the printer gets the job done.

My vote for laser printers purely for their speed over their desktop counterpart. Make sure to get a decent unit. You should expect to use it comfortably for at least 3 years. My preference is HP but I have also used Canon. Both brands are good; make sure you get a good model (regardless of brand).

Regards.

 

[Entropism]

I got a Canon all in one a few years back, and I've been getting generic ink off Amazon for $7/set. After 3 years, the print head went bad, so it's time to replace the unit. From what I hear, Brother is the way to go, and you can get cheap generic ink for it as well.

Regardless, you definitely want a laser, if it's thousands of pages/week.