Printer recommendation

[bajajg]

hey all,

anyone can recommend a good all-in-one printer? My budget is around 300 bucks or below.. im very clueless about printers and dont know if I maybe spending too much or too little...

thanks a mill ppl!
g

 

[wchou]

hp all in one, get the cheapest ones at wal-mart
price 148.00
works great on document and photo.
don't get lexmark, document ok but photo is crap

 

[wchou]

HP officejet 5510v all in one

^

 

[Ken90630]

It doesn't get any better than this nice Canon Pixma all-in-one on your budget. If you watch the ads, you can often find it on sale for $30 to $50 off (just last week, for example, Fry's had a $50 rebate deal on it).

It is a printer, copier, fax machine and scanner. It offers superb print quality, and the individual color ink tanks are replaceable. This will save you money because you're not throwing away unused color ink every time you have to replace the color cartridge just because one color has run out. And the ink cartridges are very inexpensive -- around $12ish, I think. Plus, a document feeder as well as a duplexer (for double-sided printing) come standard.

Only thing I don't like about it -- and this is a significant drawback to me -- is that the maximum size original you can copy is 8 1/2 X 11" (letter size). That's how big the glass is. So you can't copy legal-size documents or anything else larger than a standard 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper. Canon says you can copy legal-size originals by using the document feeder, although I don't quite understand how that's possible when the glass is only 8 1/2 x 11". When I called them for an explanation, the rep had no answer for me.

You can print legal-size documents, however, like from your computer. You just can't copy them from the platen glass.

Anyway, if you don't need to copy anything larger than 8 1/2 X 11" originals, this all-in-one can't be beat. My second choice within your budget would be this HP Office Jet 7210. Ink for this unit will probably prove to be more expensive than the Canon's over its lifetime.

The Canon is made in China and the HP machine is made in Malaysia, if you care. And tech support, should you ever need it, is in southeast Virginia for Canon. It is in India for HP (except for their high-end equipment).

Hope you find this helpful.

 

[bajajg]

thats like wow caliber advice..

thanks a mill. i have a canon right now, but ive had so many problems with it, i feel i should switch brands...

no cannon anymore, i want a REAL printer


kiddin. thanks for the advice..

 

[Ken90630]

:laugh: Heh heh,

Is your current Canon an older model or something? 'Cuz the Pixma line just came out last September (2004) and has gotten rave reviews all over the place. From computer magazines to hardware Web sites (including a forum discussion here not long ago), I've seen quite a few glowing comments on these printers. I'm not familiar with their previous models, so I can't comment on them.

What's particularly appealing about these Canons, I think, is the new "Pixma" technology itself. The all-in-ones, like the MP780 I linked you to, can put droplets as small as 2 picoliters of ink on the page. This is phenomenal and is why they can claim "laser printer-like quality." I've heard that photos made with Canon's Pixmas look as good as or better than what you can get by having the pictures developed at a lab. In fact, one or two of their dedicated photo printers (don't remember the model #s off the top of my head) actually uses 1-picoliter ink droplets for even more razor sharp images. :Q

AFAIK, Canon is also the only mfgr to offer the individually-replaceable ink tanks on units in this price range. HP does it with their "modular ink system," but those are the 9110, 9120 and 9130 models and they start at $599. I don't believe Epson or Lexmark offer it in this price range (if at all) either.

Don't mean to sound like a Canon fanboy or anything -- I'm just givin' 'ya the info I happen to know off the top of my head. I've been researching this lately 'cuz my mom needs a new machine (and guess who's doin' the pre-sale research?), so I've got all-in-one machines on the brain right now. :laugh: Of course, there's no one perfect choice -- it depends on what features are most important to you. If you have an aversion to Canon based on past experience, there'd be nothin' wrong with goin' with that HP OfficeJet 7210 on your budget. It's currently my second choice for my mom's new machine. I'm just a little skiddish on it because of how much its ink costs.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[Zepper]

OT - belongs in the Periph section.

I prefer separates so if one part breaks, you can at least use the other during repairs. A feeder might be able to do long paper because of precise positioning - it knows EXACTLY where it left off and can put the rest of the page right where it needs to be. For example, right now a Canon Pixma iP4000 printer (current Consumers Reports Best Buy and all-around great printer) can be had for around $100. AR, and an Epson Perfection 2480 scanner can be had for well under $100. (see Epson's clearance center on their web site). Epson is known for the quality of their scanners. That way you have consensus bests in both areas for under $200.
. If you need to do faxes, install an internal fax/modem (if you don't already have one) for less than $20.

Pixma 780 specs say 8.5x11" max for scanned docs. Another place where separates will let you get just what you need w/o having to buy too much of one part or the other. If space is limited, work up a stacked arrangement.

.bh.

 

[imported_g33k]

I own an HP 6110 all in one and it has serverd me superbly.

 

[RobCur]

an HP is the best, everything else is just subpar at best. I have cartridge dieing on me after a week of use like epson brand, lexmark brand. they are cheaper but you get what you pay for.

 

[Macro2]

HP is the worst. Just wait until you pay for cartridges.

Get a Canon.