Printer Recommendations?

[SweetErika]

We need a new printer. The one that just died is an HP Deskjet 3550 (a small, economical model), and we're kind of partial to HP because the printers have always worked well for years and not sucked up ink like crazy.

I'm open to considering other brands, however. My needs and wants are:
- Ideally, under $60, but I'm willing to go up to about $100.
- It has to be economical on ink; I mostly print text in B&W on Draft, but don't want one of the brands that totally relies on income from expensive, short-lasting cartridges (I think Lexmark is one of them, but I could be wrong on that).
- The cartridges it takes must be refillable.
- It should be good at printing text and generally very reliable.
- It needs to be able to run via a Linux network. Now I don't know much about this or expect you to, but Hubby said some brands aren't Linux-compatible [HP is one of the brands that IS], so I figured I'd throw it out there in case there are Linux users w/ printer recommendations.


Do you have a printer you absolutely love, or have you had good luck with a certain brand over the years?

How about bad experiences with certain printers or brands? Yeah, it's not a huge purchase, but knowing what to avoid would help, too.

Thanks in advance!

 

[infinity706]

Well, I have a Lexmark X5470. It's really cool because it scans, copies, and prints all in one. It also isn't too bad on ink. The only trouble I've really had is that printing pictures takes a lot of ink, but that's pretty well universal regardless.

 

[buxxxom]

I'm really fond of my HP Photosmart, and would definitely buy another.

 

[Weird Harold]

How about bad experiences with certain printers or brands? Yeah, it's not a huge purchase, but knowing what to avoid would help, too.

I like the way the Epson Stylus series prints, but I don't print enough to keep the ink from drying out in the printhead so I wind up using more ink "cleaning" than I do printing.

My daughter used to use HP printers but got tired of replacing them every year. She bought a couple of Canon multi-function (scan/print/copy) that worked very well when they worked, but the customer/warranty service when they broke down sucked.

Her current printer is a multi-function Kodak which she's had for a bit over two years -- it's the longest I can remeber seeing a single printer last under her moderately heavy printing workload.

 

[sircumvent]

I have an HP 4135 all in one (printer, fax, scanner, copier) that has done what I needed it to do. Nothing fancy, I don't know about the refillable cartridges though.

 

[massage45678]

Printer Recommendation

I have an HP Laserjet 1018 and I love it. I can print 5000 B/w pages for 18.00 The printer itself is Between $50-85.00 on Amazon Marketplace. Link here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...e=380349&creativeASIN=B000FGLYWM&linkCode=asm

I always buy my toner from supermediastore.com. They're quick to ship, high quality and very cheap.

 

[BenDover4]

I've recently purchased a HP P1006 LaserJet. On sale price the upper end of your range. It is to soon to make any hardcore comments, but it does a good job quickly.

The P1006 replaced one of those short lasting cartridge LexMark's you mention.

You get what you pay for...

 

[SweetErika]

I'm really fond of my HP Photosmart, and would definitely buy another.

Do you know what model it is, by chance?

And about how long have you had it?

I've been reading reviews, and the Photosmart ones have been very mixed, so I'd like to look up specific models before buying any printer in this series (or any other, for that matter!).

I have an HP 4135 all in one (printer, fax, scanner, copier) that has done what I needed it to do. Nothing fancy, I don't know about the refillable cartridges though.

That one looks pretty good. I'll have to do some more checking on it.

Most cartridges are refillable with a kit or at some stores like Costco and Walgreens for about $10. I've been refilling my HP cartridges for about 5 years now, and while I buy new ones after about 5 refills, it's saved me a ton of money since the original kit was only like $20.

I don't know about the specialty photo cartridges and such, but the regular black and tricolor (and probably the individual color) are super easy to refill. There are instructions w/ the kit and online, but the gist is that you locate the hole (on the top in the case of my dead HP's cartridges), punch through the sticker, insert the needle of the refill bottle, squeeze in the ink until the sponge is full and put one of those little dot stickers or a piece of tape over the hole. For tri-color, there are 3 holes (there's a diagram to tell you which hole is which color). Always do it on a protected surface, like a paper towel on top of a piece of paper, and either wear gloves or wash your hands good right after, as the ink can stain. For one black and one tricolor cartridge, it's probably like a 20 min job the first time if you're looking up the info and being extra careful to do it right, and <10 minutes each time thereafter.

I figure the worst that can happen is I screw it up or the cartridge doesn't work after (this has never happened, though), and I have to buy a new one - which is what I'd do in the first place if I wasn't refilling.

I have an HP Laserjet 1018 and I love it. I can print 5000 B/w pages for 18.00 The printer itself is Between $50-85.00 on Amazon Marketplace. Link here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...e=380349&creativeASIN=B000FGLYWM&linkCode=asm

I always buy my toner from supermediastore.com. They're quick to ship, high quality and very cheap.

I think a laser printer is a little more than we need. I'd rather have photo printin, media slots and copy/scan capabilities if I'm not going with a very simple inkjet printer.

I'll check into supermediastore.com for ink, though!

 

[kmb411]

I have a HP 5610 that is great, heavy use, dusty enviroment. Has not failed in two plus years. I highly recommend it.

 

[HornyHenry]

Think about ink

There was a good article recently in PC World about how much ink is really in the cartridge when it says it's empty.
Epson came out as one of the best, and they have 4 individual cartridges, so you don't have to replace the whole thing when one color runs out.
PM me if you want a copy of it.
Refiling - have you figured out how to make it really work? I have sometimes, but most of the time, it doesn't - with my old HP-880.

You can search PC World's web site for their past reviews of printers.

 

[Reba67]

I have an Epson C68. I have 4 individual ink catridges which I really like because I tend to print quite a bit more blue and yellow than magenta. My colour usage is close enough though that I can usually buy the colour mulit-pack with all 3 colours for replacement.

 

[satindesire]

(deleted)

 

[subwannabe]

I don't know anything about refilling your own cartridges with a kit but I have tried refilling cartridges at Walgreens several times and have now come to the conclusion that it isn't worth it. There were not only numerous problems but I have come to believe that the cartridges don't last as long getting refilled than when you buy them new. I would go through cartridges in no time every time I had them refilled. I also ran into other people in line at Walgreens several times who were also having multiple problems when refilling.

There is also the problem that some printers give warning messages that there is no ink in the cartridge after refilling when the cartridge is actually full. The other poster is correct about listening to warning messages about low ink in new cartridges which actually still have a lot of ink left in them. It is just a ploy to get you to buy a new cartridge before it is really time. I think it is my office printer right now which throws up a warning message after just a few prints and then you never get another warning message again. You only know it needs a new cartridge when you notice the ink has run out. Sometimes that is a real pain.

 

[SweetErika]

Well, it looks like we are kind of limited to HP given our Linux setup. There's a smattering of models of other brands that work, but none that are recent, in our price range and have the features we want. And the free Canon multifunction we got for free with my previous laptop won't work (besides, it's crap on ink, needs new ink and it's a poor top/back feed design, which always resulted in paper jams ).

I saw a couple of HPs at Costco today that looked kind of promising and have instant rebates:
J4580 (At Costco it's the 4550 for $5 less, but it looks like they have the same features.)

J6450 for $140. It has the card reader, wired and wireless networking built-in, a quality scanner, etc., but it probably more than we need (and want to spend).

OfficeJet Pro L7555 for $140. This seems like a great deal at $40 off, but it takes 4 cartridges and is probably more than we need.

Any inside knowledge or thoughts, Satin, or anyone else?

 

[satindesire]

(deleted)

 

[HornyHenry]

Go here

http://www.pcworld.com/products/peripherals/printers.html
and check out the ones you are looking at.
They aren't always spot on, but you can tell if one is really bad at least.
And you can look for the reviews of the type you are looking for.

 

[Sir Victor]

I actually like Canons, there are lower cost models in this line, don't know if they meet your Linux requirements:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/canon_mp610.html

Canon has made some of the best laser print engines that were used by many other brands including HP.
I've had bad experiences with low end models from both HP and Epson.

 

[Sir Victor]

Interesting but the reviews I've read so far say that the Kodak printers are not yet fully refined designs:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070205/232213.shtml

Also:
http://blogs.computerworld.com/does_kodak_cut_it_low_cost_ink_strategy_one_year_later

 

[Calvin]

Well, it looks like we are kind of limited to HP given our Linux setup. There's a smattering of models of other brands that work, but none that are recent, in our price range and have the features we want. And the free Canon multifunction we got for free with my previous laptop won't work (besides, it's crap on ink, needs new ink and it's a poor top/back feed design, which always resulted in paper jams ).

I saw a couple of HPs at Costco today that looked kind of promising and have instant rebates:
J4580 (At Costco it's the 4550 for $5 less, but it looks like they have the same features.)

J6450 for $140. It has the card reader, wired and wireless networking built-in, a quality scanner, etc., but it probably more than we need (and want to spend).

OfficeJet Pro L7555 for $140. This seems like a great deal at $40 off, but it takes 4 cartridges and is probably more than we need.

Any inside knowledge or thoughts, Satin, or anyone else?

SE - I have been very happy with my HP6840... which I bought in large part because it needed to be on a hardwired network. However, while I did not initially use it in a wireless capacity, I do now and it is very handy when either a friend or my daughter drops by and is able to print from their lappy. I do not believe that the 6800 series is still a current series but that there are very similar ones in the 6900 series... 6988 might be good number. Not sure on the Linux though.
Good luck.

 

[BenDover4]

Hope you let us all know what you purchase and why, as well as your initial thoughts regarding your new printer.

 

[Wetdl]

I have a number of HP's, none old enough to brag about yet.
I have had good luck with Cannon as well.
The only inkjets I would warn against are the Brothers, had 2 fail just out of warranty.

 

[SlickTony]

I have a HP 5610 that is great, heavy use, dusty enviroment. Has not failed in two plus years. I highly recommend it.

Another endorsement for the HP 5610. It's a very good printer. This is how good it is: a friend of mine who was in prison sent me a Christmas card that he'd done himself, and asked me if I could send him copies back because some of his friends wanted them. Well, I did, and I honestly could hardly tell the copies from the original, but for one thing: he'd put his initial on the back as a sort of logo, and it was cut off, cuz it was a tad too near the edge. This is common to every printer I've ever had to do with. I suppose it's like sleeper sofas, the way they just about ALL have that bar that catches you in the back. I think probably even GOD's sleeper sofa has that bar that catches you in the back.

Another thing--we are refinancing and the guy we're working with wanted copies of our social security cards, so we put ours on the glass, and my husband hit the color button when he really had planned to just do B&W, and the copies of the card looked almost as if they were the real ones, just lying there on the paper.

 

[rbone04]

Big fan of my HP Photosmart C4385 all-in-one. It scans, copies, prints, and does a nice job with photos (although you have to change to the photo ink). It's a bit pricier, but that's also 'cause it's wireless. I know they make a non-wireless version for somewhere around 80 bucks I think. One downfall to many printers these days (I know HP and Epson do this), they will not include the USB cable to hook it up to your computer. It costs upwards of 30 bucks separately. Ironically, the wireless version of my printer came with one and the non-wireless version (which requires the damn thing) does not. Go figure. I'll tell ya, a great place to find the lowest prices online for computer-related stuff is dealnews.com. Not usually much to speak of for printers... but every now and then they will.

 

[phelon]

Big fan of my HP Photosmart C4385 all-in-one. It scans, copies, prints, and does a nice job with photos (although you have to change to the photo ink). It's a bit pricier, but that's also 'cause it's wireless. I know they make a non-wireless version for somewhere around 80 bucks I think. One downfall to many printers these days (I know HP and Epson do this), they will not include the USB cable to hook it up to your computer. It costs upwards of 30 bucks separately. Ironically, the wireless version of my printer came with one and the non-wireless version (which requires the damn thing) does not. Go figure. I'll tell ya, a great place to find the lowest prices online for computer-related stuff is dealnews.com. Not usually much to speak of for printers... but every now and then they will.

not bargain shopping for the usb cables then..
go through amazon.com and you can get something for like 10$ unless your talking a 30 footer.
my general opinion is epson has better photo and color work than HP by a small margin, HP tends to have better long term usage stats. both work best with photo specific ink.. because its a better ink.
the biggest question is whats the actual usage. 100 b/w a month? or 1000?
25 color pics once every few months for a report or 25 pics a week and more ..
if your looking at 300-400 or more sheets a month, a smaller laser printer might just be the longer run better choice, the toner is more expensive per unit, but much less even than refills usually are when you are doing bigger batches.

as for drivers http://www.openprinting.org/driver_list.cgi is not going to be supported by the manufacturer, but basically all that means is at least one windows machine needs to be on the network to talk the printer through setup, and test it. after that, if the drivers are good, you should be ok.
if you have problems just troubleshoot them from the windows computer
its not a great answer but since linux is for the more technical crowd, it is the option provided.

 

[SweetErika]

I don't know anything about refilling your own cartridges with a kit but I have tried refilling cartridges at Walgreens several times and have now come to the conclusion that it isn't worth it. There were not only numerous problems but I have come to believe that the cartridges don't last as long getting refilled than when you buy them new. I would go through cartridges in no time every time I had them refilled. I also ran into other people in line at Walgreens several times who were also having multiple problems when refilling.

I've not had them filled by Walgreens or anyone else, but as I said, I've had wonderful luck refilling regular (i.e. not special photo ones or anything) HP cartridges with a universal refill kit I bought at Costco about 5 years ago. They've always refilled quickly, easily and lasted and printed just fine. Even if they didn't last as long as brand new ones (I don't know if they do or not, but that's inconsequential), I still come out way ahead by taking a few minutes to refill rather than going to the store and ponying up $20+ for a new cartridge every time it runs low.

http://www.pcworld.com/products/peripherals/printers.html
and check out the ones you are looking at.
They aren't always spot on, but you can tell if one is really bad at least.
And you can look for the reviews of the type you are looking for.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that.

SE - I have been very happy with my HP6840... which I bought in large part because it needed to be on a hardwired network. However, while I did not initially use it in a wireless capacity, I do now and it is very handy when either a friend or my daughter drops by and is able to print from their lappy. I do not believe that the 6800 series is still a current series but that there are very similar ones in the 6900 series... 6988 might be good number. Not sure on the Linux though.
Good luck.

Yep, that was my thought about the wireless, too. I'm torn between going cheaper and basic so it doesn't hurt as much if it dies in a few years and getting all of the features (including wireless) that would help now and in the future. I think we'll buy at Costco so it's easy to return if we really hate it for some reason.

not bargain shopping for the usb cables then..
go through amazon.com and you can get something for like 10$ unless your talking a 30 footer.
my general opinion is epson has better photo and color work than HP by a small margin, HP tends to have better long term usage stats. both work best with photo specific ink.. because its a better ink.
the biggest question is whats the actual usage. 100 b/w a month? or 1000?
25 color pics once every few months for a report or 25 pics a week and more ..
if your looking at 300-400 or more sheets a month, a smaller laser printer might just be the longer run better choice, the toner is more expensive per unit, but much less even than refills usually are when you are doing bigger batches.

as for drivers http://www.openprinting.org/driver_list.cgi is not going to be supported by the manufacturer, but basically all that means is at least one windows machine needs to be on the network to talk the printer through setup, and test it. after that, if the drivers are good, you should be ok.
if you have problems just troubleshoot them from the windows computer
its not a great answer but since linux is for the more technical crowd, it is the option provided.

We probably only do 20 pages a week, max. Usually in fast draft B&W.

I do want the ability to print photos, but it's not a requirement since I can have them printed up at Costco or wherever for 13 cents each and we're more share-pics-online type of people.

HP has supported Linux in general with funding and releasing (if I understand what Hubby told me correctly) for years, even though it doesn't publicize its relationships or support on the box, website, in the manual, etc. Apparently, Linux users have fewer problems with HP printers in general than other brands and there's more support regarding troubleshooting and updated drivers in the Linux community.

Our desktop does have XP, but it's most often running Linux, and because Hubby likes to try different distros, we really need a printer than can run when that computer is running either OS. Our laptops run Ubuntu and Debian. I think Hubby is planning on setting up two different networks, though I don't have the details on how.

Hope you let us all know what you purchase and why, as well as your initial thoughts regarding your new printer.

Will do! We're going to look at Costco's offerings right now and will probably have something set up this week.