Printer Advice Please

[Stephen]

Hello all.

I am after a new printer, preferably an all in one. You know, one that scans, copies, of course prints, makes the tea, washes the car....oh and produces top photo prints. Budget £100 - 130.

Just returned a Canon Pixma MG6250 as the photo print side of it was terrible, even after intervention from Canon online support I could not improve it. Possibly a one off duff'n but I am reluctant to try another.

So any recommendations appreciated.

Oh, and ideally I must be able to get compatible inks at a sensible price for it, ie Amazon. My lottery win hasn't come in yet for originals.

[emjay45]

Hi Stephen
Wouldn't have a clue but just wanted to say hi

[Onelife]

Hi Stephen,

This advice comes with conditions..... (I want to see more of you) Oh! And don’t start having sexual fantasies... I’m referring to seeing more of you on this forum

You might like to consider the HP Photosmart C5280 All-in-One, Printer+Scanner+ Copier. (Updated version)

We’ve had ours for 5 years and it hasn’t let us down once.

Regards

Keith

[david63]

For reasonable operating costs then Kodak are amongst the best - have had a Kodak AIO for a few years and had no problems.

In an attempt to "future" proof I would certainly be looking at a wi-fi model and if there is the remotest possibility of the "good lady" buying herself ('cos I doubt that she would buy one for you ) anything from the Apple stable then make sure that it has Air-print functionality.

Not sure about using "compatible" ink cartridges - I have had some bad experiences in the past and now tend to use original.

[Silver_Shiney]

I've used a number of HP printers over the years - wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. To save money, the office I worked in at the time moved to third party cartridges - a complete waste of money.

Conversely, I've always bought Epson printers for home use and have never had any trouble with them. I have tried a number of different "compatible" cartridges and, as with HP, have found them (at least, the chipped ones) to be a false economy. One make reported the cartridges were empty, yet one side was made of clear cellophane and it was obvious that the cartridges were still at least half-full. I've always (for budget reasons) bought Epson printers in the £50-£70 range and have absolutely hammered them (I'd print 100 copies of our 30-page annual report on top of of all my domestic printing) and they'd last a good couple of years - not bad for a machine that isn't built for that sort of work.

I'm currently using a DX4450 - set of cartridges from Tesco cost me £38 last week.

Having said that, I am sure there will be others who swear at, rather than by, Epson!

[Manoverboard]

I've had Canon on and off since 1980 something or rather and have never had problems like wot I had with my one and only HP printer .... none of which by the way were all-in-one units.

My present Canon is able to print onto Inkjet CD / DVDs etc and that is far more important to me than having a built in scanner like wot I would hardly ever use ... just something else to go wrong in my book.

ps ... it also has high quality photo printing options and that is also important to me.

[oldbluefox]

I'm using a Canon MP520 which was not expensive and I do find the scanner and the copier really useful. I use compatible cartridges in it and whilst I am not sure that the colours are exactly vibrant they suit my purposes. I have had it for three years now and it has never let me down once. We had Epsons and HP at work and I swore I would never touch them.

I suppose in thefinal analysis it all depends what you want to use the printer for. If it's for printing off letters etc and you are not too bothered about printing photographs off then mine does the job well. If you want to do finer printing with vibrant colours don't touch compatibles and go for a printer which has photo printing capabilities.

No experience of Kodak although I have heard good reports. Check out reviews on Amazon!!

[Stephen]

Not sure about using "compatible" ink cartridges - I have had some bad experiences in the past and now tend to use original.

Thanks David.

I've had one or two myself. I now carry a torch with me at night

[Stephen]

Hi Emjay and everyone else.

Good to see the old faces are still around. And they don't come much older than Onelifes.....only kidding mate

[kaymar]

I've had an Epson Stylus Office BX300F for maybe 3 years now, Stephen, and it has been excellent. I always use original cartridges, though, I have never found a reliable compatible alternative.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I've had three Epsons now (the latest being an SX435W) and always use compatible cartridges. Epson say if I do so I will knacker the printer, which is probably true and probably why I've had three printers in the last ten years. However the compatibles I buy are around £30 a set cheaper than the Epson originals so if the printer dies after two replacement sets I've saved enough money to buy the next one - and my experience is the compatibles take a lot longer than that to do any damage. If the odd cartridge runs out prematurely it still works out a lot cheaper than the originals, which per cc are considerably more expensive than my favourite malt whisky and Trish's favourite perfume. I usually buy from my local stationer or ijtdirect on line, from whom, incidentally, the latest printer also came, free if I bought four sets of their ink - about the same price as the printer and one extra set of ink if I bought it elsewhere.

[Onelife]

Hi Alan

“I've used a number of HP printers over the years - wouldn't touch them with a barge pole”

If you must take pictures whilst sitting on them what do you expect?

Now pull your trousers up and stop rubbishing my advice

Regards

Keith

[Kendhni]

I am surprised at your experience with Canon, they are usually well up there on the leader board when it comes to print quality.
At the minute I am using a Canon scanner (lide210) and an HP printer. The reason for the HP is that the print head is on the cartridge rather than built into the printer. I print very little these days and with my old Canon I found the print heads dried out and clogged up if not used for several weeks - and sometimes I could not get them cleaned requiring an entire new printer.

Try looking at this web site for some inspiration

[oldbluefox]

I think you have to be very clear in your own mind what you want a printer to do and to take into account other factors such as use of genuine vs compatible inks and quality of paper being used. As I have always used compatible inks and, in the past, filled my own (very messy) I have found Epson and HP a problem, why is why I am now on my second Canon printer and am very happy with it. The print quality is good but colour quality for photographs and pictures could be better. However I would consider other printers and use of genuine ink cartridges if I was going to run off photographs in any numbers.
For me the Canon was inexpensive, runs well on compatible inks, produces a decent print quality for the written word and is easy to use as a scanner and copier.

[Stephen]

Thanks everyone.


I'll take a gander at that link Ken

Cheers

[Dark Knight]

Stephen
Could I suggest you amble down to PC world, collar a spotty 18 year old, take a flask and some food as you could be a while, interogate him fully and forcefully for all his accumulated wisdom.

and then go elsewhere and buy something that works and does not line his back pocket with commision and does not require a small mortgage to replace the ink.

hope this helps, if not then, please ask one of the IT geeks who frequent this forum to help you out and repeat the above advice and when you have had enough, get hold of a 13-14 year old, family member who probably knows more about IT then anyone over 45 and ask him or her to help

[Silver_Shiney]

Evidently DK shares my high opinion of PC World....

[Stephen]

Oh darkest one. Thanks for the heads up.

You sound like someone after my own heart. But your not having it until I snuff it. And if your from the Northern hemosphere.........forget it

Amazon is where I mainly shop. Good prices with the benefit of returning if not suitable within 30 days.

[david63]

Stephen - quite often Amazon are not the cheapest place to get computer kit from.

I have mixed views about PC World - in the past I thought that they were rubbish but of late I have found that they do have some offer some good prices - if you know what you want, and quite often you can get something extra "thrown in". If, however, you need advice then steer clear of PCW

[Silver_Shiney]

One other thing to bear in mind, Stephen, is, as others have said, what you want the printer for. If it's for printing good photos, get one with as many colours as possible. Most printers have four colours - black, magenta, yellow and cyan. Epson, at least, do a machine with 6 colours - adding pale magenta and pale cyan to the range. I've recently seen a printer with two shades of gray.

Most printers have a black cartridge and a colour cartridge. You could be in the position of running out of magenta ink but still having loads of cyan and yellow. The cartridge has to be binned (or perhaps, refilled - a messy job). My recommendation would be to buy a machine that has individual cartridges for the individual colours.

[towny44]

Stephen, I bought an HP Photosmart B110 last year and it's proving to be the best printer I've ever had and at under £40 from Comet the cheapest as well, it produces very good quality prints and excellent photos and it can be used wi-fi as well, but maybe the others I am comparing it with were rubbish.
But like David I do stick to HP inks, like him my experience with own brand versions was very poor.

[Stephen]

One other thing to bear in mind, Stephen, is, as others have said, what you want the printer for. If it's for printing good photos, get one with as many colours as possible. Most printers have four colours - black, magenta, yellow and cyan. Epson, at least, do a machine with 6 colours - adding pale magenta and pale cyan to the range. I've recently seen a printer with two shades of gray.

Most printers have a black cartridge and a colour cartridge. You could be in the position of running out of magenta ink but still having loads of cyan and yellow. The cartridge has to be binned (or perhaps, refilled - a messy job). My recommendation would be to buy a machine that has individual cartridges for the individual colours.

Hi Alan

Yes the printer I sent back had two shades of grey. I'm in two minds whether to give it another go.

[Stephen]

Stephen - quite often Amazon are not the cheapest place to get computer kit from.

I have mixed views about PC World - in the past I thought that they were rubbish but of late I have found that they do have some offer some good prices - if you know what you want, and quite often you can get something extra "thrown in". If, however, you need advice then steer clear of PCW

I agree David that Amazon are not always the cheapest, but to me it is worth paying the occasional few pounds more for having the 30 day option to return it if it's not suitable. Not many high street retailers will take it back if you change your mind.

[Stephen]

Just to update on the printer in case anyone should be the slightest bit interested

Tried another Canon Pixma 6250. Still had problems so that went back

Went for an Epson XP-405 all-in-one in the end which arrived yesterday, and so far all good

Not quite the all singing all dancing like the Canon but it'll do for me, plus it was half the price of the Canon so I treated myself to a new aircraft, a PMDG 737 NGX...... which raised an eye brow with the good lady.

I like to live dangerously

[The Tinker]

Happy printing Stephen - if you get bored, bingo is on next door