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Printers...anybody know a good cheap one? (1 Viewer)

schan1269

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My Pinnacle Pro901 needs a print head(at least...if that is all it needs). $60...Meh.When I bought the printer I needed fax and scan(gf was taking classes from University of Vermont) and "cheap ink".Now it sits and maybe prints 5 sheets every 6 months(probably why it needs a print head). Anybody know which brand can "just sit"...a bunch?Looking at the Epson XP 310 for less than $60(locally for $65).Need wifi(wifi direct would be cool)Printing directly from phone/tablets would be great(which the Lexmark 901 "had", but never worked)Will never print pictures.Don't need fax as online faxing is free...no landline anyway(dropped that when she was done with UofV).(Although faxing over cell number into fax???)
 

Thomas Newton

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You'd need to work at it to find an inkjet printer that ISN'T cheap.

The cost of the printer hardware is not what will eat you alive. It's the cost of the ink. Inkjet printer ink can run $50 or more for a full set of black and color cartridges - on a volume basis, it's one of the most expensive fluids you're likely to buy (at thousands of dollars per gallon).

If you are never going to print pictures, you may want to consider a cheap laser printer. Toner cartridges for those might set you back $100 each, but the cartridges last a long time, so the cost per page can be much lower than it is for inkjets (especially when talking about black-and-white printers).
 

schan1269

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We use laser at work. Yuck.I know all about inkjet "ink cost". I'm likely to have the ink dry up more than half full. While she took classes, the $5 a pop black ink was great. She replaced the black once a month. She bought 10 the last time she bought some(last Christmas). We still have 4. I'm not kidding. I can count on one hand the number of times I used the printer this year. Mainly used it to fax(till we killed the phone line) and scan documents into our computers.No need for fax.My LG Pad 8.3 has a document photo taker feature that works quicker and easier than the printer did.Why am I looking for a printer?So I can print a return label for an Amazon return. Same reason I used the printer(for other than fax/scanning) the last three times...(Maybe I will just order it from Amazon...just for the irony...)
 

Thomas Newton

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An alternative to a printer for infrequent use might be to "print" .PDF files onto a USB flash drive, and then take the USB flash drive to a commercial print shop to have them do the actual printing. Just a thought.
 

schan1269

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Thomas Newton said:
An alternative to a printer for infrequent use might be to "print" .PDF files onto a USB flash drive, and then take the USB flash drive to a commercial print shop to have them do the actual printing. Just a thought.
For an Amazon return label?
 

Thomas Newton

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schan1269 said:
For an Amazon return label?
You said that you could count on one hand the number of times that you used a printer this year, and at least three (i.e., "most") of those were for printing Amazon return labels.

A print shop might charge you $1.00 a page (wild guess) for printing .PDF files, instead of $0.20 a page for self-service photocopies. Total cost per year for printing five labels = $5.00.

For that $60 inkjet you were talking about to match that cost, you would have to keep it 12 years and print 60 labels, and that's if the stores gave you the ink and the paper for free.
 

schan1269

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Thomas Newton said:
You said that you could count on one hand the number of times that you used a printer this year, and at least three (i.e., "most") of those were for printing Amazon return labels.A print shop might charge you $1.00 a page (wild guess) for printing .PDF files, instead of $0.20 a page for self-service photocopies. Total cost per year for printing five labels = $5.00.For that $60 inkjet you were talking about to match that cost, you would have to keep it 12 years and print 60 labels, and that's if the stores gave you the ink and the paper for free.
That would work, except I have to drive 20 miles to the closest FedEx Office. And that 20 is the opposite direction of the 30 I drive to work.
 

Citizen87645

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I went the route of the cheap monochrome laser printer. I bought a refurb Brother HL-2040 in 2006 (that interestingly enough also had a $30 rebate) and have only needed to buy one replacement cartridge in the last eight years.

And yes, it prints spectacular return labels.
 

schan1269

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I think I will get the Dell.The main negatives..."Only" holds 150 sheets of paper...Doesn't have "wired" internet.Two things I care less about. Oh, it is "slow" in that it can't do 30 pages a minute...Hell, 30ppm was "fast" when I bought the Lexmark...
 

Citizen87645

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There's a little trick with the Brother toner cartridges, too. Basically, cover up the hole that triggers a low toner warning. You can extend the life of the cartridge a fair bit, which partly explains why I've purchased so few toner cartridges over the years.

 

DaveF

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Our 10+ year old HP laser printer died this week. We're going to try being inkjet only (also have a Canon AIO) and see how that goes in terms of ink cost.
I'd been inkjet for years. But that laser printer was a cheap workhorse. Toner lasted forever.

If you don't need color printing or scanning, I'd get a cheap laser printer. It will be cheaper and easier than an inkjet and hopefully last you a decade.
 

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