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Help me find a printer (1 Viewer)

Keith_R

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
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FL
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Kyle
Hey all, I'm a student in serious need of a new printer! unfortunately, my several year old Epson is slowly dying and can't put out a good print anymore it seems so I've begun my search.

I'm looking to get an HP, preferably multifunction, inkjet.Admittedly I really don't know much about printers but going from very general knowledge I'd like to try and get something that is capable of better-than-average prints and decent scanning. As far as scanning goes, I'd like a flatbed one but it would also be helpful if it had a paper feeder for copying. I'll be using a PC equipped w/ USB 2.0 so compatibility should not be an issue for me, however I also have a older G3 Mac equipped w/ parallel only that will also be using this printer so compatibility may be a problem there.

Would it be possible to buy a printer w/ networking capabilities and network it so that both of my computers would be able to use it regardless of parallel or USB interface? I'm running a very basic wired home network right now with a router sharing my cable connection between several devices, how could I network this printer w/ my Mac and PC?

Any printers you all can suggest that may fit my needs?

Please help! thanks!
 

SethH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,867
You might want to list a budget as there is a huge range of prices for printers.

The HP PSC 2610 is an "all-in-one" that has a print server (networking) built in. You could just plug in the ethernet cord and you're ready to go. It runs $270 at hp.com.

Or, you could buy a cheaper "all-in-one," plug it into the usb port on your PC and enable printer sharing across your computers. I believe this will work between a PC and Mac, but haven't tried it personally.

If it were me, I would just drop the bills for the HP 2610 and be done with it. I've had very good experience with HP printers and this one is no where near the bottom of their line, so it should be very good.
 

Keith_R

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Messages
1,184
Location
FL
Real Name
Kyle
I'm sorry I forget about budget. Truthfully I really don't have a budget set but I do know I'd like it to be less than $500 but definently more than their extremely cheap budget models. Going by this I'd say my ideal budget is probably around $300 or a little higher.I'll check out the 2610 though.
 

David Norman

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2001
Messages
9,604
Location
Charlotte, NC
I was about the add a couple this weeks bargains, but it looks like you're well above that limit already.

A couple of the well reviewed budget models if anyone else is interested -- they're almost disposable at this price:
Canon Multipass 390 -- $99 at Outpost.com
HP 4215 -- $99 at Office Max (Plus $15 gift card).
Epson 4600 (3 in 1) -- $99 at Office Max plus $20 gift card

HP2610 $299 at Outpost since I was looking anyway. $270 at NewEgg.com
 

Kris McLaughlin

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 5, 2000
Messages
235
A quick warning from my experience. Run, don't walk away from HP.

They have the worst drivers ever written. My parents had a PSC750 all-in-one that needed to be re-installed pretty much every time it was (attempted to be) used. This is on windows 2000 as well as Mac OSX. I had an old HP scanner as well. Same deal, drivers were awful & unstable and updates/fixes/patches were only in dreams.

Their hardware is fine, you can get really nice prints on the odd occasion that it will work. Certainly not worth the hassle for me.

YMMV.
 

SethH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,867
Every brand has it's horror stories. I will say that HP printers with Apple computers is frequently not a good combination. Epson tends to be much more Mac-friendly. I've never had any trouble with HP on a PC and I've got a 952, a 5550, and a 750 (all-in-one).
 

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