Looking to buy a new printer.....suggestions? (1 Viewer)

[Alan Erceg]

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a new printer. not anything fancy, just a good quality, semi-fast photo quality printer. Im looking to stay at around 200$ or lower as well if possible. anyone have any suggestions or cautions.

Thanks
Alan

 

[Tim Markley]

Definitely stay away from Epson. I've owned 2 of them and the print heads are clogged constantly. I've wasted so much ink and paper going through their cleaning process that it's ridiculous. I personally prefer HP printers and will be buying another one soon.

 

[Alan Erceg]

Tim,

Thanks for the response. My Aunt owns an HP printer and is very happy with it. I cant justify spending more than 200$ on a printer, because i wont use it all that much, and i wont be printing digital photos or anything of that sort very much if at all.....

 

[Mike LS]

For $200 you can get an all in one HP model. Scan, copy and print. Not that you're asking for that much, but it can be had for the $$ you're talking about.

 

[Scott L]

I used to have an old HP but when it pooped out (after years of great service) I picked up a Canon because of the price and demo prints. I miss the HP everyday I use the Canon. :frowning: There's a reason why Hewlett Packard is & has been #1 for printers in the consumer market, actually a lot of reasons.

[/HP salesman]

 

[Michael Webb]

I'm also in the market for a good printer. Planning on doing mostly digital photos and resume printing but that's it. I was planning on an Epson to color match my Gateway but I'm going to think twice now. The Epson I was looking at was $150, the demo at Best Buy was OUTSTANDING, what HP would match that in quality and price? Thanks again yalls.

 

[CarlDJr]

Check out these reviews and recommendations:

http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,109123,00.asp
http://reviews.cnet.com/techtrends/0...8.html?tag=nav

Just be aware that some printers may be priced attractively low, but eat you up buying the ink cartridges. Just check out the cost of cartridges for the new Dell printers!

I have both an HP and a Canon. The Canon is a higher end model than the HP and still the printing costs are about 1/3 less for the Canon.

The Canon S520 recommended by CNET is available from Gateway for $99.99, free shipping.

 

[anthony_b]

Look no further...Canon i850 $150... best printer under $200.

I'm an owner of one, plus you could check every site and you'll be amazed by the reviews of this printer !!

 

[DaveF]

I like my Epson (C80), but I print infrequently and have occaisional issues with clogged print heads. I have no idea if this would happen with other printers. Do note that the water-resistant inks (pigment based) are truly water resistant!

If you want this for printing photos, look at Canon. People in the digital printing section of my company marvel at Canon's photo printers.

 

[Steve_Ch]

I am generally happy with HP, they've been my printers of choice for almost 20 years now. One thing may be interesting is to check out what Dell has, as they just got into the printer business, may have some fantastic deals.

 

[Karl_Luph]

I cannot recommend enough that you get the HP printer. They are great, like Steve_CH says we've had HP printers for many years and I can honestly say they've never had one problem. The only reason we've ever bought a new one was because of the higher technology which in printers is about as good as it gets and for the $200.00 you want to spend you're getting a good deal. Just like all inkjet printers, the replacement cartridges will need to be changed out every so often. I've yet to try one of those refill kits though!

 

[GaryEW]

I have used Epson printers for the past 12 years after giving up on HP driver problems. The quality of the prints with their photo printers is outstanding. A contributing factor to the clogged print heads was improper shutdown of the printer. The print head is cycled to a park position when the printer is turned off using the on/off button. Unfortunately, some people, me included, would use the surge protector to turn off the power to the printer and other gear. This would disable the power down cycle, not allowing the print head to park. Another contributing factor is infrequent use, a month or more between uses.
All that being said, Epson seems to have improved their print heads significantly in the last two generations of their printers. I have been clog free for the last two years.

 

[Paul O]

I've had an Epson Inkjet for 4 years - never had a problem with clogged printheads even when using third party ink cartridges.

Frankly i think Inkjets are a big scam - paying 40-50 for a cartridge is ridiculous - Dell is now selling cheap inkjets but there plan is to price their cartridges even higher than HP's (according the the WSJ.) but offer the convenience of bying cartridges on-line (easier than wading into a store and trying to find your cartridges) if you print a lot of black and whites a laser printer may be a better way to go.

 

[Tim Markley]

A contributing factor to the clogged print heads was improper shutdown of the printer. The print head is cycled to a park position when the printer is turned off using the on/off button. Unfortunately, some people, me included, would use the surge protector to turn off the power to the printer and other gear. This would disable the power down cycle, not allowing the print head to park. Another contributing factor is infrequent use, a month or more between uses.

Hmmm, I didn't know that. I think that I'm guilty of both of the above. I use a surge suppressor and print infrequently. Typically I have to unclog the print heads EVERY time I use the printer. Sounds to me like it's a design problem.

 

[Steve_Ch]

>>paying 40-50 for a cartridge is ridiculous

 

[MikeAlletto]

Just check out the cost of cartridges for the new Dell printers!

I would not buy one of those new Dell printers. They are basically Lexmark printers but with custom cartridges. The cartridges even have chips in them so they block being refilled and the chip has to register with the printer to avoid using cheap knockoff cartridges. So until someone finds a way around it I'd stay away from them.