Solved What printer do you recommend?

[mangoh]

I would like it to be:

A Wireless printer
Able to print fast
Quality standard, will not being printing anything that needs to be VERY high quality i.e. photos so quality isn't too important
Cheap ink cartridges for the printer that doesn't try up quick if unused for several months
Need to print both b&w and colour
Compatible with Windows 7 onwards

Budget:
£100 max

What do you recommend?

Live in the UK btw

 

[boohbah]

kodak are good and cheap ink carts too,

argos sell them at a reasonable price...

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Brows...|Printers|33016389/r_001/4|Brands|Kodak|1.htm

the Hero 7.1 has £40 off atm.

if you buy ink from staples they knock a pound of a new one if you return the old one, it was £2 for a while so worth checking

http://www.staples.co.uk/ink-toner/toner-and-ink/10b-10c-colour-black-ink-cartridge-pack

 

[Phone Man]

If you don't need color printing look at a mono Laser printer. I have a Brother HL-2170W which can connect via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB 2. It uses toner and not ink, so no drying out. Lots of other brands out there also.

Jim

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Even if you need color occasionally, a B&W laser printer will meet your needs better than an inkjet. Even though more expensive, they are less expensive in the long run, especially if not used frequently. Occasional color prints, especially photos, can be farmed out at a copy shop for less than you could print with your own printer unless you print large quantities.

 

[kbrady1979]

My last printer purchase was a Canon, and I am VERY happy with it. Will probably get another Canon when the time comes.

 

[mangoh]

My last printer purchase was a Canon, and I am VERY happy with it. Will probably get another Canon when the time comes.

How long ago are we talking?

Also what is the model of the printer?

 

[kbrady1979]

Canon Pixma Series MP560 and I got it about 2 years ago. I don't know what the updated model is, but it just flat-out works. 5 separate ink tanks, easy to reload.....nice GUI. The only con some review sites gave it was "Mediocre print speeds"...........I have found it more than fast enough for me. I also picked it up on sale for $120......worth every penny.

 

[mangoh]

Thanks for the recommendations so far...

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

There are 3.5 brands I don't recommend for laser printers (I do not recommend inkjets, period):

HP (good products but poor tech help and early product abandonment)

Lexmark (high consumables costs)

Brother (there have been many reports of their printers showing the cartrides empty and won't print when they actually are still at least 1/4 full)

The half is Samsung. I have a CLP 415NW color laser printer that does a great job of printing but the wireless is tempermental. I frequently have to restore the connection to the computer; I'm about ready to permanently run a USB cable. The connection between the printer and the router has been stable but I had the divil's own time trying to establish that connection. Their tech help was worthless. I finally figured out a way to get it to connect despite the idiot directions.

I can't speak for Canon printers but I've had excellent luck with their scanners and cameras.

 

[kbrady1979]

HP's printers used to be awesome, but the last 4 or 5 I've dealt with have been newer ones and I wanted to throw them out in the street.

 

[WindowsStar]

I would like it to be:

Budget:
£100 max

With only a £100 max budget you need to remember you get what you pay for. I would not let budget be apart of this selection. You need a good printer that gives great ROI and does not cost a lot in supplies. Many times this means you pay a bit more up front, but win in the end. -WS

 

[mangoh]

Lol so you have told us what you don't recommend but then what do you recommend?

 

[RealGem]

I just bought a colour laser printer for £110.

It was the Brother HL3040CN from Amazon.co.uk - they currently have a good offer on it. It has great reviews, but I haven't used it yet as I haven't got a USB cable for it yet. (They are not supplied).

If your budget is £100 and everyone is recommending monochrome laser printers, you might as well give this colour one a try.

Brother HL3040CN Compact High Speed Network Colour LED Printer: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Damn! - it's down to £99.99!

Good news for you though!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Lol so you have told us what you don't recommend but then what do you recommend?

Good question. If I had to buy a printer to day, it would be a Canon but I can't actually recommend it since I haven't used one.

 

[bobkn]

Brother (there have been many reports of their printers showing the cartrides empty and won't print when they actually are still at least 1/4 full)

I have a couple of Brother lasers. (HL-5050D, HL-3070CW. Probably LED printers, to be overly exact.) They have no separate used toner receptacle; they dump it back into the cartridges. So, the cartridges are never empty. At some point the print quality degrades enough that the toner cartridges need to be replaced. Some people reset the printer to continue using the cartridges after they are nominally used up. Print quality, as they say, may suffer. The complaints about Brother forcing the replacement of cartridges that aren't empty is based on that lack of understanding. (The scheme of putting used toner back in the cartridges sounds awful, but it works OK in practice.)

I don't see any Brother colour lasers under £100. The HL-3040CN may be a good choice. It's a network printer, but not a wireless one. (That'd be the CW suffix.)

Brother's driver support seems to be good. My monochrome laser is an old HL-5150D. (D means built-in duplexer.) It's so old that it has both a parallel port and USB interface. I don't think it's had a full downloadable driver package since XP, but the drivers that are available through Windows Update are surprisingly full-featured. Brother probably has orphaned some printers, but I have the impression that they avoid that better than some others (HP).

Lasers are good if your use is sporadic. The toner doesn't dry out like inkjet ink. Colour laser printer toner cartridges are extremely expensive, but I believe that the consumable cost is less than for most inkjets. (Color lasers are useless for printing photos, though.)

 

[RealGem]

Brother (there have been many reports of their printers showing the cartrides empty and won't print when they actually are still at least 1/4 full)

I have a couple of Brother lasers. (HL-5050D, HL-3070CW. Probably LED printers, to be overly exact.) They have no separate used toner receptacle; they dump it back into the cartridges. So, the cartridges are never empty. At some point the print quality degrades enough that the toner cartridges need to be replaced. Some people reset the printer to continue using the cartridges after they are nominally used up. Print quality, as they say, may suffer. The complaints about Brother forcing the replacement of cartridges that aren't empty is based on that lack of understanding. (The scheme of putting used toner back in the cartridges sounds awful, but it works OK in practice.)

I don't see any Brother colour lasers under £100. The HL-3040CN may be a good choice. It's a network printer, but not a wireless one. (That'd be the CW suffix.)

Brother's driver support seems to be good. My monochrome laser is an old HL-5150D. (D means built-in duplexer.) It's so old that it has both a parallel port and USB interface. I don't think it's had a full downloadable driver package since XP, but the drivers that are available through Windows Update are surprisingly full-featured. Brother probably has orphaned some printers, but I have the impression that they avoid that better than some others (HP).

Lasers are good if your use is sporadic. The toner doesn't dry out like inkjet ink. Colour laser printer toner cartridges are extremely expensive, but I believe that the consumable cost is less than for most inkjets. (Color lasers are useless for printing photos, though.)

This video and company overcomes the cartridge problem:
Refill your own Brother HL-3040CN toner cartridge - YouTube
which is why I chose the same model as in the video.


Also, the HL3040CN can be the next best thing to a wireless printer if you use an ethernet cable connected to the hub.

 

[Phone Man]

I have a Brother HL-2170W and had the false toner empty problem. It uses a led to shine through a small window in the toner cartridge and it is blocked by the toner. All I did was place a piece of black tape over the window in the cartridge and problem solved. Brother is a good brand and I like the fact that the toner cartridge is separate from the drum assembly and makes toner a little less expensive.

Jim

 

[mangoh]

Due to the conflicting advice (I did read all the posts)

I came to the conclusion to buy this printer
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Photosma...?ie=UTF8&qid=1361847936&sr=8-2#productDetails

It hasn't been dispatched yet so I have time to cancel.

I followed your advice but then you really are limited to what you can buy and then the reviews make it even harder to decide. The whole photo bit is a bonus, I ordered it due to other features + reviews so inb4 someone says I didn't want a printer renowned for quality. The link I have provided has good reviews and other websites fill it with praise. Cartridges not too expensive, fairly fast, wireless and can also print from android + iOS.

Can anyone see any major drawbacks?

P.S. I strongly considered the brother printer above but its not wireless, its networked. Also I don't believe it is AirPrint compatible.

 

[bobkn]

Due to the conflicting advice (I did read all the posts)

I came to the conclusion to buy this printer
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Photosma...?ie=UTF8&qid=1361847936&sr=8-2#productDetails

It hasn't been dispatched yet so I have time to cancel.

I followed your advice but then you really are limited to what you can buy and then the reviews make it even harder to decide. The whole photo bit is a bonus, I ordered it due to other features + reviews so inb4 someone says I didn't want a printer renowned for quality. The link I have provided has good reviews and other websites fill it with praise. Cartridges not too expensive, fairly fast, wireless and can also print from android + iOS.

Can anyone see any major drawbacks?

P.S. I strongly considered the brother printer above but its not wireless, its networked. Also I don't believe it is AirPrint compatible.

I haven't bought an HP printer in a few years. I liked an old inkjet (deskjet 970c), but the newer ones had extra tiny ink cartridges. There was little question about it being a profit enhancement feature. I hope they've gone away from that.

 

[Phone Man]

I think you make a good choice. HP makes some good printers. I have an old 932c that still works but mostly use my Brother laser since I don't need color.

Jim