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Printer recommendation, svp


mint
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I'm looking for some advice on buying a printer.  My old printer got dropped during our house move and the paper guide broke off so that now it keeps having paper jams or the page has lop-sided printing.

Time for a new one, I think.  I don't want a laser printer or anything sophisticated.  But, I WOULD like one that takes other than the most expensive ink cartridges!

I do hardly any printing at all but I'd still prefer to pay a bit more for the printer if necessary rather than fork out what seems to me like a small fortune every time I buy new cartridges.

Thank you for all comments and suggestions [:)]

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We have always had Epsom and bought a new one about 15 months ago, and it stopped working when it was just over a year old.

I went through all their advice things and went to buy new cartridges and I could get a new HP cheaper than their cartridges. I don't ever need anything fancy, so I bought it. Please bear in mind that my other half cannot stand the idea of buying anything HP. And as he was away, I thought I'd just get it set up and it be singing and dancing when he got back, as he was away for a few days.

Ahh...... was not like that. It still wasn't working, I'd had a good friend round to have a look and they had no joy. Husband was not amused and wanted to know what I had been playing it. Took us several weeks to get it going, but it works just fine and the cartridges include heads which is sort of what I need as we don't use one that often and just replacing cartridges does not always improve the printing.

In France friends had a Canon and bought leclerc's own super cheap cartridges and as they used it a lot suited them. We tried to buy one when one of our Epsom's gave up the ghost, but would not work on our puter, so we took it back.

I do have a working printer and it prints beautifully, if you can set it up OK, then maybe HP? But if you cannot set it up OK, well take it back.

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The printer companies ahve been flogging printers cheep and cashing in on the ink for years now, but now there are loads of internet places where you can get them much cheaper. Refilled carts are also good, but you have to be a bit careful which ones you get. Have a look at the printer forums and search on refurbished cartridges for a good way of finding the best.

Epsom have been one in the lead of flogging cheap and ripping off with the ink. Not sure now though?

We have just replaced our HP Photosmart printer and went for another HP, but one that prints A3+ size so I can print off my own photos. It's a goodie, but not one of the cheepie jobbies.

I won't touch multi printers as if anything does go wrong you loose the scanner, copier and printer and I believe in the 'Jack of all, master of none' saying..

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A few months ago I got an HP Envy 4500 which has the facility to print from the Ipad without a cable connection, something I find very useful.

Thus far, very pleased.

The guy in Hyper U who sold it to me and whom I do know quite well said that Epson were a rip off because of the price of their cartridges.

You might do quite well to see if there are any mid-range HPs on offer in the local Hyper U or BUT. Boulanger and Darty are possibilities but I have recently heard bad things about the latter's after sales service.

Hope this helps
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Why not get a cheap black and white laser? To me, they have the lowest running costs and if they are used infrequently, the "ink" doesn't dry up. We have a colour inkjet printer that we just haven't used in 10 years because anything that we need gets printed out in black and white on our laser printer. Having said that, if you need a multi-function inkjet, we have just purchased a Canon multi-function that was on offer in Tesco, for my mother: you can print from smartphones, tablets or of course from computers. Easy peasy to set up, running costs seem low and colour prints are excellent in quality. Model is a Canon Pixma MX535 (I think).

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Did have an Epson but when that went wrong bought a Canon. For inks I use this company...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320785822153?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

.. and no problem with the cartridges at all - note the price, £8.99 for 15 cartridges. Hate to think how much they would cost for Canon genuine cartridges.

Sorry, you will need to copy and paste the link as I do not use IE or Windows on this machine - come on admin sort for other browsers.
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Thank you for all the suggestions, everybody.

I am quite taken with the suggestion of a black and white laser, provided the price is not too crazy.

I don't print photos and we already have an A-3 capacity photocopier.

Will consider all your suggestions and will take a look at Leclerc as they are about my only source without driving for miles.

The scanner is also of limited use to me as I can always photocopy and send or indeed photograph and email.

Thank you again for taking the trouble to reply.  I appreciate all your efforts [kiss]

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[quote user="Jonzjob"]I won't touch multi printers as if anything does go wrong you loose the scanner, copier and printer and I believe in the 'Jack of all, master of none' saying..[/quote]My HP 950c multifunction is about 10 years old and still going strong as is my Canon Pixma MG6150 at about 5 years old.

I bought a Brother laser when they were on special offer from CD discount for about €60 and use that a lot.

Tip: it's often cheaper to leave the printer on rather than switch it on when needed usually prompting it to go through a cleaning process wasting more ink than the cost of the electricity.

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Yes, monocolour lasers are now well under a hundred Euros and are by far the best bet for occasional use. No ink to dry out and clog the print nozzles as mentioned above, and unless you are printing photos, black and white is probably perfectly fine for 99% of your print jobs.

When my current Epson inkjet inevitably craps itself I will be getting a laser. I hear good things about Brother ones.
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Thank you, CSV and thank you, AnO.

Having done a bit of googling (BTW, have you seen tonight's Google Doodle?[:D]), I think a laser can be had for between 45 and 70 euros, so not too bad at all.

Tell me, guys, are there extras to get like a USB cable and how much would you expect to pay for the toner cartridge?

A million years ago, or at least a bygone age ago, I bought one of the very first HP laser printers for my office.  It was a heavy, massive machine and I gave it to a colleague when I left because I  didn't have room for it at home.

If memory serves, it cost hundreds of pounds[:-))]  But I remember that what I really liked about it was the speed and silence of the printing.

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One further comment for those who might also be thinking about a laser printer.

It seems that some printers indeed cost very little but do not take generic toner cartridges and the manufacturer's cartridge can cost up to 80 euros each.

Further reading for me on this topic tomorrow but now I am going to trun to my other keyboard, my piano.  So excuse me if you do post tonight and I don't acknowledge your post till tomorrow[:)] 

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I have an HP printer, but bought a Kodak one a while back after researching the whole ink-cost minefield. Supposedly, Kodak inks are among the cheapest to replace. Unfortunately, due to some sort of software glitch, it won't install properly to my laptop so it is still languishing in its box. Months of intermittent searching led me tobelievethat I'd have to reinstall Windows to get it to work. Something that's not unique to me or to Kodak printers, Btw, so not the fault of the printer.
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I have always had Canon printers that take the five or six cartridges because the copy ink is so good and so cheap. I was seduced by the price of an Epson and regretted it as soon as I printed the first page! Noisy and expensive to run and it would not take any paper over about 120gm. I have recently binned it and bought a Canon WiFi Pixma MG6450 as I also wanted to print via WiFi (phone & iPad). What a difference, superb quality and cheap cartridges from Amazon or where PaulT recommends.

You can buy one here http://www.clubic.com/shopping-814904-3-canon-pixma-mg6450-noir.html but I got mine from Géant on special offer.
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Whilst clearing out in preparation for the flat sale, I came across the receipt for the Brother HL2030 b&w laser printer that we bought in 2006 for 50€. It has always been in France, so usage was obviously restricted, but it is still on the original toner cartridge, I believe.  These days, I would strongly suggest going for one with wifi capability, as this is is much more versatile for use with smartphones, tablets and the like. Whether or not it will come with a USB cable depends on the manufacturer and the model - you need to check the box contents if it is important to you.

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Thank you for the new input.

Since Betty's post I am now worried that I will be unable to install the new printer.  Knowing my luck, that is entirely possible.

What I will do is find one I think will be OK and just ask specifically about compatibility.

Alas, this kind of purchase does not amount to retail therapy for me; quite the reverse, it's likely to make me ill with frustration and bad temper [:'(]

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I recently bought a Canon MG4200 wireless printer/scanner/copier for use in France. The wireless setup was easy and is wirelessly linked to my Windows laptop and my wife's Mac. Can't comment on ink usage/performance yet and I only bought it (quite cheaply I thought) for occasional use.

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[quote user="mint"]What I will do is find one I think will be OK and just ask specifically about compatibility.

[/quote]

What operating system do you have Win 7, Win 8 ?

If you know that and you have the reference for the printer you like then Google is your friend.

If you come adrift just let us know and someone will step into the breech.

Personally I have a lot of time for HP printers, though I wouldn't touch one of their laptops again.

Edit : As suggested a wifi printer is really useful, especially if you have a laptop or tablet.

Sue [:)]

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Yes, I'll look at the multi-funtion and the wifi ones.

I so rarely print anything in the normal course of events.  But what with all my problems with banks and so on, I am having to send letters!

On very rare occasions, I also like to print something from the internet.

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Mint, compatibility is not my problem. My Kodak printer is absolutely compatible with my laptop..and both it and my HP printer are Bluetooth ones, so I have tested it and can use it with other devices and laptops. It's a software glitch with my OS, which turns out to affect a fair number of users, printers and laptops..because it's nothing to do with the hardware. To fix it I would need to reinstall windows which I can't do because it came pre installed on my laptop and I have no discs.
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Thank you for the explanation, Betty.

I am sorry you have had your petit problème but I am all the same rather glad it's not me who has to sort it out![I]

I am now committed to a monotone laser, just going to look a tmakes and models and, of course, prices!

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Mint, compatibility is not my problem. My Kodak printer is absolutely compatible with my laptop..and both it and my HP printer are Bluetooth ones, so I have tested it and can use it with other devices and laptops. It's a software glitch with my OS, which turns out to affect a fair number of users, printers and laptops..because it's nothing to do with the hardware. To fix it I would need to reinstall windows which I can't do because it came pre installed on my laptop and I have no discs.[/quote]

Going off subject but in connection to your problem of the OS. If it is Windows and you have a 'branded' machine you may well find that hidden somewhere is a program that allows you to create the discs (or disc) required. Once created, and you have backed up your data, you should be able to put your computer back to how it came out the box.

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