# Wi-Fi printer questions?



## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

I’m looking for a new printer with print/copy/scan and want to go wireless. However, I’ve read varying accounts about print speed issues across a wireless network.

This printer will be in the same room and no more than five feet from the access point. I would have assumed being this close I would have zero problems with speed but you never know.

Anyone have any experience with Wi-Fi printers? 

Has anyone actually used the LCD screen on a photo printer to crop/touchup photos for printing? It seems to me that it would be really awkward so I’m considering skipping the added cost.

Any recommendations?

TIA

Mike


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I have an Epson Workforce 520 with which I am very satisfied. I also have it about two feet from the access point and am really only using wi-fi so as not to take up a port on the router. 

It's fast, quiet and warms up quickly. Photo quality is acceptable, for the very few photos I print. Black quality is excellent. 

This was a ~$60 printer and has no on-screen touchup. I had a fancy HP Photosmart and never used the on-printer controls.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

My approach for the search would be to gain a reasonable list of candidates...determine cartridge costs for each...and work back from that point.

Assuming a number of them provide very similar capabilities..the costs of the cartridges will have the most substantial impact to you in the long term.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I should mention that the Workforce 520 seems to have excellent cost per print based on experience. The cartridges are small, about the size of a credit card and about 5/16" thick, so there's less tendency to dry out.


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

I have a Kodak 5250. The only thing it doesn't do is fax. Cartridge combo packs can be bought for 20-25. The XL black cartridge is a little more.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

In passing, if for any reason you want to be able to print wirelessly using an Apple iPhone, iPod, or iPad using AirPrint you are limited to about a dozen HP printer models (see them all here on sale at HP).

These printers also permit you to print from a distant location via the HP ePrint feature which is a kind of clever email system.

We have a C510a which works great. _*On the other hand*_, the cost per print is a potentially serious negative factor if this is to be your primary printer. We have two other printers on our network, an old HP non-color laserjet and a Dell color laser printer.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

I have a brother hl-2170w and it's fantastic. Love it.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

If it's that close, why not go wired?

I could see wireless if it was in another room with no network cable, or out in the middle of a room.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> If it's that close, why not go wired?
> 
> I could see wireless if it was in another room with no network cable, or out in the middle of a room.


There will be a time when it will move away from the location so wired is less of an option. AAMOF, I have an Ethernet printer now but I want to cut the wire.

Mike


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Anyone have any Wi-Fi printing issues?

Mike


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I've installed a Netgear wireless print server (can handle two usb printers) for a friend. Other than requiring the CD to set up the print server if you change anything (I haven't found a manual way), it works fine and doesn't impact printing speed.

He has had two HP printers with the front panel LCD - the latest is a removable tablet, but he never uses them. Pretty much a gimmick add-on cost.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

My wife has the Wifi laptops, and she has no issues printing to out ethernet connected network priinter. I've also setup an HP all in one for some relatives, and once that was talking to the network ok - no printing issues there either. Just follow the standard Wifi connection procedures for network connectivity and you'll be fine.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I understand the desire to print by iPhone and would like to point out that there are 3rd party apps that allow this for several models. There's no reason to favor HP there.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I have a Canon 640, seems to work fine over wifi, though it's a pain to put in the key when it needs it.

Other than that, the big issue I had was with the ink. I got a message I was running out of Magenta, which I found odd, but got a new one. The other levels seemed fine. Installed Magenta then it said out of Cyan. Then said I was out of page black. I think from now on I might get multiples at the same time...


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

I have a HP D110 All In One wireless printer. It has a print by email feature that allows you to send documents to it from any device that can send email. On setup a email address will be assigned to that printer. It is a very nice feature that has come in handy. 
The printer will not do fax, but then I don't have a land line anyway, so no biggie. Also there is HP mobile app that allows printing from a mobile device that is wifi connected to the printer or to the router..
I believe the cost for the printer was around $75..it was a Christmas gift so I don't know the exact cost.
I print via wifi all the time, very quick, the printer is located in another room from the laptop, and from my phone ( which I print from frequently).


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Mike I use a Lexmark WIFI printer that is in my home office in the basement and the family has access to it from anywhere in the house, I don't seem to have any issues at all with the laptop on the second floor all the way to the basement.

As for quality it's an ok printer/copier/scan/fax, it does make nice photos. We do a very low volume of printing and most of our photos we do at Walgreens.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

machavez00 said:


> I have a Kodak 5250. The only thing it doesn't do is fax. Cartridge combo packs can be bought for 20-25. The XL black cartridge is a little more.


I have this printer as well. Very nice for very little costs.

The 7250, looks like you can print directly from iPhone/pad and blackberry. $99 at Best Buy right now. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kodak+-...nter/9844743.p?id=1218182757109&skuId=9844743


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

I have one of the HP ePrinters. I think mine is the C310. We got it right before the iOS update that allowed the iPad & iPhone to print to them wirelessly so we tried the email feature & that was pretty cool other than the long, weird email name it gives itself. The wireless printing from the iPhone is also cool. And we have had no issues at all printing from our PC's over the wireless network. I like the large LCD screen but I have not used it at all. My sister has the next step down model & she used one of the apps on the printer & liked it.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

HP's suck. Wired or wireless.
Get a Brother.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Marlin Guy said:


> HP's suck. Wired or wireless.
> Get a Brother.


After owning over 10 HP's and 2 Brother printers....I've found the opposite over many years and countless thousands of hours of use - including work-related volumes (that went beyond the typicaly user).


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Marlin Guy said:


> _"HP's suck..."_


Without specifics, it is difficult to evaluate your statement.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Nick said:


> Marlin Guy said:
> 
> 
> > HP's suck....
> ...


!rolling


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Mike Bertelson said:


> Anyone have any Wi-Fi printing issues?
> 
> Mike


I would stay away from the Samsung CLP-XXX series.

We picked it up cheap (~100?) but it doesn't work well on wireless at all. The problem is that it goes to sleep and sending a print job over wifi doesn't wake it up. Samsung has no fix for it other than going and waking it up manually by pressing the button.


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## carlsbad_bolt_fan (May 18, 2004)

(Puts on I.T. Consultant guy hat)

HP's have really fallen off over the past 5 years, both in quality & reliability. Some of my clients have much older HP's, which still work perfectly. But most of my clients that have purchased HP anything (laser,inkjet, all-in-one) in the past 5 years wound up replacing them within 18 months. Plus, HP's software tends to suck REALLY BAD. Not sure why even on the fastest systems (core i5, i7) it takes FOREVER to install. 

However, my experience with Canon (inkjet)& Brother (laser) are the complete opposite. Either of those brands installed in the past 5 years are still working and the software is rock solid.

Kodak, while their printers are cheap and they use less ink, the print/graphics quality is far inferior to all the other brands.

For an inexpensive, usb or wireless, the Pixma MG5220 is hard to beat. I've installed quite a few and they just work and the software is rather good. Only negative is it doesn't have a wired network port. You either use USB or WiFi. Amazon has it for $99, and doesn't charge sales tax.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

carlsbad_bolt_fan said:


> (Puts on I.T. Consultant guy hat)
> 
> HP's have really fallen off over the past 5 years, both in quality & reliability. Some of my clients have much older HP's, which still work perfectly. But most of my clients that have purchased HP anything (laser,inkjet, all-in-one) in the past 5 years wound up replacing them within 18 months. Plus, HP's software tends to suck REALLY BAD. Not sure why even on the fastest systems (core i5, i7) it takes FOREVER to install.


Lately it does seem like the drivers tend to be bloated.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

dpeters11 said:


> Lately it does seem like the drivers tend to be bloated.


I've got an HP DJ6490 and the software for XP and Vista is really bloated (bunch of photo stuff as well). Nice that Win7 included the driver.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

HP printers are notorious for bloatware.

Sent from my iPhone using DBSTalk


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> HP printers are notorious for bloatware.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using DBSTalk


Kinda true.

But I use their HP Solution Center software almost daily, and while its fat code, it works well and robust in features.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

"hdtvfan0001" said:


> Kinda true.
> 
> But I use their HP Solution Center software almost daily, and while its fat code, it works well and robust in features.


 While I don't use it every day, I agree. Over the years, many years, we've used HP, Canon, Brother, Dell, and other printers. Sometimes the magic worked with a brand, sometimes not so much.

As I said in an earlier post, we currently are using an older HP Laserjet, a color Dell laser printer, and the HP inkjet that is AirPrint enabled and permits printing from a distant location. All work fine. But I'm not emotionally invested in any piece of computer equipment or peripheral as they all have their peculiarities, even the iPad I'm typing this on.

As with all such items I recommend one look for the features desired, look at reviews, then close your eyes and buy what you hope is best for you.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

almost exclusively use hp printers.. but I only install the driver.. the all-in-one I have has web scan, no driver even needed.


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## flexoffset (Jul 16, 2007)

My dad bought the HP Envy100e All-In-One. I had to set it up for him. He's not big into computers.

AirPrint works great, and people can send email attachments to it (5MB limit IIRC), and he prints to it wirelessly from his iMac. The email address is crazy long -- his is 13 random alphanumeric characters followed by @hpeprint.com.
HP says they do it to prevent spam from coming in to it.

You can scan in documents and it sends them to your computer.

You can load smugmug, facebook photos, mapquest, fandango, and a ton of other apps. It's quite neat. 
here is the first page of the apps:
http://h30495.www3.hp.com/apps

There are one or two issues with some file types that will print too small but for the most part it's really neat.

The first firmware update took about 45 minutes.

It's also got a neat little interface on the web.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Mike Bertelson said:


> There will be a time when it will move away from the location so wired is less of an option. *AAMOF, I have an Ethernet printer now but I want to cut the wire. *
> 
> Mike


I had a wired printer as well, and wanted to cut the wire, so I hooked it up to a spare wireless adapter that I had, and it works perfectly. I print from all over the house without any issues, and it seems to print just as fast wireless as it ever did wired.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Not trying to be debbie downer here but I spent the better part of a decade with the HP Solution Center and the flaws that came with it. It's amazing how many problems could be traced directly to it. When I finally abandoned HP printers, it was because the all-in-one was just fine but the HP software could not be uninstalled, reverted, or upgraded, yet was almost completely nonfunctional other than basic printing. 

On the other hand after 7 years with Epson Scan and Fax at work I've had no problems at all.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

I have an HP now but since I went to Windows 7, which already has the driver, I didn't have install the HP....stuff. 

Works great and no bloat.

Mike


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