# Printer seletion advice Cannon, HP, Epson



## compac (Oct 6, 2006)

Ready for a new ink jet, have read the blogs, and review sites... looked here and did not find many posts,

Know there are haters on this brand or that, this is for a 4 core Gateway
so here are my choices... at Staples this week


Epson work force 600 $150
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p16__243619_Business_Supplies_10051_true_SEARCH

cannon mp620 $100
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p16__251900_Business_Supplies_10051_true_SEARCH
hp photosmart c7280 $210
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p16_Inkjet-All-in-Ones_190482_Business_Supplies_10051_true_SEARCH


Not heavy usage, just home, kids school and a few digi pics once in awhile

Some prices are on sale or rebate taken already 
printers all are w/ separate color cartridges, wifi, All in one types AiO, scanner fax,

Who's got one of these things or a diff one I've not considered / listed?

Thanks,:scratchin


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

compac said:


> Ready for a new ink jet, have read the blogs, and review sites... looked here and did not find much,
> 
> Know there are haters on this brand or that, this is for a 4 core Gateway
> so here are my choices...
> ...


My advice:

Since most printers are now pretty solid and do a good job - *buy the printer with the cheapest replacement print cartridges*.

Printer companies sell printers now as loss leaders, and make their profits on the print cartridges.

I bought 4 $30 HP color printer/scanner/copy combination units on sale....and only use 2 of them now...at that price, when they break...I will get rid of them and replace with another one of my "standby" units still in a box.

I use both my printers every day, and they handle the volume just fine.

In the mean time, my printer cartridges are $14 for B&W and $17 for color.....about 1/2 the price of many others. Factor that over a year, and I figure I'm *saving* about $200 to $240 *a year *in printer cartridge costs over the typical $30-$35 cartridges.

If you stick with the 3 name brands you listed, and find the best price you can on a printer, as well as check the costs of their cartridges (they are usually listed on the side of the box), you'll do fine.


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## Pepster (Oct 29, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> My advice:
> 
> Since most printers are now pretty solid and do a good job - *buy the printer with the cheapest replacement print cartridges*.
> 
> ...


It's getting much harder to find printers which take generic cartridges due to lawsuits filed against the makers such cartridges & patents being issued for those cartridges. The last Epson printer that I purchased actually had programming errors in the cartridge that incorrectly reported how much ink was in the cartridge and I wound up getting a bunch of extra cartridges from Epson for free untill they could straighten the whole mess out.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Pepster said:


> It's getting much harder to find printers which take generic cartridges due to lawsuits filed against the makers such cartridges & patents being issued for those cartridges. The last Epson printer that I purchased actually had programming errors in the cartridge that incorrectly reported how much ink was in the cartridge and I wound up getting a bunch of extra cartridges from Epson for free untill they could straighten the whole mess out.


The ones I referenced are not generic cartridges...they are *HP* cartridges (in my case).

I buy the "21" and "22" model *HP* print cartridges at Staples or other places in the $14-$15 range, which is 1/2 of the regular printer cartrdiges found at double that price....different cartridge models have different prices.

Based on the uses defined by the OP, these kinds of printers and less-expensive cartridges provide a good solution.

The bottom-line key is to find printers that use less-expensive (name brand) cartridges at the get-go.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

It's strange how the printer prices have come down so much, while cartridge prices remain high. I don't use color all that much and the color cartridges for my Epson would usually dry out long before they were empty (even the black cartridge didn't seem to last that long). The HP Inkjet I had in 1994 was much better on ink. I bought a $100 HP Laserjet and have more than broken even already, plus there is quite a bit of life still left in the original toner cartridge.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bobnielsen said:


> It's strange how the printer prices have come down so much, while cartridge prices remain high. I don't use color all that much and the color cartridges for my Epson would usually dry out long before they were empty (even the black cartridge didn't seem to last that long). The HP Inkjet I had in 1994 was much better on ink. I bought a $100 HP Laserjet and have more than broken even already, plus there is quite a bit of life still left in the original toner cartridge.


Like I said earlier....those companies make their profits on the cartridges, not the printers themselves - the term they use is "recurring revenue".

In any case...here's just one example of an HP printer you can buy today at $29 that meets the OP needs and uses inexpensive HP cartridges...the printer costs less than most other printer's cartridges do... 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10710284


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## carlsbad_bolt_fan (May 18, 2004)

As someone in the I.T. business, I see a lot of printers and can say that HP's quality has fallen off sharply. On more than one occasion I've seen HP printers die just after their warranty ends or develop a problem that is too cost prohibitive to even fix. Another issue with HP is their drivers. For some printers (their all-in-one's), the drivers install fairly quickly. But for some of their most basic inkjet printers, installation can take 30-45 minutes. 

Of your three choices, I'd go with Canon. I've installed some nice Brother printers as well.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

carlsbad_bolt_fan said:


> As someone in the I.T. business, I see a lot of printers and can say that HP's quality has fallen off sharply. On more than one occasion I've seen HP printers die just after their warranty ends or develop a problem that is too cost prohibitive to even fix. Another issue with HP is their drivers. For some printers (their all-in-one's), the drivers install fairly quickly. But for some of their most basic inkjet printers, installation can take 30-45 minutes.
> 
> Of your three choices, I'd go with Canon. I've installed some nice Brother printers as well.


Without dueling on brand names...I can tell you that I had "last years model of this same $29 printer running daily now (actually 2 of them), and use one alot for work at home.

It has done a terrific printing,scanning, and scanning job, never failed, and saved a ton of money along the way. The "trifecta" of a good buy.

As for their drivers....that is because some of their printers include additional software beyond just the drivers, and also the multi-function printers such as the one I referenced required added software for the scanning and copying features. Mine installed in about 5 minutes.

Whether you go Canon, HP, or other brand name...the value remains...as long as you get a unit that does what you want and also uses less-expensive (brand name) cartridges.


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## xIsamuTM (Jul 8, 2008)

A particular edict I passed down at my house. "don't waste color ink, when it's gone, i'm not replacing them." I bought it to print stuff for work and school, not so the kids can print spongebob and hannah montanna pictures.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

xIsamuTM said:


> A particular edict I passed down at my house. "don't waste color ink, when it's gone, i'm not replacing them." I bought it to print stuff for work and school, not so the kids can print spongebob and hannah montanna pictures.


Sound familar a couple of years ago here...

But the color cartridges I use are only $1-$2 more than the B&W ones...so that rule isn't needed here.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Although I've used HP inkjet printers for over ten years, of the ones you've mentioned, I'd go with the Canon MP620. It has received great reviews and Canon reliability is very good.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

Apparently Kodak has come out with a new line of printers aimed at reducing ink cost. Haven't researched any of them yet. 

I have 2 x HP 4315v All-in-Ones. $79 apiece and 21 and 22 cartridges at about 12-14 apiece.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Canis Lupus said:


> Apparently Kodak has come out with a new line of printers aimed at reducing ink cost. Haven't researched any of them yet.
> 
> I have 2 x HP 4315v All-in-Ones. $79 apiece and 21 and 22 cartridges at about 12-14 apiece.


Another smart move and good example of my point...the key price to consider is the cartridge price, not the printer.


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## compac (Oct 6, 2006)

Hey All,

We went w/ the Canon mp620 ~$99, although almost half of a printer price for 4 pack of ink cartridges when the starter ones go dry...

Set up was easy, and box even included a usb cable, not as common as it should be.

Printer doing well. Quiet haven't tried the network setup but looks like you can only do one or the other usb, network cable or wireless.

Was hoping to have it wired to our main comp, and wireless to the Kids comp...


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

compac said:


> Hey All,
> 
> We went w/ the Canon mp620 ~$99, although almost half of a printer price for 4 pack of ink cartridges when the starter ones go dry...
> 
> ...


Wireless to both?

You could also configure your computer to share the printer.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

With either the network cable or wireless, you should be able to hit it from any computer on your net.


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