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Printer to go with a desktop computer
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Jim wrote: "I need a new printer to go with our desktop computer. So I thought I'd ask for advice and the result of people's experience.It has to be able to print colour and black and white, connect to the d..."
I can't give you a brand, but see if you can get some ink reservoirs for your printer. Cartridges, as you probably know, are a total rip-off. I've heard good things about ink tanks/reservoirs and they're not that expensive and work out cheaper in the wrong run.
Go to your local Sainsbury's / Tescos / PCWorld (or anywhere that sells printer ink) and see what ink cartridges they stock most of. Then find a printer that takes them.In the past I've always bought printers based on spec & ratings, and then found that nobody sells ink for it. Which is a bit bloody useless.
Isn't ordering ink from Amazon the way to go?
Well we have recently bought a Cannon wireless printer, and we can connect it to our computer with a wire. Ink cartridges are individual as my daughter does photography and graphics so we get through a lot of ink. But it's handy to replace the one which have run out . Also practical to print off your phone, laptop and even iPods, so your not fiddling with connecting wires, or having to open all documents on your computer just to print.
But it doesn't connect to our computer because our computer is very, very old. But it should work newer computers.
How often to you think you'll use it?What kind of colour printing do you think you'll do?
My lady wife used to print off a small newsletter (which involved printing 40 A4 sheets, but has discovered it's cheaper to print one and get them run off by the photocopier at the village hall! So that will cut down useColour we need 'decent' but we never print photos because we never take any.
I'd say we'd use it every week. Perhaps printing about ten sheets a week.
If you are looking for a small home/office colour printer then you might as well go for an all in one - scanner, copier, printer. You'll want duplex. Trust me on this, you will.Because we run a business as well as my writing, we have two printers, both made by Brother. We have the black and white laser workhorse which goes by the snappy title of 2270DW and we have a colour inkjet, multi function thingie called MFC J5625 DW.
We had a lexxmark colour inkjet but it was far more trouble than it was worth. The two we have now have been fine.
And they give me a chance to do one of my patented Dad jokes. Every time you move it you say "It ain't heavy, it's my ..."
Groan. Yes, I know. The other printer joke is to exclaim "one day my prints will come" as your print job rolls out. That one isn't funny either.
My dad has a Brother printer, and I went upstairs at christmas to see a booklet on the desk saying 'Brother Owner's Manual'. I took it downstairs saying. 'He's been my brother for 47 years, I think I know how to operate him...'.My printer/scanner is an Epson SX205. Its not bad, does decent colour printing, and you can use it as a photocopier. I get ink cartridges on line. They are stupidly expensive in the shops.
Sounds like it may be more cost effective for you to pop into your local library to do your printing, Jim.
I like laser printers because the cartridges, whilst pricey, last for ages.If you don't print photos, then that's one of the main reasons to prefer an inkjet disregarded.
I am very happy with my Brother laser printer. It's only black and white, though.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Sounds like it may be more cost effective for you to pop into your local library to do your printing, Jim."Remember that a trip to our local library will cost me a couple of pounds in petrol :-(
The village hall has a photocopier but obviously you need to print out the first copy before it can work.
But yes, we'll be using that more often because we can print them from our original when we're in the village anyway.
Note I'm not making a lot of comments, not due to lack of interest or appreciation but because I'm frantically taking notes :-)
Will wrote: "Groan. Yes, I know. The other printer joke is to exclaim "one day my prints will come" as your print job rolls out. That one isn't funny either. "Back in the old 35mm film days, that was always known as "The Kodak Song"!
When it comes to photos, I've found that taking the card out of the camera (I know you don't have such things Jim, but others do) and using the photo printing machine that sits in the corner of Tescos is cheaper, faster and much better quality than trying to do it on the inkjet.
I'll bear this in mind Tim, because inevitably at some point I'll end up with that or similar technology
Jim wrote: "I'll bear this in mind Tim, because inevitably at some point I'll end up with that or similar technology"And by the time you do, the rest of us will be creating 3D holograms.
Ignore the rest, Jim :) Ink reservoirs are the way forward. I've never looked back.
Whatever printer you get Jim I can guarantee that it will delight with the infernal glee of (I'm convinced) semi-sentient machines in misbehaving horribly whenever you have an a)important or b)urgent printing job to do. We have four printers here for different things up to an A1 sized ugly brute for our architectural drawings and on a bad day they can provide a symphony of error beeps.Our laser printer for black and white A4s has been the best behaved.
Printers can sense hurry. NEVER do your printing at the last moment. If necessary pretend to have a deadline, and you will get your prints a few minutes after your fake deadline has passed. But still pretend to be mad or the printer won't be fooled the next time...
Every single printer in the entire school was broken in some way the day before the kid's reports were scheduled to go out. Every one.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Every single printer in the entire school was broken in some way the day before the kid's reports were scheduled to go out. Every one."Of course they were.
My reply is over the top for Jim's requirement, but I beg to differ from Tim's comment re quality. R.M.F mentiooned this option:
I have a Canon Pro 9000 Mk2 printer (around £400). It has 8 13ml cartridges,@ £13 a pop at Tesco prices. So I spent £80 fitting a (filled)continuous ink system (fed direct from bottles at the side), and buy inks at £8 for 100ml. (Maths: Tesco £1/ml CIS 8p/ml) My annual ink bill is around £50. I do a fair amount of large format (up to A3+) photo printing, some paper, some canvas, as well as smaller prints, and get through reams of A4 paper per year ( I always print at least one paper copy of draft manuscripts - helps find typos)
The photo quality is indistinguishable from professional prints. I buy paper or canvas by the roll from Ebay, and cut it to size, saving megaloads on packed paper too.
I don't know what Tesco charge for an A3+ canvas (that's about the same size as a wrapped A3 box print) but mine come out at around 50p each, including ink!
I've had the printer 4 years, and reckon it paid for itself in the first year. (Of course it didn't, because there's no way I would have produced so many large prints if I'd had to pay regular prices for them!)
Printers under £60 are designed as disposable and aren't expected to last much more than a couple of years of light use. But they're fine for 'photocopy standard' work and cheap if you buy 'equivalent' inks off the internet.
Yes Pete.Of course if you do a lot of photo quality printing it could make sense to buy an expensive printer. But for most of us, the 50 quid jobbies are perfectly good enough most of the time. And for the 20 or so photos I print in a year, Tescos is most definitely cheaper and better.
Speaking of cheap printers, you could go ultra-cheap and just buy a new printer every time the ink runs out - the cost will be about the same and you can have the satisfaction of giving it a good seeing to after that final paper jam . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wsj...
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Jim wrote: "I'll bear this in mind Tim, because inevitably at some point I'll end up with that or similar technology"And by the time you do, the rest of us will be creating 3D holograms."
or bridges . . .
http://www.theguardian.com/technology...
Tim wrote: "Yes Pete.Of course if you do a lot of photo quality printing it could make sense to buy an expensive printer. But for most of us, the 50 quid jobbies are perfectly good enough most of the time. A..."
I agree.
There's also special offers to look out for, where the cost of a new printer is actually cheaper than refilling your old one! (But sometimes they don't supply full cartridges)
Tim wrote: "Patti (baconater) wrote: "Jim wrote: "I'll bear this in mind Tim, because inevitably at some point I'll end up with that or similar technology"And by the time you do, the rest of us will be creating 3D holograms."
"
Like this? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-...
Okay, where did he get those empty rooms? In my house, any flat surface doesn't last 30 seconds before it's covered by a stack of something! (and that includes the top of the printer - I have to brush a 4 inch pile of papers off it just to open the scanner!
Sounds like this place except replace random spices and clothes and stuff for stacks of paper.
Thanks for the reminder, guys! I forgot I had a scanner. It's somewhere about the level of the mid-Jurassic period - on the basis one magazine = 10 million years!
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Sounds like this place except replace random spices and clothes and stuff for stacks of paper."I suppose the bacon sarnies never stand a chance of being left to lie around?
Having replaced my old Canon MP620 Printer I have 27 (black and colour) cartridges which are of no use to me. I'll happily send them to anyone who can find a use for them.
It has to be able to print colour and black and white, connect to the desk top with a cable, I don't want wifi only, and we want it to have separate ink cartridges for individual colours and black. (So when one runs out, you only change that one)
So any suggestions please?