Need a new Printer

[boykinlp]

After my laptop bit the dust 2 weeks ago, I bought a new one. Unfortunately since my hp printer is so old (bought in early 2000s) it is not recognized by my new computer. I don't use one often, so I don't was to spend a lot. I have been looking at the Epson Home XP-420. It runs about $70.

What else might I look at and does anyone use this particular Epson model now? If so, how do you like it?

 

[sophie]

My wife bought me the HP Envy 5531 about 17 months ago. She wanted me to have one to carry in our fifth wheel. Great printer and wireless, feeds from the front, scans, and easy on the ink usage. It was about $98 at the time and works great. I don't know anything about the Epson printers.

 

[DWalt]

For years, I have used the cheapest and simplest Lexmark printer available. It has always worked perfectly and did all I needed done as a printer. I buy replacement ink cartridges at various internet vendors, about half the price of cartridges at the local Office Max and Office Depot stores. About 5 years or so ago, I bought an Epson "Do-Everything" printer-copier-scanner-fax machine, etc. Boy, was that ever a mistake. After a few months I gave it to Goodwill. I went back to the old Lexmark. By the way, I have another cheap Lexmark similar to the old one which I bought on sale for less than $40, still unused in the box. That's my backup in case I ever need a replacement. I already have a separate copier and a scanner for the rare occasions I need them. I had a fax machine, but never used it, so I sold it in a garage sale. I don't think anyone faxes anything these days, just send everything as an e-mail attachment.

 

[ModernRifle]

I used to want the best.... the latest... the greatest.....
Then ink was hard to find, the rubber got hard and wouldn't feed pages. . .
Cheap. .. that's the watchword. Look for a common brand from a big box store. or Walmart. You will always get a fair printer for a cheap price... but the ink will cost you, unless you can get it at a discount price. Usually the big box or Walmart stocks the ink for the brand names they sell.

So... for your model Epson XP420..... what is the ink availability and price! And remember, if you keep the price low, you will not care in a year... or three if you need to do it again.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Speaking of...

Just bought one this weekend.

Brother HL-L2380DW.

Monochrome laser printer, copy, color scan and fax (does anyone fax anymore?). Prints on both sides of paper if ya want. Wireless with AirPrint and all the rest so it works with your smart phones too. Toner cartridge good for 1,200 pages! Goodbye pricey ink that only lasts 50 or 100 pages !!!!!!

Amazon has them on sale half price at $99. I bought mine at BestBuy price matched.

 

[JcMack]

If you don't use the printer very much, don't the print cartridges dry up. I use my printer rarely and it's a BW H-P laser. I gave up on the inkjets 15 years ago. I'll bet you could find a generic driver for your old printer if you looked around.

 

[coltle6920]

Had a Lexmark...It served it's purpose fairly well.Went with a Canon next but the printer head went kaput...Cost was more to fix than buying another printer.

With technology what it is today I just recently bought an Epson Envy 5530.The fact that it's wi-fi enabled helped me buy it.No longer tied to the computer when something needs printing...Do it from the tablet or smartphone.

Hardest part is getting out of the LazyBoy to retrieve what was printed.

 

[coltle6920]

If you don't use the printer very much, don't the print cartridges dry up. I use my printer rarely and it's a BW H-P laser. I gave up on the inkjets 15 years ago. I'll bet you could find a generic driver for your old printer if you looked around.

Maybe if companies that made printers had to keep updated drivers for their products just like automakers have to supply parts for old cars and trucks...

Don't know about Mac computers but after two or three upgrades on Windows a lot of things just aren't compatible anymore.It's easier to just buy new what you need or do without.

 

[Jack Flash]

I bought a Brother printer a couple of years ago. It has worked ok but I would not buy another.

Not so simple installation:
I am reasonably tech savvy, but had to call their help line to get the darn thing to work. The manual had said that if there are problems after inserting the ink cartridges, take them out and re-insert them. I did that and still had problems. The help line guy had me do it over and over (must have been 6 or more times) till it finally worked. I never would have thought to do the same thing over and over that many times!

My main complaint is this:
The cartridges all ran low and I only had a black ink cartridge on hand so I inserted it. My plan was to put the printer in black and white mode and print b&w documents only till I could get the other cartridges. Sorry Charlie! The printer has to have ALL THE CARTRIDGES installed with an ink supply above some minimum or it refuses to even try to print anything! Bad design if you ask me!

 

[Shooting Padre]

Just got a HP Envy 4500 and like it a lot. My old printer was so old it printed in pencil.

 

[jack the toad]

Bad design if you ask me!

Not if youre selling ink.
Ive been looking at the Brother laser. Im not too happy with my less than 2 y/o HP (with only 1 year warranty) that's had less than 100 print jobs. The search continues...

 

[JohnSW]

I don't use one often...

That's one factor that caused me to get a (HP monochrome) laser printer. My ink jet printer constantly clogged, due to infrequent use. That's not an issue with laser printers.

 

[e3mrk]

I have a Epson XP-610 wireless that works great and even prints on DVD's and Cd's.
The only drawback is that ink is a bit on the expensive side but at least You can buy just the color You need instead of the entire color cartridge.

 

[TX-Dennis]

In my experience (having owned three of them) Epson can be a pain if you don't print every day. The print heads clog easily and are difficult (sometimes impossible) to clean.

I bought a really cheapo Canon several years ago. I paid less than the cost of the included ink cartridges for the printer. Figured if it lasted until the ink cartridges ran out I'd gotten my money's worth. It's still going strong about three years and numerous refills later. No matter how infrequently I print the heads never clog.

 

[James&theGiant1911]

Epson makes the best ink jet printers, IMO

I have owned an NX400 420 and own a XP-610

the cartridges can be expensive if you have to buy them all at once but individually they are like 8-10 bucks each.

 

[DWalt]

One of the main reasons (but far from the only one) I got rid of the Epson "all-in-one" printer I previously mentioned was the cost of ink cartridges - horrendous cost and short life. Plus they COULD NOT be refilled, some kind of computer chip in them to prevent that. That's why it went to Goodwill very quickly about 5 years ago. It had the Wireless feature, but I could never get it to work.

 

[Nevada Ed]

You might make sure it uses the newest ink set ups..........

I hate it when they stop cartridges after 4 or 5 years or you bought a cheap off the wall brand that was on sale or the store goes belly up.

I went three for three on this one...........

 

[johngalt]

After going through several printers, I have learned a few things:

* I will never buy another inkjet printer. The ink cartridges are usually dried up when I need it.

* I will never buy another USB printer. Odds are that eventually the manufacturer will quit updating the required driver.

I bought my last printer in 2004 or 5, a HP Laserjet 1320nw. It is a networked, wireless postscript laser printer. I am still using the original toner cartridge, but it is getting faint and needs a new one. Being both networked and postscript, it works perfectly with the generic postscript printer driver packaged with every OS. I've used it from Mac OS9 through 10.6 without any problems.

My recommendation is a B/W networked postscript laser printer, you will likely never have a driver issue again.

 

[Rastoff]

Brother HL-L2380DW.

Monochrome laser printer, copy, color scan and fax (does anyone fax anymore?). Prints on both sides of paper if ya want. Wireless with AirPrint and all the rest so it works with your smart phones too. Toner cartridge good for 1,200 pages! Goodbye pricey ink that only lasts 50 or 100 pages !!!!!!

Amazon has them on sale half price at $99. I bought mine at BestBuy price matched.

I recently bought a laser printer too.

The toner cartridges are pricey at about $85 a pop, but they last forever. I did the math, even though they are more expensive, I'll be saving 3x as much by going laser.

I went for the color version with auto duplex printing so I spent a bit more; $450. Still, worth it. I have to print a bunch for my school. It's faster and easier to use than the inkjet.

If all you need is B&W, there are a bunch out there for $100 or even a little less. If you want color, without auto duplex printing (flip pages by hand for two sided), there are a few at about $250.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

If all you need is B&W, there are a bunch out there for $100 or even a little less. If you want color, without auto duplex printing (flip pages by hand for two sided), there are a few at about $250.

Yup. The wireless Brother monochrome laser printer without the scanner was $89 on sale. It was rated at 1,200 pages too.