New printer time

[H Richard]

I am needing to replace my computer printer. The current one, an HP 6520 Photosmart has been a great one, but the Black print head is gone. It printed great photo's, scanned, and faxed all in one, but the ink was a little high.

I have heard about the Epson EcoTank printers, and there is a couple models that will copy and scan etc. I like the idea of the bottled ink and it looks like it would be about half or less for ink (considering the number of prints per tank).

Does anyone have any experience with these? I don't do heavy printing, and may have a concern of the ink drying out. I presently go through about two sets of cartridges per year in my HP Twice as much black as the colors).

Cost looks like around $260 to $280 for the ET-2700 and Just shy of $50 for the ink set.

I'm hoping to get 5-7 years out of it?

 

[zonker5]

I use an Epson XP-830. It's a great printer but the ink is pricy.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I'm now on the HP ink subscription service called "Instant Ink" for a year now, for my Officejet Pro 6830. The plan is 3 bucks a month for 50 pages, and a buck for each 15 pages over that. You can "rollover" a months worth of printing.

The printer tells them via internet the number of pages printed and when more ink is needed, and HP mails it out automatically. The printer works fine and my ink cost is substantially lower compared to as-needed ink purchases from Costco.

Edit: I was away from the printer for a while and had the ink dry up. Their customer service sent me a new set of ink cartridges for free.

 

[vytoland]

ive used an epson nx415 for many years..print and scan...four cartridge ink...good print speed...

replacement ink on ebay cost less than $2 per cartridge....and these have worked well

 

[Gamecock]

It's been a few years, but my computer guru told me the HP printers are ****, but they are the best available.

Buy a new HP. It's not good, but it's the best.

 

[Jeff423]

FWIW, I don't know what you want to do with your printer but I've used an HP laser printer for years and it has a very low operating cost. But as you probably know it only prints B&W documents.

 

[armorer951]

I usually buy factory refurbished when possible. In this case, a 325.00 open box Canon wireless "all-in-one" inkjet for 119.00. Canon USA web link below......


Canon Refurbished - PIXMA MG7720 Wireless Red Printer | Canon Online Store|Canon Online Store

 

[johngalt]

I gave up on inkjet printers almost 20 years ago. Ink cartridges dry out long before they are used up. I have an HP 1320nw (Postscript, ethernet, and wireless) since around 2004. I am on my 2nd toner cartridge.

You don't state what your needs are, but if you don't need color pictures, an HP B/W laser printer is hard to beat. Mac OS X has a generic Postscript printer driver that works perfectly, which is a good because HP quit updating their printer driver about 5 OS generations ago.

 

[billwill]

What he said....if you don't really need color, get an HP Laserjet (toner cartridge)or what ever they are called today. Mine is 10 or 12 years old and just cranks.

IMHO I would not mess with the liquid ink.

 

[DWalt]

I have an older HP all-in-one. Works OK, I usually buy ink cartridges off eBay for about half the price in stores. I have a separate copier, so I don't use the copy feature, and I haven't faxed anything in many years.

I am not sure that cheaper print-only printers are still made. Are they?

 

[TX-Dennis]

Canon inkjets are my choice - especially if you don't print color often. The Epson print heads were always clogging up on me requiring multiple cleaning cycles to fix. No issues with that since switching to Canon.

I also have a Xerox laser for black & white output. Much lower operating cost on the laser.

 

[Ogandydancer]

No one has mentioned Brother but that is what I have and I am only one the second toner cartridge in 3 1/2 years. Mine is only B&W but they do make Color and i'm not positive but I think they also make all-in-ones. I do a lot of B&W printing. These printers just work.

 

[DWalt]

I have not needed color printing capability very much. A B&W-only printer would be OK for me, and I imagine for most. Some print their own digital photos, but it is much cheaper and better to get them done at places like Sam's Club.

Some years ago I had an Epson all-in-one printer with a wireless connection to the computer. It gave so much trouble I gave it to the Goodwill store after about a month of frustration. My HP has a USB cable connection, I have had no problems with it.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Have an aging Canon all-in - one.
It's a Black-white laser.
When I installed Win 10, it was a challenge coming up with a driver package.
Buts it working fine now and I won't even think about a new one until this one crashes.
A good way to 'shot' patches and decals is to scan them.
Like my Avatar, it's a patch.

 

[johngalt]

If you print pictures, the Canon Selphy is a nifty device. It requires special paper and ink cartridges, and it produces pictures that rival those produced by a professional photo printer.

 

[DWalt]

"When I installed Win 10, it was a challenge coming up with a driver package."

That can be a challenge, as for some older printers there is no Windows 10 driver available from the printer manufacturer. Sometimes drivers for older versions of Windows will work, sometimes not. All you can do is try.

 

[chief38]

I have an Epson WF3540 which does it all (works through hard wire OR WiFi) - copy, fax, scan, prints on one side or two and gives excellent quality results. The ink also lasts a long time especially when I buy the extended ink cartridges. Very happy with it and if memory serves it was about $250 I think - but that was about 4 years ago. I doubt this model is still in production but if it is I'd recommend it!

The "el cheapo" models are garbage and I've never had one last more than a year.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Just bought an HP 8710 which scans copies and color prints at a high rate. Got it for $119 at Best Buy. At this price if it lasts a couple of years I'm good. (I do a lot of work from home in the evenings and weekends so this is probably more than you want). Just upgraded the house computer as the old one started crashing regularly. It was still using Vista My IT guy (wife) got it all together and with my new 25" screen, 16gb RAM and 1Tb hard drive I'm a rocking and rolling!! I don't know how I practiced law without these beasties........I vaguely remember those days of past with the IBM selectrics.....

 

[Telecaster]

I've had good luck with my Epson. It drinks ink like a sailor on shore leave, but I can buy more ink locally or on Amazon easily. Not cheaply, but easily.

 

[H Richard]

Thank you all for your input. Since I have had good luck with HP for the past 20+ years I decided to just stay with them, and Staples had a Mod 7855 on sale for $129. I was real tempted to go with a laser printer, but I still need color for printing the pictures of our various trips for the wife's album.