Printer for a Desk Top Computer ????

[Milton]

My wife's printer is old enough that we can no longer easily find ink for it.I was thinking about buying her another one and was looking at the new Kodak printers;anybody here own one and if so ,how do you like it?How about the one's with a built-in scanner?

 

[BlueMike]

I've found the best printers these days are made by HP. If you have a Costco nearby, they have many good models at good prices. The HP Officejet Pro 8500 is a very good printer/scanner/fax.

 

[cmort666]

1. Unless you're printing is infrequent, or you need to print in color, I'd avoid inkjet printers. You get SCALPED on ink.
2. If you print a lot, especially in B&W, I'd get a laser printer. The Brothers are very inexpensive and reliable.
3. I'm not fond of all-in-one type devices outside of an office environment. If you really need one, I recommend Brother. They make some good combined printer/scanner/fax machines that are reasonably priced.
4. If you need to print in color or print photographs, I really like the Canon inkjet printers.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

Last year, I bought an HP Officejet Pro L7680 All-in-One printer, scanner, fax, copier at OfficeMax for $199, marked down from $499. They had just been supplanted by a newer model, and it was a close-out. You still may be able to find one. I have had HPs before, but this one is "the bomb." Excellent print quality, and it works great (compatibility) with my iMac. Perfect for my home office.

The price of the ink remains a problem, so if you do a lot of black and white printing, but don't need color, I would agree with cmort666 and get a laser printer. On the other hand, if you need a fax, or need to make high quality scans, or, need a color printer/copier on occasion, HPs are tough to beat.

Let us know what you end up with and if you like it.

Bullseye

 

[cp1969]

I bought an Epson all-in-one for $89.

The first ink refill cost $75.

Do as I say, and not as I did: Check the price of ink before you buy.

 

[bobf]

My wife's printer is old enough that we can no longer easily find ink for it.I was thinking about buying her another one and was looking at the new Kodak printers;anybody here own one and if so ,how do you like it?How about the one's with a built-in scanner?

I got tired of paying $60 for a set of HP cartridges and bought the Kodak 7250. I like it better than any printer I've had and that's a bunch.

It can be used wired or wireless and was absolutely no problem setting it up. I use it in wireless mode. One computer is Windows 7, one is XP and one is Vista It works flawlessly with all three.

The scanner works fine.

A set of cartridges are around $25.
Bob

 

[enfield]

You can usually get a Brother Laser for $100 or less. Toner runs in the $60-$70 range. When you wear out the drum (long after the light comes on, by the way), throw the printer away and buy another.

 

[JcMack]

1. Unless you're printing is infrequent, or you need to print in color, I'd avoid inkjet printers. You get SCALPED on ink.
2. If you print a lot, especially in B&W, I'd get a laser printer. The Brothers are very inexpensive and reliable.
3. I'm not fond of all-in-one type devices outside of an office environment. If you really need one, I recommend Brother. They make some good combined printer/scanner/fax machines that are reasonably priced.
4. If you need to print in color or print photographs, I really like the Canon inkjet printers.

+10 I agree with all points. Most of the accounts I used to service went to Brother printers because of initial cost. The basic B/W Brother is on sale around here for $69, and they work. The trick is low cost printers come with a starter (low output) cartridge, so you run out of powder pretty quick. Price replacement cartridges before you buy. I've got a dot matrix Epson 24 pin "graphic" printer in the closet I paid $350 for 20 yrs. ago. The laser technology is amazing once you understand it. Avoid Lexmark at all costs. A giant POS across the board.

 

[caseydog]

I liked the Kodak commercial about the price of ink , however in the research before I bought one Kodaks had absolutely horrible reviews , nixed that and bought an HP OfficeJet 6500 , has the four ink tanks , each tank 14.99 retail. Very happy with this one.

Ray

 

[nicky4968]

How much do you intend to print? Many times I hit 3,000-4,000 pages per month for my business. For that type of work, My HP 1200 LaserJet is unbeatable.

If you just send correspondence and print up the odd grocery list, the inkjets are fine. As advised, check on price of inks.
(There are some high-production inkjets used by my colleagues, but I have no experience with them.)

 

[Kanewpadle]

Stick with HP for color printing. Yes, ink is spendy. But I've owned 3 or 4 other brands and they did not last.

Have a brand new Epson I bought for the wife. It's having issues already.

Having ink cartridges refilled may be an option also.

 

[Milton]

Wow !! Thanks for all the help!! It's not looking too favorably for the Kodak and I have just about talked the wife out of a combo.Now for the shopping around !!
What my wife is wanting is something to scan book pages and a color copier to copy designs she makes for stationary.She will not be using the printer a lot just for letters she sends 10 or so times a month and the occasional scan of a few book pages.

 

[Chef]

I have stuck with Canon inkjets over the past 12 years and have been quite happy with them. At one time I switched to HP all in one and found the software so invasive to my system I very quickly went back to Canon. If they have toned down their software HP would be a good choice. Regards, Chef

 

[oamaam]

My wife's printer is old enough that we can no longer easily find ink for it.I was thinking about buying her another one and was looking at the new Kodak printers;anybody here own one and if so ,how do you like it?How about the one's with a built-in scanner?

Morning

Not sure if you need functionality of more than a printer but we have used Brother Multifunction printer, scanner, copier, fax and love them. The picture quality is Awesome, and the printer cartridges are allot cheaper. When you buy HP , Canon, Kodak, look at what your going to pay for ink and add up the cost. Also the ink lasts longer in the Brother's , I know years back when the wife was submitting resume's via snail mail the ink just lasted and lasted and there was color in there also.

Something to think about, also Staples and there extended warranty is NOT bad, they'll just switch the old for a new.
Our's is on the home network and have had Nada, zip problems with it.

 

[Bruce51]

Avoid the Lexmark. Several coworkers and us had them and they just up and quit for no reason. I don't know if they have gotten better but I would never buy one again. I have an old HP 5550 that has lasted forever. I have a newer HP all in one J6480 and it has many problems. In fact it seldom works properly and many calls to HP has never resolved the problems.
Anyone out there have a superscript 100? I still have unused ink cartridges if someone still has the old printer.

Bruce

 

[cmort666]

I have an old HP 5550 that has lasted forever.

Don't expect to use it under Windows 7... at least not without a lot of work.

 

[Snowbandit]

I like the all in one printers from HP. We don't do a lot of printing so the cartridges last about a year around here. The scanner and fax come in handy. What we save on postage and gas for trips to town by scanning to email and the fax more than pays for a bit of ink.

 

[CW Spook]

I'm another fan of the HP all-in-ones. I don't use the fax feature much, but the copy and scan functions are great. When I need to forward signed documents, I can scan them to a .PDF file and email them to the recipient. HP ink isn't cheap, but it's less expensive than that for the Epson I had previously. I have my HP 5700 series shared on my home network and can print to it from anywhere in the house.