Recommendations for a new Printer

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My printer attached to my desktop is going. Still prints in Black, but the Color all come out faded and either Pink, Blue, or Greenish. This is my original printer that I have had since the 90's, a HP 930C. It has been a wonderful printer and was picked as one of the best for color photo prints.

I think I need to replace and don't know where to start looking. I do want decent one, good color fidelity, and one that the ink cartridges won't bankrupt you. I think I want one that will also copy and scan as it seem most all of them do nowadays.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand & model?

Thanks for the help.
 
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I'm not going to claim to know a lot about makes and models, but now that I've owned one with a scanner / copier, I'll never own one without.

Mine is an HP Photosmart C4480 all in one printer, scanner, copier. It's a few years old and doubtlessly no longer in production, but the format is great. For my printing and copying needs it's perfect. I use the copier a few times a week for my business needs.
 
Not HP in any way shape or form. Epson, Canon and Brother printers are good. I'd pick Epson myself if I was looking for a new printer. Have used a model Workforce 635. Great printer. Current models run under $200 for good ones up to about $250 for top end models. Equivalent to the 635 is an 845 runs about $200 on Amazon. Can handle high end photography printing as well which is why I'd pick it over other brands. Pick one that handles duplex printing and verify the connection options based on your computer (wifi, Ethernet etc)
 
Be aware, the combination units typically feature a rather low resolution 200 DPI scanner. While this works for copies and non critical photo's it's not enough resolution for a truly high image quality. Since Photography is a hobby I like to seperate my scanner from my printer, it allows me to have a 1600 DPI or higher scanner and a printer designed specifically for really good image quality in color photographs. Unfortunately, my printer has been working so well for so long that I'm out of date on what is current. However, if you want a great Photo printer I would suggest looking at either HP or Canon, both make superb photo printers.
 
I have a Epson CX 9400 all in one, printer, fax, scanner. It has worked fine for a number of years, but that baby sure do like her ink. They should give you the printer just so you will buy the ink!
 
Doesn't matter which one you get. I've found that it's almost cheaper to buy a new printer that comes with ink than it is to replay ink cartridges. Just like razors, they almost give away the hardware and then stick it to you on the consumables, like ink, razor blades, etc.
 
Epson is good, but if ink does dry out on the head it renders the entire printer inop as the ink head is part of tghe machine. In HP and others the ink head is in the cartridge, so it does not ruin the machine. IMHO the best bag for the buck and still have a quality printer and great color is the Kodak printers. Their cartriges are also the cheapest of any brand around. I have two ESP7250 which have never missed a beat. They are either able to be used with typical printer cable, lan cable or wireless, so hook up is really pretty easy and their price will not bankrupt you either. I got mine at Best Buy
 
My old HP 835 gave up the ghost right after Christmas leaving me in the same dilema as you. I settled on the HP Photosmart 7520. Compared to the old one, it's noisier but worlds quicker and as all have noted, the black cartridge is less than a fourth the size of the old one and the color ones about the size of a deck of cards. The money is in the ink not the hardware and I feel the 7520 provides a good balance of cost/page and performance.
 
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I have serviced printers and copiers for many years - and have seen many makes an models.

If you are going with Inkjet - you will generally do well with HP or Lexmark for longevity - I have seen some of them fail - and they tend to be expensive - especially when buying new ink carts - which are expensive partly because most models include the print head as part of the cartridge - which is effectively getting a new printer every time you replace the ink.

Epson, Canon, and Brother are generally less expensive and there is generic ink available which in some cases is in the $2 a cartridge range. However, they are more susceptible to failures where the cost of replacing the print head exceeds the cost of an entirely new printer.

With InkJet - in general - you want to make sure you don't go too long between printing - and you also don't want to print too much (which depends on the model, just saying most are not designed for hundreds of pages a day).

I don't have much personal experience with Kodak inkjets.

Generally speaking - the inkjet printers are less expensive than laser to purchase - but not necessarily to operate.

Color Laser printers come in a number of types - but the dry toner powder is the most economical and most popular - dye sublimation and such are more expensive and not really for general home office type use.

A Laser printer will cost more to purchase and many come with less than full cartridges from the factory - and the per refill cost can be high - but the number of pages per refill and the overall life of the printer will generally be far better than inkjet. In some cases a few pennies per page for laser compared to 30 cents or more per page for inkjet.

Printer only vs Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax is another whole discussion as well. If space is limited they can be a good idea - but if one part of it breaks down you may end up replacing the whole thing. As with any multi-purpose tool you need to weigh the benefits of convenience with how powerful or easy to use you need each component to be.

For Laser Printers - there are refill options available - although HP and Lexmark tend to be expensive and require a reset chip - others such as Brother laser (at least in the case of one black & white) the cost of a generic toner cart is only a couple dollars more than refill so not worth the hassle.

I would recommend checking out the total cost to own a given printer - and the availability of toner/drum aftermarket toner/drum - before making a decision.

connectivity is another question - network - USB - WiFi - etc.
 
I've always sworn.....

Can anyone recommend a particular brand & model?

Thanks for the help.

I've had bunches of printers, always HP except for a Panasonic dot matrix I had back in the early 80's:eek:

I swear by HP and hope they don't change their philosophy about the way they make things. I have an officejet 8600 now, I like the separate ink cartridges for all the colors and it is VERY fast.

Oh, and is a Three In One do all printer. The only problem is that HP practically gives away their printers, but they certainly don't give away their ink cartridges.
 
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I have a Brother MFC 7840W which is a laser. I swear I will never use a color inkjet again. I've gone through a dozen.

If I want a color printer it will be a laser color printer. Prices have come WAY down and they are affordable.

My printer is wireless and connected to the router in the house so anyone can print from anything pretty much. I brought it in, plugged in in and my iMac woke up and asked if I would like to connect the newly found printer to the network. :D

That kind of easy is why I have a Mac. ;)
 
I am a gun dealer and I use my HP a lot. I was in the same boat with you when my 8 year old HP died it was get two new ink cat. for 80.00 bucks or buy a new 6600 for 120 with ink in it. I really like the 6600, it scans, copys faxes etc. there are four cartidges in it. one black and three color ones . it willl tell you which color is getting low or out. they were 10.00 bucks each and now they are 12.00 each. the black one is twice as big as the color ones. and more expenisive. but it does every thing i need and I can leave it on 24-7 and it will delete spam automaticly. so far I really like it.(I changed all the ink car. at lease twice since I"ve gotten it. I use it a lot as a dealer.
 
I have 3 printers.

The Epson is an all in one Print, Fax, Copy, Scan, and does Photos. We don't use it much, can't fax without home phone. The ink usage sucks. So, mainly use it for scanning or if I need something in color.

I have a basic HP color printer. We use it some the ink usage isn't as bad as the Epson and only cost about $30.

The one we use the most is the HP Inkjet 1102. I think we get about 2000+ sheets per cartage and I think those are only $80. The down side is it's only black & white and only is only a printer.
 
I've had an HP 990cse for longer than I can remember (it replaced an earlier HP). It just keeps on working. My son thinks I need a new printer (he has to have the latest stuff). My present one will print color and more importantly, both sides of the sheet. cuts down on the paper usage. Just my 2 cents worth.:D
 
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