Multifunction thats going to be cheap to run!

isotonic_uk

Hi All

I just found out that my Epson printer which I have had for about 5 years has finally Died on me. Its been giving me issues for months.

I decided that I am going to invest in a multifunction printer and am interested in just colour inkjet printing/scanning but would also like network connectivity either with Wireless or ethernet.

One thing that did my head in with the Epson was it used to drink ink like there was no tommorow. I know now that you can get separate cartridges for each colour and have had experience of these where I work. At work we use HP and Canon and I am really impressed with the canon as they seem to be very good on ink cartridge costs. The HP is also good but have found the costs tend to be more expensive.

I don't want to buy another Epson and would prefer HP or Canon. Can anyone suggest a model that is multifunction, has network connectivity, is cheap to run and uses the separate inks?

Also I have found that sometimes the new printers you can only use original cartridges with, I would prefer if I could buy compatibles because of the price differences. Could I do this with both HP or Canon?

If anyone suggests another brand that would be welcome.

Thanking in advance for any advice anyone can give me..

fwor

The Canon multi-function range get very good reviews - original ink carts aren't too expensive, and "compatibles" can be very cheap. We've got an MP610 which is excellent, but doesn't have Ethernet.

You would probably do best going for something like an MX700 which is around £135 but... do you really need a network interface? For home users, printer sharing works so well in Windows and Linux (and probably with Macs as well) that you seem to add around £30 to the price of the printer for no great benefit. But maybe if you do most of your work on a laptop the situation would be different.

One thing to watch for is that you usually have to transfer the chip from an original cart to a compatible, and this may mean that the ink level monitor does not work properly. This is one good reason to take your carts into a refilling shop, as they usually have the gear to reset the chip.

isotonic_uk

thanks for your reply, yeh the cheaper way would be to share it, but that means the PC needs to stay on and its if i want to print of the laptop thats why i need ethernet.

smileyjohn

You can get chipped cartridges now, which keeps the cost well down

Inactive

Brother make excellent all in ones, cheap to run as well, seperate ink cartridges.

IcyEars

If you run Linux, Canon's compatability is rubbish. Might be worth taking into account if you do.