Advice - need new printer all inone, scanner, copier, fax

bread_of_heaven

Hi, need to get a new printer, with scanner, copier, and fax all in one, but don't know where to start! I have a HP touchsmart computer so would like something that is fully compatible with that. Would like decent quality to also print photos, but it will mainly be used for scanning and printing invoices etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have had a look on pc world and there is a HP office jet J4680 for £69.99 saving £86, but reveiws are mixed, and am i correct in thinking that HP ink costs a small fortune?

Regards

tomsutton529

you will find that if you buy a cheap printer the ink costs alot, and if you buy a very expensive printer then the ink is cheap, this is a general rule in the printer world. the reason is that the cheap printers need too make some money back buy selling expensive ink, that is why they always tell you not to use refilled cartridges (which there is nothing wrong with), so when it comes to cost it realy depends on how much you have in your pocket at the time.

as for the review, read them with care. people will rant about a printer because it diesnt work... but why doesnt it work? and at the end of the day things do fail some quicker than others, that is why there is a warenty. try to find a review from someone that has a solid knowledge of printers and some bloke that thinks he can rival HP coz he found a new driver for his printer.

when looking at the printers you want to look at the Dpi for all the printing, a high number is good, but it takes longer to print. PPM (pages per minute) will reflect what i have just said. as for an all in one, yes its nice to have one cable to your PC and a box that does everything but its more to go wrong so do you realy need all that stuff. Some printers only take special photopaper so thats another thing to lok out for. all printers with a USB connection will work with most operating systems but if you have vista then check for the drivers before you buy.

HP office jet J4680 looks like a decent buy and i thinki would have one, Built in wireless is a plus as you can then put it anywhere within the range of the wireless. google HP office jet J4680 reviews and have a good read through the websites.

I spent a few weeks looking for my lexmark printer as i read everything i could find about it.

Bargain.hunter_4

Also depends on what you require the printer primarily for.

If you are going for a lot of scanning and high quality printing, I ould say epson.

If primarily to be used as an occassional printer which will scan documents and photos to an acceptable standard, then look at the other brands such as HP, Canon, Lexmark. or even dell.

Main tips tere would be to keep an eye out for free delivery as this will make a difference on low budget printer costs and also dont forget to check for cashback aswell.

damo24

If you or someone you know has a Costco membership they have an excellent Epson (can't remember off hand the exact model). It is a 4 in 1 - printer, scanner, copier and fax for about £42 including vat. A full set of decent compatible cartridges should cost less than £10 from a local independent computer store.

Lexmark and HP cartridges are more expensive as the cartridge contains the print head. Epson printers have the print head fixed so you are only replacing the ink. In theory HP and Lexmark printers should last longer but you shouldn't have any problems with an Epson. I've used them and sold them for years without any issues.