How will I know a good £50-£75 printer when I see one?

Avocado

My printer is kaput. It was an Epson DX4450 but it is beyond repair due to a corroded print head.

I need a new printer/ scanner/ copier urgently. I would be really grateful for some help please if anyone is able. There are important letters I need to send that are a bit too private to print in a public library.

With so many on sale to choose from how will I know a good one when I see it? What should I look for on the spec sheet and what's just not important? Is there one specific printer/scanner/copier you would suggest?

I can afford £50 comfortably and £75 at a push. I would like it to be wifi but it's not strictly essential.

John_Gray

With that small a budget I'd go into a large Tesco and see what's available. Here's what you can get from Tesco Direct.

Of course you realise that the printer manufacturers have a business model where they give away the printer (almost) free, and recoup their money on eye-wateringly expensive ink cartridges...

Spank

This Canon MG5150 Is a great printer for the money, sadly it looks like they are out of stock atm

Avocado

John_Gray wrote: »

Of course you realise that the printer manufacturers have a business model where they give away the printer (almost) free, and recoup their money on eye-wateringly expensive ink cartridges...

That's pretty much what happened with the Epson. I killed it by using cheaper un-branded ink which corroded the print head.

Is there a price at which the printer I buy wont cost me an arm and a leg in ink? I sort of thought they were all like that.

Jnelhams

Top tip go on to one of these replica ink sites, Choice Stationery is good (they will repair / replace your printer if their ink is proved to have caused damage ) and check the intended purchase for the ink cost first!

Replica inks are not all bad (it's if you buy them from bid sites, and not reputable sites that offer guarantees.)

John_Gray

Avocado wrote: »

Is there a price at which the printer I buy wont cost me an arm and a leg in ink? I sort of thought they were all like that.

It doesn't quite work like that! Very roughly speaking, the more facilities you want and the more sophisticated the printer, the more it costs to buy. Ink cartridge costs vary, but not by much. You can occasionally get some clues by the reviews.

Spank's suggestion is a good one IMHO. I like the Canon Pixma MG range (having an MG5250...)

Avocado

Sadly the MG5250 does seem to be out of stock at Staples. I've looked on Google and discovered the going rate seems to be about £65-ish. eBuyer have it at a shade under £60 is it still a great printer at that money?

Jnelhams

See if you can get one of these, inks cheap on Choice too.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-photosmart-wireless-all-in-one-inkjet-printer-07374406-pdt.html

John_Gray

Avocado wrote: »

Sadly the MG5250 does seem to be out of stock at Staples. I've looked on Google and discovered the going rate seems to be about £65-ish. eBuyer have it at a shade under £60 is it still a great printer at that money?

I would say Yes - I paid half as much again when it was new! It is a wireless printer, which you were interested in.

NeverAgain_2

Kodak boast about cheap cartridges, so no need to buy non-originals.

Three wi-fi printers on budget here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_2?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=kodak+printer&sprefix=ko

CazuaLL

Argos and amazon have great deals weekly on HP wireless printers!