Budget all-in-one printer question...

thriftwizard

I'm looking at budget all-in-one printer/copier/scanners for my parents, who are in their late 80s and actually do quite a lot of printing - their Christmas letter alone runs to 120 copies, and they are both involved with paperwork for voluntary organisations. The reason I'm looking is because my poor dear stepfather cannot get the hang of changing print cartridges through the software, and has now "killed" two printers by fishing about inside, stopping the print heads with one hand and extracting the cartridges with the other! It's a miracle he hasn't hurt or electrocuted himself.

So the brief is a budget all-in-one with decent size & preferably inexpensive ink cartridges, but with a manual cartridge change option. We run a Canon MX885 network printer which I've been very happy with & has that option, but would have been overbudget for them; ideally they'd like to pay less than £80. Is there a similar home-use model available? Or something similar from another manufacturer? Hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

santer_2

Worth considering

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epson-Stylus-SX445w-printer-email/dp/B005DQULFA

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9371455.htm

An older model but the ink capacity is larger, especially with the T1295 pack, although compatibles are available.

Check for better prices and free delivery, but as an example

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Multipack-T1295-cartridge-compatible-WorkForce/dp/B006DVMP76/ref=sr_1_11?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363119121&sr=1-11

As to changing the ink, the best way is to let it print until it says cartridge not recognised (empty), then press OK to move the cartridge holder to the change position, change the cartridge, press OK, let it whirr for an bit, it will show charging cartridge for around a minute, then revert to the start screen.

Check with Epson Live Chat during office hours if you have any questions before buying, though don't mention compatible inks.

http://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/cms/index/6

Hopefully others will post if they use other manufacturer's printers which have similar cartridge changes.

Nosmo_King_2

We have a Brother DCP-145C which we are more than happy with, It has 3 separate colour cartridges and 1 black and are replaced at the front of the copier, replacement inks are very cheap (not original)
I think the new version of this printer is DCP-195C which looks pretty mich the same and uses the same cartridges.
With all of the printers, you are probably best checking the prices of the cartridges before deciding which one to go for.

thriftwizard

Thanks! :beer:

santer_2

You could check with Canon if the cartridge change is similar enough to yours

http://www.7dayshop.com/canon-pixma-mg5350-all-in-one-colour-printer?backUrl=L2NhdGFsb2dzZWFyY2gvcmVzdWx0Lz9xPW1nNTM1MA==

buglawton

I am making a similar decision. My elderly aunt has WiFi for the grand kids & visitors but not a computer of her own.
The visitors/kids sometimes need to print. Plus my aunt herself could use the instant copy function.

So what I am considering is an HP Officejet all in one with a fax.

This is because my aunt knows how to send faxes, so this would replace her ancient fax machine too.

Also interesting is the HP e-print system that comes with this printer.
It seems that once connected to WiFi, it has it's own dedicated Email address. If you send an attachment, eg a photo, a PDF doc or a Word doc to this address, it prints instantly and in colour. This beats faxing which also ties up the phone line.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Officejet-4620-All-In-One-Printer/dp/B0084Z6JL2

Apparently, 'economical' replacement ink is available!

facelikebambi

Hi

I recently had a similar requirement: an all-in-one device for my 78yr dad. It had to be simple to use, easy to change cartridges and as inexpensive as possible.

Went for an HP PhotoSmart 5520 (£70 on Amazon) and have been really pleased with the result. It has fancy touch-screen controls and I had concerns that this might confuse dad even more than old-school buttons, but he really took to it straight away. He now takes his SD card straight out of his camera, sticks it into the printer and uses the touch-screen to select what he wants to print. Much easier for him than transferring to his PC, fiddling with Picasa etc.

For printing documents, I think the email-to-print function will prove useful too... though we haven't reached that advanced rollout phase yet

Cheers,
Jason

Ratboy

I wouldn't consider buying a cheap inkjet printer, as it's a false economy.

When you buy one, the cartridges are only 1/4 full, and to replace them would cost the same as buying a new printer again.

Check out the specifications for costs of ink replacement, and maybe buy a cheap mono laser printer £100? As the toner will last far longer than any cheap inkjet.

Cheaper in the long term. Nothing to break or snap off, and buy seperate scanner if required, what do they cost thesedays? £10?

andy2004

How about a CISS for the printer, just refill the CISS compartments with ink when they get low. no need to go into the printer then,

Like this http://www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ciss/epson/sx445w/sx-series
this is for the printer santer posted.

Not exactly true Ratboy, take my printer for example: epson sx200 for £40, compatible ink cartridges work out at 50p each when buying 12-14 depending on seller via ebay.

Ratboy

andy2004 wrote: »

How about a CISS for the printer, just refill the CISS compartments with ink when they get low. no need to go into the printer then,

Like this http://www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ciss/epson/sx445w/sx-series
this is for the printer santer posted.

Not exactly true Ratboy, take my printer for example: epson sx200 for £40, compatible ink cartridges work out at 50p each when buying 12-14 depending on seller via ebay.

I recall that Epson cartridges had some type of time code, so if they had ink within, they would stop working? You define 'compatible' - as illegal, especially as you source your supplier from eBay?

I don't find it right to steal from the manufacturer, as some Chinese manufacturer copied the cartridges, then advertised them on eBay, I'm sure Epson would agree.

You need to think of the poor Chinese people working 18 hours a day, to produce your poor quality ink. Just to supply you. Nice.

santer_2

Until printer manufacturers offer a reasonable amount of ink for a reasonable amount of money, they are handing repeat business to the makers of compatibles on a plate. When a printer manufacturer wants to sell a cartridge with 25% of the ink of a compatible, and at four times the price of a compatible, then some end users will always baulk at that and look for alternatives, many of which produce similar or equivalent in terms of quality.

I have a couple of printers which stop mid print if a cartridge runs out, let you change the ink, then carry on with the print, if they are able to do that, why isn't the feature an industry standard? It has to be much better than a lot of printers which simply eject the paper half way through and sit there waiting for more ink.