Yet another "How to choose a printer" thread

JohnB47

I've finally decided to replace our old Epson B/W printer and I've been looking at all the options, specs etc and I thought I'd ask for some opinions.

We'll have a need for fairly low usage - our needs have increased lately, to the giddy heights of around 20 copies per month, so hopefully we can avoid having the thing dry up between prints - something the Epson was/is prone to when left for long periods. Probably understandably.

We'll need it to do B/W and colour, print, scan, photocopy, photos, double sided, wi-fi, A4 max.

I've decided on ink jet and now need to choose a make and then whether to go for a combined colour cartridge model (eg Canon PIXMA MG4250) or one that takes individual colour carts (the latest Epson range).

So, any views on what makes to go for, not to go for? (I'm leaning towards the Canon for now).

As for types of cart - I see that the Epson sets of carts seem much more expensive (cheapest I can see for high capacity ones is £41) than for the Canon combined type (cheapest for high capacity ones is £23).

Is it really likely to be more cost effective to buy a printer that takes individual carts?

Then there's (usually) cheaper compatible carts - any views?

Finally, as for wi-fi working, I suppose it's best to leave the printer in standby mode? If so, will it 'hold' the wi-fi connection? Edit: If left in standby, can it be wakened up remotely, or would you still have to go to it and take it out of standby? (It will be in an upstairs room and the PC will be downstairs.)

If switched off each time, do they tend to connect to wi-fi without too much palava? Just wondering how easy it'll be to manage a wi-fi connected printer.

Thanks for any views and anything else I need to consider.

cajef

I have the Canon MG5650 which has five separate inks and looking online is only a few pound more than the MG4250, I have had no problems using cheaper compatible inks.

There is no need to keep the printer on standby, once it is set up the Wi-Fi connects instantly each time you switch the printer on, if it left in standby it wakes up as soon as it gets any command from the computer that is accessing it.

JohnB47

cajef wrote: »

I have the Canon MG5650 which has five separate inks and looking online is only a few pound more than the MG4250, I have had no problems using cheaper compatible inks.

There is no need to keep the printer on standby, once it is set up the Wi-Fi connects instantly each time you switch the printer on, if it left in standby it wakes up as soon as it gets any command from the computer that is accessing it.

Thanks.

Do you think it's cheaper in the long run to go for separate carts, bearing in mind my expected low usage.

cajef

I prefer them as they only need changing when one colour runs out and I am not a particularly heavy user of the printer, I personally think they work out cheaper in the long term.

JohnB47

cajef wrote: »

I prefer them as they only need changing when one colour runs out and I am not a particularly heavy user of the printer, I personally think they work out cheaper in the long term.

Thanks for that.

GunJack

funny enough I'm in the same boat, old faithful R200 has finally bitten the dust, I'm going for the epson xp225. £40 to buy and a set of 4 compatible inks are all of £3-odd from hornsea inkjet supplies.... now they're the kind of numbers I like for inks

esuhl

Bear in mind that there are two types of ink-jet cartridge: ones that are literally just a container for ink, and ones that have a print-head built-in to the cartridge.

It's the print head that dries out and suffers from blocked nozzles. Replacement print-heads are bizarrely expensive (often costing more than a new printer). And cartridges with print-heads are a little more expensive than ones without.

Sooo... if you aren't going to be printing that often, you might find it better to get a printer that uses cartridges with a built-in print-head -- if the head dries up, you can just replace the cartridge.

My current Canon printer uses cartridges with a built-in print-head, and they cost about £7 each. My previous Canon printer used cartridges without a head, and they cost about £1 each.

Another tip -- before you buy your printer, do a search on eBay for cheap cartridges and use the cartridge prices to narrow down your choice of printer.

GunJack

esuhl wrote: »

Another tip -- before you buy your printer, do a search on eBay for cheap cartridges and use the cartridge prices to narrow down your choice of printer.

is there any other way of doing it ??

getmore4less

I got a brother all in one DCP 340CW, use compatibles leave it on and it self cleans if not used, uses up a bit of ink but still last for ages.

Eventualy it came up with the waste tank full and needed a reset
check if your choice of printer has this sort of issue.

Bought in Staples June 06 for £60.

Still going.

Pennywise

Your needs sound similar to my home printer, with infrequent printing but needing colour, double sided, wifi, etc. I bought a HP Envy last year for under £50 from Argos and have been really pleased with it. Auto duplex was something I didn't expect at that price. Even with no printing for several weeks, the heads havn't dried up and havn't needed to use the head cleaning routine either. Also, remarkably fast printing and decent quality scanning. A real welcome change from finding my print heads had dried out after a few weeks on the last two printers I had which were both Epson.

JohnB47

Thanks everyone. So hard to choose.