Wireless printer help

first78

I've recently bought an ASUS VivoBook and now want a printer. Only really needed for occasional printing, so don't want to spend a lot. Doesn't need to print in colour. I've seen a Cannon printer for about £35 in Argos. Just wondered if there's anything I need to be aware of when purchasing, such as are all printers compatible with any laptop? Will ink prices all be about the same? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Neil_Jones

As a general rule for most home inkjets the cheaper the printer the more expensive the ink will be for it, and vice-versa.

Epsons are slightly more pricey to buy but the ink can be had relatively cheap.  Canons and HPs are peanuts but expect to pay as much again for "genuine" ink.

If you have no need for colour printing a cheap black and white mono laser may be a better option.  If you don't need a scanner you can pick them up for about £75, and a toner will do about 1000 pages, may be more, and unlike inkjets, do not dry up if you don't use them for months on end.

JJ_Egan

As above Epson compatibles  many .

Wifi printing is on many new printers .

typical

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9172874

first78

JJ_Egan said:

As above Epson compatibles  many .

Wifi printing is on many new printers .

typical

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9172874

Apologies if this is a silly question but how does the printer connect to the laptop? Is it Bluetooth?

Neil_Jones

first78 said:

JJ_Egan said:

As above Epson compatibles  many .

Wifi printing is on many new printers .

typical

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9172874

Apologies if this is a silly question but how does the printer connect to the laptop? Is it Bluetooth?

You can connect it wireless (to your internet router) or wired (via USB).

first78

Neil_Jones said:

first78 said:

JJ_Egan said:

As above Epson compatibles  many .

Wifi printing is on many new printers .

typical

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9172874

Apologies if this is a silly question but how does the printer connect to the laptop? Is it Bluetooth?

You can connect it wireless (to your internet router) or wired (via USB).

Do I need my laptop to have a disc drive?

Neil_Jones

first78 said:

Neil_Jones said:

first78 said:

JJ_Egan said:

As above Epson compatibles  many .

Wifi printing is on many new printers .

typical

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9172874

Apologies if this is a silly question but how does the printer connect to the laptop? Is it Bluetooth?

You can connect it wireless (to your internet router) or wired (via USB).

Do I need my laptop to have a disc drive?

No.

You can download drivers from the printer manufacturer's website.

[Deleted User]

My Grandparents have a HP Envy 5020, relatively cheap ink and allows wireless printing from laptops and phones. Not sure if they still do them though.

interstellaflyer

GabiB said:

My Grandparents have a HP Envy 5020, relatively cheap ink and allows wireless printing from laptops and phones. Not sure if they still do them though.

Cheap because the 304 cartridges have hardly any ink in them which is fine for very low use, the rest of your post describes just about every domestic all in one and some stand alone printers on the market today.  The Canon Printers that sell for around £35 are better value and the standard yield cartridges have a lot more ink in them than the HP 304 cartridges

RichardD1970

Neil_Jones said:

If you have no need for colour printing a cheap black and white mono laser may be a better option.  If you don't need a scanner you can pick them up for about £75, and a toner will do about 1000 pages, may be more, and unlike inkjets, do not dry up if you don't use them for months on end.

This. I switched to a cheapish Laser printer when the kids left school and I didn't need to print much. Was fed up of having to run the head cleaner every time I came to print something. 
Had it 4 years now and haven't had to change the toner yet and it prints without issue even if not used for months. Also much quicker than an inkjet.

MinuteNoodles

first78 said:

I've recently bought an ASUS VivoBook and now want a printer. Only really needed for occasional printing, so don't want to spend a lot. Doesn't need to print in colour. I've seen a Cannon printer for about £35 in Argos. Just wondered if there's anything I need to be aware of when purchasing, such as are all printers compatible with any laptop? Will ink prices all be about the same? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Yes they'll work with any laptop but if they're an inkjet printer you'll have loads of problems with blocked print heads if it goes unused for long periods as the ink dries up in the microscopic holes in the print heads. If it's only going to be used ocassionally even though it's more expensive up front you'll be better with a laser printer which doesn't suffer that issue. Over time the laser will be much cheaper to own due to the fact you won't need to keep throwing ink cartridges and printers away.