I'm in the market for a new printer and wanted to check with you savvy shoppers! My last one I actually got free with my computer (I use a Mac) so I haven't been shopping for one in quite some time. Any recommendations on cost-effective models or places to shop? I've been buying most of my tech gear off Amazon.com but I'd be willing to look around. I've seen some nice deals on Newegg also. Any ideas?
I am rather partial to Brother printers. They are relatively inexpensive, but they are workhorses. I have never experienced any paper jams or serious maintenance problems. They are a great value for the money. The toners are cheaper than the typical HP laser toner. I have owned three Brother printers and I have never been disappointed. I donate my old printers.
I would steer clear of HP (my current one) and have a Canon because they are reliable and the inks are much cheaper. Generic cartridges work and are easy to refill with ink. I have had nothing but hassle with HP and I just wish people in their reviews said that generic cartridges wont' work and that you can't refill them either. Basically there is a chip that stops the printer from working. I have genuine cartridges I refilled and it still won't work as a message comes up saying it has detected a none genuine cartridge.
I was going to post this same question....what is the most cost efficient printer out there? I have tried Epson and HP and Kodak and have found them to be expensive ink hogs. I am looking for something to print mostly black and white, but more of a high volume printer. Any ideas?
I'm so glad I clicked on this. I was going to make a thread, but I saw this one. This information is helpful. Thanks for suggesting the Brother brand, @Parker . I will have a look. I've been wanting to get a new printer for a while now. The last one I had was a Canon, and I really liked it too, @Theo . It worked well, lasted a long time, and it didn't have crazy expensive ink. Thanks for the warning about the HP. I'll definitely give that a pass. I'm thinking that at this point, I'll wait to see what's available during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Maybe I can score a good deal on a nice home printer (and maybe some extra cartridges to go along with it if I'm lucky).
@thisnthat I've had a Brother one before, and that's been okay, and Epson too. The Epson I had was just too expensive in terms of replacing the inks, but it was still better than HP. I would recommend people to always check how long the cartridges last (volume) and also how much the replacement cartridges are. I just bought some new HP ones, and I made a few copies and the inks are already showing low levels. I'm seriously considering just buying another printer, rather than the hassle of ink running out really fast.
I hear you, @Theo. I learned that lesson long ago. The first printer we had was great. It worked really well, and it is probably still working somewhere. The cartridges were way too expensive though. It was literally less costly to buy a new printer when we replaced it. The Canon we bought instead was a good value. I would definitely consider buying another one. I'll be on the lookout for a good deal. Hopefully, you can find a deal as well instead of messing with the ink. Such a pain. I'd really be frustrated about the refills not working. That's just lame.
I'm currently using a Brother printer (HL-1110) which came free when I bought my laptop three years ago. It's still doing well and I haven't bought an ink replacement. I learned that the ink is more expensive than the printer itself and if I have to buy an ink cartridge, I'd prefer to buy a new printer. I'm looking for one now because my Brother printer is just a mono laser printer and I need a 6-color printer for my projects. Canon and Epson both offer printer models with replaceable ink pack system and are reasonably priced too. This means that we only have to replace the ink color that is running low. Our office is replacing old Canon printers that have customized continuous ink system because they're messy and they need regular servicing which isn't cheap at all. It's great that the printer companies have produced their own replaceable ink pack system as they're cleaner and the original inks have better quality.
I usually prefer the laser printer. A bit costly but they can go on long time. And you don't have to spend money on refill all the time. So that's something you can think of. If the use is regular then laser printer is definitely good. You may also want to check other printers other than HP like say Lexmark. Those are some good printers. And they may go longer with cartridge than HPs.
