shopping for a printer

emeraldkity4 · 10-21-2009, 02:45 PM

D didn't think she would need one- and has asked for me to bring up one of ours ( we have a Epson all in one, which has all but died and needs to be hand fed the sheets one at a time- not to mention the ink is $$$$$ and a Canon PIXMA 4500 which I use.

She has a new macbook running snow leopard- so I don't know what drivers would work, but I was thinking since print technology is " ever improving", it might be more saving to get a new one.

I know technically she can go to the library, but I also think that would be a big PITA and I am willing to spend $100 or so on a printer.
( but I am more concerned about decent ink- I like the Canon ink)

Consolation · 10-21-2009, 02:48 PM

Ink jets are cheaper to buy but more expensive per page in the long run.

HisGraceFillsMe · 10-21-2009, 02:54 PM

I have an HP Deskjet F4280 All-In-One.

The biggest problem I have with it is that it takes a while to turn on. Other than that, it was fairly cheap (bought it onsale at Amazon) and the ink is fairly cheap.

The nice part about the ink is you can buy regular cartridges, or HP's "XL" cartridges. They're a little more pricey, but they last a LONG time. I bought mine (both black and color) in the middle of last Spring semester, and after several papers, it's still going strong.

It also copies and scans, which have come in handy for a few presentations.

emeraldkity4 · 10-21-2009, 03:03 PM

yes I know they are cheaper to buy- ( but I am assuming she will get a job at the computer center at school like her sister- then she will have free printing)- so this is not a investment.

However- it looks like canon has a newer model that might work, the problem will be that while she has a big room, she has a small desk.

Hisgrace- do you know how HP works with the Mac os?
Years ago it didn't work so well, so I have always had Epson printers and only a few years ago bought the Canon- I know more about what brands not to buy

HisGraceFillsMe · 10-21-2009, 04:10 PM

I'm not sure...I have a PC, so I can't really be much help there =/

Reviews on Amazon say it doesn't work with Snow Leopard. Sorry!

nysmile · 10-21-2009, 04:19 PM

Canon MP inkjet all-in-one series works for us. Nice thing about the Canon MP480 is that you can buy XL ink cartridges that last longer than standard sized ink cartridges. Works with Mac OS and Windows.

edit: Oh, I now see that you need a printer compatible with Snow Leopard. Go to the Apple Store site and see what printers they offer on the site. Read the reviews from there because they're usually written by people running MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

bluebayou · 10-21-2009, 04:32 PM

canon pixma 480 can be had for ~$40-50 and it has a small footprint. Nowadays, printer drivers are all online, so that won't matter. But, the 480 does sit on display at the Apple store near us.

cleveland · 10-21-2009, 04:34 PM

Both of my kids and I have Brother HL 2140 laser printers. They are on sale this week for $59.99 and, even when not on sale, Brother often has rebates (see their website). This is a good personal laser printer. Not for heavy business use. I buy my laser toner at Lasermonks (yes, real monks) and am very pleased with the performance. One of my sons has an Apple laptop and it works fine with that.