I currently have an Epson Workforce 845 but it hasn’t printed well for at least a year, despite cleaning the heads, etc. Forget color printing-that hasn’t worked at all in months.
I mainly need something that can scan, copy and print occasional school papers, documents and sometimes color documents for school projects. Printer speed is not an issue as we rarely print large documents. An occasional photo might be needed, but really we might print about 10 pages a week (if that) and scan or copy something maybe 2-3 times a week.
Since we don’t use it that much, I don’t want to spend more than about $100-125.
I also need something that can print wirelessly from iPads and MacBooks, and preferably has a slot for a memory card.
I don’t have any sort of preference for brand, just want something reliable. Any recommendations?
Would spending a bit more for a laser printer over an ink jet printer be worth it in terms of less trouble with the ink jet ink drying out and related issues with occasional use?
For cost per page I like Brother. I am spending a lot less on the inkjet cartridges that I did with HP. I have a small business, print daily and can track those costs. Annually, I spent about 4 time the $$ on ink when we had the HPs than I do now with the Brothers.
We are happy that Costco keeps the HP ink in stock! We prefer buying it there as it’s convenient and prices are decent. We also have an obsolete Xerox as our primary printer, but sadly it’s no longer made. It only prints—no multi-function.
I just researched those recently as we had to replace a five year old one. Always go with Canon because of their photo quality printing (even though we usually don’t make use of it). Look for sales- I found the same sale a few weeks ago at several online and local stores. Canon still gets the good reviews from many good reviewers. Too bad so many stores push HP.
Got the Canon PIXMA TR8500 series- 8520 one from Target since my RED card made it slightly cheaper. Was $99 most places for great features. Latest-greatest (newer technology) than our old one. Our model does all four functions (although with our phone line choice, printer location and already have other fax solution we won’t use it for the rare fax).
Features I like. Separate ink tanks. My research showed Canon to be of good quality and similar costs. Ability to flatbed and document feed for scanning and copying with dual sides!!! Wifi et al even turns on the printer (but doesn’t raise the flap- could leave it up) from H’s next room computer. Makes a difference to take single sided sheets and print on two sides automatically (we set this as the default- can change that). Color or B&W printing- different tank saves on the photo inks for those all B&W jobs. Footprint is good for my desk. Looked at the older model (950) but realized it was a lot bigger and old tech for a similar price.
Get a document feeder! Save paper and more convenient than replacing sheets to be printed on the flatbed.
Just checked. Price actually $99.99 many sources, including the Canon site. Couldn’t get the comparison to load but the TR 7520 is $79.99. There are also no auto document feeders available but the extra $ for the TR versions is worth it.
We have whatever was on sale at Staples. It works fine. So see what they have. Ours was $99 and we bought three of them (one for us…and one for each kid).
But red alert…replacing the ink costs almost as much as the printer did. We will get laser next time.
Thanks for all the recommendations. I bought the Epson last time after going to a few different tech review sites. It worked great initially but I can’t figure out what the problem is. It shouldn’t be dry ink - after replacing all the ink cartridges, it still prints like *&$#. I followed all the directions for cleaning the heads,etc but I’m done. I probably paid around $100 for it and have had it at least 4-5 years.
I figured I’d give the HP a shot this time around. I actually bought one at Sam’s yesterday and got to talking to a guy who was also buying one. He had the same one at home that I had picked up but was getting a faster one for his office. Then I came home and started second guessing myself after reading reviews. Looks like the Envy is well-liked by those who responded (the one I got was not an Envy). However, I really appreciate your review @wis75 so I think I’ll return the HP I got at Sam’s and check out the Canons. All the features you mention are what I have now and what I definitely want to keep (document feeder, dual side printing, etc). I probably print more than I said in my initial post, but it’s still light use.
I looked at the LaserJet but for all the features I need, it’s out of my price range at the moment. Did I mention that I just had to order a new dryer after just replacing my washer at Christmas, I have a repairman coming on Tuesday b/c my fridge/freezer is only cooling sporadically, and my plumber was just out yesterday replacing my outdoor spigot. Dh has been out of the country for the last two weeks and of course everything breaks while he’s gone. I’ve been bleeding money!
We are pretty light use on the HP8600 as I mainly use it as a scanner and fax machine, plus sometimes to copy checks and receipts.
I agree that 4-5 years is pretty normal lifespan for a printer. One thing to check if you have an iPhone is whether the printer is compatible as an airprinter. The HP8600 is—our other printers weren’t/aren’t. It can be handy—works without cables and s lot of stuff. At this point I’m not sure when we got it—several years ago. It has the document feed, double-side printing, flatbed scanning and reasonable footprint.
Buying a new printer was more cost effective than replacing the printer head that failed (online fixes did not work) for the on sale $75 old printer. Technology has advanced a lot in recent years so getting a recently released one is better than keeping the familiar old tech one. Learning curve- hate it when I need to figure out different controls…
Separate ink tanks for each color is worthwhile. Over the years I have noticed how some colors get used up more often for us. I did the research last night after posting. Still glad I got Canon (maybe $20 cheaper than comparable HP models would have considered). Looking at half a dozen different reviews was not terribly useful for me. They looked at the older Canon, not current ones, and pricing/features of high ranked ones did not fit the bill. Home printers are a different beast than office needs.
Waiting for the next repair/replacement after latest ones. And to think I thought we were fine after the renovations… Time will fly and those new things aren’t new anymore. I swear we have replaced 90% of stuff then the house needed painting, and the months/years keep going by. I am so thankful we can afford things. It was terrible when as a kid when things wore out they just got shabbier and I went through my teen years with no water heater (father had money for booze and didn’t mind heating water on the stove for sponge baths) in Wisconsin winters.
Bought a Brother laser printer at Sam’s but no color. Had one previously with color and loved it. Cheap ink. Sam’s didn’t have a color one but figured I didn’t need color often anyway. I have a separate picture printer.
Canon is good.
HP makes a nice printer and often the cheapest for hardware but super expensive ink.