I realise printer ink costs more than gold. What is the least rip-off and reliable combi printer out there?
ATM: Printers
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
Musings on the byways of popular culture
by 16 Comments
I realise printer ink costs more than gold. What is the least rip-off and reliable combi printer out there?
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Whatever you do, do not get a Canon TS5150.
While I’ve never had a problem with any of the several Canon printers
I’ve had in the past, this particular model sucks logs
My Canon TS5100 has worked flawlessly since I got it a few years ago.
Decent print results for an undemanding user. No problems using non-OEM inks.
My brother’s Epson all-in-one, OTOH (I can’t remember which model, a cheap one) has given nothing but grief since he bought it. Refuses to recognise changes of ink cartridges, whether OEM or substitutes, unless you repeatedly fit and remove them until it decides to cooperate. Total PITA.
I went cartridge after years of frigging around with inkjet printers, the unit not working in black and white coz magenta was low ffs.
Black and White Lexmark. Double sided ,super quick and no ink on the fingers.
For day to day stuff, get something that only has black and colour cartridges. Our Canon 7100 has six cartridges of various hues which always seem to run low and the whole thing is a pain in the arse. Check if there’s a work around for non original cartridges as some just won’t accept them.
Best ones I had were an HP (can’t remember the model I’m afraid) and a Canon 250 which is still going after about 10 years. I only got rid of the HP because the black cartridge exploded inside it, the Canon is simple but really on its last legs now.
I print out at work or at the library. But I do so little these days that owning a printer is not worth it.
We’ve had Lexmark colour laser printers for years now. The usually get well reviewed and the cartridges aren’t the most expensive. Also, they tend to come with a set of full carts (rather than 20% full or whatever is the norm these days).
I’ve always gone for last years model and they’ve all cost less than a set of new cartridges. We’ve had the current one 4.5 years now and haven’t replaced a cart yet and I think we use it quite a lot… perhaps we don’t really!.
Double sided printing, duplex sheet feeder scanning as well as flatbed.
We wanted an A3 printer as well and its an HP inkjet – yes the carts are expensive but it seems to be supremely reliable and its really nice to be able to scan up to A3.
After years of gummed-up ink cartridges and smudges, I bought a Brother HL-3150CDW colour laser printer. No more inky fingers, double-sided printing, etc. It was £125 when I bought it (almost 5 years ago), currently £200.
I’ve just replaced the toners with a non-Brother 4-pack which cost about 20 quid.
Very happy with it, even though the wired Ethernet port stopped working (connected by Wi-Fi since).
I just had to buy another set of ink cartridges for an HP printer. $80.00!! I tried the knock offs a while ago but the printer knew and it never worked properly until I installed genuine HP cartridges.
I feel so ripped off when I have to buy printer ink.
There was a time when it was cheaper to buy a new printer in my local supermarket (T*s*o) than to buy a refill ink cartridge. Utter madness.
I think that is the whole point, sell the printers for nothing and then vastly overcharge for the thing they are useless without
That’s how King Gillette made his fortune. Sold the razors for next to nothing but sold the replacement blades for a nice tidy profit. I believe this method of selling is still called the “razor/razor blade” method.
One job I worked on had a quote from, I think, Gillette which said that every time they release a new razor (extra blade etc) they take the opportunity to raise the price by 15%, just because it’s new. I really wish I’d taken a picture of the board it was on because it was an internal country managers meeting so hardly anyone else would have seen it.
I tried to convince the missus it would be cheaper to buy a new printer the last time we needed ink, but she wouldn’t have it.
Always bear in mind that many printers (especially ink jets) don’t come with full cartridges so you may not be buying as much ink as you think with a new one.
On the recommendation of@vulpes-vulpes I got a Canon PIXMA TS5050 All-In-One Inkjet. It uses generic ink which is a massive saving, though it seems to use Photo Black when ordinary black would do nicely. Very happy with it, especially after its predecessor which I smashed to pieces in a fit of sheer fury at the frustration of trying to get the damn thing to print a page of A4. This was some sort of HP.
A friend of mine has a Samsung (I think) colour laser printer. Actually, three, as it was cheaper to buy a new one for a while than new toner carts.
I don’t have any combi devices, but I can vouch for the longevity and quality of Epson kit. I have a GT scanner and 760 printer approaching 20 years service. Ditto a Nikon slide/neg scanner. The HP A3 printer on the other hand is very disappointing.