OT Computer Printer Info

[Bill Grumbine]

Good afternoon all

As with the Pond, I am posting to poll the prodigious wealth of knowledge here.

My computer printer is getting to the point where I am ready to stick it under the tractor and run over it repeatedly. At this point it would actually be faster to drive 15 miles into the city and pay someone to print a document than to get this piece of garbage to work properly.

So, I am looking to buy a new printer. I print mostly black and white, a little color now and then, and very rarely photos. Printing photos is way down on the list. What I am looking for is something that is not going to kill me in price, but will still be reliable.

Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

[Rob Sandow]

HP G85, its a printer/copier/scanner/fax. You can look up all the specs yourself so I won't list them, but my totally subjective opinion is that this printer makes nice quality printouts. About $300.

Rob

[Jackie Outten]

Originally posted by Bill Grumbine
Good afternoon all

As with the Pond, I am posting to poll the prodigious wealth of knowledge here.

My computer printer is getting to the point where I am ready to stick it under the tractor and run over it repeatedly. At this point it would actually be faster to drive 15 miles into the city and pay someone to print a document than to get this piece of garbage to work properly.

So, I am looking to buy a new printer. I print mostly black and white, a little color now and then, and very rarely photos. Printing photos is way down on the list. What I am looking for is something that is not going to kill me in price, but will still be reliable.

Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

Bill,

We really like using HP printers. They come in all price ranges and the cartridges are available at almost every office store. Check out amazon.com for a look at their selection of printers. They range in price from $49.99 and up. Whatever you decide to do about a printer, make sure that you get a cable to connect your printer to the computer. A lot of manufacturer's are no longer including them in the price of the printer.

Jackie

[Marc Wittman]

Sounds like you're looking for an inkjet (?). I have to say that I really like the Epson Stylus. I have one at home and a bunch at work. Very reliable, great quality, fairly cheap toner (the clones work perfectly well with it). I'm sure you can find one from $50-$150. You could probably find the latest one for around $125 online, with little effort.

Also, with the proper paper, this prints out really nice photos.

[Ken Garlock]

cartridges should play into your decision. I have an Epson stylus 900 which does outstanding printing, but to replace the color and black cartridges cost about $65, a little more than pocket change. You will not go wrong with either HP or Epson.

Good Luck,

[Lee Schierer]

The owest cost part of a printer purchase these days, appears to be the cost of hte printer. the ink suppies will add up significantly over time. Make sure that you check the cosst of the cartridge and whether or not ic can be refilled before you make the final decision.

My Mother's lexmark printer seems to eat ink and we have not been able to refill the cartridge due to some chip they imbed in them that tells the printer this cartridge was used once.

I have an Okidata OL 810e at work and it has been a reliable machine. It is a laser printer, but makes lots of copies on a toner drum.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

I think the Epson Printers are the way to go. I have had several HP printers, and each one developed a paper feed and print quality problem after about 1 1/2 yrs. of service. I work at a College, and we have all but gotten away from the HP inkjet printers, due to reoccuring problems..........the ones I mentioned above, and others. If you can, get a USB port compatible printer......they receive information sent for a printing job much quicker. There is a wide range of prices, depending on what you want the printer to accomplish, but for the needs you mentioned, one of the basic Epson Stylus units would do nicely. (By the way, I use an Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX, and it is fantastic!)

[Bill Grumbine]

Thanks everyone, for the responses. SWMBO just walked in the door with a new HP. When I talked to her at work today, she went out and did some research on her own, and decided to go with this one.

Bill

[John Miliunas]

I think you'll be happy with the HP. The nicest thing about them is that you get a fresh print head when you change ink cartridges. One thing I would look at, though. You mention the bulk of your printing to be B&W. Well heck, even the black ink cartridges on inkjets put a big dent in the old tool budget. Seeing as to how you now have a new unit, might I suggest you take your time in looking around for a nice used B&W laser printer? The final cost of operating one of those, especially for a typical home user, is much more favorable than inkjets. The toner cartridges cost a big chunck of change, but you you recover that in the price of two or three inkjet cartridges and will last many, many times over. I found a HP Laserjet 4 Plus for dirt cheap, including a more than 1/2 full toner cartridge. That was close to a year ago and have not changed the cart yet! Just a thought.... :cool:

[Lynn Sonier]

You can sometimes find good value on E-bay or Ubid. Ubid has mostly reconditioned equipment. Recommend you look up the manufacturer to be sure the model you are bidding on is still in production. I have gotten a scanner from Ubid which has worked fairly well. Go to the following url and search for "Printers"

http://www.ubid.com/cat/get_cat_page.asp?CatID=0&Pg=0

[keith zimmerman]

They are cheap and the cartridges are relatively cheap. and they print okay. Get a USB printer and there is no setup at all, true plug and play (if you have windows - know zilch about mac).

My $.02 here.

[Jim Becker]

Which tractor would get the honors, Bill??? :o

I've been using Epson printers for awhile now when it comes to ink-jets. I like the output better than the HP and Lexmark and the price was right when I bought the two 785EPX units we have. (His and hers...) I wish I hadn't worn out my previous Epson...a Stylus Photo 1200 as it was wonderful being able to print plans out at 13" x 19". My laser is an ancient HP LaserJet 4...from about 1995 and it's still kicking!

[Mark Valsi]

Bill,

My EPSON drove me crazy with the noise !! Darn, I wanted to run it over with a tractor, but I don't have one !

I got an HP psc 2100 that has a scanner, copier and a color printer.

I love it ! It wasn't too expensive and it has worked great so far.

That Darn epson !!!

[Bill Grumbine]

Originally posted by Jim Becker
Which tractor would get the honors, Bill??? :o

Definitely the Super Dexta Jim! One of my neighbors gave me a disc to pull behind it. What a job that would do on a piece of plastic, eh? :eek: Sort of like the ancient Persians, dragging a sled over the victim.

Bill

[Diane Maluso]

Bill... any Epson Stylus that is compatable with your computer would be a good choice. I've been very pleased with the one I have at home and also the one I have at work. The entire faculty where I teach uses them and the tech support guy says they're reliable.

About ink... I get mine through Ebay and use no-name brands. Also works well for me.

Diane

[Jim Becker]

About ink... I get mine through Ebay and use no-name brands. Also works well for me.

Diane, keep in mind that some current Epson printers use a new ink system that "lasts" a lot longer for photos on photo paper. For general printing, the no-name stuff is probably good, but specifically for photo printing, it's probably best to use the real deal!

'Hope all is well with you! (It's been awhile since we communicated)