Printer, Scanner, Copier, Fax

[John Terefenko]

If you had to buy a new all in one Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax injet printer today what brand and model will you buy. My HP finally gave up. It figures too because I just bought new ink for it. It does not turn on any more. Tried unplugging to reset both ends of power chord. Disconnected computer cable and still nothing. I tried hitting it toohttp://www.penturners.org/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif Probably about 6 years old. Rather not have wireless, heard too many horror stories there. Prefer injet over laser for cheaper ink cartridges. Make lots of copies. I use all aspects of these devices so can not be without one or other. Does anyone know of a new unit that uses HP 02 ink cartridges??

I will take your list and any things to specifically look for. Thanks in advance.

[Dave Lehnert]

Inkjet cheaper than Laser???????

[John Terefenko]

In the long run yes. Do not want to compare that I will stick with inkjet. If you are giving me a brand please give me some model numbers too so I can look them up. I know all the different brands out there but do not know numbers. Thanks

[Mike Henderson]

One problem is that many of us will have an "all-in-one" printer that's several years old. I do and I'm satisfied with it, but I doubt if this printer is even available any more because it has been replaced by a new model.

I have an HP 7520. Copy, print, scan and fax. Wireless connection to my PCs (multiple PCs). Cost was about $100 but I may not remember correctly. I'm satisfied with it but I'd have to research what's available if I were to buy a new one today.

Mike

[Steve Eure]

We just replaced our HP 7525 that had an error code that was too costly to repair. Go figure. Less money to replace than repair. Wound up buying an Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720. We compared the closest HP to the Epson, and the Epson had a better ink to printed page ratio than the HP. So far I like this machine. No complaints so far, but have only had it a few months. Time will tell. As with all of them now, it only comes with a sample pack of ink in the machine. It will print 30 pages or so I believe. Ink cartridges are roughly $70 for the entire package of the XL cartridges.

[Cary Falk]

I finally gave up and bought a Brother MFC-9130 color laser. It was less than $300. After 9 months we just replaced the factory black. We print a lot. The other colors are still fine. I bought a set(2 blk, red, blue, yellow) of 3rd party cartridges from Amazon for $70 and they actually work. I have never had any luck with 3rd party ink. I figure it will pay for itself in a little over a year.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I would not have an inkjet unless paid to do so. I have been using HP laser combination units for 19 years. I ran reams of paper a month through the units at my office with little problem. For the home office, we bought one of the first Brother laser printer, scanner fax copier units they made and it lasted over 12 years. It lasted through one child and Mrs going to college. Right now we have a Samsung color laser all in one for the family and just an HP black and white for my office. It is the second HP M1217nfw I have had. (the first burned in a fire) It is small, quiet and reliable. It cost $140.00 and I order after market toner refills from a place for $21.00 each for 4 at a time. The after market cartridges have worked fine in the HP, but after market cartridges do not work in the Samsung. We have the color printer for family use, printing out pictures etc. Mrs. is a nurse and developed a communication board for use with folks on trach's and she prints the boards here at home and has them laminated. So far they are in use in three hospitals. She makes up, perhaps 10 a month. So the color printer is not a high use item but necessary. The Brother we have is old as dirt and still is hooked up as a fax machine. Mr wife rarely uses the fax or scanner functions. She can take a picture with her phone and convert it to a document to be edited and printed out and can take a picture of a document and fax it directly from her phone. I have not figured that stuff out yet. Probably never will, since fewer folks are faxing these days.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have one similar to this one

https://www.staples.com/dell-e525w-color-laser-all-in-one-printer-stp-njmvpe/product_1667711

[Al Launier]

One problem is that many of us will have an "all-in-one" printer that's several years old. I do and I'm satisfied with it, but I doubt if this printer is even available any more because it has been replaced by a new model.

I have an HP 7520. Copy, print, scan and fax. Wireless connection to my PCs (multiple PCs). Cost was about $100 but I may not remember correctly. I'm satisfied with it but I'd have to research what's available if I were to buy a new one today.

Mike

Ditto & I have the same HP printer as well.

[Curt Harms]

How frequently do you print? If inkjets don't print fairly frequently, like once a week or every couple weeks the print heads tend dry out and need to be run through a cleaning cycle. It can take a significant part of an ink cartridge to get the head printing clean again. Some inkjets have the printhead built into the cartridge and it's sometimes possible to rub the printhead portion of the cartridge over an alcohol soaked paper towel to get it working properly again. At least some HP and Canon inkjets are like that. I'm pretty sure Brother and Epson among others use a 'permanent' printhead so the built-in cleaning function must be used and if doesn't work, a new printer is cheaper than getting the printhead repaired or replaced. Lasers don't suffer the dried ink problem. We recently bought a Brother HL-3170CDW (color, duplex, wireless) single function and it works well. After-market toner cartridges seem to work well too.

[Roy Petersen]

Brother HL-3170CDW (color, duplex, wireless) single function and it works well. After-market toner cartridges seem to work well too.We also went with a Brother laser, since the cost of using inkjet was crazy over time. There's a reason you pay so little to get the hardware, as it helps you forget the cost of the ink. We've had the same Laser for several years now, and use only name brand toner (off brands are refills, and can actually cause harm to components as well as not printing properly, in our experience). Cost per page is on average about 3 times more with inkjet.
Another advantage is laser toner doesn't smear if you rub it with your finger.

[Jim Becker]

If I didn't need to print "real photos", I'd go with a color laser version. If I needed to stick with inkjet for photo printing, I'd buy one of the units that have the larger tanks for ink as the continual expense for cartridges on most printers is unreal, even at Costco prices and third party refills or alternatives just don't deliver good photo prints in my experience.

[John M Wilson]

Last spring, when my color multifunction inkjet died (with a multitude of replacement cartridges, natch) I decided to convert to black & white multifunction laser jet.

I got the Brother MFC-L2700DW (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MFG58N6)

I figured I'd wait until I needed color before dipping my toe back into the inkjet pool (at least to use up some of these cartridges :)). Well, it's been 8 months, and I still haven't had a need to print in color. And, with Sam's (or Walmart) printing color photographs waaay cheaper than I can anyway, I may be totally past my color printer days.

The Brother units are relatively cheap on initial purchase, and the 3rd party replacement toner kits are a very good value. It's a top-selling unit with a ton of positive reviews. I noticed that there is now a newer model (MFC-L2710DW), but I don't know if it has any improvements that justify the additional cost.

Good Luck!

[Rick Moyer]

Just went thru the same debate but didn't want ink jet any more. Look at cost/page and yield and I think you will see that ink jet is more costly in the long run. We don't need to print "real photos" anywhere near as much as we need black copy, but we do need copy and scan capability as well as occasional color. My extensive research led me to Brother. Went over the top too with model MFC-L8900CDW. Only been a few weeks but so far very pleased.

[Ronald Blue]

Cost per page is only an issue if you print a lot. We have the aforementioned HP 7520 at my work and it just keeps going. It's in a dusty environment and it works flawlessly. Lasers are good but you have to be printing in volume to make them cost effective. We have lasers in many of our offices and they are great. Almost all are HP. They are networked so they get much higher use. That makes them cost effective there. I personally have an HP 8615 from Sam's and it's great. For the cost which I think was around $90 it took a year before I used up the original ink. Everyone has their "preferred" brand and as in every similar instance you will get suggestions for much higher priced options. Look at how much you print and decide what will best suit your needs.

[John Terefenko]

Thanks everyone for the replys. here is what I use. It was a HP C7280 all in one and worked very well for about 5 years I am guessing because do not remember buying it. Old age thing :) I print many copies for projects I work on. I do use color for background and for photos to be used in pen making. This copier has done well. The cartridge thing is high I agree and have tried the third party stuff but just not the same so I stay away from. I buy them at Walmarts because Cosco does not carry my number. I do send and receive Fax for business use. Still something needed and yes not as much. I do print in black as much as I can to save color ink. I do not waste ink from dried out that is for sure. I believe there is a sensor or something on cartridges that tell the printer when it is outdated but that does not mean it is out of ink. I have a friend who is looking into this. I go to Fed X when need to make many multiple copies of patterns because it saves wear and tear on home copier. Also if I need to enlarge to 11x17 and bigger.

I will look into some of these suggestions and if I get one for $100 and last 5, 6 years I will be happy. I hate having to throw away the good ink cartridges I just bought. If i could get this thing to turn on I probably would not be writing this. Need to take it apart I guess. I called HP for suggestions but they want to charge me $28 for consultation. That is not happening. Thanks again.

[Michael Weber]

I saw this printer at Sams a while back and it caught my attention because it uses liquid ink for printing rather than cartridges. It's an Epson ET-2550 eco tank. Don't recall if it's multifunction or even if it's any good but the ink costs were less. Just putting this out there as I really don't know anything more about it but seemed a ro be a way to save on costs per page printing.

[Curt Harms]

I saw this printer at Sams a while back and it caught my attention because it uses liquid ink for printing rather than cartridges. It's an Epson ET-2550 eco tank. Don't recall if it's multifunction or even if it's any good but the ink costs were less. Just putting this out there as I really don't know anything more about it but seemed a ro be a way to save on costs per page printing.

Those are interesting, especially for someone who does quite a lot of color printing. The consumable cost/page is a LOT less than other inkjets. I believe Canon recently introduced a 'big tank' inkjet printer as well. The concern I'd have is the printhead reliability. Epson uses a piezo electric printhead unlike most other injet manufacturers so it may be durable, I have no experience with them. Here's a brief blurb from Epson 's web site:


Micro Piezo printheads eject droplets of ink via mechanical pressure. This mechanical pressure is created when piezoelectric elements in the printheads contract in response to an applied voltage.

Two main characteristics set Epson's technology apart from other inkjet printing systems. The first is that Micro Piezo printing systems do not use heat to eject the ink droplets. The second is that they precisely control the volume of ink contained in each ink droplet.

[Andrew Kertesz]

I use a Canon multi machine, #MX922. Have used it for several years, they are still out there and less than $60 new. Have not had any problems and I use all functions as well...

[John Terefenko]

I use a Canon multi machine, #MX922. Have used it for several years, they are still out there and less than $60 new. Have not had any problems and I use all functions as well...


Just looked at that one in best buy yesterday. The front cover broke off as I flipped it down. Maybe not the same unit as yours but in order to print pages that cover needs to be down. Pass on that one.

[Matt Meiser]

I have a Brother laser AIO supplied by work. Someone else had used it a year or two before it was given to me almost 11 years ago. Drivers are getting to be a small, but not terrible issue, mainly loss of some scanning features as the old app won't run on Window 8 or later. The replacement app works but has way fewer features. Its always slightly skewed stuff on the sheet feeder. Once in a while you have to cycle power to get it to respond. And if you fill the paper tray over 2/3 or so full it makes a terrible clicking sound. But its printed over 12,000 pages on 2 or 3 toner cartridges and those are the worst things I can say about it. Any more most of its work is home use so I buy all the supplies. We've gone through several inkjets in that time for color printing. The most recent is an Epson Artisan which has been pretty good other than an annoying habit of throwing printed papers on the floor. Fax on the Brother worked at one time but hasn't been plugged into a phone line for at least 5 years. I couldn't even tell you if the Epson has fax capability.

My parents also went through several printers in that time before buying a Brother inkjet. Its been great (meaning I never have to deal with it.)

My first few inkjets, starting back in the early-mid 90's were HPs and only upgraded to get newer features and photo printing as that became a thing. Then I bought one that I ended up returning because it simply wouldn't work reliably. We went with a Kodak, and that thing was pretty much junk after a year or two. We tried another HP and I couldn't ever get it connected to a wireless network. HP also started insisting on a ton of bloatware. I'll probably never give them another try for printers, though I do like a couple HP laptops we have.

Inkjet vs. Laser, I'd recommend both depending on your use. If you are printing B&W documents get a laser. Color photo printing get an inkjet. If the latter use is rare, send your photos out for printing and print any color documents at an office supply store.