Printer recommendations please

[Poohbug]

My printer just bit the dust. I really can't complain-it is older than my children. So anyone have a suggestion for a good quality printer that costs around $50? A scanner would be nice but not necessary.

Also thinking that this may be a good time to finally go wireless. Looking at a Lynx dual N router. If anyone has any suggestions for a wireless router, it would be appreciated.

 

[eduk8r26]

I got a Belkin at Costco for about $80. It's supposed to be one of the best wireless. I lucked out on my printer--a Canon all-in-one for $50 at Fry's about a year ago. Watch for sales. You can usually get some good ones.

 

[Muushka]

I bought a wireless ink jet printer, HP. Bought ink for it twice. The second time, when they had to perform CPR on me at the cash register, I vowed to replace this inexpensive to buy, ridiculously expensive to maintain printer.

I (happily) replaced it with a Laser printer, a Brother. I paid less that $100 for it, it is not wireless, but it is no big deal to hook up my laptop to it. I have used it so many times and have yet to replace the ink. I found replacements for it for about $30 on Meritline.com. It only prints in black and white, but for the cost of the ink, a no brainer for me.

Whatever you buy, look at the price of ink first.

 

[clh2]

Whatever you buy, look at the price of ink first.

This.

We are starting to look at printers for when DD goes off to college next year.
And cost of ink is a huge deal.

 

[sorcerormickey]

Whatever you buy, look at the price of ink first.

OMG YES! We just got rid of an HP I've had for about 10 years, it still worked great but the ink price was ridiculous - both ink cartridges cost around $70 to replace (together). We just bought a new HP printer at Costco last week (Photosmart 6515 3-in-1) and the ink is only about $40 to replace them all, but the colors are all separate, so you can do them individually for $8 each.

Definitely do your research on the ink prices.

 

[SandrA9810]

Don't get so excited over low ink prices, you've got to look at the ml amount of ink. Some of the old HPs are known for huge carts, up 40-50 ml. Newer printers can go all the way down to 5ml ink carts. Not such a great savings if you're replacing it all the time.

The other question is, how much printing do you do? Most of the laser jet printers are cheaper with the wireless option, than an ink jet printer. But toner is usually more expensive for each one (however, you get 1,000's of pages printed per toner).

The brother line of laser jets are printers with wireless is a pretty reasonable price.

 

[Nayan]

I have this one. In fact I have two since I bought one for my husband:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-MG5220-Wireless-Inkjet-4502B017/dp/B003VQR1RA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329310664&sr=8-1

 

[Praying Colonel]

Just bought an HP Laserjet Pro P1102W, which you can find for around $100 online or at office stores. It's wireless and it's AirPrint compatible so you can print from your iPad or iPhone.

I'd agree with the comment that when you're looking at ink cost, look at the cost per page instead of the cartridge. Many laser printer toners are going to be more expensive than ink jet cartridges, but you often get many more pages out of that toner so the cost per page is much less.

 

[HM]

We were told by a Staples employee that the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the printer ink. So, if you print a lot, it might pay for you to spend a bit more on the printer now and save on ink over time.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

No clue on printers, we've had an Hp for yrs but I want to replace it. I haven't started shopping yet.

I second the belkin router recommendation. We had a netgear router and now have a belkin. The belkin is much better. The netgear routed locked up all the time (once s week at least). The belkin has only locked up once in 6 months.

 

[angwill]

My printer just bit the dust. I really can't complain-it is older than my children. So anyone have a suggestion for a good quality printer that costs around $50? A scanner would be nice but not necessary.

Also thinking that this may be a good time to finally go wireless. Looking at a Lynx dual N router. If anyone has any suggestions for a wireless router, it would be appreciated.

I just got a Cannon a month or two ago and it is really working out well. I had an HP and the ink almost broke the bank. The biggest issue was when I started using generic ink the think started up with error codes and eventually just stopped working shortly after.

I have been told by more than one techie that the Linksys routers are supposed to be the best out there.

 

[angwill]

Just bought an HP Laserjet Pro P1102W, which you can find for around $100 online or at office stores. It's wireless and it's AirPrint compatible so you can print from your iPad or iPhone.

I'd agree with the comment that when you're looking at ink cost, look at the cost per page instead of the cartridge. Many laser printer toners are going to be more expensive than ink jet cartridges, but you often get many more pages out of that toner so the cost per page is much less.

There are websites out there that break down the cost per page for the different printer cartridges.

It is not true that the costlier the printer the less the ink costs. Our HP cost around $350 on sale and the ink cost a fortune when broke down on cost per page printed.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

As far as long term cost you want to figure out the cost per page. Universally manufacturers use 5% coverage as the basis for the yield on their cartridges. This means that when they tell you the cartridge yields 200 pages, they mean 200 pages (letter size) with only 5% of the page having any sort of ink/toner on it. Completely unrealistic for the real world but at least it's universal across most manufacturers.

Here is the break down for the HP Office Jet Pro 8100 using staples.com pricing

Printer $149.98
Black ink (standard yield) 1,000 pages $26.99 or $0.0270 per page
Cyan ink (standard yield) 700 pages $19.99 or $0.0286 per page
Magenta ink (standard yield) 700 pages $19.99 or $0.0286 per page
Yellow ink (standard yield) 700 pages $19.99 or $0.0286 per page

Add all of those per page costs up and you get $0.1128 per page. To be realistic, double that number since no one really ever prints anything with 5% coverage.

Laser printers are almost always less expensive in the long run but it really depends on your particular needs.

 

[Praying Colonel]

There are websites out there that break down the cost per page for the different printer cartridges.

It is not true that the costlier the printer the less the ink costs. Our HP cost around $350 on sale and the ink cost a fortune when broke down on cost per page printed.

Well I'm glad you quoted me, since that's not what I wrote.

What I wrote was:

Many laser printer toners are going to be more expensive than ink jet cartridges, but you often get many more pages out of that toner so the cost per page is much less.

So check the cost per page. Cartridge cost may not tell the whole story.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have this one. In fact I have two since I bought one for my husband:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-MG5220-Wireless-Inkjet-4502B017/dp/B003VQR1RA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329310664&sr=8-1

Please note that this is an old model. There is a newer version, the Canon MG5320, which I got for $69.00 as an Amazon Gold box deal a few months ago. I am very happy with it, especially because you can use it to print wirelessly using AirPrint from your iPad.

 

[nettekay]

We had and HP for years. One time when we went to get ink which was $70.00. Instead we bought a wireless kodak printer. The ink is super cheap!! only $24.00 total for both black and color cartridge. pictures come out great of course and it lasts forever!!! the printer was only $80.00 and I see it on sale all the time!!

 

[momof3ds]

We have an HP envy that I just brought. It is wifi and connects to ipads/ iphones.

It has a scanner and the printer ink prices seem pretty reasonable.

The regular price is $249 but I got it for $200 about 2 months ago.

 

[xp28]

I recommend HP envy.

 

[linnylu]

I also need a printer for a college student and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for ink replacement. Should a printer used in a college dorm be wireless?
I would love any recommendations.

 

[MichiganKris]

My brother owns a printer/printer cartridge refill business and I just asked him about printers last week. He recommended the HP CP1525NW. It's regular price is about $300, but I have been able to find it as low as $150. He said that he doesn't see very many of these in as repairs and I will be able to print about 3000 to 4000 pages without having to purchase new toner. This is what he has for his personal printer at home.