Really want a printer that will last

[MomofSixinSC]

We seem to go through a printer in a year or less. We tried the kodak one for the cheap ink, but it stopped working after just a few months. I replaced it with an Epson, paying through the nose for the ink, and now it doesn't work anymore - one side of the paper feeder isn't working, so the paper feeds in crookedly and jams. How do I print out coupons with no printer.

Any thoughts or helpful advice?

 

[Sadie22]

HP has sales all the time. After having problems with other brands at home and talking to repairmen at the shop where I took my first HP which was actually repairable rather than being built as a disposable printer like the others, I now use only HP. We have a laser and a multipurpose inkjet machine networked in our house. Over the course of 15 years I upgraded but the original HP laser printer/copier still works. I have had to have a couple of parts replaced, including paper pickup parts. You could have your Epson checked out if there is an office machine repair shop in your area.

 

[wmharley]

from working with IT, HPs are hit or miss. I've had business class machines die within a year and other small business and home ones also.

i've had others last. They aren't made as well as they used to, so no matter what, you have a greater chance of a printer lemon than before.

that said, if you are looking into a printer, inkjet I assume, get one with the individual ink. while you pay more if you replace all the cartridges at once, the cartdriges actually last longer than a tri-color.

also, look for one that will do your needs, if you don't do photos, don't get one that is more geared to it. No use fancy ports and inputs and wifi internet access if you will just connect via your computer and print form there.

I have a Dell all in one made by Lexmark and its lasted for almost 6 years now.

I know personally, the Lexmarks and Epsons get very good ratings, with the HP a notch below.

 

[dawson5]

I have had my epson (photo stylus r200) for over five years now. Ink can be expensive, but like pp stated I have the 5 ink cartridges. I found supermediastore to buy them and stock up when they put them on sale with free shipping.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have two HP LaserJet printers.

One, the 1300, is B&W and will do almost 30 ppm. This is very necessary for my tax business. And I get about 6,000 pages from a cartridge that costs about $70.

The other is a Color CM1312 nfi MFP so it also is a scanner, copier and fax. The cartridges are about $60 each; the black is good for about 3000 pages and the three color ones are good for about 1500 pages.

And, of course, being lasers and not ink jets, there is nothing to dry out.

 

[monarchsfan16]

My HP was a hand-me-down from my dad. It's still going strong after 5 years of printing literally REAMS of papers each semester. Prior to that, dad had it for several years, printing hundreds of photos a year, and thousands of pages of business documents. It's a photosmart, and it'll be a sad day when it finally quits.

 

[Swimalie]

I have 2 HP's. One is the LaserJet 5000 that I bought from a friend. It is about 15 years old and still going as good as the day I bought it (8 years ago). I also have a HP ink jet (5550, I believe) that is 8 years old and is still going perfect as well. The only thing I have to do with these is replace the ink/toner. I highly recommend a good HP. Don't go super cheap. You do get what you pay for.

 

[Starshine]

I work in IT, and I also recommed going with a laser instead of an inkjet. It will cost more initially, but the laser ones last a lot longer.

 

[tar heel]

We have two 10-year-old troublefree HPs -- probably wouldn't buy any other kind! A b&w laser is our main printer, and it's a cheap-to-operate workhorse.

 

[NCRedding]

I've had two laser HP printers that have been awesome. HOWEVER, the ink jet HP printers I have had, whether straight printers or MFC have been absolute crap. I get about 1 year's worth of us before they die. I had one that I hated so badly, I took a hatchet to it. There are also youtube videos of soldiers shooting their HP printers.

When I called HP about my MFC which died at 360 days, I recieved very little help from them. The option they offered were not acceptable. I personally will never buy anything other than a simple laser printer from HP again.

I've had pretty good luck with brother.

 

[wmharley]

At work here I ahve a HP Color Laser Jet 8550DN.. overall works well, but some color looks poor and it hates duplexing now for large runs...

but its like over 10yo..

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We have a Dell color laser printer. We purchased it refurbished 3 years ago. We have not added toner yet. We love it - it was more expensive but it has saved us a ton of money.

 

[librarygal]

You could buy a SquareTrade warranty the next time you buy a printer. They often have 30% off codes. Just remember to get the warranty within 90 days of the purchase.

 

[Huff]

For home use forget about color ink jet printers. Sure they are cheap but the cartridges are costly and do not last very many pages at all.

I bought an HP Laserjet years ago. I print only 10-20 pages a week at most. I am on the 2nd toner cartridge in 5 years and still going strong.

For color prints I get them printed at Costco or Walmart far cheaper than any cheap home ink jet printer and better quality.

 

[thunderbug548]

I have a different problem. I have a HP printer I'd love to use and it's not old but you can't find ink for it anymore. It's like printers are just disposable nowadays.