Printer upgrade question

[belveder 0]

I currently use (or was until today when it stopped working) a Canon S200SP printer and need to get a new printer. Am looking at getting a real nice multifunction one. There is a HP PSC2410 going on special locally with a digital camera bonus that has caught my eye.

 

The thing is, I have never used a fancier printer and have no idea about the ink usage comparison's. I know the ink cartridges are a lot more money but do you get a lot more use out of them in comparison with with smaller printers (like mine) with the cheap cartridges.

 

Any advice or help would be appreciated

 

Thanks in advance

[Ali 0]

I used to have a cheap HP printer and i hated it so much. luckily it broke and i bought my Epson Stylus 740 and i'm very happy with it (has been working 4 years straight!!!). In fact i got Epson all in one machine (Model CX5200) more than a year ago and it is working like a charm. it has individual cartridges for each colour. as a result they seem to be larger (or at least i think it takes me longer to run out of ink). I realy like that printer (mostly because it is very easy to use and the print quality and speed is good too).

 

As a personal preference i like Epson better than HP, but i'm sure there are people who disagree.

and whatever you do, stay away from cheap Lexmaerk All-In-Ones. they are not worth the money. they break a lot and the ink is expensive. they have a good service (for a year), but what's a good of it if the printer is going to spend more time on the road than doing work for you!!

 

As an alternative to the inkjet i have been looking at some laser all-in-ones too and some of them are loaded with features, but have not thested many of them yet to be sure if it's worth getting one for home.

[Sampson 0]

Folks may be reluctant to answer your query because it can lead to a war of words about who's got the best printer.

 

So, I'll keep it general. What do you print the most? If you use your printer for final copies, keep it simple. Get a printer that does nothing but print. Stay away from multi-function printers unless you like multi-function headaches. The software for these things just mess up so more easily. Lexmark is a good example, but it isn't alone.

 

If you are going for economy - get a laser printer. The cost per copy is a lot cheaper. If the printer lies dormant, you won't have to put up with the dreaded dried cartridge syndrome. Ink jet printers, especially if you like to use multiple special fonts will drain your cartridges faster than a Hummer will empty a gas tank.

 

If you want to play with photographs, unless you want to shell out the money for a Xerox laser color printer, you will normally have to use an inkjet with two sets of cartridges. Epson has gotten high marks for their color jet; so has HP, but both have quirks and basically it comes down to living within the limitations of the printer.

 

There is no real reason that you necessarily have to tank the old printer to add a new one unless it has quit functioning. You can use different printers for different tasks on the same computer.

 

You've probably heard this before, so I will only add that when a company starts adding gizmos (like cameras) to sell a specific printer, don't be surprized if that printer is about to be phased out of production; which generally means that the drivers for it will not be updated all too quickly (if at all) as will the latest and greatest new printer taking its place.