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Help Needed in Printer Purchase

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Mar. ~ 2005 May: All Things Technical: The Help Desk (ARCHIVES): Help Needed in Printer Purchase users admin

Author Message
Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 7:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
this thread was one of the new ones that was started yesterday. here it is at the time we had to restart the board.

Jewels
Member

09-23-2000

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 7:58 pm Edit
We are looking at buying a new printer and I am getting a little boggled at all the options available.

I have been looking at the printer/scanner/copier combos. What I really want is a printer/scanner, I guess a copier would be an added bonus. I want to be able to scan all my old photos to put on CD's and I also want a quality printer.

I'm not really looking for a high quality photo printer, I have read that it would be cheaper (after paper and ink cartridge costs) to just have them done at Costco or Wal-Mart, but I would like to have the ability to print the occasional picture if I need to.

I do want a quality printer though, I print alot of recipes, craft instructions and stuff like that.

Any advice? I have heard that Canon and Epson are good brands, I have also found what I think are good deals on some HP's. I really don't want to spend more than $200, I don't see why that should be unreasonable from what I have seen.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!




Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 8:05 pm Edit
I just bought on Saturday, the HP 4215 all in one printer/scanner/copier/fax at Best Buy for $99. We had a fancy Brother one before this, and I hated it. So far (now granted, it's only been two days! LOL) it's been great. So easy to set up, good quality copies.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 8:26 pm Edit
i have an HP 2175 all in one printer/scanner/copier without the fax, but it has a place for cards from a digital camera. love love love love it!


Jan
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 10:02 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
my recommendation is what NOT to buy. NEVER buy a Lexmark. I have lots of trouble with mine as does my stepdad with his and my sister with hers (she replaced hers with an all in one from HP which is great). The guy at Office Depot told me that is because Lexmark is the bottom of the line when it comes to printers.

I used to have an epson and loved it!

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 10:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I just sent and received a fax on mine..so easy!!! I don't have a separate phone line, and on that @@#$#$@ Brother one, it was a pain to set it up. this one was no big deal and I had no problem receiving.

Cher
Member

08-18-2004

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 10:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I received an Epson for Christmas and have really enjoyed it. I did have a Lexmark and it wasn't the best, so I wanted to try something different.

Schoolmarm
Member

02-18-2001

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 10:10 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I burned through two or three cheap epsons while writing my dissertation. NOT for heavy duty use!

I have a HP in my office and an HP wireless at home that I can't get to work cause I don't have the network set up right. I have a Canon photo printer that is amazing!

I usually buy a separate scanner. (DUE to my problems with burning out printers!) I had a Canoscan thin one, and burned that out (or the cable is bad...or it got soaked with my car flooded...whatever!). I have a brand new HP transparent scanner. It is thin and can do newspapers and you can set it on top of books and other fragile items. It will send directly to the printer (as a copier) or to the faxmodem in your computer, etc.

I have a big honking HP scanner/copier/etc. in the office and I haven't used it yet. They didn't realize that when I said I needed a scanner, I needed a REALLY thin one that I could carry to the archives in a briefcase or carryon luggage with the computer.

Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 11:30 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
All I can say is that I have an HP printer and I hate it. Hate isn't a strong enough word. It is SO SLOW, and I only purchased it a few months ago. HP 7260.

You can choose to print "FastNormal" or "FastDraft" but neither setting is less than 6 seconds per page. For normal black & white school papers, that is unacceptable!!

So just stay away from the HP 7260.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 11:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
i checked the HP 7260 and it is a photo printer. eeyore, you should check into a different printer if you are mainly doing black and white school papers. inkjet printers cannot keep up with the speed of a laserjet.

Skootz
Member

07-23-2003

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 12:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have a HP Printer/Scanner/copier 2175 Like Landi and I love it. I like the fact that it has photo card spots too.

Jewels
Member

09-23-2000

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 12:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks, Landi, for bringing this thread back from the dead! I had originally put it in the All Things Technical area though, can it be moved back over there?

I appreciate everyones input, the dpi and ppm jargon was boggling my mind. I'm not sure what it all means or what I should look for. I just don't want to buy something spontaneously and then regret it.

Forum_moderator
Moderator

01-01-2004

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 1:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Relocated.


<314>

Jewels
Member

09-23-2000

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 1:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thank you!!

Wendo
Member

08-07-2000

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 2:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Jewels, I would stick with either an HP or an Epson model. (Canon's are ok, I'm just not overly fond of them personally.) Both make quality printers in a variety of price ranges as well as all-in-one models.

Speaking personally, I'm not too fond of the all-in-one models. Mainly because if one part breaks down then you basically lose everything. However, many people swear by these machines so it's really a matter of preference. For instance, I have an Epson photo ink jet printer for photos and graphics etc. and an HP laser printer for the rest (mainly for speed; laser printers are hella fast.) I then use a seperate scanner. But, as I said, it's more of a preference/price thing for what one wants. Obviously, with an all-in-one, one can save money.

HP machines have typically been stronger for more text based and office based applications; where a balance between text and photo quality is needed. Epson models have typically been stronger for photo and graphics quality. But, honestly, the technology has improved and the differences are really slight, imo.

I dunno if I really helped. Anyway, good luck.

Jewels
Member

09-23-2000

Tuesday, March 01, 2005 - 7:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks for the help, Everyone! We ended up getting an HP Printer, Scanner, Copier. So far, so good. I have been without a printer for about a year and a half so I am still getting used to having one available to use...needless to say I haven't used it that much yet!

Amchess
Member

08-27-2002

Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 1:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have had good luck with Lexmarks. In fact I just got 2 from TigerDirect.com. With the rebates each cost less than $50 so I thought they were great bargains. Now I have probably jinxed myself!