[Janisum]

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

[coastie65]

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

[Janisum]

coastie65, on 09 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

What are the costs of ink replacements? That's the issue I have with HP is the cost to maintain. Thanks for your suggestion..

[LincolnSpector]

Hi, Janisum.

You're not going to find a cheap printer with cheap ink. HP and other manufacturers sell printers at a loss so that they can soak you for the ink. That's the business model, and since it's a very successful one, it's not going away soon.

Here's what I recommend, although it will cost you considerably more than $100 initially, it will save you money in the end:

By two printers--a laser and an inkjet. Laser ink (called toner), while more expensive than inkjet ink by the refill, is much less expensive by the page. It can take a couple of years for a family to go through a toner cartridge. Use the inkjet only for things that absolutely require color, and use the laser for everything else.

Lincoln

[smax013]

LincolnSpector, on 09 March 2012 - 09:25 AM, said:

Hi, Janisum.

You're not going to find a cheap printer with cheap ink. HP and other manufacturers sell printers at a loss so that they can soak you for the ink. That's the business model, and since it's a very successful one, it's not going away soon.

Very, very true.

Quote

Here's what I recommend, although it will cost you considerably more than $100 initially, it will save you money in the end:

By two printers--a laser and an inkjet. Laser ink (called toner), while more expensive than inkjet ink by the refill, is much less expensive by the page. It can take a couple of years for a family to go through a toner cartridge. Use the inkjet only for things that absolutely require color, and use the laser for everything else.

Lincoln

That is precisely what I do.

I have a LaserJet 6MP that I bought about 15 years ago as my primary printer. I believe I am on my third toner cartridge. I do print a decent amount of stuff. It is a bit slow since it is such an old printer, but it does the job.

I then have an inkjet All-in-one. I mainly use it to make photo copies, but will use it when I need to print something in color (which is very infrequently since I don't print many photos). I tend to change my ink cartridges about once a year since I don't use it that much.

[LiveBrianD]

In case you're wondering, my family's printed 12401 pages on the brother MFC-9840CDW we have and gone through 5 toner cartridges (note: I think most were TN-115s, high capacity, but one was TN-110. Hey, most of those pages weren't me, ok? (my mom works from home and does most of it). One cartridge leaked and had to be replaced prematurely though.) The TN-115 is $65 on amazon and does 5000 pages they claim. The HP 74 black ink cartridge (first thing that came up on an amazon search) is $15, and does 200. See how much cheaper that is per page? Plus, ink can dry out, and printers often waste a bunch of it cleaning themselves.

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 09 March 2012 - 03:35 PM, said:

In case you're wondering, my family's printed 12401 pages on the brother MFC-9840CDW we have and gone through 5 toner cartridges (note: I think most were TN-115s, high capacity, but one was TN-110. Hey, most of those pages weren't me, ok? (my mom works from home and does most of it). One cartridge leaked and had to be replaced prematurely though.) The TN-115 is $65 on amazon and does 5000 pages they claim. The HP 74 black ink cartridge (first thing that came up on an amazon search) is $15, and does 200. See how much cheaper that is per page? Plus, ink can dry out, and printers often waste a bunch of it cleaning themselves.

I am at 14467 on my LaserJet 6MP. It may be slow, but it dependable and I get a tone of pages from one toner cartridge...like I said, I believe I am on cartridge #3.

Now, you do need to be a little careful as I believe that printer companies have started to use the same philosophy with laser printers as they have with inkjet printers...i.e. I believe they have started to offer cheap laser printers with much lower capacity toner cartridges. So, if you go this path, make sure you research the printer and find one with a good high capacity toner cartridge.

[SnyperTodd]

One thing to look for is individual ink tanks. The cheaper printers have one black cartridge and one color cartridge, so if you run out of one color, you have to throw away the entire cartridge even though there is plenty of the other colors left. More expensive printers generally have individual ink cartridges that cost a lot less and allow you to fully use all of your individual colors until they're empty.

[Janisum]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I may take that route and get a inkjet. I'm going to check out Amazon. I have noticed that my HP F4280 all-in-one has alittle higher cost replacements than several other HP's.. It's too bad we can't use our color ink only when the black runs out... Printers really are a racket.. Thanks again for all your help and enjoy daylight savings time tomorrow. Horrah!

[coastie65]

Janisum, on 09 March 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

coastie65, on 09 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

What are the costs of ink replacements? That's the issue I have with HP is the cost to maintain. Thanks for your suggestion..

I use the 02 cartridges and they are $9.95 each and the black is $19.95 for some reason.

[Janisum]

coastie65, on 10 March 2012 - 10:25 AM, said:

Janisum, on 09 March 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

coastie65, on 09 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

What are the costs of ink replacements? That's the issue I have with HP is the cost to maintain. Thanks for your suggestion..

I use the 02 cartridges and they are $9.95 each and the black is $19.95 for some reason.

My last black was $16 and since I rarely use the color, it dries up.

[coastie65]

Janisum, on 10 March 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

coastie65, on 10 March 2012 - 10:25 AM, said:

Janisum, on 09 March 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

coastie65, on 09 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

What are the costs of ink replacements? That's the issue I have with HP is the cost to maintain. Thanks for your suggestion..

I use the 02 cartridges and they are $9.95 each and the black is $19.95 for some reason.

My last black was $16 and since I rarely use the color, it dries up.

Hmmm, interesting. I've never had one dry up, just run out. Do use the color quite a bit as I have photo paper and do my own photos, which uses a lot of ink.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 10 March 2012 - 10:59 AM

[LiveBrianD]

By the way, you may be able to fool a printer into letting you use a toner cartridge that's dead, if you do a little searching for your model (for instance, on mine, I've heard that you can cover a sensor on the side of the cartridge and then push a certain combination of buttons to make the printer use the cartridge again).

[smax013]

Janisum, on 10 March 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

My last black was $16 and since I rarely use the color, it dries up.

If you rarely use color, then a laser printer is definitely a good option to consider. That is why I use my laser printer as my primary printer...I rarely print in color and the laser printer is much cheaper to operate.

[Janisum]

Thanks to you all. I'm going laser and try to fool my printer too!!!

[LincolnSpector]

SnyperTodd, on 10 March 2012 - 07:29 AM, said:

One thing to look for is individual ink tanks. The cheaper printers have one black cartridge and one color cartridge, so if you run out of one color, you have to throw away the entire cartridge even though there is plenty of the other colors left. More expensive printers generally have individual ink cartridges that cost a lot less and allow you to fully use all of your individual colors until they're empty.

When I bought my current inkjet, a Canon iP5200R, one reason I picked that model was exactly what you said here--individual cartridges would save me money. It didn't work out that way.

The cartridges run out at pretty close the same time, and three individual, cheaper cartridges actually cost more than 1 3-color cartridge. Thus, I'm actually paying more.

Lincoln

[Janisum]

I really appreciate all your comments and the time taken. But I have to say, with a wide smile on my face, how confused I am now :-) You've all meant to help and I respect that so much but I can laugh at all the confusion... This is a community where I have always met good people and none are sarcastic. You're a great group of people and I you but you have me confused.

[coastie65]

Janisum, on 11 March 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

I really appreciate all your comments and the time taken. But I have to say, with a wide smile on my face, how confused I am now :-) You've all meant to help and I respect that so much but I can laugh at all the confusion... This is a community where I have always met good people and none are sarcastic. You're a great group of people and I you but you have me confused.

Hi, seeing as how you do not use color all that much, than smax's suggestion is probably the best route to take. I know it can get confusing when you have a bunch chiming in with different things, then it becoames a matter of seperating the wheat from the chaff. I do get a bit frustrated myself, when I go through some of these threads.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 11 March 2012 - 04:47 PM

[SnyperTodd]

LincolnSpector, on 11 March 2012 - 10:45 AM, said:

When I bought my current inkjet, a Canon iP5200R, one reason I picked that model was exactly what you said here--individual cartridges would save me money. It didn't work out that way.

The cartridges run out at pretty close the same time, and three individual, cheaper cartridges actually cost more than 1 3-color cartridge. Thus, I'm actually paying more.

Lincoln

Maybe it would be cheaper to have one 3-color cartridge, but I bet there's less of each color in most of those than in most individual cartridges (though they seem to be getting smaller...) making the individual cartridges a better value in the long run. I have a Canon MG6120 with 5 individual color cartridges and a big black cartridge. The pigment black is $18, the smaller black and color cartridges are all $14 if you buy Canon brand. I buy generic cartridges and pay about $7 per cartridge. I've never had any complaints about the colors being off with generic cartridges and I print a lot of pictures of my kids. The pictures are always fantastic-looking, I have no regrets about this printer. I definitely don't run out of all the colors at the same time, and actually I can buy a boxed set of 4 pigment black cartridges and 2 complete sets of color cartridges for $70 where I buy ink. I do supplement this printer with a Brother Laser printer when I don't need color, so the pigment black tends to last quite a while. For me, it's the perfect setup. I've looked into getting a continuous ink system, but not sure if I want to deal with that right now...

[Janisum]

coastie65, on 09 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Janisum, on 08 March 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Hi to all,
I have a "HP deskjet, all in one" and I'm wanting to get a updated printer/scanner with ink replacements that are not so costly. I do alot of printing but nothing fancy. I really can't spend over $100. but if I need to I will. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have Windows 7. Thank you

Hi, Look into the HP All-in One PhotoSmart stuff. I have a C5180 that I got in May '07 and it is going strong and I do a lot of printing.

Thanks again. you all are great!!!