Discussion
First, I need to declare that I hate printers. They're usually unreliable, problematic to connect with, and when they go wrong, diagnosis usually results in it being thrown away and replaced with another. I'm a fairly educated user too - I work in IT but I have zero patience for crap products. Maybe I have just being buying cheap, crappy ones.
Based on the above, I've managed to avoid owning one for about 15 years but my children need access to a printer for school, and it would be useful to print out labels when I send things off that I've sold on eBay.
So, I'm after a recommendation. I guess it ought to incorporate a scanner of reasonable resolution - one day I'll scan all my old photos into Google Photos - but also should print in colour, have wireless capability, print on A4 and the various A4 label pages, and not be expensive to own/run and generally crap.
TIA for any suggestions.
Based on the above, I've managed to avoid owning one for about 15 years but my children need access to a printer for school, and it would be useful to print out labels when I send things off that I've sold on eBay.
So, I'm after a recommendation. I guess it ought to incorporate a scanner of reasonable resolution - one day I'll scan all my old photos into Google Photos - but also should print in colour, have wireless capability, print on A4 and the various A4 label pages, and not be expensive to own/run and generally crap.
TIA for any suggestions.
The briefest of research suggests I need ink tanks rather than cartridges for cost reasons, even though I don't really need high capacity printing.
Must be colour though, so laser printers are out. I need a multi functional but simple to use inkjet. No fax capability. I will try to plug it into the router directly so WiFi might not be necessary but nice to have for flexibility in future.
I may also need to spend way more than I previously used to - so no more 50 quid printers. Looks like I'm in for £250-£300 if I want something decent.
Canon G3501 has some websites' recommendation.
Must be colour though, so laser printers are out. I need a multi functional but simple to use inkjet. No fax capability. I will try to plug it into the router directly so WiFi might not be necessary but nice to have for flexibility in future.
I may also need to spend way more than I previously used to - so no more 50 quid printers. Looks like I'm in for £250-£300 if I want something decent.
Canon G3501 has some websites' recommendation.
Yep, a typical £50 inkjet (I picked an HP Envy 5020 for comparison) needs £55 worth of XL cartridges to do 500 mixed pages, about 11p a page.
That Brother on compatibles if you buy the high yield ones will do 3000 pages for £222 = about 7p a page.
Although we're over 1000 pages in and the starter cartridges on ours look to be at least 60% full still.
That Brother on compatibles if you buy the high yield ones will do 3000 pages for £222 = about 7p a page.
Although we're over 1000 pages in and the starter cartridges on ours look to be at least 60% full still.
Similar Brother laser here - it tells me it's printed 1318 pages so far, and toners are on 50-60%. Hasn't put a foot wrong, colour photos are more than good enough for school work or family.
Ours is the HL-L8260CDW but there is a multi-function version too. (This model has ethernet as well as wifi connectivity).
Ours is the HL-L8260CDW but there is a multi-function version too. (This model has ethernet as well as wifi connectivity).
I would have commented that my Lexmark laser multifunction has been very good, especially being a big printer that can be networked and then sit out of the way in a cupboard. It's actually easier to print to it from a phone with their printer plugin for Android than from a PC.
BUT
They're one of a few manufacturers that are still illegally updating firmware to stop you using non-OEM toners. I only learned this after updating the firmware and it bricking the toner that came with the f
king printer. Absolute wkers, so don't give them your money. I think Brother and HP were the others, so avoid them too and don't update your firmware!
BUT
They're one of a few manufacturers that are still illegally updating firmware to stop you using non-OEM toners. I only learned this after updating the firmware and it bricking the toner that came with the f
king printer. Absolute wkers, so don't give them your money. I think Brother and HP were the others, so avoid them too and don't update your firmware!Save yourself the money, go to currys, buy the cheapest printer in stock and drop kick it around the car park, before it gets the chance to really pee you off.
On a more serious note I picked up an Oki colour laser printer for £100 when my Mrs work upgraded their printers. When I collected it, one of the facilities guys asked do you want some ink cartridges, I had to do a second run to collect them all, about 5 grands worth of ink!
On a more serious note I picked up an Oki colour laser printer for £100 when my Mrs work upgraded their printers. When I collected it, one of the facilities guys asked do you want some ink cartridges, I had to do a second run to collect them all, about 5 grands worth of ink!
This is exactly where I came into this topic.By contrast to some other posters, I've stuck with InkJet. Recently purchased an Epson ET-15000 EcoTank printer. I need colour, and I need A3 printing, which limits my choices quite a bit. Previous Epson lasted me 8 years of medium duty (c.150 - 200 pages per month), but was getting tired after 8 years.
I'd look very seriously at the EcoTank range, they don't cost a fortune to buy, and replacement ink bottles are also relatively inexpensive.
I'd look very seriously at the EcoTank range, they don't cost a fortune to buy, and replacement ink bottles are also relatively inexpensive.
I would go for a cheaper Brother: Brother HL-L3210CW Colour Laser
£180 argos ... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8497550
Full set of replacement toner ... £86 ... https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/TN-243CMYK-REM.htm...
£180 argos ... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8497550
Full set of replacement toner ... £86 ... https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/TN-243CMYK-REM.htm...
alorotom said:
I would go for a cheaper Brother: Brother HL-L3210CW Colour Laser
£180 argos ... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8497550
Full set of replacement toner ... £86 ... https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/TN-243CMYK-REM.htm...
OP wants one with a scanner so the L3510 is a better buy, it's also capable of Automatic Duplex around £240.£180 argos ... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8497550
Full set of replacement toner ... £86 ... https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/TN-243CMYK-REM.htm...
If budget can stretch to £280, the the L3550 adds an ADF to the spec:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessorie...
Edited by sgrimshaw on Thursday 11th February 16:32
I faffed around with inkjet's for years, always using original cartridges, but the colour laser (in my case HP M479fdw) is a revelation in that I can turn it on and a few seconds later a perfect page pops out. The inkjet took take 30 mins of hassle if it hadn't been used for a few days (and I left it on all the time so it did its cleaning cycles).
However it's a bit limited with photos and labels might need special paper if they were sticky.
If you wanted an inkjet then the HP instant ink thing looks a good deal - especially if the scheme will replace cartridges which start printing with streaks etc.
However it's a bit limited with photos and labels might need special paper if they were sticky.
If you wanted an inkjet then the HP instant ink thing looks a good deal - especially if the scheme will replace cartridges which start printing with streaks etc.
Avoid avoid avoid instant ink
I’ve got three hP inkjet printers and thought I’d try one of them on instant ink to see how it compared.
HP calculate “pages” as physical a4 sheets that pass through - so printing one character of text on a page counts as a “page” of use.
I found this out the hard way when printing “Index” on a few sheets to put in lever arch files...
I’ve got three hP inkjet printers and thought I’d try one of them on instant ink to see how it compared.
HP calculate “pages” as physical a4 sheets that pass through - so printing one character of text on a page counts as a “page” of use.
I found this out the hard way when printing “Index” on a few sheets to put in lever arch files...
Miserablegit said:
HP calculate “pages” as physical a4 sheets that pass through
To be fair, I wouldn't have expected anything else - how else are they supposed to do 'pages'?Although it'd be annoying when it does that thing where printing one page often seems to be followed by a blank one.
How does it work out overall? I can't recall reading anything bad about it before - apart from dismay when they discontinued the free level, but I think they brought that back.
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