Spec me a printer.

Soldato
Joined
12 Jun 2004
Posts
5,474
Location
Exeter
Hi all.

I currently have a Canon Pixma IP8500 printer which has been unreliable and cost me a fortune in ink. I've also noticed that 95% of what I print doesn't actually need to be in colour anyway.

What type of printer would you recommend for someone like me? I mostly print just documents and letters so I'm guessing a mono laser printer would be best for me but I don't know how much they cost to run compared to an ink jet?

I'd like the printer to have a scanner/copier, but if there is an amazing printer out there which doesn't have it then I would consider buying the scanner/copier separately.
The printer has to be reliable and support XP/Vista/Windows 7.
Unfortunately I only have a budget of £120 max.

So far I have looked at the Samsung SCX-4600 and the Brother DCP 7030, both of which look good.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Whenever i buy a printer its always whatever is the cheapest i can find running the cheapest cartridges as in the long run ur paying for the cartridges. Take a look around where you normally buy ink see whats cheap then look to see what printers they go with. Also look into ink cartridge refils I get mine refilled for less than half the price of buying a new cartridge. Currently using some old lexmark i picked up at uni for £20 and came with 2 cartridges which are worth more than the printer lol so win win :)

In short: Printer for the Ink > Ink for the printer.
 
Currently using some old lexmark i picked up at uni for £20 .

Lexmarks only cost that when new :eek:

anyway for mono a laser will be loads cheaper to run than a ink printer, I would look for a decent used HP laserjet, you can get a new one for that but I would get a better model used one
 
Have you tried using the canon pixma compatible cartridges? They are around £6-7 each and work as good as the expensive catridges.

I have a canon IP6700D and I have been using the compatibles for 2 years now without a problem. All you have to do is take the chips off the real catridges and stick them on the compatibles with double sided tape.

Money saver!:D
 
Lexmarks only cost that when new :eek:
£20 and came with 2 cartridges. Brought cause the cartridges were unopened colour cartridges worth about £15 each so discount cartridges + free printer in effect. Only got it cause I needed a printer as I lent my brother my home one while I am at uni.
 
Thanks for the comments.

Have you tried using the canon pixma compatible cartridges? They are around £6-7 each and work as good as the expensive cartridges.

I have a canon IP6700D and I have been using the compatibles for 2 years now without a problem. All you have to do is take the chips off the real cartridges and stick them on the compatibles with double sided tape.

Money saver!:D

I have been using the cheaper compatible cartridges but it still runs out of ink incredibly quickly and it's a pain having to constantly order ink cartridges.
Also, the printer refuses to print at all if just one of the cartridges is out of ink, even if what you're printing does not need that colour!

I'll look at HP laserjet printers. Are Samsung and Brother mono laser printers any good?

I've decided to buy the scanner separately to save space and I'm looking at the Canon CanoScan LiDE 110 which is getting good reviews.
 
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