Need a home printer

[Major Tom]

I have a Dell laptop Inspiron 1551. I need a good simple to set up and operate printer that is easy on the wallet. I had a Dell all-in-one 924 printer that lasted for years then broke down. That was a fine printer! Any suggestions?

[shadycon]

I've had good luck with Cannon printers, under $100.............

[gwp]

If you are looking for an all in one color printer, HP has a few very good all in one printers under $200. The problem with most inkjet printers is the frequent replacement of expensive ink cartridges. There are good monochrome laser printers under $150 and very good HP color laser all in one printers under $300. Include the cost of supplies when choosing. Ten years ago I switched to a Samsung laser printer with an additional high capasity cartridge for under $150. The Samsung still works well, but occasionally it will leave a small light gray trail at the edge of the paper. A new cartridge should eliminate it. Most of the printers have starter cartridges that require replacement quickly. Order replacements with your printer.

[lyman]

I have a Brother all in one upstairs, works on wifi,

and a Brother printer at the shop, it also works on wifi,

both were inexpensive off of amazon and both use toner vs ink, (much much cheaper)

however I use both mostly for stuff that does not need color,


I have an ancient Canon MX??? that died a couple years ago,
the ink was not that expensive, and it printed good pictures if needed,

[gwp]

You should probably list all the features available and how important they are for you before you purchase the new printer. When I selected the Samsung cost was important but no touch double sided printing was too.

[Gun Smoke]

I bought a Brother printer. It works well and is my current printer. Before that I had a cheap Lexmark that worked equally as well. I bought the Brother printer from Office Depot because all over the box it was stamped "cordless, no cable needed, blah, blah, blah". Now while it may in fact work thru a wifi using other computers in the house the first thing that was listed under the installation instructions were "connect printer cable". It took a half day to install having to wait for all the instruction steps to load. It seems to me that once a cable is connected that should be IT but wasn't. I was pissed for a long time afterward but have had the printer for years now with no problems.

I paid over $350 for an Epson printer that was an absolute POS. It fed paper from the top and would grab 5 or 6 sheets at a time. The ink would run or smear perhaps from the improper feeding.

The Brother printer I later bought feeds from the bottom and this is one jamb that won't occur now. I recommend a bottom feeder regardless of brand.

I buy my ink from sellers on ebay. I usually pay about 5 or $6 total for all 3 colors plus the black. If buying in quantity it can be bought even cheaper but when needed I can't find it so I buy one dose at a time now and the ink is always fresh that way.

Good luck with your journey.

[jmm03]

I have been using an Epson ET-2500 for awhile now, it is one of the printers that uses fill up the reservoir with generic ink instead of cartridges. Has worked well for me. Jim

[Mark in Ottawa]

Just be careful not to purchase a colour printer in which all three colours are in a single cartridge. In many cases, as soon as one colour runs out, you have to replace the entire cartridge. Much better to purchase one with separate cartridges for each colour. I tend to buy HP products and am pretty happy with them

[dryheat]

I have been using an Epson ET-2500 for awhile now, it is one of the printers that uses fill up the reservoir with generic ink instead of cartridges. Has worked well for me. Jim

That sounds like a great idea. I used to go to the little shop in the mail that would exchange my cartridges for one's they filled. The printer I have now I got from Walmart. I made a point to look for the cheapest ink that was sold and find a printer that used that ink. It happened to be on sale. Still, I pay way to much for ink. My color cartridge went dry, but luckily the black still works so, screw color, I can keep printing documents.

[shadycon]

If the cartridge holder/print head is removable; run hot water over it. Sometimes it will wash out the dried ink. If not you wasted a new cartridge. I've had this work on a couple of printers that weren't used much.

[Major Tom]

I've had good luck with Cannon printers, under $100.............

I bought a Cannon printer and it was too complicated for me. 2 paper loading trays and a bunch of buttons to push and selections to make. I got rid of it when photos I printed came out really bad.

[m1ashooter]

I use a cheap SAMSUNG Laser printer. I don't print very often.

[Johnny P]

Just threw a high end Canon in the dumpster. Couldn't keep the printer head working, and used more ink trying to keep head clean than I used actually printing. Went back to a HP which I used before the Canon and so far have been very pleased. Had to call Canon to get it set up, and connecting the HP, which has bluetooth, was a breeze.