Best Workhorse printer for documents and photos?

August 4, 2006 3:27 PM

I'm looking for a new color printer that won't bankrupt me in the long run and works reliably with 3 kids that will treat it like crap. I know this question gets discussed frequently but the types of printers available seems to change rather frequently so I'm confused about what to do. Here's my list of wants/needs and questions.

Needs: We use the printer a lot for school projects so it needs to be able to print in color, but for day to day use, we mostly print monochrome. I mostly send out my digital photos to be processed externally, but it would be nice to have a printer that could print a nice looking print up to about an 8x10. I've been looking at inkjet vs color laser, but I'm not sure which is better for printing photos.

If I do end up going with a color laser, what price point should I look for and are there additional costs (like do you have to buy a toner cartridge to go along with it when you buy it?) At what point does the premium for a color laser beat out the constant need to buy ink for an inkjet?

I don't mind buying manufacturer ink because the color quality is important to me, but I don't want to be running out the door to the all night Wal-Mart on Sunday night all the time because the damn thing is out of ink AGAIN!

Having said that, I do need a brand that uses ink that you don't have to plan ahead to go to Office Depot or Staples or order online to buy. Referring again to the 3 children - the Sunday night "OMG - I've got a project due tomorrow" is a rather common occurance.

If I go with an inkjet, what kind of cartridges should I look for - the ones where all the colors are in one cartridge or the ones where you've got a separate cartridge for each color. Which is better for photographs?

Don't Needs: I have a really good scanner and I never fax so I don't really want an all-in-1 choice that's just more of what I've got.

Wants: It would be cool if it had wireless connectivity as I already have a linksys wi-fi router sans print server capability and I'd prefer to not have to buy another router just to share the printer. We have 2 desktops and 2 laptops that would need to share the printer. However, I've seen people have had problems with wi-fi printers.

Totally gratuitous want: I think it's so cool that there are now printers that you can actually print on CDs with. Do those work well, are they worth it - particularly in light of the fact that we are a 4 ipod family and now tend to make CDs only to share presentations and photographs, etc.

Questions:
I've totally left out dye sublimation printers. Would they be a valid choice to consider?

I've got a USB cable so I don't need one of those, but is there anything else that I'll end up buying along with the printer I choose? I'm trying to get a feel for exactly how much I'll end up putting out (er - spending, I mean) when I make the purchase.

Is there something I should think about that I haven't even known to consider? This will be something like my 4th printer in 3 years due to various problems caused by kicking the thing, pulling the paper out incorrectly, etc and I'd like this printer to last about 3 years. Hopefully, my kids are growing up to the point where they'll treat it with more respect, although I've yet to actually see any evidence to support that hope.

Specific recommendations for brands, models, where to buy would be particularly appreciated.

posted by katyjack to computers & internet (10 comments total)

Why not buy the cheapest one with a rebate (keep an eye on www.bensbargains.net) and know that it will die after a year or 2?

Consumer printers are just like this... sorry.
posted by k8t at 3:38 PM on August 4, 2006

I'm a little out of touch with the current available models, so I can't give a specific recommendation, but I can give some advice on these fronts:

"I've totally left out dye sublimation printers. Would they be a valid choice to consider?"

For photos, dye sub is an excellent choice. For anything but photos, it's a terrible choice.

"I do need a brand that uses ink that you don't have to plan ahead to go to Office Depot or Staples or order online to buy."

I'd get this from people all the time when I worked at Best Buy. You know what I did? Handed them a second set of cartridges.

You're going to run out of ink, so it's not wasted money. And when you do run, out, you'll be glad you have the box there, and you can go out and buy a replacement the next day when it's convenient. Look for two-packs, you can sometimes save $5-10 that way.
posted by CrayDrygu at 4:20 PM on August 4, 2006

You seem to have a pretty good handle on what features you want, so just buy the first one you see with those features and be done with it. You'll spend a fortune on ink whatever you do* and the print quality won't vary very much.

(* actually Canons tend to be cheaper)
posted by cillit bang at 4:22 PM on August 4, 2006

A color laser printer requires 4 toner cartridges (black, yellow, magenta, and cyan). If you are looking into color laser be sure to research cost of toner.

Printers are like razors. The printer/razor is relatively cheap but the manufacturers nail you on the cartridges/blades. And beware of Dell. They practically give away the printers (which are Lexmark BTW) but the cartridges can only be bought from them and they are not shy about the price point.
posted by Soda-Da at 4:31 PM on August 4, 2006

I have an Epson C-88, and I'm deliriously happy with it.
posted by baylink at 5:18 PM on August 4, 2006

I have the c88 with three kids 9,10 and 11. It sucks ink, but I use the ink refill situation whereby I inject ink into the cartridge. the printer is sufficient. It will break down sooner rather than later, but it is less that $100 bills, so I feel after a year at 8$ a month it is worth it.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:22 PM on August 4, 2006

The inkjet Canon iP4000 works well for us, homework and all. Its design is basically a simple box, without much sticking out to get broken or dusty, and the color and b/w cartridges come separately and are average cost. It's much preferred over our previous HPs (which were miserable pieces of junk) and the Epson we also had a few years back. We bought it online at Costco, and I'm happy to recommend both the product and the seller.
posted by anadem at 7:05 PM on August 4, 2006

You might be interested in Continuous Ink Systems - Where you buy a small kit that allows you to feed a printer from larger ink bottles. I believe the ones for Epson printers are usually the least expensive (IIRC, it's due to the way the printheads work) and have been around the longest (Probably due to Epson's absolutely insane cartridge prices.)

If you're the tinkering kind, it IS possible to build one yourself, but seems like more grief than it's worth.
posted by Orb2069 at 8:26 PM on August 4, 2006

Seconding the Canon recommendation. Consumer printers are all designed to be somewhat fragile. I've had a Canon and an HP both for a few years and the Canon still runs like the day I bought it, and the HP, well, only works on the odd Sundays of every other month, if i'm lucky.
posted by richter_x at 3:08 AM on August 5, 2006

I'll never buy another Epson. They are designed to go through ink quickly—you can't clean the easily-clogged heads if any of the ink cartridges are low, not empty, LOW— and lord help you if you leave the thing on overnight. Clog city, and you're going to end up replacing two cartridges in the cleaning process, guaranteed.

(glares balefully at $600 boat anchor and tall stack of empty $10 cartridges)
posted by bink at 8:42 AM on August 5, 2006