Recommedations for a mutlifunction device
September 9, 2006 12:35 PM Subscribe
I'm in the market for a cheap and reliable multifunction (copying and flat-bed scanning in addition to printing) device. Any suggestions?
I will be using it to mostly print in B/W, but would like to have the color option as well. Long cartridge life is another factor and my price range is sub $100. Given the almost limitless options available, I'd like and appreciate suggestions from your personal experiences.
I will be using it to mostly print in B/W, but would like to have the color option as well. Long cartridge life is another factor and my price range is sub $100. Given the almost limitless options available, I'd like and appreciate suggestions from your personal experiences.
I bought a Lexmark all-in-one thing a few months ago from PC World (in the UK) for around £40 (about $80). It's been fine so far, and I'm still on the manufacturer-supplied cartridge.
posted by essexjan at 1:40 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by essexjan at 1:40 PM on September 9, 2006
Lexmark. STAY FAR AWAY from the inexpensive HP models.
posted by enrevanche at 1:51 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by enrevanche at 1:51 PM on September 9, 2006
I second Lexmark for good cheap USB multifunction printers.
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2006
...er, third
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2006
I've got a Canon PIXMA MP170 I'm terribly happy with. I've yet to change the cartridges, but we only print out one or two pages a week. The scanner's quite good, if a bit small for my taste (legal-sized paper's about as big as it likes.)
posted by beaucoupkevin at 2:23 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by beaucoupkevin at 2:23 PM on September 9, 2006
We have had good luck with our Epson CX5200. We've owned it 2 years, paid less than $80 on some deal from Fatwallet. The ink is spendy, though.
posted by LarryC at 2:26 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by LarryC at 2:26 PM on September 9, 2006
I have a PIXMA MP150. No complaints, other than that the device's natural position is tilted slightly forward, so be careful what you put on top of it.
posted by mkultra at 3:22 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by mkultra at 3:22 PM on September 9, 2006
Lexmark fourthed. Hope you have a tolerance for expensive ink cartridges, though.
Canon is a good choice as well.
posted by richter_x at 4:35 PM on September 9, 2006
Canon is a good choice as well.
posted by richter_x at 4:35 PM on September 9, 2006
valley: Anything other than a Brother.
My department bought a Brother MFC (don't remember model number) a year ago for the grad student computer lab, and it's actually been extremely reliable for us (though it's mostly used for copying, not printing, as we have another printer that is networked). This was done partly on the recommendation of someone who'd worked for office max in the copy department. Another reason that Brother is good is that the toner (which is actually where a lot of the real costs are) is cheaper than some of the other brands.
Part of valley's complaint may not apply to us, though, as it is a b/w laser printer, so there are no color cartridges. (incidentally, that complaint may apply to other brands as well -- I have a kind of old epson multifunction at home that does the same thing.)
posted by advil at 5:32 PM on September 9, 2006
My department bought a Brother MFC (don't remember model number) a year ago for the grad student computer lab, and it's actually been extremely reliable for us (though it's mostly used for copying, not printing, as we have another printer that is networked). This was done partly on the recommendation of someone who'd worked for office max in the copy department. Another reason that Brother is good is that the toner (which is actually where a lot of the real costs are) is cheaper than some of the other brands.
Part of valley's complaint may not apply to us, though, as it is a b/w laser printer, so there are no color cartridges. (incidentally, that complaint may apply to other brands as well -- I have a kind of old epson multifunction at home that does the same thing.)
posted by advil at 5:32 PM on September 9, 2006
I have a Lexmark multi. As above, expensive consumables, which can't be refilled either. I don't recommend it at all.
posted by Wolof at 6:50 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by Wolof at 6:50 PM on September 9, 2006
Enrevanche: I'm also considering a multi-function printer, and I found one of the cheap HPs of which you speak. Was on the verge of buying, but now want to know ... why to avoid?
posted by brina at 6:53 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by brina at 6:53 PM on September 9, 2006
I use an HP 5500 series all-in-one (purchased about 2 years ago), and it's essentially been a piece of crap.
Why?
When I first bought it it was awesome. Everything worked great. After about a year there was some insanely annoying mechanical issue that appeared *out of nowhere* with the paper loading mechanism. The funny thing is, before this happened I was still on my "This HP all-in-one thing is sweet!" kick, I recommended to my grandparents that they buy the same one, when they entered the consumer market for a printer. Well, their's "kicked-the-can" with the exact same problem the moment it was out of warranty.
Let's see... another reason... well, HP driver files ARE ANNOYING AS HELL. I'm sorry, but does a person really HAVE TO DOWNLOAD a 45MB file to install a printer? No. NO NO NO NO NO. It's crap.
Hmmm... another? I had serious conflicts with my 5500 drivers when I attempted to *temporarly* install my mom's (6500 or something like that) to print Christmas cards last year. Well, to get to the point: nobody received christmas cards from me. :-)
Let's see... another reason not to buy HP: in addition to the "mandatory" 45MB driver packages, they install an auto-update utility (not really uncommon these days) that pop-ups and then dissappears from time to time (usually startup). Even after disabling this, it has reinstalled itself somehow. BOO.
Now, a recommendation? Well, I guess that's really the extent of my experience with all-in-ones. Perhaps a Canon? I've always loved my digital camera's from Canon, perhaps their design philosophies carried over into the all-in-ones?
posted by eli_d at 8:16 PM on September 9, 2006
Why?
When I first bought it it was awesome. Everything worked great. After about a year there was some insanely annoying mechanical issue that appeared *out of nowhere* with the paper loading mechanism. The funny thing is, before this happened I was still on my "This HP all-in-one thing is sweet!" kick, I recommended to my grandparents that they buy the same one, when they entered the consumer market for a printer. Well, their's "kicked-the-can" with the exact same problem the moment it was out of warranty.
Let's see... another reason... well, HP driver files ARE ANNOYING AS HELL. I'm sorry, but does a person really HAVE TO DOWNLOAD a 45MB file to install a printer? No. NO NO NO NO NO. It's crap.
Hmmm... another? I had serious conflicts with my 5500 drivers when I attempted to *temporarly* install my mom's (6500 or something like that) to print Christmas cards last year. Well, to get to the point: nobody received christmas cards from me. :-)
Let's see... another reason not to buy HP: in addition to the "mandatory" 45MB driver packages, they install an auto-update utility (not really uncommon these days) that pop-ups and then dissappears from time to time (usually startup). Even after disabling this, it has reinstalled itself somehow. BOO.
Now, a recommendation? Well, I guess that's really the extent of my experience with all-in-ones. Perhaps a Canon? I've always loved my digital camera's from Canon, perhaps their design philosophies carried over into the all-in-ones?
posted by eli_d at 8:16 PM on September 9, 2006
I bought a Brother 420CN for my business about six months ago. It's been a great little printer and scanner.
It was about $105 at WalMart.
posted by SlyBevel at 4:09 PM on September 10, 2006
It was about $105 at WalMart.
posted by SlyBevel at 4:09 PM on September 10, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by valleys at 1:30 PM on September 9, 2006