Best inexpensive printer/scanner to replace Dell 942 printer/scanner?

[fan]

I've recently purchased a new Dell 8400 computer (WinXP) and Dell 942
printer/scanner (http://snipurl.com/e9r2). The computer is great but
the printer is poor. I'm going to return it and get a better, non-Dell
printer/scanner, which will be used for document printing and
photographs.

What would be the best inexpensive printer (under $300) to replace the
Dell 942 with? It'd be nice if it could also scan, but not absolutely
essential.

Thanks for all suggestions.

 

[Kevin]

You can get an awesome photo printer for $300 or less these days. I have an
Epson Stylus Photo R200 and it is impressive when printing digital, high
resolution photos. I would suppose that the R300 would be equally
impressive. My R200 is also great at document printing, but I have a laser
printer that I use for documents. Ink jet printers are not the most
economical choice for document printing jobs.

If you stay with printers from Epson, HP or Canon, you can't go wrong. You
can see comparisons at sites like www.pcworld.com.

I would go with a flatbed scanner and a printer as opposed to a
multifunction machine. As you have discovered, some multifunction units do
not do everything well. The printer might be great, but the scanner may
suck. Or the fax interface may be fantastic, but the printing is awful.

 

[Roy]

I've recently purchased a new Dell 8400 computer (WinXP) and Dell 942
printer/scanner (http://snipurl.com/e9r2). The computer is great but
the printer is poor. I'm going to return it and get a better, non-Dell
printer/scanner, which will be used for document printing and
photographs.

What would be the best inexpensive printer (under $300) to replace the
Dell 942 with? It'd be nice if it could also scan, but not absolutely
essential.

Thanks for all suggestions.

Just make sure you do not buy a Lexmark. Guess who makes Dell Printers. It
is not Canon, Epson or HP.

Roy G

 

[JohnnyB]

Fan, I recently bought an 8400 and considered getting that same printer.

For what it's worth, after a fair amount of research, I ended up getting the
Canon Pixma IP4000 and CanoScan 8400 and am very happy with the photo and
text quality of the printer (and the ink cost per print). The scanner also
scans slides and negatives. The whole deal is under $300 (@NewEgg).

 

[measekite]

Fan, I recently bought an 8400 and considered getting that same printer.

For what it's worth, after a fair amount of research, I ended up getting the
Canon Pixma IP4000 and CanoScan 8400 and am very happy with the photo and
text quality of the printer (and the ink cost per print). The scanner also
scans slides and negatives. The whole deal is under $300 (@NewEgg).

A wise choice.