Cheapest color printer to use?

[D.K.]

My Deskjet 672C finally bit the dust and I am glad it did. It was way
too expensive...

Mysefl, I use B&W laser. But my daughter insists she needs color
printing for her various school projects (and more). At this point,
quality does not reaIly matter to her. So, I would like to buy a
printer with the absolutely lowest per page cost in the long run.

From the limited information I have, it seems that it means:
1) a reliable mode where
2) ink refill means merely pouring more ink in the tank
(instead of buying new cartridge), and
3) where third-party ink is readily available and performs reasonably;
4) inexpensive model that is able to print on a cheap laser paper.

Could you please tell me what printer might offer the abive
combination of features? (No photo-quality pictures will ever be
printed there).

Thanks,

DK

 

[Kevin]

There is currently no ink jet printer available today that meets all of your
criteria. However, there are numerous printers that perform well and are
not prohibitively expensive to own and operate. Epson, Hewlett Packard and
Canon offer printers for less than $100.00 that would work just fine for
your daughter. I would not consider any printer from Lexmark.

You should keep in mind that no manufacturer will guarantee the quality of
the output from their product if you use third-party cartridges, refill the
factory cartridge, or use "remanufactured" cartridges. It has been my
experience, confirmed in studies by PC World Magazine, PC Magazine and
Computer Shopper Magazine, that ink and cartridges manufactured by companies
other than the OEM performs considerably worse than factory ink and
cartridges.

 

[Joel Kolstad]

It has been my
experience, confirmed in studies by PC World Magazine, PC Magazine and
Computer Shopper Magazine, that ink and cartridges manufactured by
companies
other than the OEM performs considerably worse than factory ink and
cartridges.

For non-photo printing applications, it's been my experience that it doesn't
matter. For 'color report' applications, it's more the fact that the
colors are merely _different_ (not necessarily 'true') and that they don't
fade within the few weeks or months that such prints are usually needed
that matters; 'cheap' inks meet that criteria just fine.

I would suggest perhaps having one set of OEM cartridges for 'important'
work and then another set that you refill for 'everyday' work. This also
provides you with a backup for the inevitable day that the refilled ones
finally do fail.

BTW, I wouldn't consider magazines who rely heavily on advertiser support to
pay their publication costs to be all that horribly unbiased! However, I
have seen independent reports that some cheap inks really are just that --
cheap -- and that they do fade noticeably faster than OEM inks.

 

[measekite]

Frys has the Canon IP4000 on sale today for $129.00. A great, fast,
more economical than most, full duplex and great photo printer.

 

[DD]

For non-photo printing applications, it's been my experience that it doesn't
matter. For 'color report' applications, it's more the fact that the
colors are merely _different_ (not necessarily 'true') and that they don't
fade within the few weeks or months that such prints are usually needed
that matters; 'cheap' inks meet that criteria just fine.

I would suggest perhaps having one set of OEM cartridges for 'important'
work and then another set that you refill for 'everyday' work. This also
provides you with a backup for the inevitable day that the refilled ones
finally do fail.

BTW, I wouldn't consider magazines who rely heavily on advertiser support to
pay their publication costs to be all that horribly unbiased! However, I
have seen independent reports that some cheap inks really are just that --
cheap -- and that they do fade noticeably faster than OEM inks.

I agree, some top commercial people refill their cartridges see:
http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html
I have found Canon to perform well, the ink tanks are easy to refill
and the software that comes with the printer is flexible and easy to
use. The only drawback with the recent Canon printers is that they now
appear to have fixed printheads and problems in this area are sure to be
a lot more expensive than the serviceable printheads on older models. HP
printers have complicated cartridges which I have never been able to
fill successfully. I like the HP printers, they do a good job but the
cost of replacing a tri-colour ink cartridge that has only run out of
one of the colours makes printing expensive. I would recommend that you
invest in the extended warranty; I have experienced back to base
problems just after the warranty ran our!

DD

 

[D.K.]

There is currently no ink jet printer available today that meets all of your
criteria. However, there are numerous printers that perform well and are
not prohibitively expensive to own and operate. Epson, Hewlett Packard and
Canon offer printers for less than $100.00 that would work just fine for
your daughter. I would not consider any printer from Lexmark.

Thanks for the reply! OK then, let me widen the scope a bit:

I am loking for a reasonably reliable model that is able to print on
regular paper in which ink refill means merely pouring ink in the tank,
and costs no more than $150.

What would be best choices then?

I would not consider anything from HP. Two sets of cartridges cost
more than a printer, and the cartridges are designed to prevent any
refilling with a bulk ink.

DK

 

[Burt]

Read the Neal Slade info in one of the posts to this question (by DD) and
try to find a Canon I 960. Last week Tiger Direct had that printer with a
$70 rebate. Be sure it is new sealed factory fresh unit. There aren't
many in the pipeline as they were phased out. Slade's article has sources
for aftermarket inks, including one vendor that sells prefilled cartridges
for under $3. Slade indicates that the colors are extremely close to canon
oem inks. As for photo paper, don't avoid printing on glossy photo paper -
go to Costco ( if there is one in your area) and buy Kirkland glossy photo
paper. 125 sheets for $19. Again, read the Slade article for great
information. By the way, plain cheap laser paper works at the "plain paper"
setting, but better quality prints for school work would be done on inkjet
coated paper or better. You get less bleed through and spreading of the ink
in the paper fiber.

 

[PJx]

My Deskjet 672C finally bit the dust and I am glad it did. It was way
too expensive...

Mysefl, I use B&W laser. But my daughter insists she needs color
printing for her various school projects (and more). At this point,
quality does not reaIly matter to her. So, I would like to buy a
printer with the absolutely lowest per page cost in the long run.

From the limited information I have, it seems that it means:
1) a reliable mode where
2) ink refill means merely pouring more ink in the tank
(instead of buying new cartridge), and
3) where third-party ink is readily available and performs reasonably;
4) inexpensive model that is able to print on a cheap laser paper.

Could you please tell me what printer might offer the abive
combination of features? (No photo-quality pictures will ever be
printed there).

Thanks,

DK

I like my HP 7760 because it has a black cartridge that I can use for
most printing and then replace with a color cartridge when needed. I
can control my printing costs.

 

[David Chien]

2) ink refill means merely pouring more ink in the tank

(instead of buying new cartridge), and

no such thing - you think they'd want you to never buy their
expensive (ie. high profit) carts?!? hah, hah!

3) where third-party ink is readily available and performs reasonably;

all printers.

4) inexpensive model that is able to print on a cheap laser paper.

all printers.

 

[David Chien]

Otherwise, color laser printer at $329-349 or so:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10358923&dcaid=1688
http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_...&oidPath=0:-23542:-33761:-33780:-38940:861718

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I would think if you want something that is currently on the market,
rather than picking up something used at a secondhand store, fleamarket
or ebay, your best bet would be a Canon.

As you so correctly noted, ink costs are the main expense in printing in
color, should you be at the mercy of the manufacturer's cartridges.

Today's Canons still do not use chips or other fancy methods to try to
prevent you from filling the ink tanks, and there appear to be generic
ink that work well in Canon dye printers. Further, Canon has some very
reasonable models that still produce reasonable color output, and they
are relatively fast.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I believe both Epson and HP would not be considered easy to refill at
home without special devices or instructions or both, which is why I
suggested Canon.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Well, now you are making thing tougher. I'm not sure any printer allows
you to just "pour the ink into the cartridges, without a bit of finesse
and care, and secondly, in general, dye inks do not give as good a
result on bond paper as on more costly and less durable coated paper,
most pigment colorant printing inks are costly and not easy to refill.


If the Canon and generics for it can handle bond paper well enough for
your daughter's needs, that stall may be the best choice.

Art

 

[D.K.]

I would think if you want something that is currently on the market,
rather than picking up something used at a secondhand store, fleamarket
or ebay, your best bet would be a Canon.

As you so correctly noted, ink costs are the main expense in printing in
color, should you be at the mercy of the manufacturer's cartridges.

Today's Canons still do not use chips or other fancy methods to try to
prevent you from filling the ink tanks, and there appear to be generic
ink that work well in Canon dye printers. Further, Canon has some very
reasonable models that still produce reasonable color output, and they
are relatively fast.

Thanks a lot! Thats exactly the kind of recommendation I needed.
Now it's time to make a trip to the store and see how these seemingly
1001 models differ from each other.

DK

 

[Chris]

If you are interested in a used printer, the older Epsons like the 600, 440,
740, etc. are very economical. The only bad thing about them is they tend to
get clogged if not used regularly. I buy generic cartidges for my 600 for
$2 - 4 each. Who needs refills at that price?

Chris

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I was going to suggest older Epsons as a second option to the Canon.
Probably the best older one is the SC900/SC950, if you can find one.
These were the last of the no-chip ink cartridge printers, and the
cartridge size is reasonably large.

Art