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Noreen

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Nov 14, 2011, 9:58:14 PM11/14/11
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I wonder if anyone can give a recommendation as to which is the best printer
to purchase, please.

I have an HPPhotosmart Plus B209a-m and, considering I don't do a great deal
of printing, it seems to need new cartridges at an alarming rate. Just
recently it is printing print-outs with lines running through &, although I
have taken all the steps that are suggested by HP to right this problem, I
cannot seem to get the perfect print again. Constantly purchasing new
cartridges will sonn be costing me the price of a new computer.

In the past we have owned an Epson Stylus but found that the cartridges were
enormously expensive and I, foolishly, bought cheaper cartridges and after
that the computer refused to print!!!

Any suggestions, please?

Noreen


Paul Blair

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Nov 14, 2011, 10:38:04 PM11/14/11
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On 15-Nov-2011 1:58pm, Noreen wrote:
> I wonder if anyone can give a recommendation as to which is the best printer
> to purchase, please.
>
> I have an HPPhotosmart Plus B209a-m and, considering I don't do a great deal
> of printing, it seems to need new cartridges at an alarming rate. Just
> recently it is printing print-outs with lines running through&, although I
> have taken all the steps that are suggested by HP to right this problem, I
> cannot seem to get the perfect print again. Constantly purchasing new
> cartridges will sonn be costing me the price of a new computer.
>
> In the past we have owned an Epson Stylus but found that the cartridges were
> enormously expensive and I, foolishly, bought cheaper cartridges and after
> that the computer refused to print!!!
>
> Any suggestions, please?
>
> Noreen
>
>

Well, some extra info would be a help....

Where are you (I suspect Australia) and what do you want to do: black
and white/colour/CD labels? Do you want low/medium/high quality
graphics? Printing photos? Will you connect it by cable or wirelessly?

Over to you...

Bob Melson

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Nov 14, 2011, 10:41:15 PM11/14/11
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On Monday 14 November 2011 19:58, Noreen (noreen....@bigpond.com)
opined:
The first question to ask is what your budget is for a new printer.

I've recently seen an Epson advertised at CompUSA/Tiger Direct for $79 and
change (regularly $129 and change); it's both a color ink-jet printer and
a scanner and is USB, wi-fi and network capable. This doesn't answer your
concern about cartridges, but the price is attractive, as are the
connection capabilities.

Alternatively, you might want to consider a low-end laser printer. There
are some color lasers available for between $250-$300; the ones I've seen
produce genuinely photo-quality output, with the OKI well ahead of the
pack. If B&W is acceptable, there are lasers on the market for $100 or
less (Brother comes to mind here), and running to around $200. Most
connect via USB, but some few also are network capable. I have a now 4
year old HP-1320 that originally cost me $200 and costs $70 or so annually
for a new ink-toner cartridge. It's capable of duplex printing and has
been trouble-free .. so far.

You could consider, too, buying a low-end ink-jet and discarding it after
a couple of cartridge cycles. With ink costing about what a new printer
goes for, that may be just as cost effective as constantly replacing
cartridges and your local schools or charities would be most grateful, I'm
sure.

While all this is based on the US market, I suspect much the same is true
in Oz, give a buck or two.

HTH,
Slippery Ol' Bob

--
Robert G. Melson | Rio Grande MicroSolutions | El Paso, Texas
-----
The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated
in the name of the noblest causes -- Thomas Paine

Denis Beauregard

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Nov 14, 2011, 11:24:11 PM11/14/11
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Le Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:58:14 +0800, "Noreen"
<noreen....@bigpond.com> écrivait dans soc.genealogy.computing:

>I wonder if anyone can give a recommendation as to which is the best printer
>to purchase, please.

I purchased a laser printer, photocopier and scanner Brother. While it
is more expense and only BW, I think a laser printer is better for
casual use because the laser has dry color, so it will work for a
longer time than an ink jet and will be less expensive for the
duration of the printer. The scanner is very useful for genealogy
and the model I purchased has a feeder so I can scan many pages of
notes.


Denis

--
Denis Beauregard - généalogiste émérite (FQSG)
Les Français d'Amérique du Nord - www.francogene.com/genealogie--quebec/
French in North America before 1722 - www.francogene.com/quebec--genealogy/
Sur cédérom à 1780 - On CD-ROM to 1780

Jeff

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Nov 14, 2011, 11:48:49 PM11/14/11
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On 14/11/2011 6:58 PM, Noreen wrote:
> I wonder if anyone can give a recommendation as to which is the best printer
> to purchase, please.

It's a while since I purchased a printer but, with the same
considerations as you I think the Kodak printers look good.

I have no idea of quality but black cartridges are $9.99 and 5 ink
colour catridges $14.99, which is certainly much cheaper than any other
cartridges I've seen.


Kodak claims this represents at least a 50% saving over competition. HP
disputes that claim.

I don't have a dog in this fight and can't vouch for either party's figures.





cecilia

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Nov 15, 2011, 5:42:09 AM11/15/11
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Bob Melson wrote:
> [...]
>Alternatively, you might want to consider a low-end laser printer.
>[...] If B&W is acceptable, there are lasers on the market for $100 or
>less [...]

Consider what paper(s) you will be using.

My husband's office's laser printer/photocopier (make, model unknown
to me) has a setting that gives more fusing time when thicker
(including label) paper is used - my low-end b/w laser printer doesn't
seem to have such a setting, and ink tends to fall off labels,
sometimes before the label meets the envelope. I did not have this
problem with my previous, ink-jet, printer.

In addition, the laser printer will not accept thin card, so printed
invitations from this house are no longer on card.

But it works fine on normal paper

Di Maloney

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Nov 15, 2011, 7:07:26 AM11/15/11
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Hi Noreen,

I have two printers. A black only laser (Brother HL1430) for printing off
the internet - that is about 10 years old and it keeps on going and going
and going.
The other one is a Canon (Pixma IP5300) and I have had that for about 5
years and has never failed me yet.

When printing on the laser, I always print in draft, which saves ink, until
I have it 'perfect document' and do the same with the Canon then change to
high quality.
I also print out my photos with the Canon and they come out perfect for my
purposes. A hint from a Canon techie was when you have finished printing the
photo, place it between two white Reflex paper pages until dry - this is
supposed to set the chemicals in the ink so that they will not fade as
quickly. It works as far as I am concerned.

I'm a bit of scrooge with the ink but it has paid off for me.

Di

This is my third Canon over 15 years and have been extremely happy with
them.
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ne...@jecarter.us

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Nov 15, 2011, 9:40:07 AM11/15/11
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For black and white printing, my experience has been that Brother
laser printers are very reliable and produce good copy. A network
ready version with duplex printing capability is about $200US.

If you need color printing other than photos, a Brother color laser is
probably a good choice.

For color photos, I like Canon inkjet printers with separate tanks for
each color - the ink costs are much less than the multi-color tanks on
HP and others.

Tony Proctor

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Nov 15, 2011, 9:58:06 AM11/15/11
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"Noreen" <noreen....@bigpond.com> wrote in message
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Certainly in the UK & Ireland, check what cartridges it takes, e.g. how
expensive and can you get them refilled without having to buy new ones every
time.

We have two Canon printers here: MP190 and MP210, and I would not recommend
them. We used to refill the cartridges at cartridgegreen but Canon have been
trying to 'shaft' them (& similar companies) for a while now. They've been
updating the firmware (the pre-programmed parts of the cartridge itself)
with tweaks that make refilled ones fail, and trying to update the
computer's drivers too. There was a court case brought over it because it
was deemed unfair. I don't know the full outcome but it seems the
cartridgegreen just gave up with these models as it was no longer possible
to get past Canon's tweaks.

That means I have to pay some extortionate cost for a B&W and a 3-colour
cartridges quite frequently. So much for saving the planet eh?

Tony Proctor


J. Hugh Sullivan

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Nov 15, 2011, 10:11:43 AM11/15/11
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On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:07:26 +1100, "Di Maloney" <sas...@tpg.com.au>
wrote:

>Hi Noreen,
>
>I have two printers. A black only laser (Brother HL1430) for printing off
>the internet - that is about 10 years old and it keeps on going and going
>and going.
>The other one is a Canon (Pixma IP5300) and I have had that for about 5
>years and has never failed me yet.

I have been an HP fan for years. I can afford the ink but why should I
shell out if better options are available. The Pixma is currently a
highly rated printer.

I'm not an expert but my thought would be to see the approximate
number of pages that can be printed from a cartridge. Knowing the
price it's elementary to calculate the cost per page.

I'm not an expert but I use red more than any other color except
black. Why should I have to replace a $35 cartrige every time the red
runs out when I can replace red only (multiple color cartridges) at
$11 per?

That said go back to one of the first posts that asked your
purpose(s). WIll the first two answers produce the results you desire.

I decided to go the el cheapo route a cupla weeks ago - cheap
cartridges, noisy printer. About a year from now when I'm looking for
another printer I'll know whether to make the same move again

Hugh
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Baldy Man

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Nov 15, 2011, 6:16:05 PM11/15/11
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> Interesting... My old Epson Stylus Photo 960 cartridges used to be
>$11 each when it was new, and are still only around $14-15 each (but
>direct from Epson -- the printer is too old for stores to keep cartridge
>stocks). A full set of cartridges (CcMmYKK -- 7 cartridges) for the
>ESP960 would run around $105. In contrast, the two cartridges for my HP
>6122 (which is NOT a photo printer) run $65 for a hi-cap CMY, and
>another $35 for a black (and the CMY is one cartridge, so printing a lot
>of blue pages will leave a lot of Yellow unused when the cartridge needs
>to be replaced).
>
> Thing with Epson is that they have a fixed print-head; you can not
>allow the ink to dry in the print-head (it cost me over $200 to have the
>print-head replaced a few years ago; a new photo printer of similar
>quality will cost me $600 or more if I go to 14" width). If I go more
>than a week without running the Epson, I have to go through multiple
>cycles of "head-clean/print check pattern" to clear it. Usually my
>weekly bill paying does it (Epson feeds odd size paper better, which is
>what you end up with when computer check stock has only 1 or 2 checks
>left, where a full sheet is 3 checks -- it would be a pain to feed a
>short sheet on an HP; BUT the HP works well for doing the check
>background/MICR codes -- since I can buy magnetic ink cartridges for
>that and not worry about gumming up the print head). Unfortunately, I
>expect to lose the Epson -- between taking it down to pack up for a move
>to MI, a week in the truck, sometime in storage until I can set up an
>apartment, etc., I expect the heads to clog too badly to recover.
>
> If you really print as little as you imply, and it is normally just
>black/white text -- I'd recommend digging for a laser printer. May take
>longer to warm up, but no clogged nozzles to worry about.

I have an Epson R300 which is a good few years old. I have one of
these fitted http://www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ciss/epson/r300/r-series
and the cost of ink is now negligible. I don't use the printer
frequently but more in longer bursts. ie a frenzy of prints then a
long lay off. I have no trouble with the jets blocking. There are also
websites which show you how to remove and clean the printheads,
although I have never had to do it.

I would not buy another inkjet printer unless I could get a CISS kit.

Noreen

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Nov 19, 2011, 1:07:54 AM11/19/11
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Thank you to all you lovely people who have taken the time to answer my
query. I have carefully read them all and will take the advice in mind when
proceeding further.

In the meantime I managed to get in touch with Hewlett Packard and today
they have sent me an e-mail suggesting that my printer most probably has a
problem with the Printhead or the Printer hardware. They suggest I purchase
a new printhead!! It will be interesting to find what the cost of that might
be.

Once again, many thanks,

Noreen


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J. Hugh Sullivan

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Nov 19, 2011, 8:54:24 AM11/19/11
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In my opinion the unspoken part of asking for and getting advice is to
let us know the results.

Did HP solve the problem?

Did you get a new printer? Which? Results?

Hugh

Yo$$1960

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Nov 19, 2011, 11:24:28 AM11/19/11
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On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:32:14 -0800, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:

> All the HP printers that /I've/ owned had the print-head built into
> the ink cartridge -- changing the cartridge gave one a new print-head.

FYI, in the Business Inkjet range, the print heads and ink cartridges are
separate items.

--
Regards _
/ ) "The blindingly obvious is
/ _)rad never immediately apparent"
It's becoming an obsession
Teenage Depression - Eddie & The Hot Rods

DougVL

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Nov 27, 2011, 1:59:19 PM11/27/11
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As a very low-income retiree, I have to be VERY frugal.

A B&W laser printer is much cheaper per page than an inkjet printer. If you
need it to be an inkjet, look for an older, used HP that uses the larger 42
milliliter cartridges. The new inkjets use a 5 ml cartridge, and the
cartridge price seems to be about the same. The #45 (51645A) is a 42 ml,
and I think the 78 is too.

Brother lasers use separate toner and drum units, while HP combines the drum
and toner. Combining means you always get a new drum, but a drum can last
100,000 pages and it adds substantially to the cost of the cartridge. I've
been using Brother lasers for 15 years and find them excellent.

DougVL

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DougVL

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Nov 27, 2011, 2:09:30 PM11/27/11
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Not my HP DesignJet 450c 24 inch wide plotter!

It uses (relatively) normal 42 ml cartidges #40 & 44, with print nozzles
built into the cart.

DougVL

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Yo$$1960

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Dec 1, 2011, 10:11:26 AM12/1/11
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On Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:09:30 -0500, DougVL wrote:

> "Yo$$1960" <br...@yoss1960.ukfsn.org> wrote in message
> news:pan.2011.11.19....@yoss1960.eternal-september.org...
>> On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:32:14 -0800, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
>>> All the HP printers that /I've/ owned had the print-head built into the
>>> ink cartridge -- changing the cartridge gave one a new print-head.
>> FYI, in the Business Inkjet range, the print heads and ink cartridges
>> are separate items.
> Not my HP DesignJet 450c 24 inch wide plotter!
> It uses (relatively) normal 42 ml cartidges #40 & 44, with print nozzles
> built into the cart.

DesignJet Plotter != Business Inkjet Printer.

That's the trouble, nothing's uniform across the brand. :-(

--
Regards _
/ ) "The blindingly obvious is
/ _)rad never immediately apparent"
The man in a tracksuit attacks me
I Predict A Riot - Kaiser Chiefs

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