Burned by Dell-What Printer Should I Get Now?

[rekhyt]

I have been BURNED by Dell-Their printers print out color prints that stain to the back of the piece of paper and the ink to print ratio is HORRIBLE.

I just went through an ink cartridge that cost around $25 (USD) with all the prints FAILING.

What printer should I get now? Is HP's printers good? Are the inkjets good/not wet? (Good for double sided printing. The Dell ones stain through the paper. Or maybe it's because the person who supplied the paper was too cheap )

 

[belvdr]

It definitely could be a paper issue. I have an HP OfficeJet 6500 that has a duplexer built-in (works natively with Snow Leopard and includes wired/wireless connectivity). The few prints I have put through have been fine. I printed a manual and it came out fine, but if both sides of the sheet have heavy graphics, it does tend to bleed as well.

I'm using cheap paper and I have no higher quality paper around or I'd test.

 

[rekhyt]

It definitely could be a paper issue. I have an HP OfficeJet 6500 that has a duplexer built-in (works natively with Snow Leopard and includes wired/wireless connectivity). The few prints I have put through have been fine. I printed a manual and it came out fine, but if both sides of the sheet have heavy graphics, it does tend to bleed as well.

I'm using cheap paper and I have no higher quality paper around or I'd test.

If you're using cheap paper then the type of paper I'm using is dirt cheap paper. (Made in China... *Sigh*)

Right now I'm aiming for a $75-125 printer (Without rebates. Sadly not living in the US right now) that's good. I don't mind if it doesn't connect to Mac but that would be an added bonus.

What do you think? Which HP printer is good? (I need a printer that can fit on top of a desk/isn't a type that sits on the ground.)

 

[belvdr]

My OJ6500 is a desktop model, but ultimately it really depends on your requirements.

If you go to hp.com, there's an assistant to help you choose. For example, I wanted an all-in-one with wireless and an automatic duplexer.

My paper is the cheapest they had at Walmart. We usually print text, and not graphics, so we're okay with it.

 

[Washac]

I have been BURNED by Dell-Their printers print out color prints that stain to the back of the piece of paper and the ink to print ratio is HORRIBLE.

I just went through an ink cartridge that cost around $25 (USD) with all the prints FAILING.

What printer should I get now? Is HP's printers good? Are the inkjets good/not wet? (Good for double sided printing. The Dell ones stain through the paper. Or maybe it's because the person who supplied the paper was too cheap )

I use a Canon MP610 with a print program and drivers called Prinfab, fabulous results

 

[nanofrog]

Does it have to be inkjet? What kind of budget?

I ask, as I've the impression you want to stick with ink, but if you need or want lower costs per page, you might want to consider laser.

Either way, you might want to take a look at Brother's offerings. They work under Mac, and at least the laser side, is less expensive on consumables than HP.

 

[rekhyt]

My OJ6500 is a desktop model, but ultimately it really depends on your requirements.

If you go to hp.com, there's an assistant to help you choose. For example, I wanted an all-in-one with wireless and an automatic duplexer.

My paper is the cheapest they had at Walmart. We usually print text, and not graphics, so we're okay with it.

Ok, thanks! I didn't see the assistant before and thought I had to browse through the whole section. (The sections just show the type of printers, and after you click it, more printers. Not much description so it's hard to know where to start.)

Does it have to be inkjet? What kind of budget?

I ask, as I've the impression you want to stick with ink, but if you need or want lower costs per page, you might want to consider laser.

Either way, you might want to take a look at Brother's offerings. They work under Mac, and at least the laser side, is less expensive on consumables than HP.

Well I do print colors sometime but usually text. I'm not quite sure if I should go to laser-Is it worth it? I'll take a look at Brother's tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[nanofrog]

Well I do print colors sometime but usually text. I'm not quite sure if I should go to laser-Is it worth it? I'll take a look at Brother's tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion!

It will depend on your print requirements, but there's inexpensive color lasers as well.

As you add features, the cost will go up, but you can get one for under $300USD (i.e. HL-3040CN at ~$260 street) that is network capable. Wireless will add to the price, as will other features (Duplexing, Scan, Fax, & Copy features), and can push to the $600USD range.

You could even look into Samsung or Xerox. But I'd recommend looking at the consumables as well as reviews, as that's where the real financial aspect will play into it, not just the initial price.

Good luck.

 

[rekhyt]

It will depend on your print requirements, but there's inexpensive color lasers as well.

As you add features, the cost will go up, but you can get one for under $300USD (i.e. HL-3040CN at ~$260 street) that is network capable. Wireless will add to the price, as will other features (Duplexing, Scan, Fax, & Copy features), and can push to the $600USD range.

You could even look into Samsung or Xerox. But I'd recommend looking at the consumables as well as reviews, as that's where the real financial aspect will play into it, not just the initial price.

Good luck.

Hi NanoFrog,
I just looked at the link of the HL-3040CN printer and didn't see a color print cartridge-I just saw cartridges of black, cyan, magenta or yellow.

Can it just print color?

 

[nanofrog]

Hi NanoFrog,
I just looked at the link of the HL-3040CN printer and didn't see a color print cartridge-I just saw cartridges of black, cyan, magenta or yellow.

Can it just print color?

Lasers use different cartridges for each color, not an AIO or Blk + "Color" unit more common to inkjets.

A full set is all 4, but most of the time, the black is used more often (it also has more toner in it than the color toner cartridges ). Doing it this way can allow you to use all the toner without wasting it, as you can change out which ever one/s are empty, and continue to run with those that aren't yet empty. Part of the lower cost of consumables (cost/page) aspect associated with lasers.

 

[rayward]

I have a Canon Pixma MX850, and it's great. It's an all-in-one printer, copier, scanner.

It prints in color or black-and-white (it has two black cartridges, one for each style of printing), and can scan, copy and print double-sided. It's got a USB or ethernet connection, but no built-in wi-fi. Print speeds are very fast, and warm-up time is minimal.

I have it connected as my network printer, and it works great with my iMac.

 

[Makosuke]

If you print color with any frequency at all you definitely want to go with an inkjet with at least four ink tanks (CMY+black); the budget ones with a single tank for "color" tend to have a cost-per-page even higher than better inkjets, which are already quite expensive in terms of ink.

And I second the recommendation of Canon; I currently use a mid-range MP620 (a little more expensive than your range, since it has wireless) that prints VERY nice color photos, is quite fast (both warmup and print speed), and acceptable for black text. Most importantly, the ink cost is very good per page, since the individual tanks are large and do NOT include the print head (which is replaceable, but unlike with Epson's old ones aren't prone to clogging at all). They also are completely transparent, so you don't have to take the printer's word for it when it says they're empty.

I've never been disappointed by a Canon inkjet, having owned three myself (all in the $100-150 "lower end photo" price range with at least 4 tanks), and helped friends and relatives with things up to the $500 low-end-pro range with 8 ink tanks. Every one worked perfectly, and other than slow prints on the Pro9000 I've never heard a complaint.


Keep in mind, by the way, that if you do enough printing a decent $200-300 laser can pay for itself after a couple years of use due to black toner being a whole lot cheaper per page than black ink. I no longer remember the numbers I worked out at one point, but it's in the few-thousand-page-per-year range. Black text will also look much better, of course.

 

[rekhyt]

Lasers use different cartridges for each color, not an AIO or Blk + "Color" unit more common to inkjets.

A full set is all 4, but most of the time, the black is used more often (it also has more toner in it than the color toner cartridges ). Doing it this way can allow you to use all the toner without wasting it, as you can change out which ever one/s are empty, and continue to run with those that aren't yet empty. Part of the lower cost of consumables (cost/page) aspect associated with lasers.

Ohh... That's great then. I keep having to throw away the cartridges because it's just the black that went out. Used $100 in a year-5 Dell cartridges. :\

I have a Canon Pixma MX850, and it's great. It's an all-in-one printer, copier, scanner.

It prints in color or black-and-white (it has two black cartridges, one for each style of printing), and can scan, copy and print double-sided. It's got a USB or ethernet connection, but no built-in wi-fi. Print speeds are very fast, and warm-up time is minimal.

I have it connected as my network printer, and it works great with my iMac.

Rayward-That's for your answer and review. I'm currently looking for a color printer though. Thanks again.

If you print color with any frequency at all you definitely want to go with an inkjet with at least four ink tanks (CMY+black); the budget ones with a single tank for "color" tend to have a cost-per-page even higher than better inkjets, which are already quite expensive in terms of ink.

And I second the recommendation of Canon; I currently use a mid-range MP620 (a little more expensive than your range, since it has wireless) that prints VERY nice color photos, is quite fast (both warmup and print speed), and acceptable for black text. Most importantly, the ink cost is very good per page, since the individual tanks are large and do NOT include the print head (which is replaceable, but unlike with Epson's old ones aren't prone to clogging at all). They also are completely transparent, so you don't have to take the printer's word for it when it says they're empty.

I've never been disappointed by a Canon inkjet, having owned three myself (all in the $100-150 "lower end photo" price range with at least 4 tanks), and helped friends and relatives with things up to the $500 low-end-pro range with 8 ink tanks. Every one worked perfectly, and other than slow prints on the Pro9000 I've never heard a complaint.


Keep in mind, by the way, that if you do enough printing a decent $200-300 laser can pay for itself after a couple years of use due to black toner being a whole lot cheaper per page than black ink. I no longer remember the numbers I worked out at one point, but it's in the few-thousand-page-per-year range. Black text will also look much better, of course.

Ok thanks! I'll take a look at the Canon site later and will update.

 

[rayward]

Rayward-That's for your answer and review. I'm currently looking for a color printer though. Thanks again.

The Pixma MX850 is a colour printer. It prints, copies and scans in colour, or black and white, whichever is your preference. There's actually two "Start" buttons, one for colour copying and scanning, and one for black and white.

It's also a fabulous photo printer, has a full duplexing document feeder and two paper trays.

 

[nanofrog]

Ohh... That's great then. I keep having to throw away the cartridges because it's just the black that went out. Used $100 in a year-5 Dell cartridges. :\

Ink's really expensive, and there's all kinds of articles on it over the past few years.

Toner cartridges can seem expensive, but if you divide the cost by the yield, it's much better than ink. And the higher capacity units are even cheaper, if available for the printer you select. Just keep in mind, the lower cost lasers are somewhat like inkjets; smaller toners are cheaper, but have smaller yields.

You'd want to spend some time on looking at the costs of consumables no matter which way you go, as that's always more expensive than the actual printer in the end.

Rayward-That's for your answer and review. I'm currently looking for a color printer though. Thanks again.
It is a color inkjet AIO, and it uses separate containers for each color as the lasers do. These are usually less expensive than the mulit color cartridges that get tossed when one color runs out.

The Quad color cartridges are the worst for it, as black is almost always the first to go.

You could even look into continuous inking solutions if you do a lot of color printing, and go with an inkjet.

I'm not sure what kind of color print work you're doing (photo or text/graphs/presentation - critical vs. non critical work). Color lasers aren't good for color critical, but are wonderful for graphs, presentation documents, full color web pages, even maps. They're not so hot for photos or pre-press proofs for printing, though I've not tried calibrating it with the screen either, as I don't need it for that type of work at all.