Printer Advice for someone else

[paleck]

I'm asking on behalf of my mom who has had some serious bad luck with printers. I already did some research and gave her a list of printers that I would recommend, but they didn't suit her for one reason or another. 🙁 So she has come back to me with two printers that she likes.

The first one she likes is the Epson CX5000 and the other is the HP C3180. Mainly she wants to be able to scan and print on the same machine. The printing should be able to at least produce a decent photo, but it doesn't have to be perfect.

Thanks for any help/experience you have had with these printers.

P.S. Yes I have done a little research on these machines, but I haven't had enough to be sure of my thoughts. Especially after spending a few hours building her a list that she decided to shoot down. 😱

 

[SMM]

I bought the HP C4180 mainly to scan with, and for my wife to print photos with. We have an OKI C5500 color for doing higher quality, bigger run stuff. So far, the HP has done very well. It has a nice user interface, kind of a control center, that makes using it easy. It was also very reasonably priced. What I do not know is how well it does on ink usage (we are still on our original cartridges).

 

[musicalmcs8706]

I would go with Canon personally. When I bought my laptop for school I was going to get an HP, but the guy who was selling me my laptop said that Canons are cheaper to operate and do a better job. I trusted him on that as I wanted an all in one similar to what you're looking for. I have not been disappointed at all with my Canon. The print quality is great, even when just printing off papers for school.

 

[bousozoku]

I can tell you in general that the Epson all-in-one machines are good. I've got a CX6400 and my parents have my older CX5200. The only thing that has been a problem is clogging but if you print on a regular basis, it's not a problem. The colour balance is decent for photos, better than some photo kiosk machines.

I've not had a Canon all-in-one but I use a larger Canon printer for photography and I can attest to the quality and output.

The only thing I would mention about any all-in-one is that a low price such as $100 could mean that it's less durable or that some other compromise has been made. I've found that spending more money results in a machine that lasts longer and works more smoothly.

 

[paleck]

Now she has decided to forget the Epson entirely. It's now between the HP 2575 or 4180(or possibly 3180).