New printer -- HP or Canon?

[W1GUH]

Or maybe I won't get a new printer. I've got this HP 7550 that's ancient -- I got it in '2003. It's so old there's no Vista driver for it, I have to use one from another (compatible) printer. Well, that's Vista. Linux recognized it immediately. But this is about printers, not OS's.

Anyway, the only reason I'm contemplating a new printer is that the '7550 is so old & there's tape on it to keep the doors closed, and it's gotten pretty banged around in my apartment.

OTOH, it's still working like new. And that's after suffering more abuse than a printer should ever have to deal with. So...on the one hand, I really don't need a new printer. More tape on the doors & it's as "good as new." But on the other hand, today's printers are dirt cheap and who knows how long I can expect my current printer to be supported? If and when the time comes that it's truly "new printer time", the question is, are Canon printers this rugged and reliable? My HP seems to be able to take some pretty tough punishment & it just keeps on printin'. Are Canon printers as well made?

[N1LAF]

I have had great performance and no problems with Brother laser printers. Network ready, and costs less than $300. In fact, I picked up a Samsung color laser, network ready, for $299.

[W1GUH]

I have had great performance and no problems with Brother laser printers. Network ready, and costs less than $300. In fact, I picked up a Samsung color laser, network ready, for $299.

Didn't know that color laser printers had come down so much. How's it print? Resolution? Does it equal a good inkjet?

[N1LAF]

I have had great performance and no problems with Brother laser printers. Network ready, and costs less than $300. In fact, I picked up a Samsung color laser, network ready, for $299.

Didn't know that color laser printers had come down so much. How's it print? Resolution? Does it equal a good inkjet?

How about I print a picture and mail it to you, and e-mail the electronic version..

This is what I have:
http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Pr ... ku=8172860
Present price: $422, sale price that I purchased: $329. Seen it as low as $299
21ppm (B&W) / 21ppm (color) / 350sheet(s) Capacity / Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
2400dpi x 600dpi (B&W) / 2400dpi x 600dpi (color)
Operating Systems:
Windows 2000/XP / 2003 / Vista, Various Linux OS including Red Hat 8.0~9.0, Mandrake 9.2~10.1, SuSE 8.2~9.2 and Fedora Core 1~4, Mac OS X 10.3~10.
Boasting a durable monthly duty cycle of 65,000 pages, built-in automatic duplexing
USB and Network interface

[KG4CGC]

What do you want to do with it?
How much ink do you use?
How much is ink for a particular model?
Will said model accept refilled cartridges?
What level of reproductive quality are you after? Art? Photography? Documents?

A good Canon printer is nice but the ink can get quite pricey. Quite, Pricey.
Currently, Kodak is hawking printers that will stretch out the ink budget.
I've had good luck with HP printers (mid level) in the past but they don't last forever. Got great photo quality but the ink wasn't cheap and that's going back to 2002. It used the 78 HP cartridge. Yep, that was a monster.

Haven't been near an Epson printer in quite some time, nor a Lexmark.
Read reviews and like I said, figure your most desired needs.

[n2ize]

If you are looking for Linux compatability you cannot beat the HP's. HP activley supports the development of drivers for most of it's printers and scanners. I have had 4 HP printers over the years and never had a problem getting full functuionality on Linux. At present I am running a HP PSC 2350 printer and an HP B209 wireless and both run awesome under Linux.

This is not to say that some of the other printers aren't supported under Linux but, you cannot go wrong with an HP.

[W3MIV]

HP. Definitely. Best bang for your buck.

Been running a bunch of them for years, from desktop lasers and inkjets to one $10k color laser PostScript model that is the size of a refrigerator. The Canons I have owned in the past were OK, but the ink cartridges were both tiny and pricey. Staples still offers a kick-back on used HP cartridges, but I don't believe the accept either Epson or Canon cartridges any longer. It would be worth checking with Staples, since the kick-back can be offsetting if you use a lot of ink. (I do.)

Desktop inkjets use ink, and that ink is costly for "home use." (The old saw that the companies will happily give you a printer in order to get you to buy their ink cartridges is essentially true.) The inkjet, however, is far better suited to producing top-quality photographic images, whereas the color laser printers are well suited to general document printing. Color lasers, however, can be very, very expensive to replenish.

The printer I have attached to this computer is an HP C5550 "All-in-One" that is able to run wirelessly via Bluetooth. I opt for simple USB cabling, however. High-capacity ink cartridges are available for it, which makes it convenient, if not particularly economical (though Costco does stock them in twin packs). The big surprise with this printer was the quality of the built-in scanner. It is superb -- not always the case in "all-in-ones."

[W1GUH]

OK...so it's HP again. Great comments all around, and my experience with HP is the same. Works great, and mine's lasted far longer than I would have expected, considering the way it's been treated.

Or....maybe I'll just pull out my old Juki Daisy-wheel printer. I loved that with the carbon ribbon and the way it actually made an impression on the printed page. It was kinda hard to make it print in color, though!

Photographs are a priority with me. So when are they gonna come out with waterproof ink for those?

Thanks for the comments.

[ad4mg]

The cost of cartridges is always a factor with inkjet printers. Granted, the difference to my untrained eyes may not be obvious, but for the past couple of years, I've been fueling my HP's with quality remanufactured cartridges from 4inkjets.com. After dozens of orders from them, I've had but one defective cartridge, and upon notifying them, they promptly sent a replacement, totally free of charge, and without the need to return the defective one. All other cartridges I've bought from them have performed flawlessly.

They say the cartridges they sell are cleaned, refilled, then tested before boxing for sale. And, if you insist on having brand new OEM cartridges, they offer those for most popular printers as well, at competitive prices. The remanufactured ones for the HP's are priced right ... $11 - $13 for most black cartridges, and $12 - $16 for most color cartridges, including the photo-print types.

Not harping for this company, just suggesting an alternative to high priced ink that has worked well for me for the last couple of years.

Additionally, they almost always give you a 10% off coupon for your next order with any purchase.

They also sell laser toner supplies. Their home page: http://www.4inkjets.com/

[KG4CGC]

At least give the Kodak a looksee if you want to photos.
I quit printing photos about 4 years ago. If I want prints then I take a disc with my files on it to Wolf Camera. Pricing is competitive and cheaper than printing at home and 8x10 or 11x14 prints look great. These are prints done on photo paper that last years.