Printer advice required

[jonclox]

Ive been using a Kodak all-in-one for about 18 months and have never been really happy with it :Now its messing me about big time with colour failures.
Ive a load of backscenes and photos that need something reliable to use
Being a pensioner money is a little bit tight but I might be tempted to pay a bit OTT if the products well vouched for
Any ideas?,I`m tempted to try an Epson A-in-1 as long as they have front loading paper trays
(I only need good quality prints not Pro quality )

[scotsoft]

I have an Epson Stylus Photo PX710W which is a couple of years old now and I find it a very good printer.  I can use the cheap ink cartridges I buy on eBay, about £12 for six cartridges which makes it economical to print.  The availability of cheap cartridges is something I checked out before I bought the printer a to pay full price for them is astronomical.

This is the second Epson I have owned, the first died a death and was told it would be cheaper to buy a new one than get my old one fixed.

I have also had an HP colour printer and it was a good printer as well.

I would have a look and see what is on offer in the shops and online.

[SymonC]

Had one of these for over two years without any problems :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1610-All-Printer-Scanner-Copier/dp/B0008035RW

I've had two Epson printers one of which was painfully slow. Both went wrong after just 13 months.

[Bikeracer]

Our local WHS had HP printers for sale this week for less than £40.00,dunno if that's country wide or not.

If you're looking for a laser printer don't bother with a Canon LBP 5050,I've got one and it's very frustrating to use,when this lot of toner runs out it's going in the bin and I'll spend the money on a different brand.

Allan

[davidjhope]

I have been using the Canon IP series and found them very good. They have front loading paper tray and the ink is very cheap (I use EezyInk).
My only advise is to check out the price of new ink. Some printer manufactures sell or even give away printers at very cheap prices then they have got you paying over the top for Ink. It works out cheaper to spend a bit more on the printer.
Good luck
David

[galway]

I use the HP Deskjet (model I've got is 2050), probably updated since I got it, great printer, good quality pics etc, ink seems to last for ages.

I had a Kodak but the print head carriage kept on buggering up, the print quality was very good, but, I stopped believing the hype on print costs, was always having to put more ink in. In the end chucked away and bought the HP with 1 colour and 2 b&w included for about 40 yoyo's over  12 months now and have only had to buy one colour cartridge since, and my printer always seems to be on.

Hope this helps.

Paul

[Bikeracer]

WHS...
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/Printing.aspx

Allan

[Adam1701D]

I use an Epson SX425W wireless inkjet all-in-one for all my printing, including Electra vinyls. The proper ink, whilst expensive, is permanent and fade-resistant, so ideal for modelling purposes. It was a snip at £39.99 from Tesco last year (cheaper than replacement carts for my previous Epson).

Generally, I would advise steering clear of refilled cartridges, as these can often be leaky and the ink may not be up to scratch.

[MikeDunn]

I wouldn't personally touch an HP inkjet with a bargepole (and I'm ex-HP !!) ... laser yes, inkjet no.

Epsons are OK, but can get expensive on inks (it's what SWMBO currently has & is soon to be replaced - my Epson is a colour laser, you think the inks are expensive then try one of these  but it works quite well).

Canon are good, but I'd really recommend them for photo-quality printing and not necessarily day-to-day.

Our next inkjet (soon to be purchased) will be a Brother - probably the MFC6510 but maybe the 6710 if I can find a good price.  Given that you're doing backscenes - would A3 be tempting ?  Check out the 6510 then 

Mike

[jonclox]

Thanks for the advice etc. up till now.
Keep it coming please.
I am trying to move away from the multi colour ink cartridges and go for single colour ones.
We used to like HP but found the replacement cartridges very expensive.
A quick phone call to Epson has advised me that SX535 matches my requirements.
Its on offer at Amazon for £64  so I may well end up getting that . Not deiced yet tho 

[MikeDunn]

Yeah, if you can find a suitable printer then single inks are the way to go ...  I dread to think of how much is wasted in multi-cartidges ...   

Mike

PS - just ordered that Brother - Amazon have a good price on it 

[jonclox]

Yeah, if you can find a suitable printer then single inks are the way to go ...  I dread to think of how much is wasted in multi-cartidges ...   

Mike

PS - just ordered that Brother - Amazon have a good price on it 

:'( Looks a great bit of kit but a little beyond my pocket at the momment (SWMBO has informed me) :'( :'(

[MikeDunn]

(cheaper than replacement carts for my previous Epson).

And this is the exact point that I find absolutely crazy ...  Because of the pricing by the manufacturers, low-end printers are pretty much a disposable item 

Mike

[EtchedPixels]

Low end printers are usually priced at or below cost, and then they make it on the ink and make it very hard to use anybody elses ink.

[Shaun Harvey]

I'm still using an old epson sylus photo r200 (newer models available) It has 6 cartridges. The espon ink is expensive but I use the supermarket equivalents with no probs. HP and epson run differently I think. HP have the print head on the cartridge so everytime you change the ink you get a new print head. I would imagine the quality is so hard to compare these days unless yo're looking for archival quality. The cost of ink would be your main focus for your research I think as DPI is so subjective. And of course it depends on the quality of what you're printing. Happy hunting!