PC Printer Help - buying -

loxxr6 · 10-08-2005, 01:34 PM

Can anyone recommend a printer up to $600 for my pc.

It'll likely be just for my g/f for her uni stuff. If I could print scanned photo's it'd be nice but I'm thinking I would prob need to increase my budget for that.

What is worthwhile for this price range ???

b2tf · 10-08-2005, 03:28 PM

Higher end HP printers are pretty good, dont go with Lexmark though, Comapq and Dell printers are actually rebadged Lexmarks.

Canon are also reasonably good ones.

Stealth00 · 10-08-2005, 03:31 PM

Yeah as mentioned look at HP or Canon, Lexmark are rubbish and cartridges will cost you a small fortune.

HP cartridges are also reasonably expensive but, are a reasonable size.

In my opinion HP are the best printers.

Are you looking at an all in one unit or purely just a printer?

Sourbastard · 10-08-2005, 03:34 PM

For printers, HP or nothing.
Even the cheap HP Printers can print very good quality photos provided you use the right paper. Specifically the high gsm high quality photo paper, works a treat even with my cheapy 99 dollar HP deskjet printer. We reprinted out wedding photos on this, and people cannot tell the difference, the quality is just that good when using the right equipment and the right paper.

FRDGAL · 10-08-2005, 04:12 PM

Well I've got a Lexmark all-in-one X73 and I've never had any problems with it or it's printing quality. Cartridges I have refilled for $32 and lasts me a while. I mainly use mine for printing graphs/sales manuals and have used it for assignments for my Interior Dec course and for me, it's prints in very good quality.

I am looking at getting a HP one though a) because the Lex is too big and b) I have heard alot of good about the HP one's.

M14A-Mclaren · 10-08-2005, 04:16 PM

Don't get a HP deskjet, or any inkjet printer for that matter they are all peices of IMO. My B/W Laser HP is a minter though.

Sourbastard · 10-08-2005, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M14A-Mclaren

Don't get a HP deskjet, or any inkjet printer for that matter they are all peices of IMO. My B/W Laser HP is a minter though.

Unless he is going to be printing out his photos in black and white, a decent colour laser is just a tad over that 600 bucks. You can get perfectly good quality and longevity with a HP Deskjet aslong as you follow some simple rules.

Use the right paper for the right job.
Only use HP ink refills as the aftermarket dodgies WILL clog lines.

Theres nothing wrong with inkjet printers, they work perfectly well for what they are and a decent mid range HP deskjet thats well taken care of will serve well for years.

Perana · 10-08-2005, 04:23 PM

HP are good... expensive cartridges though, have found Canon good too

Perana · 10-08-2005, 04:30 PM

Nothing wrong with inkjets at all... And agreed non genuine inks are crap

My 2 y.o Canon prints brilliant photos.. is quite fast too !

LuvinmyEB · 10-08-2005, 05:07 PM

I must admit, for the way I treat my printer (HP Office something or other), it does a pretty good job, the scanner is a little cr@ppy though IMHO. I use my flatbed instead.
It does print out pictures etc rather well using the right (read:expensive) paper. By memory I paid around the $300- mark for it.

I have 2 Canon bubblejets here if you're interested. :hihi:

XPcoupe · 10-08-2005, 05:26 PM

The HP laser are great. but I prefer the Epson Inkjets. with any inkjet you need to keep them working other wise the ink drys up in the nosil and you get problems so always print something using all colours every couple of day and it will be fine. Also hotter it is the more offten you need to print.

Get a HP laser that way it can still for months with no issue.

Steffo · 10-08-2005, 05:33 PM

Hewlett Packard or nothing. I've always had HP printers, swear by them. Had a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 660C from 1996 to 2001. Was a great printer. Have had a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 970CXi Professional since 2001, and it too is great.

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...ct/View/XP0179

That looks pretty decent. Nicely under budget too.. $398.

brenx · 10-08-2005, 06:07 PM

I'm a high volume printer user due to my kids just printing everything. Epson I wouldn't recommend for longevity but quality is good. Canon that didn't last very long or print very well. At one stage I was going through an inkjet every 3mths.

I purchased a Kyocera b/w laser printer and have never looked back. I'm in the market for a color laser now but Kyocera don't do one thats in a normal home users budget. Kyocera color laser is around $2500!

Can anyone recommend a color laser thats around $500-$600 that does 6000 prints color @ 10% coverage with a drum that lasts longer than 50,000 pages?

My Mrs is starting a business and we'll need a decent printer for her catalogues/pamphlets.

loxxr6 · 10-08-2005, 06:08 PM

Cool. The HP's sound like they do the job well.

I'll start looking tomorrow.

Thanks !

Paris Hilton · 10-08-2005, 06:16 PM

Budget Colour Laser? Canon LBP 5200. $629 though, and the new cartridges are about $150 each...(they are only a single colour too

: )

I don't know what HP has to offer...

bindi · 11-08-2005, 07:38 AM

HP are very good, I had the old deskjet 400 for a very long time... it's still going, just it's outdated now. My mother in law does a damn lot of printing/scanning, and as her major hobby is digital photography she has tried lots of printers and reckons HP is the best for her photo printing needs. She's had this printer for about 2 years now and it's still going strong. She does tend to use printers rather harshly. The ink prices are quite extraordinary though.

I recently got the Canon iP3000; its quiet, fast, good quality printing and puts my mother in law's HP to shame imho. Although my one doesn't scan... but I can print directly onto cds/dvds and also it has a USB outlet so I can go straight from camera to printer if I wish to (I always photoshop though lol so I haven't used it).

I do find it uses ink quite rapidly though, but maybe that's just the amount of printing I do in "quality" mode. When I go for draft it's much more efficient. The replacement cartridges are $25 at the local Kfart, but also they are easily refillable (and are made to be refilled) which cuts down costs.

I do use the printer all the time, being my own business and I print my own leaflets and business cards etc. And the kids use it alot for homework etc.

Good luck.

FRDGAL · 20-08-2005, 02:09 AM

Not sure if you've gone out and bought one yet but just to let you know - I bought a HP PSC1610 All-in-One (Printer Scanner Copier) the other day for $184 and it's great. Prints/Scans and Copies very well and is quite quick. Although, it's a touch noisy. But I'm comparing 'noise' to the Lexmark I had which was quieter so....

Basically, I give it a thumbs up. Hope it helps with your choice

Unless ofcourse you've already bought one.

[Martin] · 21-08-2005, 02:20 AM

Bottom line is all the 'SOHO' printers are utter crap. There are just varying degrees of crapulence. I deal with heaps of these printers in my daily life and here's my feedback on two I'd recommend:

Epson - Their printers are amongst the best in my opinion. The nicer printers ($150-$250) use 6 colours to produce photos (R210 and R310). The only downside I see with them is that they chip the ink cartridges to prevent you from refilling them rather than replacing them.

HP - The major gripe with HP is their print heads are integrated into the ink cartridge, so refilling is expensive. You can however, use third party refill kits to counter this.