Humbug
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 07:13 AM |
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Printer advice please
My Lexmark Z45 printer has just given up the ghost, so I am looking for a replacement - cheap and cheerful is OK as long as it works and the
replacement cartridges aren't any more outrageous than usual 
I found this one at The Link - £24.50 incl.
delivery seems quite good value.
It would be for general use, not photos, etc. - would 1200x1200 dpi (according to Currys) or 1200x1220 black and 4800x1200 for colour (according to
some other sites) be sufficient?
Any comments/recommendations?
Cheers
Simon
[Edited on 12/5/09 by Humbug]
[Edited on 12/5/09 by Humbug]
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andyd
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 07:57 AM |
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Yup, all of those dpi's are high enough to get good quality text and photos even though you don't need the photo bit. 
Generally the higher price you pay the better the paper feeding capabilities. The actual printing technology is pretty much standard in most low to
mid range printers.
Andy
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 07:58 AM |
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Check out the size and price of replacement cartridges - that's where the makers earn their money. The printer itself is almost a
loss-leader.
Personally, I'd recommend a H-P printer - the associated software is cr*p, but the hardware is excellent. The cartridges are as expensive as
everyone else's, but there are ways to reduce the average cost, e.g. I buy the twin packs of maximum capacity cartridges - big cash outlay, but
they last ages and work out half the price of individual ones.
If you get them mail order (usually from Jersey!) then you can reduce the price considerably.
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hughpinder
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 08:26 AM |
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I'd second the comment about the profit being made on the cartridges, not the printer. If you can stretch to it, I'd consider a colour
lazer - preferable HP - cheapest, like the one I have, is about £140 now, but you'll print 3000 pages on the supplied half full toner cartridges
- the full ones are £80 per colour (a bit less (65)if you pay at cartridge world to have them refilled), but last for 6000 sheets. You wont get photo
quality, but its still good for everything else. The kids print loads of stuff for school and I was buying injet cartridges every couple of weeks -
I've only replaced the toner in the lazer once in 3 years!
Regards
Hugh
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Humbug
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 08:38 AM |
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OK, thanks for the replies. We don't get through that many cartiridges and I've already discovered the multi-pack options and the cheaper
suppliers.
Cheers
Simon
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madmandegge
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 10:06 AM |
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I'd have to say IMO Epson are the printers to go for, the ones I've had contact with have been bomb proof, and the cartridges are the
cheapest I've seen.
Refills are readily available and are excellent quality.
We use HP printers at work, and the number of them that break very quickly are amazing, we've even had a few that just don't work out of
the box 
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 10:28 AM |
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I used to have an epson - found that if I didn't use it for a few days the nozzles would dry up and get blocked. I then had to waste ink while I
cleared them out.
Apart from that, it was a decent printer.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 10:29 AM |
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Somebody was talking about an inkjet printer a while back that had separate cartridges for each colour - can anyone remember what it was?
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britishtrident
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 11:43 AM |
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If you shop around you will find an HP printer/scanner/copier for the £28 to £40 mark --- really don't consider any inkjet other than HP
--- they just print and don't give any problems..
link
http://www.laskys.com/computing/printing/all_in_one_printers/hp_f2280_multifunction_photoprinter.html?cm_mmc=Dealtime-_-Computing-_-All_In_One_Printer
s-_-470023_HP_F2280_MULTIFUNCTION_PHOTOPRINTER&_$ja=tsid:5823|cc:|prd:470023|cat:Computing+%2F+Printing+%2F+All+In+One+Printers+%2F+&engine=de
altime&keyword=HP+F2280+MULTIFUNCTION+PHOTOPRINTER
[Edited on 12/5/09 by britishtrident]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 11:45 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
Somebody was talking about an inkjet printer a while back that had separate cartridges for each colour - can anyone remember what it was?
HP do it on the top end photo printers --- actually not a saving over 2 cartridge printers unless you use an awful lot of one colour,.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 12:04 PM |
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I picked my HP multi-function thing mostly because it was only a little more expensive than similar machines, but came with an ethernet port which I
could connect directly to my router.
Installed the drivers to each machine and now all can print with minimal hassle - W2K, XP and Linux.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 12:04 PM |
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I picked my HP multi-function thing mostly because it was only a little more expensive than similar machines, but came with an ethernet port which I
could connect directly to my router.
Installed the drivers to each machine and now all can print and scan with minimal hassle - W2K, XP and Linux. It also has memory card slots accessible
from any of my machines.
[Edited on 12/5/09 by David Jenkins]
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iank
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 01:05 PM |
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I have two printers, cheap laser (Samsung ML1210) for Black and White, and a Canon pixma MP160 combined colour inkjet and scanner I got for free
because it was 'broken' - haven't found anything wrong with it yet
I used to have a 6 colour photo printer and the printing on photo paper was superb, but for the use it got I found photobox online printing to be
cheaper and a lot more convenient.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 02:08 PM |
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i got a HP for £20 odd at tesco,prints,scans and faxes,ink is a lot cheaper than my old lexmark and best of all its nearly numptyproof
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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Keith Weiland
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| posted on 12/5/09 at 06:33 PM |
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If you use your printer more than once a week go for an Epson or Canon as the aftermarket ink is as cheap as chips but the print heads are part of the
printer. If you use it less often then I would say HP or Lexmark as the head is part of the ink cartridge so if gets blocked can be replaced as simply
as changing ink but the ink is expensive because of patents on the cartridges.
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Ivan
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| posted on 13/5/09 at 06:42 PM |
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HP make some Inkjets that are the cheapest per page of any printers - just ask around - some will print over 2000 pages per crtridge at significantly
lower prices than laser printers.
I think one is the X4500 business jet.
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