Your Next Printer: Inkjet, Laser, or All-In-One? - Comments Page 2

Some ecological and health concerns:

400 million ink and 100 million toner cartridges end up in dumps each year.
Inkjet printed paper is very resistant to recycling, as such papers mixed in with other recyclables will spoil the entire load that would have been made into newsprint and other recycled products.

The atmosphere in offices with high volume laser jet printers has been repeatedly found to be highly toxic with particle emissions as hazardous as cigarettes, and the majority of particles being ultrafine (

I worry about all-in-one printer-fax-scanner combinations -- or indeed multifunction anythings.

For me replacement is more of a consideration than desk space, so I'd rather run the scanner in a filedrawer and let the printer take up whatever footprint it needs. Inevitably one of the components of an all-in-one will break down, crippling the gizmo or denying me the entire machine while it's being repaired.

I have a Brother HL-2170W laser printer and a Canon scanner, both getting on in years but still workhorses. Last time I had to replace a printer the scanner was working fine, and I had no need for a fax. The experience warned me away from all-in-ones.

Yes, there are times I'd like to print in color -- but nearly always black-and-white will do and is much cheaper. Another way of saving money is to reuse printing paper. For memos, notes, other internal uses the blank side is perfectly satisfactory.

I agree with Bob that one's primary printer should probably be a color all-in-one. inkjet unit, with a built-in scanner and fax function, as there will always be a need to make a quick copy of a document, or send a fax (if you still have a landline telephone)or to print an important color photo or document.

A good idea would be to have a simple monochrome laser printer as a second unit for most everyday printing needs that don't absolutely need color (recipes, news items and 'Ask Bob Rankin' columns, etc.) As stated in Bob's article today, the cost-per-page of a laser unit is much less that that of an inkjet device. Decent, 20-25 page-per-minute stand alone units (good enough for most household needs) can be bought for around $100.00, or so, at places like Costco, Sam's Club, Office Depot or Staples.

It's worthwhile to invest in a printer that has duplex capabilities, so as to be able to print on both sides of a sheet of paper, and potentially cut one's paper costs in half. Such printers usually have the letter "D" at the end of the unit's model number. Another good feature to have is wireless capability, which will allow the printer to be used by all the desktops, laptops and tablets in the house. These units have a "W" at the of the model number.

When shopping for a printer, it's important to be aware of other parts that may be needed to be periodically replaced, such as print heads or toner drums, in addition to the normal ink or toner cartridges. These parts can be rather expensive to replace, so if the computer is over five years old, it may be more economical to just buy a new printer, which will likely be faster, cheaper and under manufacturer's warranty, as compared to the old printer being replaced.

The crooked philosophy of the inkjet printer manufacturer was selling the hardware extremely low and get their money back through the consumables. One set of new ink cartridges was close to buying a new printer. But Epson started last year to have serious (higher) hardware cost but sell the ink of 70 ml at the price of Canon's 7 ml. That's what I call fair. Brother followed and even Canon has now large ink supply. It works very well. Compliment to Epson as trendsetter!

I purchased an HP Deskjet F2200 series all-in-one (no fax) printer at a Black Friday sale for $20.00 in 2009 and it still works great.

Howard L: I understand your concern about "multifunction anythings," however, unless one is making dozens, if not more, scans, on a weekly, or even daily basis, then a typical consumer grade all-in-one printer with scanner will be sufficient for MOST users. In an all-in-one, the printer is the part that gets the lion's share of the work. And most home users, me included, often go weeks, if not months without using the scanner.

The scanner portion of an all-in-one printer uses mature, amortized, technology that is generally relatively inexpensive and reliable, and reused from model to model and year to year, by all the printer makers. There have been no new major breakthroughs in scanning technology for years, and it will likely be the same in the future.

That's why the selection of stand-alone scanners, especially flatbed units, sold at retail, is typically down to one or two units, if that, as compared to ten or more years ago, when Best Buy, for example, sold between five and ten units, for some years. As Bob Rankin says, the cost to add a scanner unit to a printer is minor, and generally adds only $25 to $40 to the price of a stand-alone printer. If someone is in a business environment, where scans are frequent and necessary, then an all-in-one printer from the costlier business/commercial lines from HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark or Xerox may be necessary and desirable, otherwise a consumer unit should be sufficient for most users. I've seen such printers used regularly in some medical and law offices, in lieu of more expensive office units.

Here in Australia, I have a Brother printer for which I purchased a continuous ink feeding system.
The adapted cartridges and tubing to the ink tanks plus 100ml of red, blue and yellow and 300 ml of black cost Au$119. These inking systems available in many countries.

Yes, I agree that H.P. is probably adding some kind of software to prevent anyone from using alternative ink.
When I see an update for my old H.P. printer I ignore it because I'm sure they are adding some firmware to prevent me from using other-than-their-ink ink.
These companies that make inkjet printers and the ink that goes with them make 40% of their profit from the ink alone. They don't want competitors cutting into their profit margins.

I'm sure it's not just H.P. that is preventing us from using alternative ink. I haven't yet tried using other ink in my Canon printer. So I don't know if it will work. But eventually I shall give it a try.

Bruce

I have enjoyed reading your newsletters for a number of years. Thank for such great informative information.

Currently my HP photo smart 310 all in one quit feeding my paper. I am so fed up with HP. They used to have a great product. The first one lasted 16 years.

Since the original printer I have had two all in one One lasted 6 months HP replaced it. The second one lasted 6 months 2 days. They said sorry the warranty goes back to the original purchase of 12 months 2 days ago. I had purchased two at the time as HP changes ink models like they are going out of style. I did not want to be stuck with a lot of ink. So now this 3rd HP same brand as the last two quit. Now, I am stuck with this unopened ink.

I need to buy another all in one but is will not be an HP. I looked at Epson 2 years ago but could not get the Epson to print a nice red Santa Suit. Who wants a Burgundy Santa suit. So I went back to the HP, but after 3 printers inside of 2 years no more.

Does anyone have a good all in one printer that prints a nice red that you would like to suggest for my next printer?

I was a Canon devotee until I started having printhead problems. My MX922 (my second one) is dead as it wont recognize a new print head. Fortunately I bought a Brother MFC 895DW and now will never go back to Canon again, although I have three Canons now, they will be replaced by Brothers. The Brother is faster, cleaner, and so far having much less headaches.

I currently have a laser printer for most B&W work which I bought when my previous printer needed a new drum and it was cheaper to buy a new printer. I also have an old colour printer which I got from thrift (goodwill) shop for when I need colour. It's slow but works. Both of them are all-in-one. And I use aftermarket toner and ink cartridges from Amazon which work well and cost less. When I need to replace a printer, I'll look at a colour printer with tanks for the ink, the one I have used is almost as fast as my laser printer for B&W.

After my HP AIO printer died several years ago, I bought an Epson and have never looked back. Several of my neighbors have needed help either installing their HP printers or reinstalling them due to software issues, they are now happy Epson printer users. Installation is a fast and easy process compared to HP. I bought a new Epson WF-4740 and the colors are life-like, the print is like atype writer and the cost is very reasonable if you buy the extra capacity cartridges. Oh, is it ever FAST!!! My old Epson of 6 years is now with my oldest daughter still going strong.

In looking at 'laser' printers, you may be looking at 'LED page printers' in some ranges. I have two OKI LED printers - a mono 'pure' printer and a colour All in One. Both will print at 1200dpi if necessary, and at good speed. I'm not sure what the 'dangers' of laser type printing are reckoned to be, but it's the same technology as high rate photocopiers have used for decades - and I've never seen them blamed for anything.
I also have a cheap inkjet for the few family photos I might need to print. I used to have a higher end Canon inkjet AIO which could print CD/DVDs but killed its print head, and would have cost more than its purchase price to repair!
I've also got an obsolete 6x4 'photo' printer (which even the manufacturer no longer has drivers for...) but still works on the one PC which has the drivers installed, and a dedicated label printer, both of which I bought from a charity shop for peanuts.
I'm covered all ways...

Like everyone I know, I need to print a page about once a quarter. So, I want only a very small B/W printer with no branded software. The software is always full of unnecessary bloat and starts at boot. All of this is unnecessary and unwanted. Maybe this focus would make an interesting future article. There are many like me.

Scanning: picture from smartphone, crop and print to pdf!!

Can't we just use something simple, like magic? I have three all-in-one inkjet printers in a stack. The HP (bottom) long ago got an update and never again recognized my cartridges. The Epson (middle) did the same thing later. (Yes, I'm an idiot for letting an update through.) The Canon (top) still works, more or less. However, any hint of wireless printing, from either Windows or Linux computers or a Chromebook, seems to have disappeared. As I said, let's go back to waving magic wands.

My experiences ...

I have both an HP LaserJet 3005 and an Canon PIXMA all-in-one. In the past I've had 2 color LaserJets and neither one printed quality photos. Color laser printers are not worth the cost. I've tried re-manufactured ink jet cartridges and been very disappointed. Seems like all the re-manufacturers do is refill the ink without checking operation of the nozzles. I can refill a black ink cartridge about 1 time before it becomes erratic. My ink jet printer is good for an occasional photo print, but that uses a LOT of ink. Bottom line -- if you need to print a lot of photos then load up your USB drive and go to CVS (or upload them on-line) to print them. Much better quality and cheaper.

I had identical inkjets in three locations. I found that if I did not visit a location frequently enough the inkjet head would clog or dry up. I switched to LaserJet to avoid this problem. The cartridge lasts a long time.

I have both - a black & white HP 1018 monochrome laser printer which I bought for $55 (I had coupons) at least 10 years ago. I also have an HP all-in-one 6210 inkjet for color, copy, fax, and scanning, also very inexpensive at least 10 years ago. Neither are wireless, I use aftermarket market cartridges from places like 499inks and both printers work really well. I use the laser printer most of the time, as I create and print text documents. I use the inkjet primarily for monochrome and color copying and scanning with occasional fax use. My home office is custom built and since I have limited desktop counter space these comparatively small printers are just what I need. Also, I go to the HP support website periodically and download updates. Eventually, a printer will finally die and then I will replace it, not expecting a replacement to be high quality like these two.

I bought an HP all in one a couple of years ago to replace a Cannon Pixma that lasted about 5 years. I got into the HP ink program which for my personal printing it costs me about $60.00 per year which is better that then cartridges I was buying from LD Products for the Canon Printer. And they will recycle the used ones if you send the, back on the provided bag..

Have had a few all in one printers, and my current Epson WF-3520 is by far the best for home casual use. I do not like they require you to have all their peripherals loaded and enabled to function but the unit itself is very good.

I do NOT use Epson ink in it and have had no problems.