Re: Printers

I've got a HP all in one printer/copier/scanner. I am really pleased with it and it only cost £30

Re: Printers

I quite like Canon products and have a Canon IP4600 ink jet which is fine and I still use it for printing on DVDs or CDs but a couple of months ago I bought a refurbished Brother HL3040 CN laser printer for $98.

It had only printed 1000 pages before being returned to Brother and came with brand new full size cartridges. I have been very happy with it. The great thing about it is that it is a network printer so anybody can use it with out having to ensure my computer is on at the time - I just leave the printer and router on 24/7, works well. It has a USB port too so it can be connected to a computer if required but why would you?
I never use either printer for printing photos much cheaper to go to Big W for that.

Interestingly it even has a program on the setup disk which enables you to use it from anywhere on the internet though personally I have no use for that facility.

When the cartridges do run out (there are four) it would be cheaper to throw the machine away and buy another refurbished one, mind you, that applies to ink jets too except they rarely supply full size cartridges with new machines. Always buy generic cartridges if they are available never had a problem with them.

Re: Printers

Will colour laser printers produce acceptable colour photos if required? Or are they better suited to non-photographic printing such as posters and leaflets?

Re: Printers

My laser is just OK for photos but I never use it for them except on plain paper where I think it does a marginally better job than the ink jet. Where it is very good is for big slabs of one colour. I wouldn't buy this one for colour photos but for texts, leaflets etc it is ideal, faster and much cheaper to run than an inkjet (so they say)

For about £50 you can't complain really.

Re: Printers

Certainly not. That's very good.

I have to print mostly greetings card inserts (see below). I keep thinking about getting a laser printer for the job. Would it be good for this?

Re: Printers

I have a Samsung Laser Colour one, which prints really well....but it's a bit of an unwanted Christmas present.

I needed a new printer as my old Canon inkjet which printed great, had an issue with the ink evaporating from the cartridge when it wasn't being used. So it cost me money even if it wasn't doing anything and it had five cartridges to cover the colours. The thing finally died, but I said to the wife I really wanted a cheap Laser black/white one, because I seldom print anyway - hardly at all in colour - and the toners would be cheap. Having seen several, my wife decided to buy me a colour one instead of a black/white one becasue it was only a few pounds dearer - not realising the toners are hideously expensive and hard to come by. Its a great printer, but its a bit of an elephant. Having upgraded to Windows 7/64, I can't find any drivers for it, so the thing sits on a shelf gathering dust.

Re: Printers

I have a Kodak ESP7 printer/ scanner it is a wireless one with bluetooth compatibility it is really good and the colour inks cost around £12 and the black £6 really economic I occasionally print photo's on it usually A4 and it is good for the job I work in a photolab so most of my work is done there I have in the past had HP and Epson and had trouble with clogging...
Sue

Re: Printers

I think a laser would cope with that output very well. One advantage of the laser is that the colour doesn't penetrate the paper to any great extent so you can print colour on both sides of ordinary paper without one affecting the other.

Ink jet ink dries by absorption so soaks into the paper much more than the powder in a laser cartridge which adheres to the paper surface. (I think that is correct) The only problem is that the powder is heated to adhere which can affect the paper's flatness ie it tends to curl very slightly but I would think that pressing under a weight would sort that out. Think of a photocopier - same process