[wgreene]

Can anyone recommend a decent printer which uses ink sparingly? I have an inexpensive Canon at work; unfortunately, it uses up ink cartridges in a big hurry -- so quickly, in fact, that I've had to stop using it. Is it possible to find printer ratings which indicate the amount of ink usage? I'd rather pay more for a printer which uses far less ink. Thank you.

[Pandemonium009]

is this for your home? First thing to know is that HP makes the best printers so I highly recommend them. Also, If your having problems with your ink running out too fast, get a laserjet. If you can do monochrome print then you can get a good laserjet printer from newegg.com made by hp starting at $99. If you need color, they have a color laserjet 1600 for $305 and a color laserjet 2600 for $314.

[bearone2]

there are some lexmark and another brand i can't remember, $150 laser printers in the current pcworld.

[Pandemonium009]

I work on printers almost everyday and have built a lot of confidence in hp and not so much in lexmark or any of the others for that matter. I would buy a $100 hp before I would get a $150 lexmark anyday.

[alwrmc]

All inkjet printers use ink at a pretty rapid pace. There is not a great deal of difference in one over the other. You will find that people will also say that this brand is THE best or that brand is THE worst. There is some truth to those statements but by and large any well known brand name device will work pretty good. I prefer Epson products but HP, Canon and Lexmark are all very good devices (I prefer Epson solely based on the paper path thru the machines). You did not indicate what sort of printing you want the machine for primarily. Text or photo for example. Here is a thought however. We just bought my wife a new HP Photosmart 7160. It uses 6 ink cartridges. The printer comes with ink cartriges of course. The price for a complete set of replacement cartridges for that printer at Staples is $65. That is more than half the price of the printer. There are some printers that actually cost less to purchase than a set of replacement cartridges. I DO NOT recommend refill kits (some people do however). I do use replacement ink from a third party company. I personally use Inkfarm.com but there are others also. The best advice to conserve ink is to use draft mode but that gives copy that is not acceptable for business/professional use. I believe that you may find a low cost laser printer to provide more output per cartridge than an inkjet printer. The initial and subsequent costs are higher but the per page cost is frequently less.

[pshnfry]

HP and Canon inkjets with 4 or more cartridges have low cost per page specs (for independant costs per page see this link:http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/...call_the_tune/ )
these are multifunctions, but I have a Canon MP800 m/f and a IP4000 which both use same ink systems and have similar running costs so I think it's useful for info.

I've heard laser gives poorer results in photo applications but can give cheaper running costs. It will hurt to replace the toner cartridges though - they're expensive.

[mtzlplex]

HP all the way, I found and purchased a little HP 3740 series printer at Big Lots for $26.00, new, not refurbished. Now, that`s all it does is print, nothing else. Easy hook up, no problems in 4 mos, and I checked out the cartridge prices at wally world, and they are cheaper than lexmark in my area, also I have tried 2 diff lexmark printers, haven`t had much luck with the cartridges lasting very long.

Regards
IMP49

[Rich-M]

For inkjets Canon really have always been the most economical. Don't be fooled by the small cartridges, as that makes them seem to be used up quicker. lasers are another story and there HP rocks!

[wgreene]

Thank you all very much for your input. You've been quite helpful.

Somehow I forgot to mention that I will NOT be using a computer; therefore, for my purposes I figure my best bet would be an inexpensive all-in-one laser unit, either b/w or color.

I do not plan to do any photo printing -- mainly text. Also, because my business involves cashing checks, I will occasionally be scanning and copying checks and ID cards. Accurate color reproduction is desirable, although not really necessary. I'm not sure how well inexpensive laser units are at reproducing color images.

Anyhow, my understanding is that laser should prove to be considerably less expensive than inkjet in the long run, and that's my primary concern. The way things are, I've been changing inkjet cartridges for my Canon Pixma MP 130 all-in-one far too often. (My first two home printers for my PC were HP's, which were okay, but I really enjoy my Canon i850, which I've been using for about two years without any problems whatsoever -- not even one paper jam.)

[Rich-M]

Just one piece of advice here before buying a laser, double check the prices of additional cartridges. That kept me away from what appeared to be cheaper Minolta and Samsung lasers, where the ccartridges are hard toi find and twice the price and also read carefully to see if the cartridges installed are full or starter as that can make a big difference in price as well.

[wgreene]

Originally Posted by Rich-M

Just one piece of advice here before buying a laser, double check the prices of additional cartridges. That kept me away from what appeared to be cheaper Minolta and Samsung lasers, where the ccartridges are hard toi find and twice the price and also read carefully to see if the cartridges installed are full or starter as that can make a big difference in price as well.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to take that into account whenver I make my purchase.

[Rich-M]

Great thanks and let us know how you make out!

[Transformer]

Unless I'm printing resumes or formal letters, I ALWAYS USE QUICK PRINT. While I do not print everyday, I do print almost everyday, and my Lexmark cartridges last a long time, compared to others using Lexmark cartridges.

As far as I am concerned, there really is no such thing as an economical printer, seeing as how ALL printer cartridges are outrageously expensive.

If you work in an office, you should suggest that everyone printing drafts use QUICK PRINT/DRAFT mode.