06-03-2015, 01:00 PM
Yes, I was going to say similar things.
Unfortunately, inkjet printers are "consumable", given the retail price. As we know, they are essentially sold as loss-leaders, the loss recouped in ink sales. That said, I paid £200 for a Canon printer/scanner about 10 years ago, and it's been the best inkjet printer we've ever had by a country mile. It's printed hundreds of 4 by 6 photos at much better quality than the high-street shops could manage, and text is always sharp and crisp - almost as good as laser, and almost as quick. Never had a blocked nozzle, despite several periods of non-usage lasting many months. The print head is replaceable, but no idea how much they cost if needed. No idea if a new Canon would be as good for so many years...
But we use a laser printer for the bulk of our printing. New ones are astonishingly cheap, and are fast and energy-efficient (old laser printers can be quite "thirsty", especially if it's one that keeps the fuser hot all the time they're powered - early HP LaserJet 4s, for example). You get thousands of pages per toner cartridge. As a new cartridge contains quite a lot of moving parts, they are fairly pricey, but you can refill most cartridges or get cheaper "rebuilt" ones which are usually OK (if bought from somewhere like Cartridge World, you can always return them if there is a problem).
Second-hand laser printers are surprisingly cheap, and usually have plenty of life left in them. LaserJet 4s are about 20 years old, and yet they still keep on working (quite a lot of the innards of many HP printers are supplied by Canon). I've got a HP LJ1200 at home - a basic unit, but has been very good over the years. I intercepted it on its way to the skip about 8 years ago, and now the cartridge has finally run out I'm trying to decide if I should buy a new cartridge or just another second-hand printer from eBay.
So if you have the space, consider having both a laser printer and an injet for the occasional colour jobs...
(But while inkjet has traditionally had the edge in quality terms for printing photographs, colour laser printers are feasible replacements for injets today - the quality can be very impressive indeed)
Apologies if you already have a laser - in which case I'm preaching to the converted
Unfortunately, inkjet printers are "consumable", given the retail price. As we know, they are essentially sold as loss-leaders, the loss recouped in ink sales. That said, I paid £200 for a Canon printer/scanner about 10 years ago, and it's been the best inkjet printer we've ever had by a country mile. It's printed hundreds of 4 by 6 photos at much better quality than the high-street shops could manage, and text is always sharp and crisp - almost as good as laser, and almost as quick. Never had a blocked nozzle, despite several periods of non-usage lasting many months. The print head is replaceable, but no idea how much they cost if needed. No idea if a new Canon would be as good for so many years...
But we use a laser printer for the bulk of our printing. New ones are astonishingly cheap, and are fast and energy-efficient (old laser printers can be quite "thirsty", especially if it's one that keeps the fuser hot all the time they're powered - early HP LaserJet 4s, for example). You get thousands of pages per toner cartridge. As a new cartridge contains quite a lot of moving parts, they are fairly pricey, but you can refill most cartridges or get cheaper "rebuilt" ones which are usually OK (if bought from somewhere like Cartridge World, you can always return them if there is a problem).
Second-hand laser printers are surprisingly cheap, and usually have plenty of life left in them. LaserJet 4s are about 20 years old, and yet they still keep on working (quite a lot of the innards of many HP printers are supplied by Canon). I've got a HP LJ1200 at home - a basic unit, but has been very good over the years. I intercepted it on its way to the skip about 8 years ago, and now the cartridge has finally run out I'm trying to decide if I should buy a new cartridge or just another second-hand printer from eBay.
So if you have the space, consider having both a laser printer and an injet for the occasional colour jobs...
(But while inkjet has traditionally had the edge in quality terms for printing photographs, colour laser printers are feasible replacements for injets today - the quality can be very impressive indeed)
Apologies if you already have a laser - in which case I'm preaching to the converted
