Which all in one printer to buy?

[Skywave]

I'm more concerned about owning a scanner than actually printing but at the price I might as well take advantage of the all in one.
Col.

Document scanners: I have been using a H.P 3400C for about 5 years now. Yes, it is an old model, and you might be able to acquire one second-hand (as I did). But it has proven to be a very reliable work-horse: I do a lot of document scanning / printing (to an H.P. LaserJet 4, which has also proven to be very reliable, too).

HTH,
Al. / April 5th., 2013 //

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Al. Hopefully the new Canon all in one will give me good service but I can always use the Canon scanner then print out on my Mono HP LaserJet P1102W printer so with luck I should soon be set up for a few years to come?

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

Of the Canon printers that Mark listed, this one caught my eye:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-MG6250-Col..._3?ie=UTF8&qid=1365151936&sr=8-3&keywords=canon+printer

I notice that it uses six inks Cyan / Magenta / Yellow / Black / Large Black / Grey.

A curious mixture – first time I’ve seen a printer with two black cartridges – presumably one of which is used for b&w printing only, and the other for colour printer. Odd that it has a grey one too.

However, what really leapt off the page at me was the bargain basement price of inks – eg, three sets of six (yes, 18 in all!) for just £20.00, and seemingly with a good spec too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CLI-526-PGI-525-...omputers_1

Quote:

Technical Details
• Chip installed ready to use, no more chip swapping
• Manufactured to ISO9001 Standards
• Compatible Cartridges
• 100% No Quibble Guarantee!
• Cyan / Magenta / Yellow / Black / Large Black / Gr
This is a high quality Compatible Cyan / Magenta / Yellow / Black / Large Black / Grey printer ink cartridge pack to replace the Canon CLI-526 / PGI-525. All of our ink cartridges come with a full 2 years warranty from the date of purchase. We have found this ink cartridge pack to be a genuine replacement for the original cartridge pack, but at a massive saving! This product is for use with Canon Pixma iP4840 iP4850 iP4950 IX6550 MG5120 MG5350 MG6100 MG6120 MG6150 MG6220 MG6250 MG8120 MG8150 MG8220 MG8250 MX885

End quote.

As I’ve said before, what troubles me most about some makes of printers is the sparse spec when it comes to the type of media the printer will handle – they mention paper and photos of course, but what about iron-on decals for T shirts, or transparencies? No mention of that with some makes and in Epson’s case, we know why – their printers don’t handle such media. They just bang on about high quality printing, and more and more, about connectivity enhancements, which gives added appeal to some customers, while only requires software enhancements – not electro-mechanical upgrades to the printer. This is from the Canon Pixma 6250 spec. So, software enhancements in step with trends, which needs no R&D for the printer itself and no costly tooling, accepting off course that there are significant software development costs:

Quote:

Enhanced connectivity:

In-built Wi-Fi makes it easy to share in the home. Print from and scan directly to mobile devices using the Easy-PhotoPrint App. Apple AirPrint support* allows you to print directly from iPad & iPhone.

Cloud printing:
Browse and print your favourite photos directly to the printer from online albums at CANON iMAGE GATEWAY** & Google’s Picasa. Access on demand calendars, stationery and other templates without a need of a PC***. Print from anywhere using Google Cloud Print****.

End quote.

HP specs are very clear on the media they can handle. I’ve just picked one at random – an HP 5520 - to illustrate that. (I notice they boast a 2-yr warranty, but in fact for many years now throughout the EU a 2-yr warranty has applied to domestic appliances as we’ve discussed on the forum before so all that HP are doing is using that as a marketing plus-point when it’s a statutory right for all customers whatever the make or item – kettle, TV, printer or whatever).

HP Photosmart 5520 e-All-in-One Printer with 2 years warranty. Here’s what it says about the media it can handle. Note, it includes iron on transfer and transparencies:

Supported Printing Media
Media sizes, custom
• 76 x 127 to 216 x 356 mm
Media sizes supported
• A4 (210 x 297 mm)
A5 (148 x 210 mm)
A6 (105 x 148 mm)
B5 (176 x 250 mm)
C6 (114 x 162 mm)
DL (110 x 220 mm)
Media types
• Paper (plain, inkjet, photo), envelopes, transparencies, labels, cards, HP premium media, iron-on transfers, borderless media
Media weight, supported
• A4: 75 to 90 g/m²
HP envelopes: 75 to 90 g/m²
HP cards: up to 200 g/m²
HP photo paper: up to 300 g/m²
Media weight, recommended
• A4: 75 to 90 g/m²
HP envelopes: 75 to 90 g/m²
HP cards: up to 200 g/m²
HP photo paper: up to 300 g/m²
Print Resolution
Print quality black (best)
• Up to 1200 x 600 rendered dpi (when printing from a computer)
Print quality color (best)
• Up to 4800 x 1200 optimised dpi colour (when printing from a computer on selected HP photo papers and 1200 input dpi)

As to the original question about all-in-one printers, my previous HP printer was an all-in-one and my present Epson one is. Both the HP and this one work fine as copiers and scanners without the added hassle of yet one more bit of kit to go wrong or act up or need driver upgrades or whatever. I use the scanner and copier facility quite a lot and would never consider a stand-alone printer, but that's just my preference.

The mere mention of ink takes me back to schooldays in the late 40s/early 50s. My enduring ambition was to have been appointed ink monitor for the class, but I was never considered trustworthy enough to go from one desk to another with the ink dispenser, filling up 48 inkwells. I recall getting my 'leader badge' in the Life Boys (junior Boys' Brigade) - a silver badge with the motto 'Sure & Steadfast'. I showed it my teacher thinking it might impress him sufficiently to just now and again trsut me with the ink. It wasn't to be - his response was "Taylor, you're about as sure and steadfast as a butterfly". Oh well, if I couldn't put ink in the inkwells, at least I could put chalk in them!

Dribbling again. Sorry!

[Mark Hennessy]

Of the Canon printers that Mark listed, this one caught my eye:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-MG6250-Col..._3?ie=UTF8&qid=1365151936&sr=8-3&keywords=canon+printer

I notice that it uses six inks Cyan / Magenta / Yellow / Black / Large Black / Grey.

A curious mixture – first time I’ve seen a printer with two black cartridges – presumably one of which is used for b&w printing only, and the other for colour printer. Odd that it has a grey one too.

My 7 year old MP800 uses two blacks. One is pigment, the other is dye. Grey is an interesting development, and should improve print quality by reducing the "halftoning" that it needs to do. Not that the naked eye can see halftoning on modern printers with their amazingly high resolution (dots per inch).

Mark

[Retired]

Hi,

If only your old teacher could see you now David; I reckon you're as steadfast as they come.

My English teacher Miss Brown used to call me a gutter snipe and my maths/tech drawing teacher Mr Barber used to just call me at the top of his voice; we had excellent teachers in those days that were in control of the kids not the other way round as it now is.

It didn't take you long David to spot the price of the replacement ink cartridges; they do look an absolute bargain and the 18 pack is sold at a similar price on eBay; I checked for ink cartridges before buying the printer. They are chipped ready to use.

It will be interesting for me to see how good the new printer actually is and more importantly to see if it will last?

Looking at the spec and how much I paid for it Mark has suggested an excellent printer; if it behaves I'll be delighted.

Kind regards, Col.

[ex 2 Base]

Morning all, we have a HP psc 1200 all in one.Has anyone knowledge on how to by pass the empty sign when in fact the cartridge has still quite a lot of ink in. When we had an Epson I used to fill the cartridges myself using a kit from Aldi. I can still refill the cartridge on the HP but it fails to work afterwards,any ideas.Ted

[Joe]

You'll have to change or re-set the chip. Whether you can or not is a moot point though

- Joe

[camallison]

Now Col has plumped for a new all-in-one (and I agree with his reasoning totally), my Epson scanner is on the point of going to the skip. SWMBO saw it out when I tested it before offering it and has now proclaimed that I am hoarding!

If any of you want the scanner, it is foc, you just pay the cost of shipping from Yarm to you. I genuinely don't have the space to "hoard" it having downsized 18 months ago.

I will hold on to it until Wednesday next week and then it gets recycled if nobody wants it.

Colin

[Joe]

Sending you a PM, Colin.

- Joe

[camallison]

Taken by Joe.

Colin