Best Multifunction Printer <$200

leon75

Junior Member
Jan 6, 2004
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I'm mainly going to be using it as a single user for home/business use. I'd like to put emphasis on quick, good quality text printing without a lot of noise. Would also like for it to be able to scan and copy well. While good photo printing output would be nice, it's not a priority. I did a little bit of research from pcmag.com and cnet.com and found the following printers within my budget:

Epson Stylus CX6600
Brother MFC-3420c
Samsung SCX-4100 Digital Productivity Center
HP OfficeJet 4215


I'm leaning towards the Samsung or Epson right now. Anyone have any recommendations on a good multifunction printer less than $200.00?
 

beatle

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2001
5,661
5
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The Canon MP370 will do it all for $140 shipped. Another $21 will get you the MP390 which adds faxing capability.

The only drawback I see is that these only have one color cartridge (instead of 3 or more that some others come with) but Canons are known for their reliability and low cost per print, so it sounds like it'd be perfect for a home office.
 

SUOrangeman

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
8,361
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If Dell drops another 50% coupon, you can get their 1600n *laser* multifunction for $200. I paid $205 shipped.

-SUO
 

randym431

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2003
1,270
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I've have a Brother MFC-3820 that I really like. Its networked (wired) so other pc's can share printing/faxing AND scanning. Its under $200 (mine was from officemax @ $179). The only neg is the ink runs out fast, even though the ink carts are small and cheap ($11 per color). I guess if you add it up, the cost of $11 for ink, that doesnt last long, would equal other inks that are bigger but also cost $40+. Also, if you dont print alot, or much often, seems the ink needs to be replaced even though there still a lot of ink left. Its like it dries out or something. But still, for < $200, its a lot of printer. Networked printers/scanners are the best!
 

randym431

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2003
1,270
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Forget what I said above. My brother, like so many others, is now acting up bigtime. trys to feed bunches of sheets at once. Also, Ink says its empty, when its still mostly full, so I have to put in a new ink cart and toss a nearly full one. This ink thing has happened 3 times now. It looks like if you dont print "A LOT", the ink quits flowing and the printer wants a new cart. What a waste... I'm looking at a networked HP now. Will probably junk my 8 month old brother. What a waste....!!!
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
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Canon left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth, with their wondrous BJC-4000, which I purchased, as well as my in-laws. I never did get a color print out of the thing, because the ink dried in the jets or something. There was always clogging problems if the printer went for too long without being used. My in-law's suffered the exact same fate. I've been with HP ever since, and have had NONE of these clogging issues, or any others. Has Canon got their sh|t together on the newer models, or should I just keep buying HP?
 

Comp625

Golden Member
Aug 25, 2000
1,216
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Canons have most definitely gotten their act together. Unfortunately, many buyers count Canon out due to their old reputation of being junk machines. Their new ones from the last two generations or so have been fantastic (even the low end ones)!

If you want a good multi-function machine that can do everything from text to graphics to photos, definitely look at the MP360 or MP390. They're quite affordable when you initally purchase it and it won't break your wallet in terms of consumables (long term maintenence costs). Just make sure you buy the cartridges in bulk because they do go fast (small ink quantity in the cartridge) albeit they are cheap to replace.