Printer Recommendations

[Zeus819]

I am going to college as a freshmen this fall and I need a printer. I would like a small printer and I am on a budget. Color is preferable. Thanks

 

[fredtam]

Budget? What are you doing with it?

 

[Zeus819]

The usual.. printing term papers... may possibly include charts and graphs, thats why i said color perferred

 

[Zeus819]

$120 or so

 

[fredtam]

I have a HP Deskjet 5550 and an Epson C82. Both are very good printers and right around $100. The HP is bigger and a little slower but prints an excellent picture if needed. I have it for a work program because it was the only one compatible besides laserjets. The Epson prints faster (20ppm black) even being hooked up via bluetooth. The picture printing quality is great but not quite as good as the HP.
I would reccomend either but the Epson is considerably smaller which would better fit your requirements.

 

[lameaway]

Find a used HP Laserjet. Color is for pansies.

 

[Corporate Thug]

epson c-60

 

[0roo0roo]

i think color is overrated. 99.9% of your printing will probably only need black and white. a cheap laser printer can be got for 90-150. ability to print crisp text on any grade of paper is just neat. cost per page is lower then inkjet to boot. if you ever need some decent color, kinkos will beat most printers, and well, color ink aint cheap.

 

[Macro2]

Get a Canon i850 at Sams for $118. Trust me...Never buy an HP inkjet. Or a Lexmark...or an Epson for that matter.

If you want to know why...use the AT search feature and look for printer. inkjet, canon etc. Seach all headings.

 

[magomago]

Lexmark Z11

I've had it forever and this thing just keeps moving along perfectly. I plan to take it to college too

 

[fredtam]

I have HP deskjet 697c that was bought in Feb. of 1999. I just upgraded to 5550 for increased speed. The 697 printed 320 billing statements a month plus general office printing for 3.5 years and still prints. Just too slow. I'm having a hard time finding a problem with HP given my experience. I have now had the 5550 and the Epson C82 for about two months and both have worked great.

 

[yhelothar]

canon i850..

ultra fast printing.. cheap ass ink too...
oh yeah. you can't beat the quality either...

i think HP will beat it slightly in text and graphs.. but for photos, canon i850 looks awesome!

 

[fredtam]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
i think HP will beat it slightly in text and graphs.. but for photos, canon i850 looks awesome!

 

[draggoon01]

is the only difference between i850 and i550 speed? is 3 ppm faster worth $30? what difference does buffer/ram size make on ink printer?

 

[beatle]

Canon i850 all the way. Please don't buy an Epson.

 

[mooojojojo]

Originally posted by: beatle
Canon i850 all the way. Please don't buy an Epson.

care to elaborate on that?

 

[borgmang]

Epson C-60, C-80, C-82 are all good for color output, but only if you can afford inexpensive b/w laser. Most of your printing will probably be black and white, and the ink gets expensive on ink jet printers. You might want to consider doing your color printing at Kinkos and buy a b/w laser. You can always print out your drafts on b/w, and do the final output at Kinkos.

 

[Dan]

Inkjets are like razors. Gillette gives away razors and socks it to you on blades. HP, Espon, Lexmark, et. al., sock it to you on replacement cartridges. So, if you really want an inkjet, look at each brand's estimated cost per page. For example, you'll find Lexmark printers have some of the highest operating costs.

Stay away from the really cheap inkjets, i.e., under $60, of any brand. I personally like HP's inkjets but that's strictly my personal perference. I have recommended Canon's i850 to several people and they have all been pleased with the performance and cost of replacement cartridges.

However, unless you're print a lot of photo you'll be better served during your undergraduate studies with a laser printer. They're faster, quieter and far cheaper to operate over the long run. Look at Brother and Minolta among others.

 

[Macro2]

RE:"is the only difference between i850 and i550 speed"

No, the i850 has 2 picoliter droplets. I think the i550 is like 4...the i850 will have slightly better print and photos.