Seeking recommendations for a new wide-format inkjet printer

[BonzaiDuck]

Background: I remember "dot-matrix" and "Okidata 93." I bought an HP LaserJet 4L in 1994, which I think died in 2002. I also had a wide-format (11x17, etc) HP inkjet 1000c. It didn't die -- motherboards with parallel ports died, and the add-ins didn't work perfectly with the printer. So I got 12 years out of that inkjet.

I replaced the inkjet with an HP OfficeJet 7000. Earlier this week, it suddenly stopped printing from the black cartridge, and replacement with a new one didn't help. The web-research suggested resetting the printer through a series of steps, running the "deep clean" for the print head, cleaning other parts etc. No cigar. I squeezed 8 years out of the OJ 7000, leaving me with two fresh cartridges each of all four flavors.

Enough. I must purchase a new printer. It MUST be a wide-format printer, and probably an inkjet because laser printer cartridges are a bit pricey.

It doesn't need to be -- and probably shouldn't be a "photo printer." But it should be able to produce good color prints and offer me the option to use 11"x17" paper.

I've started looking. I do NOT want an "all-in-one" printer. I just want a printer.

Maybe someone knows something that might save me the trouble. In the meantime, we still have two printers in the house on the network, and at least I can get my taxes printed -- on 8"x11".

Oh. Almost forgot. My search turned up the very understandable fact that a "wide-format" printer can range in price up into the thousands. I'm willing to go "$550" maximum -- less is always better, while reliable and long-lived is also important.

 

[mnewsham]

The Epson - SureColor P400 is going to be the closest to what you want, it's a wide-format, good quality (though not quiet professional level) picture printing, and can do up to 13" width and a single cut-sheet size of 13x19".
Right around the $550-600 mark.
This printer is fairly new and should offer the best quality printing around your price range.

If you are okay with something a bit older and cheaper (but still good), the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 is another good option, it can also do up to 13x19" and is going for around $390.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

11"x17" was the acceptable maximum paper size I hoped for. I've never purchased any 13"x19" paper if my HP 1000c and my HP OfficeJet 7000 would accommodate it.

I had come across the SureColor, and I think there is also a P600 model. Some of the Epson printers rate well. But at the beginning of this week, I was running an errand circuit through town down below, and I dropped by Staples.

I paid them a visit because I finally realized I'd bought the OfficeJet 7000 there, since I didn't have the PDF receipt in my document archive and likely didn't think to scan the paper copy. If I'd bought it at Egg, the order history from 2009 would've shown it.

Staples prices aren't that much out of line with the Egg, and of course you can buy online and have it shipped, or schedule it for pickup at the nearest store where the product is inventoried.

Their man behind the counter took me to the printer aisle and showed me an Epson Artisan 1430 -- very impressive, and built to look much like my OfficeJet 7000. They wanted $300 for the Artisan. A cartridge set can cost at least $125. The Artisan is a high-quality photo printer, handling specialty paper.

then he showed me the HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 "All-in-one." I had always avoided AiO printers; it seemed like more to go wrong so that you would be deprived of all the other device aspects after sending it out for repair. But I realized that while I would never hook up the phone line for FAX to the printer, I could use an extra scanner and especially a scanner with auto sheet feed that would do double-sided pages without intervention. The scanning glass allows for 11"x17" scans.

So I looked at the cost of the ink and the estimates of pages-printed for the different cartridges. If I need a photo quality printer, I can buy one and fit it into our cyber-crowded household in some way. But I think this will do nicely.

The thing about the OfficeJet Pro 7740 -- it is huge, and it is heavy. They recommend transporting the factory-new box be done by two people, and I chose to drag the edge of the box from the car across the sidewalk and into the house. It weighs a ton. That thing is 23"x18"x15". It has two paper trays, each capable of holding 11"x17" paper and smaller sizes.

It's about the size and footprint of a small office copy-center where people queue up to make copies. And it also makes copies.

While Egg had it for $249, Staples had marked it down by $50, and I got a special code that gave me another 10% or $20 off. So I paid about $180 for it -- no shipping and picked up at the store -- plus tax and a $15 service contract.

I don't think I'll need the service contract. I just cannot imagine buying something this huge and heavy for $180. And the advantage of the sheet-feed double-sided scanning capability gives my arms a rest from using the flatbed scanner already in my scan-ready arsenal.

The remaining question I have is about operating costs. Will the remanufactured cartridges work properly? I am impressed with the cartridge design of these newer models. the HP 952 and 952XL cartridges seem built to avoid drying out.

Time will tell.

 

[bruceb]

HP.com has that same printer for $179.95 .. with free shipping ... I would consider it to replace my HP7410 where the ADF Scanner is not working properly, otherwise it is still doing just fine.
I do like the fact that it can take 11 x 17 paper. Don't need to use it much, but nice to have that option. You can still get XP Drivers for it at the HP site. May even be on the driver cd that comes with the unit. But the cost of inks for the Offcejet Pro 7740 is a killer. Almost as much as the whole unit, since it takes 4 or 5 types of ink. Not sure how long the inks last.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I have a Brother inkjet MFP that can print 11x17. More importantly, it can SCAN 11x17. That's why I bought it. Print quality is only so-so, but it was only ~$240.

 

[Mike64]

If you're still in the market, there's a rebate (apparently good on purchases through tomorrow, 4/30) being offered on the Pixma Pro 100, bringing the price AR down to $130, through B&H (the deal even includes some 13x19 photo paper fwtw). The same combo was only $50 AR from Beach Audio via Ebay, but apparently that sold out already. I was briefly tempted for the wide-format capability almost just for the hell of it, but quickly talked myself out of it, since I don't print a lot and what I do print, I print sporadically, so inkjets have a way of dying quickly at my hands (or in this case, needing new heads which are apparently expensive...)

I have a Brother inkjet MFP that can print 11x17. More importantly, it can SCAN 11x17. That's why I bought it. Print quality is only so-so, but it was only ~$240.

Mostly out of curiosity, which model Brother is that, and what's the max scanning resolution? I actually have more use for an 11x14 scanner than printer (especially an inkjet printer), but moderately-priced large-bed scanners have gotten harder to find than they once were.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you're still in the market, there's a rebate (apparently good on purchases through tomorrow, 4/30) being offered on the Pixma Pro 100, bringing the price AR down to $130, through B&H (the deal even includes some 13x19 photo paper fwtw). The same combo was only $50 AR from Beach Audio via Ebay, but apparently that sold out already. I was briefly tempted for the wide-format capability almost just for the hell of it, but quickly talked myself out of it, since I don't print a lot and what I do print, I print sporadically, so inkjets have a way of dying quickly at my hands (or in this case, needing new heads which are apparently expensive...)

Mostly out of curiosity, which model Brother is that, and what's the max scanning resolution? I actually have more use for an 11x14 scanner than printer (especially an inkjet printer), but moderately-priced large-bed scanners have gotten harder to find than they once were.

MFCJ-6920DW

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EANUUDK/

It's since been replaced by the 6930

https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Printer-MFCJ6930DW-Wireless-Scanner/dp/B01LWNQ8NG/

Scanner specs are here: http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDetail/4/MFCJ6920DW/spec


99% of what I do is scanning 600dpi black and white text. It is fast and adequate.

 

[Mike64]

MFCJ-6920DW, It's since been replaced by the 6930;
99% of what I do is scanning 600dpi black and white text. It is fast and adequate.

Thanks!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

[Also catching up with the other posters . . ]

HP.com has that same printer for $179.95 .. with free shipping ... I would consider it to replace my HP7410 where the ADF Scanner is not working properly, otherwise it is still doing just fine.
I do like the fact that it can take 11 x 17 paper. Don't need to use it much, but nice to have that option. You can still get XP Drivers for it at the HP site. May even be on the driver cd that comes with the unit. But the cost of inks for the Offcejet Pro 7740 is a killer. Almost as much as the whole unit, since it takes 4 or 5 types of ink. Not sure how long the inks last.

Once you have the printer set up, you have to deal with that factor in mind when you got it besides its quality and extra features: the cost of the cartridges and the availability of cartridges.

Back in 1987, I had an Okidata 93 dot-matrix printer. I don't know what those two-wheel ribbons cost new. But that's the first I remember of the possible home-DIY refreshing of ink ribbons and the purchase of your own ink. I had a LOT of ink, for a pint bottle of the right stuff.

My 1997purchase of the HP Inkjet/[?Deskjet?] 1000c wide-format eventually led to the experimentation with inking kits bought at COSTCO for the four cartridges, but I took to getting genuine HP cartridges after that.

I've experimented with laser toner re-manufactured units for the LaserJet 1200. We have one of those, purchased around 2001. It just takes a licking, keeps on ticking -- 16 years now! Staples still carries the cartridges.

so I don't print or copy frivolously. The OfficeJet Pro 7740 is really really really nice compared to the OJ 7000 that died. The scanner saves me a lot of time and trouble over the flatbed. I feel more comfortable that this will be reliable for a long time. I've already jammed the feed mechanism once, but it's easy to clear.

I sort of feel overwhelmed with these new devices. IF I have gigabit wired in the house, why would I care if the printer can connect wirelessly? We got an HP Color LaserJet CP1025nw some years ago, and I think it was before 2009. You're also looking again at a price-point of ~$135 for full cartridge replacement. My brother had trouble with the unit because it would go to sleep and he could only wake it up by turning it off and then on again. The power button would act a little flakey. But on that earlier model, you had RJ-45, USB and the wireless, and it seemed that I had to turn the wireless off manually and eliminate the "energy-saving" feature with the sleep state.

So the HP 7740 is showing the bundled "starter" cartridges as full, and it's getting a regular but light workout. I just never needed a fax machine, so as I said I'd shrink from buying an AIO printer. NOW I can wrap my brain around this. Properly configured, it's good for piles of color, gray-scale or BW documents in the hopper, and doesn't miss a lick.

The whole house could get by fine with the 7740, but people want their own printers. If a printer is located in someone's room partly for that reason, pages are a two-way nuisance to retrieve. And the family has never had much of an interest in navigating the home network.

I don't know if this was replaced in the HP model line with another printer, or one that I might have also picked up with the big Staples sale someone mentioned -- I was even tipped about it from the other coast talking on the phone the other day. I just think this was a pretty good deal for a pretty good printer pretty good for an inkjet, wide format, scanner -- and screw hooking up a phone line to send what PDF in e-mail would do as well.

But $180 + tax is probably the cheapest printer I ever owned, except for a Star Micronics dot-matrix. I'm pretty sure I never spent under $200, and now that I remember, the Inkjet 1000C is an embarrassment for what I vaguely remember as a $600 price tag. I really think it cost me that much. Pretty sure.

 

[bruceb]

Just a note, that may have been a short term sale price. I see that unit listed for about $250 now even at HP or Staples .. I will watch the price on it and if I see it go under $150 I might buy it and put it aside till the HP7410 calls it quits. I just put new inks in it and have another spare set of ink, so it is good for at least 1 or 2 years, except for scanning from the ADF unit.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

IF I have gigabit wired in the house, why would I care if the printer can connect wirelessly?

...

...the family has never had much of an interest in navigating the home network.

Answering your own question.

 

[bruceb]

The family does not need to know. When you install the printer software on each computer, yo u tell it if is a network printer, a local printer on usb or a wireless printer.