Should I get a scanner or a printer/scanner/copier?

[Special K]

I need something that can make copies. I will mainly be copying plain text documents and hand drawn illustrations and diagrams but will probably also need to copy color pictures every now and then as well.

Right now I have an HP932C deskjet that I bought back in 2001. I haven't had any problems with it since, however the warranty was only 1 year, so if it breaks now I'm in trouble.

My question is should I buy one of the HP PSC models or just buy a standalone scanner? I looked on HP's website and I think the PSC 1610 is the one I want. As for scanners, I was looking at either the 2400 or the 4370. The 1610 seems to be ~$130 regular price, while the HP 4370 is ~$100.

What do you think? Any other model suggestions?

 

[HDTVMan]

I think you would be happy with one of todays all in ones.

 

[firerock]

Yep, All in one is the best solution for your situation.

 

[OdiN]

I would stay away from the All-In-One setups. Reason being that if one part breaks, nothing else will usually work quite right, they are hard to find parts for, and any repair after warranty will cost more than the thing is worth.

They just seem to be more....troublesome than if you got a printer and scaner seperate.

 

[LED]

I agree with OdiN and the way Tech moves you can upgrade with seperates...hell a Picture perfect printer + Scanner can be had for less the $150 and you can do anything with that combo + the Puter.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: LED
I agree with OdiN and the way Tech moves you can upgrade with seperates...hell a Picture perfect printer + Scanner can be had for less the $150 and you can do anything with that combo + the Puter.

Can you give me an example of what models you are talking about? The scanner I mentioned above is $100 alone.

 

[LED]

I seen sell outs of old Canon i560 for like $50 and the Pixmaip3K goes on sale frequently for a little more...the scanner fo me would be a cheap Lide or Epson which are in the $70+ range but would do better then an all in one and the Canon price of ink would make up the difference after 2 refills of a better all in one

 

[Special K]

What is the difference between the Canon lide 25 and the lide 60? The lide 25 is $44 at newegg and the lide 60 is $70, but the only difference I can see is a button on the lide 60 for creating pdfs. Is that the only difference for the $26 price increase?

 

[LED]

The Lide60 comes with more software and is USB Hi-Speed... Here's more

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: LED
The Lide60 comes with more software and is USB Hi-Speed... Here's more

Does the USB 2.0 make a noticeable difference in speed over what the Lide 25 uses? It said it was faster in that link you posted but that looks more like a sales pitch than a review.

 

[LED]

I noticed a big difference when I went to an Epson with USB Hi- Speed...there are 3 cats for USB

 

[Doh!]

Printer - Canon (any model that fits your budget)
Scanner - Epson (any model that fits your budget)

My recommendation of the day.

 

[Special K]

I think I'll get the Canon Lide 60. Epson doesn't have any models under $100 it seems.

 

[LED]

I too prefer Epson Scanners over Canon and they have 2 new ones that will soon be released in your price range if you can wait...

 

[wseyller]

I wouldn't care if it broke after warranty, I would rather buy an all-in-one. Less crap to install and it doesn't take up a hell of a lot of room like it would with three different pieces of equipment. Especially if you like the color copy function that is nice and you can't do it nearly as easy with a standalone copier. Normally the price is cheaper for one unit than two or three different units.

 

[Doh!]

Originally posted by: wseyller
I wouldn't care if it broke after warranty, I would rather buy an all-in-one. Less crap to install and it doesn't take up a hell of a lot of room like it would with three different pieces of equipment. Especially if you like the color copy function that is nice and you can't do it nearly as easy with a standalone copier. Normally the price is cheaper for one unit than two or three different units.

Why bother installing any "crap" in the first place? You don't need to install every single software that came w/ your hardware. And how much more difficult is making a color copy w/ a scanner compared to using an all-in-one? You hit one button w/ a scanner and you also hit one button w/ an all-in-one. The only advantage of having an all-in-one is space saving. And the price of an all-in-one is NOT cheaper than much better quality printer/scanner. There are cheap ones out there but they cheap for a reason. They suck.

 

[Special K]

What about the Canon 4200f? It got a so-so review at PCWorld, FWIW, but they said it had excellent text reproduction, which would be good because that is what I would primarily be using it for.

Also CCDs are better for scanning out of books, right? Something about their effective scanning distance (distance from scanning element to object being scanned) is greater than a CIS, so they will be able to capture a curved page out of a big book better?

Here's the review if anyone cares, it's hard to find reviews for scanners:

Canon 4200f review

It's $85 at Amazon, not too bad.

 

[Doh!]

I don't have any personal experience with that scanner. Having said that, for that price, I would buy Epson Perfection 3490. Its retail price is $99 so you can shop around for a cheaper price. I've tried both canon & epson scanners in the past. I find that epson scanners are quicker and produce very high quality output (the output quality between canon and epson at that price range is not that significant, however). I find the opposite when it comes to ink jet printers. Canon produces sharper prints than epson at a similar price range (plus canon has a better ink head). For scanners under $100, you won't find too much of difference but I favor epson.

 

[daniel49]

I bought a cheap all in one lexmark for 100.00 couple years ago still working great.
printer works over network also.

 

[wseyller]

Yes stuff to install, device driver for every device, and also the hardware. Extra cables to deal with. To copy with a scanner can be setup to be easy, but it will need software installed and configured for that function to work. For me to copy I don't even need the computer, I push a button and I get a print-out from the same machine.
All I know is my All-in-one HP psc 1210 runs like a champ. If you find printer and a scanner for under a $100 for what I paid for mine, i'm sure it is just as cheaply made.

 

[wseyller]

Originally posted by: daniel49 How do I set my laser printer to stun?

You rig the door interlock switch and any cartridge recognition sensor to always on. Now when the door is open with the printer powered on, the contacts from the high voltage power supply that supply the ac/dc bias charge to the cartridge will surely do the trick.

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: Doh!
Printer - Canon (any model that fits your budget)
Scanner - Epson (any model that fits your budget)

My recommendation of the day.

From personal experience...I'm with Doh. I'm also about ready to experiment back to Epson Printers as I read their Photo Prints have longer life then Canon...

 

[Zepper]

You can get refurb and clearance scanners direct from Epson's web store for under $100 with free ground shipping. And usually you can do as well on eBay (those computer packages that come with FAR (free after rebate) scanners - a lot of those show up on eBay NIB (new in box)). I got my NIB Epson 1260 PHOTO scanner for $45. shipped from eBay and it works VERY well.
. I also recommend Canon printers. The iP4000 is on sale this week somewhere (Staples, CompUSA, etc. - some big box store) for about $80. AR - normally about $150. It's the sweet spot of the current line. Check the online price guides too. Get excellent Canon compatible ink tanks from swiftink.com for less than half of OEM price.

.bh.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Zepper
You can get refurb and clearance scanners direct from Epson's web store for under $100 with free ground shipping. And usually you can do as well on eBay (those computer packages that come with FAR (free after rebate) scanners - a lot of those show up on eBay NIB (new in box)). I got my NIB Epson 1260 PHOTO scanner for $45. shipped from eBay and it works VERY well.
. I also recommend Canon printers. The iP4000 is on sale this week somewhere (Staples, CompUSA, etc. - some big box store) for about $80. AR - normally about $150. It's the sweet spot of the current line. Check the online price guides too. Get excellent Canon compatible ink tanks from swiftink.com for less than half of OEM price.

.bh.

Do the refurbs have warranties?

EDIT: Seems the 4200f's on ebay are being sold with a 90 day warranty, although I'm wondering what are the odds I'll even need it anyway..

 

[Zepper]

Most of the refurbs on the Epson site used to come with the full original warranty - I didn't know their policy had changed. I just checked on the Epson site and the scanners I looked at had the full 1yr. warranty. Refurb scanners sold to 3rd parties for resale can have negotiated warranties - brings the cost down for the reseller.
. Most electronic gear will act up in the first 90-days if it's going to. Warranties can be anything on eBay. I try to get the eBay seller to give me a copy of their original invoice so I can enforce any remaining warranty.

.bh.