I need to pick up an all in one printer deal. I know they all pretty much get you on the ink refills, but whos had luck with what?
I had an HP that I hated (software was like a virus, it would lock up & miss faxes, etc). Also had an Epson that seemed fair.
So, my needs are just basic color printing & copying/scanning. Dont know if I need fax, it might be nice. I dont care about wifi or bluetooth, network printing might be nice.
Anyway experts, let me know what works for you ;)
Kendall
My PIXMA MX340 has been great.
How old was your HP? We got an all in one HP last year and it beats the hell out of the Dell we had before. Ink prices are ok also.
My new HP is in the shop right now. 
Laser over ink any day. Faster, doesn't dry out.
I just switched from laser to ink and ink sucks.
Brother brands have been good to me and HP never has.
thanks!
I'm surprised that anyone can service a printer (unless its a commercial deal)
my bad luck with HP is probably from 5 years ago. I had an expensive small business model & then more recently a "home use" HP refurb from woot (i didn't expect much, it was cheaper than ink). both had issues, although the refurb was treated as a throw away.
Kendall
I've used Brothers for the last few years, and they've worked well until they broke. The first time we just replaced the printer. Recently my Brothers MFC-295 broke but luckily it was covered by warranty.
Lexmark Pro series is very good, 5 year warranty and awesome support. Print head went bad, they sent me a knew one and a complete set of ink, for free.
Lexmark NOT PRO SERIES: Failing pieces of E36 M3.
Epson is now Sony: So...I stay away. I sledgehammered my last epson when it wouldn't print my taxes because it was out of ...wait for it...magenta ink.
HP: The hardware is typically decent, the software is another story all together. The only thing I can figure is they pay by the line of code, and get bonuses for including bugs that have to be patched with EVEN MORE SOFTWARE. I didn't sledgehammer my last HP, but it did commit suicide by jumping off my tool box after its last patch.
Timeormoney wrote: Epson is now Sony: So...I stay away.
Care to elaborate on that ? Merger/Acquisition or a "Perceived/Value thing ?
Chebbie_SB
carguy123 wrote: Laser over ink any day. Faster, doesn't dry out. I just switched from laser to ink and ink sucks. Brother brands have been good to me and HP never has.
Don't have an opinion on the brand, but I do agree that you should go with a laser printer over an inkjet. I've killed two inkjets but my laser is working great. A black in white one is cheaper and works for 90% of what I need to print.
Ok, you're in my line of business now, so here's your considerations:
How much printing do you do & what kind of documents?
It's hard to beat the cost-per-page, or longevity of a laser printer/MFP, but they cost more and cartridges(when they finally do run out) are more expensive. They also handle intermittent use much better.
Brand is less important, many of the laser devices are quality units.
Contrary what others have said, from working on them all day, most inkjets are disposable items. Brother, in particular, is total junk. Many warranty issues right out of the box, many not outlasting the first set of cartridges, and 90% failing within 3-years.
I personally have a Konica Minolta Magicolor 1690mf. We are a dealer for them & they list for about $550. I found mine online for less than my cost. About $250 shipped.
If you do a lot of photo printing, you may not be happy with the quality of laser, though.
Epson, epson, EPSON!
Chebbie_SB wrote:Timeormoney wrote: Epson is now Sony: So...I stay away.Care to elaborate on that ? Merger/Acquisition or a "Perceived/Value thing ? Chebbie_SB
I have had terribly bad luck over the years with Sony products, from failed walkman, to 3 ps2's that were just value engineered down to junk. I bought an Epson printer, a brand that had always been fabulous to me in the past. When it just started falling apart, I learned that epson was now sony. Sony used to be great, but they just don't make quality products for me anymore. The printer just seemed like a tool for selling ink. To hardcode a printer to NOT print black and white because it is out of Pink strikes me as devious. So I literally sledgehammered it. Maybe the high end epson is better, but I really do recommend the Lexmark Pro series:
Double sided printing, a "Black Ink" only button, a sheet feed scanner and the ink is pretty reasonable. I never get the impression that my printer is a device for selling ink. It prints, scans and does what it can to work. Its very odd for my to recommend Lexmark since they used to be terrible. But the pro works for me.
Drewsifer wrote: I've used Brothers for the last few years, and they've worked well until they broke. The first time we just replaced the printer. Recently my Brothers MFC-295 broke but luckily it was covered by warranty.
We use Brother MFC's at work on our smaller construction projects and they seem to hold up well in the dusty, dirty conditions. Their software can be a bit of a pain at times but at least isn't HP-bloatware/malware bad.
I buy the cheapest one they sell. It's usually cheaper than the ink to refill it.
I bought a cheap HP all in one recently, so far so good. Ink used to be STUPID expensive, but when Kodak started bragging about cheap ink the other mfgs. quietly lowered their prices.
I won't buy Kodak printers etc, their software is aggravating as hell.
Currently have a Lexmark Prospect Pro 205 here. I wish I had a laser, as I do mostly B-W's. It's an alright machine. Software right now is flakier then flaky. Currently need to update it, but it either won't D/L or install. On top of that the online driver for it does NOT work, had to find the CD. Biggest plus is individual colors, but of course black is double the price of the other 3 and goes twice as fast. 
Of course the wireless capability is a nice feature.
Before that we had a Brother something AIO. POS IMO, but everyone else liked it.
carguy123 wrote: Laser over ink any day. Faster, doesn't dry out. I just switched from laser to ink and ink sucks. Brother brands have been good to me and HP never has.
We have had a Brother MFC for @ 5 years and it has been great.
In reply to Ranger50:
Heads up on that Pro 205, when my software wouldn't update correctly, the let me know it meant my print head was bad (I also had a print head error). Then sent me a new one. You can do the entire process online by clicking their online help button.
I'm running two HP 6500 all in ones at the office now. So far so good. They don't hold enough paper though.
I basically needed a quick option for the job site out in Seattle. Went to staples & found a Lexmark pro90-something for under $200 (5 year warranty a big plus). It installed the software, updated the firmware & setup wireless quickly and without issue.
Thanks all!
I was almost tempted by this brother, I couldn't believe they marked it down so low!
Kendall
I hate my HP all in one. Yes the ink cartridges are not as expensive as they used to be but I would be surprised if they held enough ink to fill a thimble. furthermore HP seems like to augment the black ink with the various colored inks thus blowing throw your ink supply faster.
Also if you do manage to avoid blowing through your ink supply instantly, eventually the printer will tell you the ink has passed its expiration date and needs to be replaced...
Such a freaking racket, my next printer will be a laser printer, and I will never ever buy a stupid HP product again.
We have a brother mfc440cn, and a canon pixma something or other at home.
The print quality on the brother is pretty terrible, at least compared to the canon. The canon's print quality is good enough we are printing all the stuff for our wedding with it.
Either one is just as easy to use for scanning IMO.
We recently upgraded to a color laser after learning they aren't nearly as expensive as they used to be. We wer taken in by the "inexpensive ink refills" ad campaign until we found out there's a reason for that - you're replacing ink cartridges every 10 pages.
SWMBO has a temper... When it jammed, that printer died a painful death...
Zombie revival!
So almost 3 years later what's recommended?
SWMBO's mom wants a new printer for Christmas, this is great because she usually says she doesn't want anything, and we struggle to come up with something.
I've looked at all the top 5, top 10, etc. lists. Amazon's top sellers, too, and I can't seem to find a modern ink jet all-in-one that has better than luke-warm reviews in the sub-$100 range. I may be asking too much?
Looking for an All-in-One (at least print/cop/scan fax isn't necessary) WiFi capable, and ink cartridges that will last a reasonable amount of time.
Will to pay for a pricier ink cartridge if you can actually get a couple hundred pages out of it.
This isn't for an office or even a home-office, just to print/scan on the random occasion it's needed. I'm not buying them a laser, I know it's merits, but buy-in cost for a color laser is way over budget, and no more than they'll use it, ink jet will be sufficient.
Any suggestions?
Cliff's notes: need good, economical ink usage, wireless all-in-one ink jet printer for <$100.
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