shopping for an all in one

[reddyjs]

I'm not big on the printing scene and would like advice. I am taking my HP officejet g85 to my business for use there and therefore need to buy a new printer for home. I will print photos but not too many because its much cheaper to go with an outside printing shop. I'm looking for an all in one (copy, scan, fax) and I'm debating between canon and HP (and epson if you recommend it). I'm looking for a printer that has the cheapest per print cost. Any suggestions?

[chaszal]

Hi reddyjs,
My recommendation/caution when selecting a printer is to look at the after-costs. For some home printers, when they run out of toner, you have to replace the entire "guts" of the thing (ie. expensive). I use an HP laser printer. It just needs a new toner cartridge, refillable, inexpensive. I have always been a bit leery about "all-in-one" machines. But anyway, HP is good, I have an Epson inkjet which is not very good. So for me it was a decision between up-front cost or maintenance cost.
Chas

[Welshjim]

rreddyjs--"All-in-one's" comparison tests (often including cost of use) are published almost monthly in PCMagazine, PCWorld, Consumer Reports, etc. (See your local library for Consumer Reports (May 2005), or on line for the other mags.)
HP, Canon and perhaps Epson are usually at the top. However, the number of models are overwhelming. You have to read some of the articles to decide what functions you really want. Prices, speed, cost, quality vary all over the map.
As you have already noticed, printing photos at home is almost always more expensive than letting a local photo finisher do it. The strong point of the home printer for photos is that you can print an occasional one on the spot.
Also, an all-in-one means that if one function fails, you may have to replace the whole unit. Only you can know how much use you will give the all-in-one and for which function. And therefore whether dedicated units for each function are going to be better in the long run. Low usage suggests the all-in-one.
chazal's comments seem to be mainly about laser printers. If B&W printing is what you want, then I would agree, but if you want to print something in color now and then (or mostly) then you will probably want an inkjet, unless price is no object.

chazal--

For some home printers, when they run out of toner, you have to replace the entire "guts" of the thing (ie. expensive).

I understand this applies to a laser printer of some brand other than HP. If I have misunderstood, could you rephrase? Not sure what the "guts" are.

[chaszal]

Hi Welshjim,
I was remembering when I first started looking for a printer, and some were really inexpensive at the front end, but when it ran out of toner, you hd to replace the entire printing mechanism. This may have changed, maybe not, but I wanted to alert reddyjs to ask the question

[jerryctx]

I assume you want an ink-jet because of your reference to photos.

Epson does not include FAX on their all-in-ones (in the US; I assume you are in the US, it would be helpful if you added at least your country to your personal info) so we can eliminate them from consideration.

HP offers a dozen or more AIOs, Canon has 3 or 4 (not all include FAX from either manufacturer).

Features you may want:

* Flat bed so you can scan bound materials (books, magazines) without having to tear the pages out of the publication.

* Automatic document feeder so you can load a stack of pages to copy or FAX and walk away while the machine does the work. You'll want this if you often FAX multiple pages. FAXing is slow and standing by the machine for 5 minutes to load the source material is a real inconvenience.

* HP lets you change the black cartridge for a second 3 ink cartridge to make a very good photo printer if you later decide you do want to print photos on the AIO.

* Canon AIOs (I think this applies to all their models) have a large pigmented black ink cartridge for best quality text at slightly lower cost, and a dye black cartridge for use on photos, producing quality not quite as good as a 6 ink photo printer but better than a conventional 4 ink printer.

* HP consumables are available in perhaps ten times as many stores as Canon. Not a consideration if you plan ahead but important if you tend to run out of ink at 3AM.

[reddyjs]

thanks for the input. Let me clarify some points:

I'm looking for an inkjet and I want a printer with the cheapest official ink cartridges (no remanufactured, bad experience). And the print quality should be very good. I'm from the US.

[jerryctx]

The Canon MP780 is probably the least expensive per page that meets all your requirements:

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...&modelid=10444

[reddyjs]

Just purchased the MP780 and it's great. Thx for the help. Although, I heard that canon cartridges are the easiest to refill so I was wondering whether anyone knows of a reputable company who sells cheap remanufactured cartridges?

[jerryctx]

I've never had the nerve to try refills so can't help there. I suspect your question wont be seen except by those with an interest in buying an AIO. I'm going to start a topic on refills. You may want to post there.