Need help picking a new printer

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 8:49 pm

from THIS page. I have my eye on the Canon i950. One reason is the individual ink tanks. Please give me some input.

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Fri May 09, 2003 8:54 pm

I would strongly suggest buying a laser printer AND a cheaper color.

You can get a minolta laser for a $100 if you watch the sales. They cost less then 2 cents per page to print, while inkjet cost over 20 per page. I've printed up six books.

Then, buy a decent color. I picked up a hp932c and it does AMAZING on photo paper. you CANT tell the difference from a decent picture.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 8:57 pm

Originally posted by zooner
I would strongly suggest buying a laser printer AND a cheaper color.

You can get a minolta laser for a $100 if you watch the sales. They cost less then 2 cents per page to print, while inkjet cost over 20 per page. I've printed up six books.

Then, buy a decent color. I picked up a hp932c and it does AMAZING on photo paper. you CANT tell the difference from a decent picture.

Ok, sounds nice and all but, I have no where to put two printers. Thanks though

RoundEye · Post by **RoundEye** » Fri May 09, 2003 9:59 pm

Mike I've installed a couple of the HP 6122 printers, and I'm amazed at the quality of the print from an inkjet. It has good lines and damn near laser quality.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:02 pm

Originally posted by RoundEye
Mike I've installed a couple of the HP 6122 printers, and I'm amazed at the quality of the print from an inkjet. It has good lines and damn near laser quality.

Thanks RoundEye, the printer I get has to be from that page I listed. I don't have the cash for a new printer but, I do have $1500 in Dell credit

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:19 pm

After lookingn a little more, I'm also eyeballing the HP Deskjet 5550. HP printers any good?

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:26 pm

Originally posted by

somebody said something...

kinda scary.

i think there's a ghost in here!

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:38 pm

I've gotta hp laserjet 4, deskjet 612C, officejet pro 1150C.
I like them and expect to get many more years of service from them. never had any problems w/them.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:40 pm

Originally posted by ghettoside
I've gotta hp laserjet 4, deskjet 612C, officejet pro 1150C.
I like them and expect to get many more years of service from them. never had any problems w/them.

Would you recommend the HP Deskjet 5550? I'm also trying to figure price as well as print quality.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:46 pm

I really like the look of the Canon printer because of the separate ink tanks plus I've read some good reviews as far as print quality.

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 10:56 pm

one thing i look at is cost and size of the ink cartridges.
I'm satisfied with the quality of the prints, but i don't have a digital camera and don't print a lot of photos. about the fanciest i get is at xmas, I scan some pics on the ojet (1200 dpi special setting, calibrated to the deskjet for optimal print) then make xmas cards. They look good.
i use the deskjet for everyday printing, always printing off the net. i go thru a ream about every 2 weeks. those toner cartridges last a real long time.
I also like that I don't get paper jams or any other probs with these printers. been some years since I bought a printer, but overall I'd say hp are a good buy and the prices were right when I got them.

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:05 pm

I also have a canon multipass C3500, like $350. the cartridges, like most canon, are pricey. when it ran out of ink and the little cartridge was $35, I stopped using it. I just it to send out faxes.
got a friend who has a multipass C5500, and some canon photo printer. he's always complaining about the cartridges running out fast and being expensive.
I've also got a Epson Stylus pro photo that was given to me. it has these teeny tiny little cartridges that $40 each (I call 'em micro cartridges, they're a joke) I've never used it because it was dry when i got it. I tried to give it away twice.

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:08 pm

one more thing on the canon multipass: the scanning software sucks up the resources big time, you've got to set it to not startup with windows. I haven't had the software installed on any of my comps for a long time.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:10 pm

You bring up a good point.... cost of ink cartridges..... something else to think about.

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:14 pm

and don't forget to check size of cartridge too. a 40ml black hp might be $30, and the canon might use a 25ml that's $35.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:18 pm

Originally posted by ghettoside
and don't forget to check size of cartridge too. a 40ml black hp might be $30, and the canon might use a 25ml that's $35.

I'm finding the Canon ink's are about 14 ml for around $7.99 and The HP in'ks are about 20 ml for around $10.99 (refil kit)

ghettoside · Post by **ghettoside** » Fri May 09, 2003 11:23 pm

that's not too bad. when i bought the deskjet the canons i looked at had much smaller and more expensive cartridges.
you know you can only refill them so many times, then you gotta buy a new one. color can be refilled maybe 5 times if you're lucky, there's 'foam' inside the cartridges, once it's gone the carts cashed. blacks last longer.

njeddiek · Post by **njeddiek** » Sat May 10, 2003 12:54 am

I have used HP for years up until a few months ago. I just purchased a Cannon I850 and it is far superior to the current HP printers. Color output is close to a photolab quality and It is cheaper to use. I get more pages from my black cartridge then I did with the larger HP cartridges.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat May 10, 2003 5:47 am

i would go with the hp5550, the 950 cannon would be my 2nd choice

kieofwoo · Post by **kieofwoo** » Sat May 10, 2003 6:44 am

generally, I've found that HP make good standard printers. Very good for general office applications.

The other makes tend to lean towards other typs of applications. Epson printers are very good for graphics, they are expensive to run, but the graphical output tends to be better than other makes.

Not quite sure what Canon's clant is, but based on their other products, I thnik they also lean towards graphics applications.

mikemean · Post by **mikemean** » Sat May 10, 2003 12:01 pm

I would be using the printer for mostly printing pictures and graphics stuff with occasional text printing. I am still leaning towards the Canon printer. I checked a few reviews last night for both printers and the Canon seems to be the better choice.