Home printer recommendations

[Fenrir8080]

Not sure if this is the right sub-forum considering there's no "printer" section in "consumer electronics". Apologies if it is.

 

Hi everyone, my HP Officejet 5220 has failed me. It is printing incomplete pages with faded colour despite new ink cartridges being installed.

 

I am looking to buy a new printer for home use. And would like the community's recommendations.

 

I occasionally print photos on photo paper, so it should be able to do that. I'm not too picky about the photo colour (for example it does not have to have the best of the best colour printing, but decent would suffice).

 

It needs to have wireless functions and built in scanning and copying capabilities.

 

I am aware theat there sre ink jet and ink tank printers around. But i don't know too much about their pros and cons to have a preference. As long as it can last long and not break the bank when I have to buy ink cartridges / ink bottles.

 

Looking forward to your suggestions!

[Needfuldoer]

45 minutes ago, Fenrir8080 said:

I occasionally print photos on photo paper, so it should be able to do that. I'm not too picky about the photo colour (for example it does not have to have the best of the best colour printing, but decent would suffice).

How often is "occasionally"? Often enough that getting them done at a drugstore or department store is a deal-breaking inconvenience?

 

I always recommend small laser printers over inkjets. Refilled toner cartridges are about the same price as a set of color inkjet cartridges, but they last a lot longer and they can't go bad from sitting too long between uses (unlike inkjets that dry out).

[Kilrah]

-> Moved to Peripherals

[Fenrir8080]

16 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

How often is "occasionally"? Often enough that getting them done at a drugstore or department store is a deal-breaking inconvenience?

 

I always recommend small laser printers over inkjets. Refilled toner cartridges are about the same price as a set of color inkjet cartridges, but they last a lot longer and they can't go bad from sitting too long between uses (unlike inkjets that dry out).

I live in Singapore where ee don't have that many stores selling printing services nearby and its common for households to have their own printers .

 

As for laser printers, do they only print black and white?

 

I was researching on ink tank printers, and was thinking for some models i can have some cost savings by using aftermarket ink refills rather than manufacturer licensed refills.

[Needfuldoer]

1 minute ago, Fenrir8080 said:

As for laser printers, do they only print black and white?

There are color laser printers, but they don't print on photo paper.

[Fenrir8080]

9 minutes ago, Fenrir8080 said:

I live in Singapore where we don't have that many stores selling printing services nearby and its common for households to have their own printers .

 

As for laser printers, do they only print black and white?

 

I was researching on ink tank printers, and was thinking for some models i can have some cost savings by using aftermarket ink refills rather than manufacturer licensed refills.

 

[Fenrir8080]

7 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

There are color laser printers, but they don't print on photo paper.

Aw bummer

[RockSolid1106]

I have an HP Ink Tank Wireless 419.

I don't print a lot, it shows I've printed about 2200 pages in three years of me owning it. It came with two bottles of black and one each for the other three colors. Having two blacks helped as I ran out of black ink in the tank a few months ago and I was easily able to refill it. I still have a full bottle of black left. Refilling once only requires half the bottle. So I still have a lot of ink left, already used it for three years without spending a dollar over the original cost.

 

This thing cost me about $200 and and a bottle of ink costs about $8(it lasts quite a while too).

 

One of the colors in the color cartridge has died on me recently, and I'm going to replace it. I'm looking at $30 for both, color and black cartridges.

 

Laser printer if all you will be printing is documents and won't need color prints. They have a solid print quality over ink too, prints are a lot crisper. Probably not a viable option for you as you want to print photos.

 

If you plan on doing a mix and occasional printing, an ink jet.

 

If you plan on printing a lot, an Ink Tank should be better for you. They are expensive upfront, but they are cheaper in the long run.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Fenrir8080 said:

As for laser printers, do they only print black and white?

The ones that print color are quite a bit more expensive. Not that they don't exist.

[Fenrir8080]

7 hours ago, RockSolid1106 said:

I have an HP Ink Tank Wireless 419.

I don't print a lot, it shows I've printed about 2200 pages in three years of me owning it. It came with two bottles of black and one each for the other three colors. Having two blacks helped as I ran out of black ink in the tank a few months ago and I was easily able to refill it. I still have a full bottle of black left. Refilling once only requires half the bottle. So I still have a lot of ink left, already used it for three years without spending a dollar over the original cost.

 

This thing cost me about $200 and and a bottle of ink costs about $8(it lasts quite a while too).

 

One of the colors in the color cartridge has died on me recently, and I'm going to replace it. I'm looking at $30 for both, color and black cartridges.

 

Laser printer if all you will be printing is documents and won't need color prints. They have a solid print quality over ink too, prints are a lot crisper. Probably not a viable option for you as you want to print photos.

 

If you plan on doing a mix and occasional printing, an ink jet.

 

If you plan on printing a lot, an Ink Tank should be better for you. They are expensive upfront, but they are cheaper in the long run.

 

 

The ones that print color are quite a bit more expensive. Not that they don't exist.

I see I see. Based on my experience with inkjet printers, i usually have to replace the cartridge 3 times a year at max. And looking at the costs, i think an ink tank would have more value.

 

However i am curious about the cartridge failure issue you've mentioned. I thought there were no cartridges in an ink tank printer.

 

Another side question, how viable are after-market ink in ink bottles  an option for ink tank printers?

[steelo]

9 hours ago, Fenrir8080 said:

Not sure if this is the right sub-forum considering there's no "printer" section in "consumer electronics". Apologies if it is.

 

Hi everyone, my HP Officejet 5220 has failed me. It is printing incomplete pages with faded colour despite new ink cartridges being installed.

 

I am looking to buy a new printer for home use. And would like the community's recommendations.

 

I occasionally print photos on photo paper, so it should be able to do that. I'm not too picky about the photo colour (for example it does not have to have the best of the best colour printing, but decent would suffice).

 

It needs to have wireless functions and built in scanning and copying capabilities.

 

I am aware theat there sre ink jet and ink tank printers around. But i don't know too much about their pros and cons to have a preference. As long as it can last long and not break the bank when I have to buy ink cartridges / ink bottles.

 

Looking forward to your suggestions!

I don't know if you have access to hp instant ink where you are, but it saves us about 40-50% in ink costs with a cheapo hp printer. Basically, you pay a set fee per month based on how many pages you want to be able to print. hp sends you 'free' cartridges whenever they are low to keep the printer working. If you don't reach the monthly limit, x number of pages roll over to the next month. We maybe print 10 pages a month and our cartdriges usually dry out due to lack of use. I believe we pay 99 cents a month for the service which translates to $12/year versus paying $21 a cartridge that would dry out in about 6 months.

 

It's not for everyone, but estimate how many pages you print on average per month and look at how many cartridges you typically purchase per year. It may be a good investment.

 

Printer companies don't make money on printers, their main revenue comes from overcharging for their ink.

[RockSolid1106]

1 hour ago, Fenrir8080 said:

However i am curious about the cartridge failure issue you've mentioned. I thought there were no cartridges in an ink tank printer.

Cartridge is what actually prints. Ink jet cartridges store some ink in the cartridge itself and ink tanks have the ink supplied to the cartridge from the tank.

 

1 hour ago, Fenrir8080 said:

Another side question, how viable are after-market ink in ink bottles  an option for ink tank printers?

The ink bottles from HP for my printer are pretty cheap, so I wouldn't actually go for after-market ones. They last pretty long too, at least with my use. One thing to note though, the bottles and tanks have special openings to prevent spillage while refilling. So you cant just refill it with *any* bottle, you need the special one with that mechanism, which presumably only HP knows how to make.

[Fenrir8080]

2 hours ago, RockSolid1106 said:

Cartridge is what actually prints. Ink jet cartridges store some ink in the cartridge itself and ink tanks have the ink supplied to the cartridge from the tank.

 

The ink bottles from HP for my printer are pretty cheap, so I wouldn't actually go for after-market ones. They last pretty long too, at least with my use. One thing to note though, the bottles and tanks have special openings to prevent spillage while refilling. So you cant just refill it with *any* bottle, you need the special one with that mechanism, which presumably only HP knows how to make.

I see. I'm also worried the drying up effect of inkjet  / inktank printers, but if i go towards laser printers, then the initial cost and toner cost are higher, but I dont have to buy replacements as much. But going over to laser means I cannot do my occasional family photo printing. (which is like max 5 times in a year). Hmmm trade offs in all directions...