New Printer possibilities

[PenguinMaster]

Hi all-

 

I am looking to buy a new printer for my house.  I currently have an Epson XP-830 and the thing has been nothing but constant problems.  I have never had a good print since it was new.  The printer gets used a couple of times per week so I do not suspect the ink dried up or anything like that.  The printer is constantly out of ink which makes no sense, I swear there is a timer internal on the printer and it just tells you its out of ink because they want you to buy more.  The cost for a new set of ink is $50-$70 which seems expensive since I feel like I am constantly replacing it.  When I print something, it always gets "scan lines" through it or random splotches of ink all over my paper.

 

We had an Epson Artisan 710 before this printer and that one also had plenty of problems.  I hate printers but I still need to keep them around.  95% of what we print is black and white so I do not think we need a color printer.  I would be open to seeing options for both color and black and white though if you guys have suggestions.

 

The only good thing about the printer we have now is whenever you need to make a copy of multiple papers there is an auto-feeder on the top of this printer.  It is a nice to have, but not mandatory for a new printer.

 

I would say 60% of our prints are shipping labels for things like ebay (black and white), 35% of the prints are text documents (black and white), and the remaining 5% are color photo prints.  I have thought a number of times about getting a thermal printer for the labels, but they are so expensive!

 

I think my best option is to go with a black and white laser printer, and maybe a thermal printer?, but I am not sure.  What do you guys think?

[Needfuldoer]

Do you print in color regularly?

 

Laser printers are infinitely superior to inkjets. They have higher upfront costs, but they're cheaper to run in the long term.

[PenguinMaster]

It turns out we are printing more color than I thought.  We need to have the ability to print in color.  If I am going inkjet, I do NOT want cartridge printers -- it has to be the ones with the refillable tanks.

 

I know nothing about color laser printers.  Are they any good?  What is the quality of print difference between the two?