Printer Thoughts

alhenderson · Jun 29, 2009, 17:28:16

I know there's a thread just below covering printers, but I want to start another one, so there!

I'm looking to replace my Canon i850 because it has completely lost the ability to print photos - the colours look dreadful (washed out) and have lines all over them, and it takes an age to print, with much clunking and clicking as it sorts itself out (although I think its always done that). The printing problem may well be due to me using compatible cartridges for the last few years, but I can't prove that.

Anyway, the new printer needs to have a scanner so I can ditch my old HP scanner which is taking up space on the floor and should also have ethernet connectivity so I can plug it into my router. Research has led me to the following:

Canon MP620
Epson SX600FW
HP C7280
Kodak ESP7

Prices of the printers and branded cartridges points to the Canon - I had said I wouldn't get another Canon due to my current one being in its state after only a few years. I may have to go back on that... The HP is probably a close second.

Does anyone have any experiences with the above printers they'd like to share?

Thanks for any thoughts..

Al.

Glenn · Jun 29, 2009, 18:32:17

I have a Canon Pixma MP610, it prints great photos, either on standard or photo paper

Sebby · Jun 29, 2009, 19:43:43

Kodak are really pushing their cheap running costs at the moment, so assuming it has good reviews, it might be a decent option.

john · Jun 29, 2009, 20:40:37

I've just received my new Canon Pixma MP620 today and set it up this evening.

It's can print and scan wirelessly and so took a bit longer than usual to set up but it wasn't too difficult if you follow the instructions.

I've printed a colour document and scanned in a colour photo. It's obviously too soon to give a proper review but it works okay for me the text and colour areas on the simple document look good.

I beleive genuine replacement cartridges are about £9 from Choice Stationary but compatible ones are less than £5 but can be as little as £2.24 per cartridge if you buy 8 sets form Inkredible.

I've bought cartridges from Choice Stationary before and have been happy with their compatible versions, I've not bought from Inkredible but would probably try out a single set to test them.

If you decide on a Canon Pixma MP 620 then Amazon seem to be the best price and Canon are giving a £30 cashback offer until the 13th July making it about £80.

Lance · Jun 29, 2009, 21:23:07

If it were me, it would be hp and then canon buy only because hp have always been good for me and I've never used a canon but seen plent of good reviews.

john · Jun 29, 2009, 21:59:52

I bought a HP printer when I first bought a PC and it worked quite well although it did eventually die after a few years. Since then I have had Canons which have also been excellent but I would have bought a HP again except that they appear to be trying to prevent you from using catridges other than their own. One of the reviews I read on Amazon was from someone who claimed that HP cartridges are region encoded, full review below :

QuoteThis is an accomplished printer that does what it says on the box. The sharpness and colour vibrancy are a great improvement from my 5yr old HP PSC1205 and the wireless works well and setup was relatively easy. Ink ran out a little faster than I expected an I'll be watching this with the newly-installed cartridges.

All of which is a 5-star performance and the reason I've given 3 is that I had to throw away a whole set of new cartridges because the printer allows you to use only cartridges sold in the same geographical region as the printer was purchased.
On a recent trip to the US I bought print cartridges and on installing the printer gave an error message. I emailed HP support who sent me a code number that would regionalise my printer to a US version thus making my cartridges operational. The plan being that once the ink ran out they'd send me another code which would regionalise my printer to the UK. This can only be done 3 times in the printer's lifetime
The number didn't work and HP support has stopped responding so I've had to throw away the brand new cartridges and replace them with locally purchsed ones.
Nowhere in the documentation are you warned of this regionalisation so if you intend moving or using your printer outside the region of purchase bear in mind that you may have to import cartridges to use it. This is like buying a car and being told that the fuel is regionalised and you can only fill up in certain areas. If you're happy with this then this is a great printer. If not (like I will be doing when I next buy a printer) buy an alternative that won't restrict what brand of cartridges you buy and where you buy them from.

Probably not an issue if you only intend to buy them locally unless it also prevents compatible cartridges being used too. I would try and find out from an independant review of any particular model a guide to how many pages you can expect it to print and how much replacement catridges are, whether compatible ones are availableor not and how they compare on price.

Some more details here

I don't know which or how many of HP's range it affects though.

alhenderson · Jun 30, 2009, 09:14:07

Thanks everyone. The £30 cashback offer on the Canon may just sway it, can't really argue with a price of £80...

alhenderson · Jul 06, 2009, 16:22:46

I ended up getting the MP620 and it arrived last Friday. Set up is a little tricky (esp setting up the printer for wireless when the PC I was using was not connected via wireless - seemed to confuse the hell out of it) - the instructions seem to go on and on..

As for the cashback offer, I had to ask Amazon customer services how to apply as there was nothing in the box and I couldn't find anything on the MP620 page on Amazon. They emailed me and gave me a URL for the claim form:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-electronics/pdf/Final_Claim_form.pdf

Just in case anyone else needs it :-) Haven't had too much of a chance to play with it yet, but I have printed a picture straight from a CF card which worked like a dream. And it looks nice, although it seems to suffer from the same problem my old one did in that when you ask it to print something there's a lot of whirring and shifting of the print heads etc, although at least its not as noisy as the i850.

Al.

Sebby · Jul 06, 2009, 18:55:49

So generally good then, Al.

john · Jul 06, 2009, 20:51:46

Quote from: alhenderson on Jul 06, 2009, 16:22:46
As for the cashback offer, I had to ask Amazon customer services how to apply as there was nothing in the box and I couldn't find anything on the MP620 page on Amazon. They emailed me and gave me a URL for the claim form:

I'm glad the printers okay Al. I'd heard there were problems setting it up but I think these were mainly non-windows Os's, I was able to follow the intructions okay, yes they are a bit wordy but straightforward enough though (they must have been for me to follow them

).

If you do a search for the Canon Mp620 on Amazon then for some reason it lists it three times priced at £112.80, £109.99 and £170. The £30 cashback off is only listed on the £112.80 page here

The Canon page with their promotions is here

If anyone else is interested the promotion finishes on the 13th July.

alhenderson · Jul 07, 2009, 09:09:22

Quote from: Sebby on Jul 06, 2009, 18:55:49
So generally good then, Al.

Yeah, I'd say so. Printed a photo which looked great, done some copying which is also good. Looks good as well, and seems fairly straightforward to use on its own.

Bigger than my old printer, but that's to be expected with an all-in-one and after changing my CRT for a flat screen I had space to burn on the desk :-)

Al.

john · Jul 07, 2009, 10:04:04

One advantage of the MP620 over my previous printers is that the paper is in a cassette which is inserted in the front underneath the output slot rather than being leaning upright at the back (for normal paper only, photo paper is still inserted at the back). This means that I can keep the printer in a cupboard and am able to use it without having to take it out and also it's less likely to get dust in it.

alhenderson · Jul 07, 2009, 14:06:03

Quote from: john on Jul 07, 2009, 10:04:04
One advantage of the MP620 over my previous printers is that the paper is in a cassette which is inserted in the front underneath the output slot rather than being leaning upright at the back (for normal paper only, photo paper is still inserted at the back). This means that I can keep the printer in a cupboard and am able to use it without having to take it out and also it's less likely to get dust in it.

Quite agree - hiding the A4 paper tray really adds to the usefulness. Nice to see that sometimes people think about the usability of their products before letting them out the door. Although if I was a cynic I would suggest that its cheaper to put the paper under there :-)

Al.

Rik · Jul 07, 2009, 15:59:23

HP have always tended to do it.

Glenn · Jul 07, 2009, 16:49:06

Quote from: Rik on Jul 07, 2009, 15:59:23
HP have always tended to do it.

Pity about their laptops though, I see far to many requiring replacement systemboards

Rik · Jul 07, 2009, 17:06:12

Never bought one of those, Glenn, but I've always been a big fan of their printers.

Lance · Jul 08, 2009, 06:44:59

I've got one of their laptops (albeit a home not business model) and fortunately not had any hardware problems at all!

alhenderson · Jul 08, 2009, 10:00:41

Quote from: john on Jul 06, 2009, 20:51:46
I'm glad the printers okay Al. I'd heard there were problems setting it up but I think these were mainly non-windows Os's, I was able to follow the intructions okay, yes they are a bit wordy but straightforward enough though (they must have been for me to follow them ).

If you do a search for the Canon Mp620 on Amazon then for some reason it lists it three times priced at £112.80, £109.99 and £170. The £30 cashback off is only listed on the £112.80 page here

The Canon page with their promotions is here

If anyone else is interested the promotion finishes on the 13th July.

The promotion has now been extended until 31st July, according to Amazon. Must be too many of them clogging up the shelves somewhere...

Al.

john · Jul 08, 2009, 12:05:49

Hopefully Amazon have got up to date information but Canon's website still states the 13th July :

QuotePurchases a new Canon PIXMA MP620 All-in-One printer and/or PIXMA iP4600 Photo printer within the UK or Republic of Ireland ("ROI") between Thursday 21st May 2009 and Monday 13th July 2009 and claim up to £30/€35 cashback. Once you have made your purchase, fill in our claim form and send to our address. Please read our terms and conditions for more details on this offer.

PIXMA MP620

• Print from anywhere with Wi-Fi functionality
• High quality, high speed photo & document printing
• High resolution scanner & copier with scan to Memory card and USB stick
• 5 Single Inks for added economy - only replace the ink you run out of
• FREE photo edit software to make all of your pictures perfect

£30/€35 Cashback

PIXMA iP4600

• High quality, high speed photo and document printing
• Save paper with automatic double sided printing
• Be creative with CD/DVD print capability
• 5 Single Inks for added economy - only replace the ink you run out of
• FREE photo edit software to make all of your pictures perfect

£20/€25 Cashback

This promotion is only available on purchases of new Canon PIXMA MP620 All-in-One printer and/or PIXMA iP4600 Photo printer within the UK or Republic of Ireland ("ROI") between Thursday 21st May 2009 and Monday 13th July 2009 inclusive.