Recommendation for reasonably priced printer

[JB]

Over the years we have been plagued with printers that only last a year or so and several where the ink dries out after a month or two of none use. (Up to now we have spent a lot of time away, but that has now changed).

Looking for a recommendation for a colour printer, preferably one where reasonable cost refills are available, either original or 3rd party. My wife uses it to print recipes and things like that. We don't print photos and there is no need for a WiFi version as it will be connected to her computer. Don't really need a scanner or anything else 'office' equipped.

Anyone take a punt at a suggestion for something pretty basic but reliable?

[Clive]

I have a Canon Pixma MG5730 which is now 4 years old and cost £40 at the time.  It has WiFi and a scanner and it's a colour printer.  It's very easy to set up and use and you can buy the cartridges on Amazon.  I too was fed up with HP and Epson printers that only lasted a year. 

[Glenn]

I recently bought a HP Pagewide printer for £65 after cashback. The print cartridges are expensive but they should last 3000 pages each.

[Simon]

I think most budget printers these days are built so cheaply, they are not made to last.  I have a Brother J562DW, which has so far been OK for a few months.  Before that, I had the Canon which Clive mentioned above, but unfortunately, the paper feed broke within a year.  I guess I could have returned it under the warranty, but just couldn't be arsed.

[JB]

Thanks all.

I am getting the same impression. I presently have a small Brother HL-1112 laser which is fine for black & white printing, but my dearly beloved would like a colour printer for recipes and a few other things. Reading the reviews on Amazon always ends in me finding negative things about almost any printer listed there. Maybe that's life.

As Simon says, maybe just a cheepy and expect no more than a year or so. She wouldn't use it much and that was the problem we had previously with drying out. I could always send her down to Boots with her stuff on an SD card each time 

Guess I'll take a punt and hold my breath.

[Simon]

You could always make a note to print something once a week which uses all the colours.  Mind you, my Brother often fires up on its own, and clonks away to itself for a while, cleaning the print heads. 

If you need compatible cartridges, I've successfully used www.cartridgesave.co.uk. 

[Technical Ben]

Ipad, second hand.

[zappaDPJ]

I buy end of line (usually Epson) printers from Ebay or even Tesco for under £20 plus another £20 worth of cheap, knock off ink cartridges and bin it all when the ink jets won't unclog. I've had the current unit which now has one dried up nozzle for well over five years during which time it's worked flawlessly. So for the same price as of a single set of genuine Epson ink cartridges I've had five years worth of printing.

[JB]

That's a good suggestion Zap. I never thought of going that route, but it makes sense for the amount of printing she will do.

[colirv]

My Canon iP3600 has performed faultlessly for several years, and the cartridges cost next to nothing on ebay. When it expires I'll probably get one of their current models.

[JB]

Thanks Colin. The problem I'm seeing is that in the last couple of years printers seem to have taken a dive in quality and reliability. For example, your printer is obsolete and even the model that replaced it is now discontinued. It seems impossible to buy a model that achieves the same reliability as yours.

Looking at later Canon printers, the reliability, even in the first few months seems poor. Typically, in customer reviews with a star system, about 20% of users award one star (because that is the lowest they can) and report rapid deterioration and early failure compared to earlier models. OK some of those users have made mistakes or have difficulty setting up but a lot of them are experienced and have installed several printers before.

I think I'll take Zap's advice and go for an end of line model and keep my fingers crossed.

[Simon]

As far as I understand it, the purchase price of printers is largely subsidised by the high cost of replacement inks.  So, I wonder why they don't make better quality printers, and charge for them accordingly, but make the inks at a lower price. After all, we can all get compatible ink cartridges which cost probably less than half of the branded versions, so that proves that it can be done.

[zappaDPJ]

After all, we can all get compatible ink cartridges which cost probably less than half of the branded versions, so that proves that it can be done.

A set of genuine Epson 18XL cartridges for the Epson XP-305 typically cost £59.99.

6 sets of compatible 18XL cartridges plus 6 extra black cartridges can be bought from Amazon for £13.99. I think that puts the genuine cartridges at well over 25 times the price.

The reality is it's not the ink that's the consumable, it's the printer because the box of cheap ink cartridges I bought with my printer for £19.99 are still going strong while the £19.99 printer is coming to the end of its life!

[colirv]

The problem I'm seeing is that in the last couple of years printers seem to have taken a dive in quality and reliability.

What a pity. And it could be a while before an on-the-ball manufacturer will spot the vacancy in the market for a reliable one.

[john]

As far as I understand it, the purchase price of printers is largely subsidised by the high cost of replacement inks.  So, I wonder why they don't make better quality printers, and charge for them accordingly, but make the inks at a lower price. After all, we can all get compatible ink cartridges which cost probably less than half of the branded versions, so that proves that it can be done.

Epson do this one with large ink tanks. At £179 it's not cheap but they claim the ink tanks last for several thousand pages so you would expect the printer to last as well especially as its a higher price than most consumer printers.

The ink tanks are available from John Lewis for £9.99 each.

I haven't got this printer myself so can't personally recommend it but the trouble with most reviews is that there's often some negative ones.

Also I would be reluctant to buy a printer from John Lewis again.