Looking For a Color Printer Again

I recommend the Brother MFC L3710CW. This has wireless capability as well as USB. Also has a document feeder and the scanner works real well.
 
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MissMolly said:
We bought one of those Epson tank printers a couple of months ago. The ET 4700 model. I'm quite happy with it. It reliable. It's also a scanner. It's wireless which is nice since I can put it anywhere. We don't print photos so I really can't speak to the quality for that, but I like the printer.
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With your ET 4700 have you had any issues of paper jams and print nozzles getting plugged?

I've been seriously looking at the ET 4760 model as if that has a lot of the features I'd want. But the reviews are very mixed and difficult for me to get a grasp on whether the printer is truly troublesome or just people who don't know how to use it properly.

I've been also looking at a Brother InkVestment printer. This still uses ink cartridges but they are larger than old ones and should last about a year. But once again, mixed reviews. Yet the thought of refilling using bottles with Epson's ET I think is more satisfying :cool:. I know... silly.
 
easysurfer said:
With your ET 4700 have you had any issues of paper jams and print nozzles getting plugged?

I've been seriously looking at the ET 4760 model as if that has a lot of the features I'd want. But the reviews are very mixed and difficult for me to get a grasp on whether the printer is truly troublesome or just people who don't know how to use it properly.

I've been also looking at a Brother InkVestment printer. This still uses ink cartridges but they are larger than old ones and should last about a year. But once again, mixed reviews. Yet the thought of refilling using bottles with Epson's ET I think is more satisfying :cool:. I know... silly.
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Thus far, no paper jams and no print nozzle problems. But as I said, we've only had this since January. We've had no issues at all so far.
 
MissMolly said:
Thus far, no paper jams and no print nozzle problems. But as I said, we've only had this since January. We've had no issues at all so far.
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Thanks. Good to know. More questions, if you don't mind ... About how many times do print in a week? In other words, does your printer sit idle for weeks at at time or is it being used?

I read somewhere back an owner of an Ecotank printer had a strategy to keep the printer from clogging by running some sort of script that automatically printed out a test page weekly to keep the ink from drying up and thus clogging the print nozzle.
 
easysurfer said:
Thanks. Good to know. More questions, if you don't mind ... About how many times do print in a week? In other words, does your printer sit idle for weeks at at time or is it being used?

I read somewhere back an owner of an Ecotank printer had a strategy to keep the printer from clogging by running some sort of script that automatically printed out a test page weekly to keep the ink from drying up and thus clogging the print nozzle.
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No, it doesn't sit idle for weeks at a time. We aren't heavy users of the printer, but it gets used every week - not every day, but at least every week. I would say we print between 1 to 10 pages per week.
 
I like my HP Officejet inkjet printer but got really frustrated with the cost of the cartridges that never seemed to last as long (print as many pages) as they were rated. I was told even if you don't print a lot, the ink evaporates over time.

So, I just signed up for HP Instant Ink which is a monthly charge based on how many pages you print. For me, it's not a lot (maybe 50 pages a month) and now I pay $2.99 a month. They send you some special cartridges and then monitor your printer and send you new cartridges when they get low. So, I estimate my cost for ink will decrease from at least $250 per year to about $40.

We'll see how it goes.
 
MissMolly said:
No, it doesn't sit idle for weeks at a time. We aren't heavy users of the printer, but it gets used every week - not every day, but at least every week. I would say we print between 1 to 10 pages per week.
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Thanks again. This is very beneficial to me in helping me ponder some more :).
 
Okay ... after some more poking around, think I've narrowed down my choice. Might be a bit overkill, but now I'm leaning towards an Epson Inktank Pro printer. More specifically, model Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5880. A new kid on the block.

The printer is more geared for high volume printing and a small business. Before I'll pull the trigger the price as to come down some. But I like how the features compare to the other EcoTanks I was looking at and don't think the performance and features won't feel like cutting off my nose to spite my face.

Thus, the price wait starts. I have time. Now isn't the best time to buy a printer as printers are in demand with many at home and home schooling.
 
easysurfer said:
Okay ... after some more poking around, think I've narrowed down my choice. Might be a bit overkill, but now I'm leaning towards an Epson Inktank Pro printer. More specifically, model Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5880.
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Yeah, I'd say spending $800 for a new printer so you can save ink when printing a few photos is overkill. Even if the price drops to $600 you could probably spend less money on a $100 printer and $500 worth of ink jet cartridges.
 
Just checked the current price of toner for color laser CP2025...a full set of color and b/w cartridge will cost over $500, still. There are alternatives for about $100. Since I have a complete set of replacements in my closet, I have no immediate need. But I'd be tempted by re-manufactured carts.

When an inkjet is working flawlessly, it probably produces the best quality. If I prioritized that, I would have one. Over $500 for printer, I'd probably continue to look, as easysurfer is doing.
 
Qs Laptop said:
Yeah, I'd say spending $800 for a new printer so you can save ink when printing a few photos is overkill. Even if the price drops to $600 you could probably spend less money on a $100 printer and $500 worth of ink jet cartridges.
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Not if I think of the printer like a sportscar that I take out for weekend drives. One person's overkill is another person's luxury :).
 
target2019 said:
Just checked the current price of toner for color laser CP2025...a full set of color and b/w cartridge will cost over $500, still. There are alternatives for about $100. Since I have a complete set of replacements in my closet, I have no immediate need. But I'd be tempted by re-manufactured carts.

When an inkjet is working flawlessly, it probably produces the best quality. If I prioritized that, I would have one. Over $500 for printer, I'd probably continue to look, as easysurfer is doing.
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Here I thought spending about $350 on a full set of color and b/w cartridges for my current color laser was too much. That was what led me to the original post. After the starter toner ran out I went with a 3rd party set for about $70. But quality difference is easily noticeable.
 
easysurfer said:
Here I thought spending about $350 on a full set of color and b/w cartridges for my current color laser was too much. That was what led me to the original post. After the starter toner ran out I went with a 3rd party set for about $70. But quality difference is easily noticeable.
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I can't prove it, but I think the HP carts for this model produce more prints. The printer has been around for 10 years, I have purchased two sets of carts, in addition to the original ones. The 2nd set is still in closet, but will need installation soon. So we're talking low use, maybe two cartridge sets in 12-15 years?

I'm going out on a limb, but I think older HP laser printers last a very long time. This model has print server, so it can be accessed by anything on my local LAN. No annoying companion apps or tray app telling me to call for more toner or ink. There is access to many features through the driver. So I can turn down toner, change quality setting, and so on. I have another b/w laser for printing taxes, etc.

You have an interesting choice ahead.
 
target2019 said:
I can't prove it, but I think the HP carts for this model produce more prints. The printer has been around for 10 years, I have purchased two sets of carts, in addition to the original ones. The 2nd set is still in closet, but will need installation soon. So we're talking low use, maybe two cartridge sets in 12-15 years?

I'm going out on a limb, but I think older HP laser printers last a very long time. This model has print server, so it can be accessed by anything on my local LAN. No annoying companion apps or tray app telling me to call for more toner or ink. There is access to many features through the driver. So I can turn down toner, change quality setting, and so on. I have another b/w laser for printing taxes, etc.

You have an interesting choice ahead.
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The Cannon color laser printer that I have now seems a bit of an ink hog. I've only used the starter cartridges that came with and a 3rd party set. Seems after printing a few photos, I can see the toner level go down.

I've been seriously looking at an Epson Inktank ET-4760 but the Amazon reviews scare me off with complaints of the printer being slow, and paper jams especially with the auto document feeder. Plus the specs even say printout is non-photo quality whereas the Pro 5xxxx series is.
 
Me, I went with a 3750 that was reduced $100 at Sams Club... IIRC less than $300 total.



It produces some vivid color pics and is easy to use... maybe a bit tedious at times but still easy...


We can scan and send to any computer on the network... the only downside right now is that there are black streaks on the scan but I think if I clean the surface they go away as there is none if you do not use the feeder...


I also have an HP laserjet 2600 that I have had for years... it prints well enough but bad on pics... plus the carts are expensive unless you go generic... and then you can have problems of leaking (2 so far for me) or just not working (1 so far)...


My DW and DD will only use the inkjet.... I use both...
 
Saw that the price of the Epson Ecotank Pro printer I was looking at just increased by $100 :(. I guess it's not a good time to shop for printers as they are in high demand.
 
For me, 2 printers does the job. My workhorse is an HP color laserjet. 4 big ole cartridges that last 2,000 pages each.

Then I have an Epson multi-function. It will do all the copying, photo-quality and scanning that DW can imagine. It was about $80. It has 4 or so tiny ink cartridges that don't produce many copies, but it is not my workhorse, so I don't care. 4 cartridges for $54, total.

Works for me.
 
Well, my color printer search continues. I had thought about getting an ecotank type printer with the bottles of ink. There's something satisfying with the thought.

But the negative reviews are scaring me away. Plus, now probably isn't the best time to buy a color printer as with many working from home or home schooling, color printers are in high demand and get price gouged.

Speaking of, the printer I'm heavily considering now is the Brother MFC-J995DW. It's not as cool (in my opinion :)) as the bottle fill type. But ink should still last a long time. But I did a cammelcammelcammel price check on this. One time this was selling for as low as about $149 but now on Amazon as of today is going for about $380. Price gouged :(.
 

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I bought my Brother HL-3040CN color laser printer in 2011. We use it all the time, and except for replacing toner cartridges it has been flawless.
 
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