Printing

[macalicious731]

I'm at a point where I need to start thinking about printing. Printing out copies of the ms for revising, then later down the line printing copies for submission.

My current printer is an old family one, sucks ink like an SUV guzzles gas, and needs a good nozzle cleaning every couple of pages so it doesn't leave big ink streaks on the page. It's also slow. I despise it, and it has similar feelings about me.

I could use my university's printers, but that could get expensive quickly because they charge about 10 cents per page. I can't imagine using this method for long, especially when it comes to submissions, because I'm going to need lots of copies, especially if I go with disposable mss.

The ideal solution for this problem would be to buy a really nice, high quality printer, but these are not in my price range. Most of these are also pretty large, and we're talking dorm space here. I can't image buying another cheap printer, because it seems like a waste until I can actually buy a nice one.

Absolutely any suggestions are welcome here. There must be some other people in my boat, and I'm sure we could all use new ways to determine the economics of paper and ink. I'll even accept printer model options, if you think you have a good one - but only if they're available online. Not too many store options around here, if you don't have a car.

Thanks!

[maestrowork]

What's your budget? You can get a pretty decent laser printer for under $250 now. Toner cost would be your biggest concern.

[katdad]

You can get a decent quality HP DeskJet printer for about 50 bucks, and a very good one for $100. Laser printers are still a bit pricey.

My ancient HP DeskJet still cranks out excellent black copies. I've had it for years.

There are cheaper printers than HPs but you cannot beat their versatility and quality.

[HConn]

You may find it cheaper to buy a new printer. Toner can be damned expensive.

If you do decide to buy new, check the cost per page, not just the sticker price. I have a printer that was cheap to buy but is now reaming me with the cost of toner cartridges.

Do you have any friends with money? Ask around to see if someone has a functioning printer they don't use anymore. You can get pretty good stuff second hand.

[macalicious731]

$250 sounds steep. Under $100 or so would probably be the easiest of the expenses.

HConn, thanks for reminding me about price-per-page. I'm an electronics dunce.

[stormie267]

I use a two year old Epson. At that time it cost me about $80. Black and white pages come out crisp looking. What I find is that Epson's toner is usually cheaper than some of the other brands (when comparing cost per page). So yes, always consider cost of toner. For paper, I use the cheapest I can find for my own print-outs, then buy 90+ bright and 24 lb. for send-outs.

[Kallahan]

Inkjet printers are dirt cheap today, come with USB connections and all of them are pretty good with black text.

[maestrowork]

For ms. printing (and probably lots of it), I'd recommend a cheap laser over an ink jet. But if you really can't spend more than $100, I guess inkjet is your only alternative.

[HConn]

Don't go inkjet. You probably can't afford it.

Try to get something used. Talk to friends and friends of your family. Chances are someone has a working printer sitting in their garage. Join Freecycle. Contact second-hand computer stores, or large corporations. Ask around. Conserving money often means expending time.

But there are options out there. Good luck.

[pianoman5]

The problem with inkjets is that they are a business model. They're about selling ink at 10,000% markup.

viz: Entice the punter with a dirt-cheap up-front price (50 bucks) and sucker him thereafter with outrageously expensive cartridges that last about 400 pages.

But you can outwit their devious system of extortion by learning to refill cartridges. I buy ink in 250ml bottles for about US$25, and in that quantity each refill costs about $2. I generally find that I can refill a cartridge about 10-12 times before the quality drops off and I have to replace it.

Is it hard to refill? 'Tain't rocket science. I use a syringe (supplied by the bulk ink guy). It does momentarily make you feel like an injecting drug user, but you feel better when you realize you're saving heaps of money and not burning it.

[Gala]

piano is right on.

I'll add: be sure to verify the cartridge of printer you buy is refillable. Some brands have figured out that trick too, and made them impossible to refill.

It might be worth a quick call to the toner refill place before you get a new printer, if that is indeed what you decide to do.

Where I live, one store charges less per copy for larger numbers. I think it's 6 cents. Still adds up fast.

[rtilryarms]

be not afraid of refurbs.

refurbdepot (http://www.refurbdepot.com/index.cfm)

I rarely use anything new

[Writing Again]

When I'm ready to submit I'll buy a laser printer -- Thank you for the refurb addy...

[Lori Basiewicz]

Katie Mac, I'd also look at rebuilt if you want higher end on a budget. Just keep an eye on the office supply store ads and you should be able to find something.

Also, keep in mind that since this is your first year in college, you're going to have lots of papers to print. You're going to need a good printer for school work, too.

[D James]

I recently bought a Canon iP 2000 for $100.

The cartridges last a long time (I've never kept track, but I do a *lot* of printing), cost $10 (or half that if you refill) and it does a great job on both b/w & colour.

I've seen printers cheaper than this (they seem to go lower almost daily), but do ask about the ink cartridges. Apparently HP is switching over to a new cartridge and won't be supporting the old style (which means you'll be buying generic).

Of course, everyone seems to have a different story depending on what they're trying to sell. I miss my Commodore 64.

D James

[sc211]

I've been reading up on printers lately myself.

Like katdad, I got an old HP DeskJet 712C, and it's worked flawlessly for about seven years. It also uses little ink, so that I can print 2,100 pages with one $25 cartridge, if set on Econofast/Draft mode - which I use all the time and is very clear.

I chose that one for its reviews, HP's reputation, and, most of all, the very low per-page costs.

For inkjets out there now, Consumer Reports in 9/04 gave top marks to the Canon i860 (which is now the iP series mentioned above). These printers are great because not only are they very fast and sharp, but they use separate ink tanks, so when you print color, and you run out of magneta or yellow, you don't have to buy a whole new color cartridge. In fact, I just got a Canon i960 as a dedicated photo printer, at half price, and would recommend their line for anyone for photos.

For anyone interested in photo printers, there are great reviews and a good forum here:

www.steves-digicams.com/printers.html (http://www.steves-digicams.com/printers.html)

CR says the Canon i860 is 2.7 cents per page for text, and it's the lowest in the inkjet list. The HP Deskjet 995c, number three in the list, has 4.5 cents per page for text.

For just text, you may very well wish to go to a laser printer. Just this last week Staples had the Brother HL-1440 for just $99. CR says it prints at 2.4 cents per page. Cnet also gave it a great review.

The reason I didn't get it is because of bad reviews at Amazon. It seems the DR-400 drum in these eventually breaks down and starts printing grey pages. To replace it costs as much as the printer.

The one I'm looking at now is the Brother HL-5140. It sells for $199 and has a per page cost of 1.9 cents per page - the cheapest of all the printers listed. Also, that cost (as with all these) is at the default setting - not the economical setting which uses less ink.

This one uses a different drum than the 1440 model. And so now, while my old HP is still cranking out the pages, and I have my Canon i960 for back-up when I need it, I'm content to wait for a sale.

Check here for tips on buying printers, with top-rated models in the right sidebar at the top.

reviews.cnet.com/4520-760...838-1.html (http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7604_7-1016838-1.html)

[maestrowork]

A better solution: find a job at the college and use the printers at the lab... that's what I did when I was in college. Never spent a dime in printing or copying.

[macalicious731]

A better solution: find a job at the college and use the printers at the lab... that's what I did when I was in college. Never spent a dime in printing or copying.

Haha, how I wish that were a solution. We've got rules against this sort of thing already.

But seriously, thanks to everyone for the help! I'm not going to need to buy one for at least another month, but I'm glad I brought up the question early. This is going to mean serious research.

[tjosban]

I have an HP all-in-one that I use for college and I do quite a bit of printing on it for various school reasons, and many personal ones as well. The cartridge lasts about a semester of so.

At one point Walmart sold my black cartridges for $18 and some change, but it was an online only offer. It still ended up being cheaper after shipping than if I drove to the store myself.

Another thought that crossed my mind is that I have seen ads for the Office Depot with prices as low as $137 for a monochrome laser printer. Then I thought, Hey it's Sunday. There's a new ad out. So I went and grabbed the ad. They have one that cost you $99 after a $50 rebate. Toner cartridges are $80 thereafter. Toner lasts awhile though.

It's still kinda after-Christmas, so if you search well, I am sure you can get a great deal on what you want.

[maestrowork]

I see really cheap laser printers at Office Depots or Sam's Club as well. It's good to check them out. Laser toners can last pretty long...

[Gala]

Today I Costco I saw a color laser printer for around 400 with a coupon. There were deals on toner too. Prices are coming down.

[Jules Hall]

HP's cheapest LaserJet model sells for about 70 pounds in the UK, which should translate to about $120. You'll save at least $20 on ink in the first year, I reckon. I have an ancient 6L and it prints _thousands_ of pages per toner cartridge, and the cartridges don't exactly cost a fortune, either. It isn't the fastest printer in the world, but it works reliably, which is the main thing.

[Medievalist]

If you're a student, don't buy a printer. Get someone else to buy you a printer.

That said, I bet there's a place on campus or near by, like a Kinkos, that will let you bring in or email a file to print for a flat fee per page. I'd save the file as a PDF file, to keep your formatting intact, if, as I suspect, you're on a Mac.

Kinkos where I am will let you do "do it yourself" printing for either 4 or seven cents a page, depending on the paper.

Ask on campus if they'll give you a price break if you supply your own paper. If you're printing drafts, use cheap paper, like the store brand sold at Staples or similar places for photocopies. It's good enough.

And may you sell enough writing to deduct the cost of printing on your return <g>

[maestrowork]

Kinko's too expensive.