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Originally Posted by intelisevil
I prefer to stay away from 'All in One' devices:
1) Fewer choices, generally lower overall functionality.
2) If one part goes bad toss the whole device, repairs tend to cost more than buying new . . .
When looking at printers, look at the ink cartridges. Buy a printer with seperate cartridges for EACH color of ink. I guarantee you won't use all of your inks at the same rate, with a multicolor cartridge you'll be throwing away a lot of ink. Normally these printers will cost more, but it's worth it in the long run.
HP has admitted that they sell their printers at a loss knowing they'll get their money back in ink cartridge sales.
You could try an ink cartridge refill kit to get around the problem of running out of one color of ink. I've heard pros and cons on them, I don't have any experience with them.
Check out www.newegg.com, they have good prices and I like the customer reviews on the products they sell. www.zipzoomfly.com also has good prices but no customer review system.
Dan
PS: My job includes Desktop Publishing for a 'fairly large' printing company (R.R. Donnelley).  |
From the data off of HP's website. This all in one device isn't terribly bad. It performs just as well as their specialized, mid-ranged home/small business models. Of course that's based off their marketing material that they use, but that's all that's available.
I don't think point #2 applies. #1, the printer does come with a 1 year warranty, so if it fails, I can get a replacement. #2, i also purchased the replacement warranty for $30 so that for the next 3 years, if the printer dies, i can take it back to the store and get 100% store credit + tax reimbursement.
HP printers are pretty reliable and I do believe that their printers will last at least their warranty period. Also I'm not so sure I agreed with the 'if one part breaks, you have to toss it.' statement. It all depends on what breaks. If the scanner bulb goes out, I'm sure the device will still print. If the ink heads get caked up with dry ink, I'm sure the scanner will still work. That would be a good design...but then again people these days design crap so....who knows.
This device does have the colors separated.
Nearly all printer manufactures know that the money's not in selling the printer, it's in toner sales. Of course that's why Dell moved into the printing business.
I actually know some ink and toner distributors that sell replacements for the major printing companies so I'd probably be able to get some toners and ink cheap.
Don't forget that most printers shipped nowadays are either 1/2 or 1/3 of full toners. It's not a coincidence that they ship out 'starter' toners.