Printers...

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SKUNKY

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Ok..lightning struck a fatal blow to my computer and modum..got a new system but my printer is not compatable.
I need a recommendation for a Dell Inspiron Desktop..i546s-3230..64 bit..
 
What do you mean by "not compatible"? What is the make/model of the printer?

As for new printers, you may want to provide some pointers as to what your expectations/printing duties are so that someone can suggest more appropriate option.
 
While I like HP's current line up because I think they are well built and eye-candy to look at, I hate that they take over your system with all their "print monitoring" stuff.

I would highly recommend a Canon. I have never had issue with any of their stuff. I just bought a new All-in-one from them a few months back and it is superb!
 
New computer doesn't have a printer port or what?

Buy a USB HP or Canon allinone. If you print a lot, one with a half dozen or so print cartriges is supposed to save you money. I only print about five pages a month, so I specifically look for one black/one color. With our last 7 cartrige HP, every time I wanted to print something it needed at least one new color, or they would "expire" and the printer wouldn't use them anymore. I had to have 50 bucks in spares laying around to print one page reliably.

Stay cheap, you don't get much for moving up.
 
What printer do you have? I assume the new computer has Vista. If it is an old HP printer, then even though HP does not have drivers, Vista has minimal ones (none of the HP ink monitoring, etc.). I have a HP 970Cse I bought at a second hand shop for about $8.00. Plugged it into Vista and it automatically installed a driver. You may get lucky.....

If you do get a new printer avoid Lexmark. They make good boat anchors after the first cartridge runs out.
 
I have a Lexmark X75..it worked great for over 5 years..it just won't work with this Dell..I've thought about the Cannon...I've been think'en about one that will print pictures also...I'll go tomorrow and do some shopp'en...
banana2.gif
thanks guys..

PS..I do I get spell ck working here?? I ain't got to much school'en..
 
Originally Posted By: SKUNKY
Ok..just ordered a Cannon Pixma MX330....


It will be interesting to see how it compares to the X75. I believe my Lexmark was an X75. After a month of little use it would not print properly. New cartridges cost more than the a new printer. My parents have been using the same HP 45 cartridge in their P1000 printer for about 5 years. Still prints perfectly.
 
Forgot to mention that sometimes NewEgg's price & shipping for the 4-pack of Canon ink cartridges is sometimes a bit cheaper than buying 3 individual tanks. Just depends on the refills needed...
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: SKUNKY
Ok..just ordered a Cannon Pixma MX330....


It will be interesting to see how it compares to the X75. I believe my Lexmark was an X75. After a month of little use it would not print properly. New cartridges cost more than the a new printer. My parents have been using the same HP 45 cartridge in their P1000 printer for about 5 years. Still prints perfectly.


They aren't made well, My dad has one attached to his computer in the basement and the scanner is broken, but it still prints.
smirk2.gif
 
I went to buy ink for my cheap Canon IP1800 at Wal-Mart. They had the IP2600 for $30 on clearance with a USB cable. The newer printer with a USB cable and 2 ink cartridges (same ones fit the IP1800) was cheaper than 2 replacement ink cartridges. It is cheaper to buy a new printer everytime I go to buy ink, but now I have an abundance of printers to get rid of.
 
People that print a lot of text can also save money by buying a laser printer for text and using an inkjet for color. I bought a Samsung laser about 3 years ago for less than $100 and haven't had to replace the toner yet. I think the toner is good for 5000 or 8000 pages. You will pay for the laser in ink savings. I just use the inkjet for color stuff. The lasers print nice text without having to worry about smearing of the ink, etc.
 
After looking at what we spent on inkjet cartridges for our color printer, we bought a laser, while retaining the old printer. We haven't felt the need to print color in a couple of years. For us, color printing turned out to be a fad that we unfortunately jumped on.
 
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
People that print a lot of text can also save money by buying a laser printer for text and using an inkjet for color.


We won't buy an inkjet at this point. The printers are like the old free Pez dispenser (although I understand Pez has changed). The cost per page once you include the ink is outrageous compared to laser. Economy refill solutions are an illusion.

I wheeled home an old LaserJet 6P from my office about nine years ago. It is still our primary household printer, and I think I've replaced the cartridge once ($65) in nine years. And we print quite a bit. Still excellent quality to this day.

The cost of color lasers are dropping. Until we get one of those, if we need a color copy (not very often), my wife will run it off at work.
 
Originally Posted By: SKUNKY
Ok..lightning struck a fatal blow to my computer and modum..got a new system but my printer is not compatable.
I need a recommendation for a Dell Inspiron Desktop..i546s-3230..64 bit..


I don't know what you want to print.

Photos:
- smaller images: dye sublimination printer
- larger images: inkjet printer

Text:
- laser printer

Photos and Text:
- you are pretty much stuck with inkjet printers

Depending on how much print, having two types of printers, one for images and one for text, may be well worth it.
 
When my girlfriend moved in my home office went through a major re-design. She bought an ugly Brother MFC-7440n laser printer/scanner/copier and kicked out all my toys except for a Samsung CLP-315w. Now after a few months I've come to appreciate the utility of that all-in-one machine. It doesn't print as quickly or cheaply as the HP 4350tn, scan as quickly as the Fujitsu fi-5120C, or have wireless connectivity like the HL-2170w, but it's given me back a lot of space in what was becoming a pretty cramped room.

It's working out pretty well. I'm "allowed" to use her ugly all-in-one as long as she can enjoy free, unlimited, and un-remarked access to the little Samsung color printer.

BTW, I would recommend both machines for a home office. The Brother takes up a bit of space, but it's a workhorse and cheap enough so that you can just buy a newer model instead of replacing the drum if/when it goes out. Toner is reasonable, and the resource-hogging ControlCenter3 software is actually really useful after you've setup a few custom jobs. The only con I have is that print-outs curl up quite a bit. The tiny Samsung produces a very nice color page, and the wireless connectivity makes it easy to put anywhere. Consumables are more expensive than for a monochrome laser, though, so it makes sense to use it only for color jobs. In the tradition of color inkjet printers it's cheap to purchase and expensive to operate.
 
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