Printers

[kellys_eye]

Well, 'computers' must include peripherals...... so.....

We bought a Lexmark colour laser for business use. Fell for the advertising that it works out at 'affordable per page....' (or so it implied) but then discovered that a full set of cartridges would set us back in excess of £240

The quoted number of pages printed from a full set of cartridges is around 1200 to 1500. We got 500-600 and that's with 'normal' printing - no heavy coverage etc. What a fcuking rip-off

Lexmark are worse than useless and the printer itself shuts down the second any one cartridge is empty so it's off-line more often than it's on. It's a complete and utter joke and I'd advise anyone contemplating purchasing a Lexmark product to think again. If Lexmark are reading this and have any issues - BRING IT ON mo-fo's.

Anyhow, the gist of this post is to ask for your valuable opinions on quality INKJET printers to replace the Lexmark C540n colour laser sh1tbox that's now on eBay for £20 (1 year old, hardly used - despite trying - and ideal for a sucker )

I've heard that Epsons are good, I quite like HP stuff etc. I want to avoid printers with chipped cartridges so older models, if still readily available, are quite acceptable recommendations. If they accept a continuous ink system setup then better still.

Anyone recommending Suxmark printers will get a slap.

Cheers folks

[thescruff]

I think they're all chipped now but some you can get a resetting tool

I have an Epson and can't fault it, but again think the new ones have a chip that stops generic cartridges.

I had a lexmark first then a Canon and thats a big rip off, you chuck more ink away than you use.

Buy one with separate cartridges.

[kellys_eye]

Yup, the chipping is the part I want to avoid - earlier models didn't have chips and some are still available - certainly the cartridges are - and I'm open to suggestions of OLD models too if I can find a decent one (probably via eBay).

[thescruff]

If you do a lot it would pay to look at Xerox small commercial printers.

[dave.m]

KE,
Have a look at Cartride Monkey:
http://www.cartridgemonkey.com/
I get remanufactured carts for my HP PSC and did so for my old one. Never had a problem.

Not sure about your printer as you didn't say what model, but a quick email to them will sort out whether their remanufactured will work.

They also keep sending emails with 10% off codes.

dave

[kellys_eye]

@ cartridgemonkey it would be £192 or £269 depending on the 'normal' or 'extended' output. Still not what I call cheap

I'm looking at wax printers now.....

[root]

Id personally get an oldish colour laser, the OKI and HP laserjets are pretty decent for the money and the toners are pretty common which means more competition on price.

OKI C5300 : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0400991419
http://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/oki/tone ... um=organic

HP CP1215: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HP-Color-LaserJet ... 3f0a686e54
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0664221117

[dave.m]

@ cartridgemonkey it would be £192 or £269 depending on the 'normal' or 'extended' output. Still not what I call cheap

Dave,
I couldn't check any prices, not knowing your printer model.

dave

[Cannyfixit]

Not much help with a business printer but to add to Scruffs post
My Epson printer is 2 year old and uses chipped cartridges,compatables are available from Choice Stationary,I have used this company for years and never had any quality issues with the inks reasonable prices too

[Razor]

I'd get another Lexmark. I know the inks ridiculously dear but spares are really cheap. There's a really mint one on eBay that some mugs selling for £20 at the moment



Actually I thought Lexmark had always been like this I'm sure I bought a couple of inkjets a few years ago for thirty odd quid brand new and binned them when the ink ran out

[kellys_eye]

I rememeber years ago going to Toys'r'us (can't think why they were doing this...) and purchasing four printers at £29 each as they came with full cartridges - buying replacement cartridges cost £39 otherwise!!! Ridiculous.

Anyway I reckon no matter what printer we get we'll find something that doesn't please us (or costs an arm and a leg) but there's no substitute for advice based on personal experience so keep 'em coming....

[thescruff]

My Lexmark was the second worst every with Canon at the bottom.

[Bruv]

I have a HP Photosmart thingy.
I refill myself bought 4 refill100ml bottles for silly money, forget how much but less than £15.
Of course the printer tells you it's out of ink, but you get the option to over ride it and it just carries on printing

[RichieP]

How about this for a bargain? **








** Posting this link in no way constitutes a recommendation or endorsment for the product, should anyone who buys it gets a bit angry when they can't print 6000 pages of high quality photos for £3.50, and it doesn't last for 20 years.

[mhands]

I have always used Epson.

My current printer is an Epson Stylus Colour R200 and is still going after over 5 years and using 3rd party ink cartridges