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Which All-in-One Inkjet Printer is Cheapest to Use?

Posted by Cliff on from the easy-on-the-wallet-please dept.

Ray asks: "A year or so ago, I got my dad a new computer system that included a Canon PX-160 printer/scanner/copier to replace his aging Lexmark with similar capabilities. On my next visit, I asked him how the new printer was working and he said the ink was killing him. The cartridges are expensive, they don't have much ink in them and there are no third party or refilled carts for it or (apparently) any other Canon. It looks like HP and Lexmark are the most likely to have (relatively) inexpensive supplies but what has your experience been with inkjet All-in-Ones as far as TCO goes?"

7 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Wal-mart by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Get a b&w printer for regular crap. For photos, let somebody else handle the headache at a cheap price: Wal-mart (or whatever floats your boat.)

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  2. I believe the correct answer is... by R2.0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    absolutely any LASER all-in-one printer.

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    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  3. Google? by halcyon1234 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Is it so hard to type "Inkjet Reviews" into Google? If it's too hard, here's a link right to it.. Or look up ink prices on eBay.

    I'm all for pulling on the knowledge of the tech community, but seriously-- this isn't exactly difficult information to find. I've seen some pretty nifty questions asked on Slashdot, about things like cosmic rays, full-house renovation tips, clever telemarketer avoidance techniques, and even which button not to press.

    But seriously-- this is about a half-step away from Slashdot's front page being a place to ask "ne1 gt dell cupn codz?"

    Forget RTFA-- try STFG (Search The Floving Google)

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  4. Inkjets damn you two ways... by nweaver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you use them a lot, the ink costs a fortune per page, several times what a laser printer costs per page, so that a more expensive laser printer quickly becomes cheaper to own.

    But if you don't use them a lot, the ink evaporates and the inkjet clogs up and stops working, forcing you to buy even more cartridges, so that a more expensive laser printer quickly becomes cheaper to own.

    Buy a laser printer based all-in-one.

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  5. Which All-in-One Inkjet Printer is Cheapest to Use by evilviper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's an extremely strange question... A bit like asking "Which Hummer Has The Best Gas Mileage?"

    Getting an inkjet guarantees high prices, lots of maintenance (eg. cleaning) etc. Then, getting an all-in-one printer ensures operating costs will be more expensive still, with a low-end printer, low-end scanner, etc., all in one.

    I have a hard time imagining any scenario where space could possibly be that limited, so I have to believe you're just unaware of those problems, or have been sucked-in by the advertising.

    IMHO, a B&W laser printer is the best way to go... Cheap purchase price, cheap consumables, far better looking text, and 10X faster than any inkjet printer. Color is unnecessary for the vast majority of people, the vast majority of time, but if you really want it, consumables for a color laser printer aren't much more expensive.

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  6. laser printers are the way to go by bigbigbison · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If all you are doing is black and white stuff there's no contest -- buy a laser printer. I don't know anything about color laser printers since I don't have one but But I went from taking forever for papers to print out, clogged ink heads, and empty ink cartridges to a laser printer that was fast, never given me a bit of trouble and had a toner cartridge that lasted 3 years.

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  7. Continuous Ink by Pav · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I haven't seen anyone mention continuous ink solutions yet. I don't have any experience with them myself, but if you are doing any volume they seem to be the way to go. Not all printers are an easy mod so you might need to do some homework. Also they say you need to print at least once or twice a week or else you'll be re-priming the kit, which is a hassle. These kits are definitely worth a look however if you are a high volume printer.

    I've gone with a b/w laser myself with an inkjet multifunction (an Epson RX430 because of their Linux support) for when I need colour copy. Looked at colour lasers, and inkjets beat them on cost-per-copy believe it or not(!!!). If I needed to do high volume colour I would have gone with continuous ink. As a side note - check out Xerox... I seem to remember they have some kind of wax(?) print technology which was pretty cheap for toner.

    -Mark