I need to buy a printer - mostly for B/W text but also for occasional prints of digital photographs. Ideally I would like to spend less than £100... Size isn't an issue, and an integrated scanner isn't important, although it would be useful.

The HP 1215 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=62805) looks like it could be a good option. Does anyone have any advice?

I have two objections to H.P. printers. The first (a reasonably minor one) is that the paper in them is required to bend thorugh 180 degrees as it is fed below the print heads. Fine with ordinary paper, but in the past I have had trouble when I have wanted to print on thin card. To be fair, the latest designs of HP printers may have removed this criticism.
Secondly, the ink jet mechanism in theory only has a short life thus HP require you to renew it frequently by building it into the disposable ink cartridge. Other mnufacturers' printers have an ink jet mechanism which lasts for the life of the printer. These printers use ink cartridges that only contain ink and are thus cheaper to replace. Furthermore if you buy third party refilled cartridges (as I do) you save even more money, but if you try to do this with HP cartridges they may not work properly because the ink jet mechanisms they contain may have worn out. I speak from personal experience here. To be fair, I have successfully refilled a black HP cartridge which I bought brand new 4 times now without the ink jets failing, but I have always been careful to refill it before the ink has finally run out!

I am sure other posters will have different opinions to this!!

P.P.

AerBabe,

If you mostly do B/W Text, get a Laser Printer. The advantages are 1) Does not smear when it gets wet, and 2) Toner is much cheaper than Ink.

Personal Color Laser Printers are dropping in price, but they are not there yet. I would look at a Laser Printer for B/W and a cheap Inkjet Printer for Photos.

Take Care,

Richard

I'm with Richard.

I have a good Laser printer that does 95% of the work, and a cheapo Epson colour one that is surprisingly good at printing digital photos etc. I paid about £80 for it.

Inkjet (or bubblejet etc) doesn't stand up to "use" much - prone to smudging, and blurring etc if it gets damp.

Here's another vote for the laser printer route. An inkjet will eat through cartridges very quickly, even when only doing B/W. They also tend to need print nozzle cleanings more often, which eats even more ink. A small personal laser and a cheap inkjet would be the best.

goates

I strongly agree with the laser printer suggestion.

I bought an HP-4L for office use at an outfit where I volunteer - that was at least three computers ago - many years. I bought a duplicate for myself, almost $500 way back then. The 4L is so old that it came with DOS and Win3.1 drivers - yet Win XP has builtin drivers for it. These laser printers have been the best buy I've ever made in the computer field.

The one at the volunteer office must print 100 to 200 pages a week. Mine at home gets relatively infrequent use, but nothing clogs nor jams. They show no signs of wearing out.

One can hope that current laser models last as long and are as trouble-free.

My MUCH newer ink-jet printer is a continual source of print problems, especially after being idle for some months. The manufacturers of ink-jet printers make their profits from selling you ink. A full set of black and color cartridges may cost half the price of an inexpensive ink-jet printer and they don't last very long.

I bought a Lexmark P700something a while ago for about £30 from Woolies.(half-price) It is ok for printing photos, mine have come out better than the old steam Epson 440 that I use for text. Give that a go, it is not too bad to be honest.

What do you think I am, made of money? :ugh: ;)
I see where you're coming from with the suggestion of two printers, but I feel I may have misled you a little. I won't be printing reams and reams of B/W, just the odd few pages. Yes, there will be times when I'm printing 30 pages or so, but not that often. Plus, my budget really is restricted. And I live in a flat... so finding room for two might be a bit much.

If you go for the inkjet printer I would certainly suggest an Epson rather than an HP....simple reason being you can buy replacement compatible cartridges very cheaply. Epson C46 is available on the net from Currys or Comet delivered for 40GBP. I unfortunately have an all singing dancing HP with fax etc. but am on my wat shortly to buy one of these. Other reason being I get inks very cheaply as I sell them. Inkrite quality compatibles...you know where to come Epson users!

Lasers may be great but they don't answer her original needs. The HP1215 would (although I'd go for the 1205 which is better resolution a a few quid more) but agree with comments above. I have a 1205 - it's good but agree on 180 degree paper path and expensive cartridges (both HP and clones) but overall a good machine and a portable size.

Having used entirely Epson previously I think a C46ux would suit admirably. Straight(ish) paper path, good results on plain paper and stunning on photo paper. Quick and near laser quality for B&W text. If you want a multifunction device, the Epson CX3200 is also very good. Printing as above and top scanning. Can B&W or colour copy also without the PC attached or turned on. (1205 does the same). Epson carts cheaper than HP and clones much more available and also cheaper than HP clones. C46 around £40, CX3200 around £70.

WRT Epson vs HP, how serious is the issue of print heads, which I've heard and read a bit about?

I believe HP were the first manufacturer to perfect the inkjet printer in the days when everyone was using dot matrix ones (is yours a 9 or 18 pin one?). The problem that HP had was that their inkjet mechanism had a much shorter life than that of the printer so it was made a disposable item by building it into the ink cartridge. H.P have used this principle ever since. We all know that ink cartridges can be refilled so cheating the printer manufacturers who seek to make their profits, not out of their printers, but their consumables. However when this is done with an HP cartridge, only the ink gets replenished thus the ink jet mechanism may wear out. The reason these ink jets fail may be that when the ink runs out, the heating elements in the ink jets overheat and burn out. I am not sure of this but I have now managed to keep an HP cartridge running over four ink replenishments by being careful not to let it completely run out.

Other manufacturers have subsequently developed ink jet mechanisms which have a much longer life and thus do not need replacing in this way thus when replacing their ink cartridges, all you need is a cartridge full of ink. Of course such manufacturers still make their profits by grossly overcharging for replacement ink cartridges, but third party cartridges are extremely cheap and as they do not need to contain a set of limited life print heads, usually work extremely well.
Thus on replacing an empty HP cartridge a manufacturers one with new inkjets is advisable which is costly, but cheap third party refilled cartridges for other manufacturers' ink jet printers usually work well.

P.P.