Even the upper end come with "starter" carts, blame it on the ever decreasing prices. The money is in the consumables, so they want you to buy at least one set. Even the upper end Oki and Kyocera printers I buy regularly come with very light starter sets.
Dryce
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Not all which was why I used the term "more likely".
Manufacturers are coy about this so it can be difficult to determine what the
situation is until you open the box.
Samsung and HP are consistently naughty in this regard IMHO, whereas Lexmark, Canon, and Brother are more likely (IME) to give you regular cartridges.
My need is for an A3 printer & I ran a Canon BJC6500 for many years on cheap copy ink tanks. The print heads only needed replacing occasionally, making it quite economical to run. Much cheaper to run than a HP that I previously had (although the HP gave slightly superior prints)
Following a recent scanner failure I've changed to an all-in-one Brother A3 printer/scanner/fax/copier network printer. Haven't figured out how to use all the features yet and haven't got through a set of ink tanks yet so can't comment on costs.
Following a recent scanner failure I've changed to an all-in-one Brother A3 printer/scanner/fax/copier network printer. Haven't figured out how to use all the features yet and haven't got through a set of ink tanks yet so can't comment on costs.
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I'm in the HP camp. Have been using a HP720C for the past 11years without a problem. Always get replacement (non HP) cartridges online from a company in Somerset whose name escapes me right now.
For ink tanks/cartridges I've used www.Tonik.co.uk for years, very reliable, replace any faulty items without question.
Dryce
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They don't make them like they used to
One company I left in the eighties still had an old LaserJet 2 running in the late nineties. I had a LaserJet IIIP for 9 years that still worked fine but was taking up too much space.
But:
We've seen a number of LaserJet 4050 series failures.
And we've had a 970c and 1220c both fail within 3 years.
I've got a 8250 that developed problems in under 2 years of light use.
Dryce
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Being quite the sage this evening but ....
We've had two Epsons used in the office. Quality great. But clogged nozzles even in regular use. The amount of hassle and waste they caused when you need something out in a hurry and then discover discoloured banding is infuriating.
I've had limited experience (but none bad so far) of Canon.
Back to your original question, are there other factors in your choice?
Do you need wired or wireless network connection? Is photo quality important?
Whilst replacement inks are a major factor, initial purchase also is of consideration if specific features are improtant.
Do you need wired or wireless network connection? Is photo quality important?
Whilst replacement inks are a major factor, initial purchase also is of consideration if specific features are improtant.
Beware that the cartridges supplied in many new printers these days are only half capacity compared to the replacement ones .
The use of aftermarket cartridges will invalidate a warranty , although these cartridges are undoubtedly cheaper . In the case of an expensive photo printer ( £500 upwards ) it is probably worth bearing the extra cost of sticking with the manufacturer's ink for the warranty period then using whatever you like , but with a sub £50 printer I'd just use the cheapest ink I could find .
The use of aftermarket cartridges will invalidate a warranty , although these cartridges are undoubtedly cheaper . In the case of an expensive photo printer ( £500 upwards ) it is probably worth bearing the extra cost of sticking with the manufacturer's ink for the warranty period then using whatever you like , but with a sub £50 printer I'd just use the cheapest ink I could find .
grober
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Particularly true of laser printer toner cartridges AFAIK.
Dieselman
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It doesn't although the machine will record non genuine consumables so any fault attributed to that should be chargeable, but manufacturers are pretty sloppy about charging for erronious calls...well, never do..
Dieselman
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Not the newer stuff.
Older units were made by Canon, newer ones are in house..but at least you get on site Carepack coverage, depending on model.
Dieselman
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The manufacturers work on consumables costing 4-5 times the equipment cost per annum...
The most expensive printer to buy is the one with the lowest price tag. Colour inkjets regularly cost 50p-£1 per print, but nobody actually checks the page count against ink cost.
Generic ink reduces the cost but tends to increase problems and reduce quality.
Current Canon is now three years old and still going strong, previous one must be 5-6 yrs old still in daily use at our church.
I've installed a few brother inkjets recently and they appear to be good value - not had them long enough to comment on reliability.
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Always had HP inkjet printers but recently switched to Canon following an unfortunate episode with an HP all-in-one. I have an MX850 (I need networking) which isn't a budget model, but it's built like a tank and the ink cartridges are quite reasonable (~£30/set of 5). I've only ever heard good things about Canon printers. Hope that helps.
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Had a look at this site -- what's the difference between colour laser and colour solid ink?
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For me:
HP inkjets, Lexmark lasers.
Epson are ok but tend to get rattly/squeaky when they get on a bit and lose their calibration. Plus, there is the disadvantage that the printhead is built in to Epson printers, and when that fails, it's cheaper to bin the printer. Whereas with HP, the printhead is built into the ink cartridge (on most) so is replaced every time you change the cartridge, keeping your prints nice and sharp.
I've found from experience that Epsons don't like some compatible inks and in the worse case, the compatible ink can cause the printhead to block up leaving a lot of work to get it unblocked. One company I work for had to bin a couple of C66s because of this. They've gone back to buying genuine cartridges again.
That's one more advantage for HP cartridges and compatible ink - if you get a bad cartridge where the ink clogs the printhead, it shouldn't hurt the printer. Just change the cartridge for a new one and away you go.
I used to have a Canon BJC-620 inkjet (back in the day) - one of THE best printers I've ever owned. It did literally thousands of prints in a very short timespan, the cartridges were dead cheap and it was reliable. That printer printed well over what the manufacturer said it would do, by several thousand!
I despise Lexmark inkjets (I used to sell them), but their lasers are really superb. I have a C534dn on my desk which is an excellent and surprisingly economical piece of kit.
HP lasers also have a great reputation but are that much more expensive.
Solid ink is heated and melted inside the printer. Laser printers melt toner (fine coloured powder) onto the page.
HP inkjets, Lexmark lasers.
Epson are ok but tend to get rattly/squeaky when they get on a bit and lose their calibration. Plus, there is the disadvantage that the printhead is built in to Epson printers, and when that fails, it's cheaper to bin the printer. Whereas with HP, the printhead is built into the ink cartridge (on most) so is replaced every time you change the cartridge, keeping your prints nice and sharp.
I've found from experience that Epsons don't like some compatible inks and in the worse case, the compatible ink can cause the printhead to block up leaving a lot of work to get it unblocked. One company I work for had to bin a couple of C66s because of this. They've gone back to buying genuine cartridges again.
That's one more advantage for HP cartridges and compatible ink - if you get a bad cartridge where the ink clogs the printhead, it shouldn't hurt the printer. Just change the cartridge for a new one and away you go.
I used to have a Canon BJC-620 inkjet (back in the day) - one of THE best printers I've ever owned. It did literally thousands of prints in a very short timespan, the cartridges were dead cheap and it was reliable. That printer printed well over what the manufacturer said it would do, by several thousand!
I despise Lexmark inkjets (I used to sell them), but their lasers are really superb. I have a C534dn on my desk which is an excellent and surprisingly economical piece of kit.
HP lasers also have a great reputation but are that much more expensive.
Solid ink is heated and melted inside the printer. Laser printers melt toner (fine coloured powder) onto the page.
Dieselman
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What do you mean by colour solid ink.?
Laser is dry polymer toner, ink is wet ink.
Do you mean the Gelsprint machines, if so it's a wax product.
If you mean Pantone solid colours then that means it can produce precise Pantone colour shades.
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