swimmermom3 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 One of the kids inadvertently hastened the demise of my beloved HP Photosmart 3210 All-in-one printer. I am one sad mother right now. What are your suggestions for a replacement? I wouldn't mind having a wireless printer and it needs to be a workhorse that can print, scan, and copy in color. Please help as the quality of one child's final days of vacation depend upon it.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 At Staples there is an HP color laser AIO that normally is $500 and is now just $250. Not sure how long it lasts though, we got ours on Saturday. It isn't the fastest laser printer you can buy, but it's fast enough for me and I just love its output. It isn't wireless, but it is network-ready. Another downfall is its frequent calibration, but I am used to it, as I've used HP color laserjets exclusively for the past 5 years or so. I just printed out all of Math Mammoth 1A and 1B. I scanned my high school year book and the photos look great on my computer (organizing class reunion this year). For $250, I just love this Color Laser All-in-one printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 We have an HP 6500 wireless. We've had our for about a year, it's so nice to be wireless. There is probably a newer model now, but we've had good success with this one. We don't print photos so I can't say what quality it does with those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansamy Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hp 8500 Wireless. I had to buy the wired version (for $155) because our home is so small I can't justify a wireless one. I am printing my dc's math, grammar, bible and spelling curricula. I have spent weeks researching a printer that gives a low cost per page for black and color. The Lexmarks that cost 1c per page for black have a much higher than average cost per page for color, so advertising hype aside, I ruled them out. The Kodaks inks may be cheaper, but their cost per page is not significantly better than the HP or Lexmark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Canon Image Class 300 series Black & White Laser on sale NOW $89.99 (I think) Less with a teacher card Already have a great color printer (forget what kind, though) can't justify spending more on a color laser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Oops It's at Office Depot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I love our laser printer...Ours is a Brother, but I'd go with the one on sale in the pp. We spend $120 on sale a few years ago. I also use a cheap Inkjet when I need color...color laser printers (and toner) are not in our budget. A $60 cartridge lasts us about a year with lots of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Thanks everyone for your replies. You have given me a couple more options to explore. I do have another question. For those of you that have laser printers for home schooling, why? The quality of my inkjet pages has been very good and what I print usually stays within our house. What advantage would I have in getting a laser printer? Would the cost be worth that advantage? Even though I worked in advertising and grew up in design, I admit that when it comes to printers, my basic requirements are: reliability, sharp lines, and true colors. Orange flesh tones are the equivalent of fingernails on the chalkboard.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 For us I spend $$$ buying ink for the other one. And If one color is out, it will not print. I can order less expensive ink on-line and it lasts forever, it seems. The price on the laser printer was perfect. The laser is for co-op stuff and hubby for work when he works from home and for his moderately expensive & time consuming hobby. (fantasy sports) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I have two printers - an HP Laser printer that I bought in 1997 that still rocks. Cartridges last forever. It's fab. B&W only (did we have color in 1997?). And a color printer. An HP. Cheap. $50 or so. Since I have to replace my color printer about every year I went cheap. I've tried all the color printers -- epson, hp, etc. but they've all died early deaths. So, cheap it is on this front for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie.Louise Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I have an old HP laserjet 4L. I LOVE it. The cartridges are only about $20 and print 2000 or 3000 pages, I think it is 3000. It is only B&W, but I use it for printing their work. Katie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 (edited) I have an HP OfficeJet 6500 Wireless that I love, love, love! Especially since our primary computer is now a laptop. We found it at Sam's Club for a good price. Our last printer was not an HP, and I hated it. It had horrible picture quality and it refused to print once the ink level got below 1/4 full. I felt like it was always trying to get me to buy more ink than I needed. I've been so happy to come back to HP, even if ink is expensive. Edited August 17, 2010 by bonniebeth4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 :bigear: Yeah. Mine died, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoife Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Thanks everyone for your replies. You have given me a couple more options to explore. I do have another question. For those of you that have laser printers for home schooling, why? The quality of my inkjet pages has been very good and what I print usually stays within our house. What advantage would I have in getting a laser printer? Would the cost be worth that advantage? Even though I worked in advertising and grew up in design, I admit that when it comes to printers, my basic requirements are: reliability, sharp lines, and true colors. Orange flesh tones are the equivalent of fingernails on the chalkboard.:D I would get a laser for workhorse printing and an inkjet for color when needed. Reason being you can get toner refill kits for laser that take the cost of printing down astronomically. For instance in my AIO laser printer I can get 10 toner refill kits for 50 bucks shipped. Each of these refill kits are good for about 2k pages of printing. That makes each page (including the cost of paper) about .0105 each and you cannot beat that for printing costs. So if you are looking to be cost effective then that is definitely the way to go. If we need color we use our epson color inkjet printer and use ink refill kits for that too otherwise the cartridges cost an arm and a leg. However even with using inkjet refill kits the cost of the inkjet versus the laser is pretty big. So my advice is use a laser for main printing and an inkjet only when color is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 (edited) Our latest printer is the color laserjet print-scan-copy-fax machine mentioned above. I am printing off beautiful, realistic photographs, using special laser glossy photo paper. I have to be sure to check a few settings in order to get true colors for portrait photographs. It prints them off very fast and they're instantly dry. The toner will last us a long, long time. My husband has a B&W laser printer, and I don't think we've ever changed the toner in that thing, and I've scanned/copied hundreds of things, as well as my husband using it for his work. He only needs b&w prints. But the world opens up with a color laser aio! Normally I use a very professional printing site online when I want to print off photographs to hang on the wall, but these prints from my new laser printer are looking better than I ever expected! Here's the typical advantages of laser printers, once you lay down the initial investment: Fast printing More economical to use in the long run (cartridges last a long time) Prints emerge dry to the touch High quality prints, very crisp and accurate So I think, if you can find a deal on a good color laser, that might be the best option, especially for homeschoolers who print a lot. I'll going to be printing off hundreds of 8x11 art appreciation prints, that would have cost so much to buy these prints. I just printed off all our not-back-to-school photos, including 8x11, 5x7, and wallets. Printed off our color worksheets. Scanned in high school reunion yearbook. Scanned in book covers to use as cover pages to our school binders. I'm so psyched! Edited August 17, 2010 by Satori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I have two printers, a Brother HL-2070N B&W laser printer and an HP OfficeJet 6500 wireless color inkjet printer (with scanner, photocopying functions, etc.) I use the laser printer for most stuff and the inkjet printer when I need color. I don't print photographs at home -- I send them to Costco and pick them up. The laser printer is much cheaper on a per-page basis. I bought it after years of being sick of dealing with clogged ink jet heads when I needed to print professional-looking documents for my volunteer work. I bought the color printer when I realized that color output was going to be genuinely helpful for some of our homeschooling needs. I've been quite happy with both of these printers. The HP doesn't see that much use -- sometimes it sits there, turned off, for months. I have yet to experience a clogged print head, which would be a likely problem to have with an inkjet that's not used often. The Brother is our workhorse printer and is used frequently. I recommend carefully investigating the cost per page of the printers you are considering. The difference between two otherwise similar printers can add up to a lot of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I have an old HP that I used to love but that relationship quickly turned sour. :glare: Acts up a lot, but still prints well when it is working. The ink doesn't last and it is costly to replace so I wouldn't consider HP again. That being said, we just purchased an Epson Artisan 810 wireless. It's all-in-one and does duplex printing/copying. I did a ton of research. My choices were btwn Epson and Brother for the low cost ink replacement and the ability to change only ONE color cartridge at a time (only the one that runs out). Epson had the best ink for the price. I'm hoping I will love it as much as I loved the reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick_Mom Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Our Samsung CLP 300 is generally good, but it can be temperamental *and* it eats toner like nobody's business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootyTooty Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Our latest printer is the color laserjet print-scan-copy-fax machine mentioned above. I am printing off beautiful, realistic photographs, using special laser glossy photo paper. I have to be sure to check a few settings in order to get true colors for portrait photographs. It prints them off very fast and they're instantly dry. The toner will last us a long, long time. My husband has a B&W laser printer, and I don't think we've ever changed the toner in that thing, and I've scanned/copied hundreds of things, as well as my husband using it for his work. He only needs b&w prints. But the world opens up with a color laser aio! Normally I use a very professional printing site online when I want to print off photographs to hang on the wall, but these prints from my new laser printer are looking better than I ever expected! Here's the typical advantages of laser printers, once you lay down the initial investment: Fast printing More economical to use in the long run (cartridges last a long time) Prints emerge dry to the touch High quality prints, very crisp and accurate So I think, if you can find a deal on a good color laser, that might be the best option, especially for homeschoolers who print a lot. I'll going to be printing off hundreds of 8x11 art appreciation prints, that would have cost so much to buy these prints. I just printed off all our not-back-to-school photos, including 8x11, 5x7, and wallets. Printed off our color worksheets. Scanned in high school reunion yearbook. Scanned in book covers to use as cover pages to our school binders. I'm so psyched! Question about the printer you bought. How much room does it take up and does it have a manual paper feed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.