Hive recommended wireless printers?

[Audrey]

I need to get a wireless colour printer/copier/scanner to run on a network that has a mix of very old XP computers and a Vista computer.

 

HP printers don't seem to like this configuration. Does anyone else use older comps with newer wireless printers? Could you recommend something for us?

 

This would be for our little town library, so preferably something around the $150 mark in price range and that has decent ink life.

 

Thank you!! :001_smile:

 

ETA: We could go as much as $175, but not over $200 at all. We don't necessarily need fax for a feature, but wouldn't disregard something that had it. We do definitely need colour printing, copying and the ability to scan documents to a computer on the network.

Edited August 15, 2012 by Audrey

[Trish]

Our computer guy says that a lot of wireless printers work fine for "a while," and then they just quit working wirelessly. I have had this happen with a couple wireless printers that we just said heck with it, and went ahead and attached them with a USB.

 

Maybe others have had a different experience? Hopefully?

[Audrey]

It's not necessarily an old computer/new printer problem, but the OS the computers are running. I've always had a heck of a time integrating a printer into a "mixed" network, whether it was XP/Vista, or Vista/7. Once I had all the computers running the same OS, it was a piece of cake.

 

Would it be possible to exclude the Vista computer? If that is possible, then it would just be a matter of finding a printer that supported XP (I just checked and it looks like Brother would be a good brand to start with).

 

No, they all have to be connected to the same network. And the Vista is the adminitrative computer because it's the newest and least cranky.