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Thread ID: 123484 2012-02-28 00:43:00 What printer for general use. Bryan (147) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1261854 2012-02-28 00:43:00 I have a Canon MP170 printer at present. It is a mutifunction but I am very disollusioned at its poor usage of ink.

I do not print much, maybe 50 pages a month tops! When I replace the two cartridges, one black and one colour it seems that I get an advice within two to three months that the ink is low.

Can anyone advise me of any multifunctioned printer, black and white would do, that has a long print life for its cartridges. At present the two Canon cartridges cost about $100 and I am getting heartily sick of having to pay this out every three months.

I do have an Epson stand alone scanner that I could use to scan into the computer and then maybe use a laser printer to print the copy from the PC. Do laser's allow you to print from a hard copy or does it need to be from the PC? How do the ink toner prices compare?
Bryan (147)
1261855 2012-02-28 00:48:00 Its possible there is nothing wrong with the usage of ink. The inks will evaporate over time once they have been installed, with or without usage. wainuitech (129)
1261856 2012-02-28 01:05:00 Buy the cheap Brother laser that is on special everywhere at the moment :) Zippity (58)
1261857 2012-02-28 01:06:00 You can often get cheap lasers for around $100, buy one instead of a set of cartridges and use it for 3 months and see how it compares?
Toner tends to cost a lot more than ink but last a lot longer also, price per page is generally quoted as cheaper on laser.
Not sure what you mean by print from a hard copy sorry.

I print so little my ink dissappears before I get around to using it - either dries up or evaporates, so I use cheap aftermarket inks instead of the proper ones. They save a lot of money and if my printer has problems I just throw it away and get another one. They are pretty cheap unless you buy the fancy models.
dugimodo (138)
1261858 2012-02-28 01:22:00 I'm not sure but I wonder if I have a sheet, say an invoice or the page of a book that I want to copy, will a cheap laser allow manual printing of that or does the printer only copy something that is on the computer? Bryan (147)
1261859 2012-02-28 01:30:00 Like you, I got sick of the high cost of ink so I bought a cheap Brother laser ptr. I have a stand-alone Canon scanner and that came with the Canoscan software that allows you to, amongst other things, scan and print.

So, yes, with the right software, you can scan to a laser printer. Check if Epson has the software to do this.
linw (53)
1261860 2012-02-28 03:50:00 Do you wait for the ink to run out? Mine will go for 2 - 3 months, after the warnings. Canon Pixma iP1600 - about same use as you, and last at least 7 months. I bought this July 2006 and are only now on my 8th set. CL41 & PG40 Peter H (220)
1261861 2012-02-28 06:19:00 Same cartridges and yes I do wait until they run out. Bryan (147)
1261862 2012-02-28 18:55:00 I anold HP l7380 9 (3years or so) deskjet all in one and that prints about 700-900 colour/black pages with the ink only costing around 18.00 for colour and 24.00 for black originals PeterQ (16315)
1261863 2012-02-28 22:49:00 Been using lasers since 1996. Cheaper and we don't need color ..

As for manual copying. Get the multifunction lasers then. Or you could just get a separate scanner but that needs a computer - bootup and then use the software etc ...
Nomad (952)
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