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Author Topic: All-In-One Printer...?  (Read 8273 times)

Offline Mayo

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All-In-One Printer...?
« on: April 10, 2007, 01:01:43 PM »
I have a friend who has switched from a PC to a MacBook Pro.  At this point she is without a working printer... her Epson 1000 ICS does not have a Mac-compatible driver available (not even a GIMP) and her 10+ Okidata laser printer?  Well, we won't go into that, will we?

My dilemma: she wants both black and white/color, and built-in fax capability would be nice.  And we want to connect the printer to her base station so she can access it via Airport.

Are there any reliable, good quality printers out there that match these wants? Or should we consider a B&W laser and color inkjet duo?

Time is of the essence because, as I mentioned earlier, she does not have a printer at this point! And I have limited time available to do research/ shop, etc.
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Offline RNKIII

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« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2007, 01:09:52 PM »
Have an HP Photosmart 3310 AIO....  Works very well via wireless and direct connect (USB).  Very good color and/or B&W printing.
Has fax capability + 'PictBridge' for digital camera connection/printing and also 4 card reader slots....

Works for me and does it all quite well.

Total value of above $.02... biggrin.gif

Bob K.   rnkiii
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Offline Mrious_be

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« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2007, 01:15:26 PM »
Not sure what the question is?
1) Like the topic tittle, about if you want an all-in-on or all seperate things.
2) Or do you just want information on what printer/fax to buy.

1) I would always suggest to get it separate. An all-in-one is really easy but in case of problems you'll have to turn in the entire machine. If it's really only a printer and fax you need than I would say to buy them separate.

2) As for printers, I am really into Canon but try not to buy a cheap one. I guess this goes for most brands, just don't be cheap on buying something, after all.. a printer is something you want to keep on working without to much hassle. So I guess all brands are ok, although I personal know of bad problems with customer support for Epson (really bad) and the quality of Lexmark... well... not to sure about that. Canon I like cause most of them have borderless A4 printing (or Letter I guess) and separate inkt cartridges, really handy since black most of the time runs out earlier than the color ones. Also the quality of printing is more than excellent I would say.

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Offline gunug

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« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2007, 01:36:39 PM »
All-In-One's generally don't do anything really well but most things okay; they have an advantage in that they don't take up too much space.  If you had a very fast one based on a color laser (or Phaser) with a nice scanner/copier/fax built in it would be great but it would probably be pretty expensive.  I'm using a Lexmark X73 which is only okay but it was free because someone else scaled up!
« Last Edit: April 10, 2007, 01:41:12 PM by gunug »
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Offline Mayo

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« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2007, 02:47:48 PM »
My friend wants to be able to scan/print/fax.  

I asked the question because my impression is that all-in-one machines are OK, but like Mrious_be stated, if something breaks the entire machine has to go in for service. And I wonder how reliable/functional an all-in-one machine will be.

Space may be an issue, although I wasn't surveying her workspace with that in mind...

I want to stay away from Epson and Lexmark based on personal experience/reputation.  So I guess that means HP and Canon are it.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2007, 02:49:09 PM by Mayo »
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Offline dolphin

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« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2007, 10:53:08 PM »
I've got an all-in-one Brother MFC-665CW. It's got wireless included and works fine for me...and m'lady has had a Brother MFC-8445 for two years which she uses a lot doing a newsletter.

Mine suits me and is reasonably priced at $179.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2007, 10:54:08 PM by dolphin »
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Offline jcarter

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« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2007, 08:12:48 AM »
I have an older Epson CX5400 and it really works well. The scans come out just fine, and printing is OK too.  I dont do much photo printing, I upload to Shutterfly, Club Photo, or others for that.  Photo printing on my Epson fade after a while, or at least the ones stuck to the kitchen wall do.
I would say that its been a very good printer/scanner overall.
Jane
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Offline sandbox

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« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2007, 09:24:00 AM »
I run a brother MFC 3240 and a Epson RX500, both are multipurpose the Epson does not have fax. I had a third MFC but I took it of line.

Epson uses dye instead of ink so your not going to Office Depot for refills, they don’t do Epson.

I’ve had Brother MFC’s for 5 years now they run efficiently and have good software. If I were to purchase a new MFC today, I’d look at a colored laser because of our large volume but for small office and home use the Brother MFC-5860cn is a good choice for $179.00 in the Brother line.

http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/ModelDetail...uctID=MFC5860CN

A dual paper tray allows you to keep two types of paper loaded at one time. For me this would serve to hold both paper and envelopes, for others it could hold letter quality paper and photo paper.
This machine has Ethernet and USB.

This machine has a document feeder which allows you to send multi-page faxes without needing to hand scan individual sheets.

It has a four-cartridge system so your only replacing the colors you need not the whole color block.

The software is easy and dependable, the TAD to Fax system works even on a digital phone (VoIP).

It’s compact and quiet enough for home use, though the New HP’s seem a bit quieter, the HP’s I looked at use a two cartridge system so ink is wasted when one color is low.
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Offline RNKIII

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« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2007, 09:43:43 AM »
The HP AIO I have has 5 carts... only need to replace what's used and the black cart is at least 2X the size of the color ones.

Bob K.   rnkiii
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Offline Mayo

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« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2007, 02:21:01 PM »
Thanks for reminding me about Brother printers; we'll be checking those out too.

So far the HP Officejet Pro L7680 is the top choice...
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MamaMoose

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« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2007, 01:16:20 AM »
I have a brother all-in-one Brother MFC-8860DN B&W double sided printer, FAX, scanner, copyer. I did not color so the total price is ~ $400. I found it faster when printing than my GCC B&W 21 duplex laser printer. It come shighly rated and I am sure that adding color will not hinder performance. Its performance is superb especially the FAX and scanner.

MamaMoose

I have a brother all-in-one Brother MFC-8860DN B&W double sided printer, FAX, scanner, copier. I did not color so the total price is ~ $400. I found it faster when printing than my GCC B&W 21 duplex laser printer. It come highly rated and I am sure that adding color will not hinder performance. Its performance is superb especially the FAX and scanner.

MamaMoose
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Offline sandbox

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« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2007, 01:24:42 AM »
Thanks for clearing that up up Bob, I happen to be at office depot and notice the two cart system on HP's but I didn't look under the hood on all of them. wink.gif

Mayo, the HP Canon, Epson lines are higher quality machines, but Price per page is usually more as well as cost out front. The Brother's I mentioned is $139 at amazon, so even if it only lasted a few years you could replace it with a new one and still save money. if you want a quality photo printer maybe HP is a better choice, both my brother printers do well but not as well as the epson RX500 that uses dye.

If you need speed this printer is not the fastest out there, but if you need copies or faxes that's where it excels. They rate around 6.5 -7.5 because they're not fast, seems to be the biggest complaint. I don't care about speed, my printing needs are often but minimal. 1 to 3 pages 10 times a day. We have a colored letterhead so the cost per sheet is about 3¢, which would be 5¢ on the epson. The price to replace the ink is about $45. The epsons 6pack is almost $80. apples and oranges. wink.gif

If the HP has a 5 cart system the cost is probably $14x4 and the black is $23ish retail close to $80 per replacement.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2007, 01:30:35 AM by sandbox »
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Offline Mayo

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« Reply #12 on: April 12, 2007, 01:25:19 AM »
Are there any Brother color all-in-one units?  All I have found are B&W...
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Offline sandbox

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« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2007, 01:40:23 AM »
« Last Edit: April 12, 2007, 01:55:50 AM by sandbox »
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Offline Frances144

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« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2007, 03:34:28 AM »
I have all-in-one printer scanner copier.  HP 2175.  Very good.  Not too expensive to run but I don't have the fax on as I have not worked out how to do that with Broadband!

Also I don't like faxes as this system is so abused in the UK - piles and piles of rubbish even if you subscribe to the FPS.  No one seems to send faxes anymore that are actually for me.

oh yes, and for photo printing, once you get the settings sorted out, it is not that bad!
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