The next question is:
Do I stick with my 8-9 year old HP Deskjet 930c and just buy a new color ink cartridge for it = $40
OR
Do I buy something like this HP Deskjet D4360 Inkjet Printer (all-in-one) for $80 or
HP DeskJet 6940 Inkjet Printer (all-in-one + networkable) for $100. Actually, doing a search for printers at OfficeMax, I have no friggen idea how to choose between the different models.
If I got an all-in-one, I would then have a scanner (which I don't now). But then again, I don't really NEED a scanner.
[deep sigh]
Opinions appreciated
8 comments:
Hm. SmartMan got me a Canon MP970 for Valentine's last year, and I love it so much I want to marry it.
I never thought I would use the scan and copy functions as much as I do.
Of course, we were both employed when we bought it, so you probably don't want to spend that much.
I'd go for the all-in-one.
I bought a new printer over the summer. I have a separate scanner that is admittedly old and should be replaced eventually, but works well for what it's doing right now (mostly electronic deposits.)
What do you want to scan, and what do you want to print. For my uses I try to buy something that's specific for what I want to do, so my new printer is a photo printer.
When I replace the scanner, I want a high quality one than I have now, since I'll eventually start scanning old photographs to repair.
If you think you'll want to do any of those things in the future, don't get the all in one unit. Get separate units that are rated good for what you need.
If you don't care about high quality printing or high res scanning, then an all in one should be fine.
I *personally* would get new color cartridges and then keep an eye out for really good deals on new printers and scanners that did precisely what I needed.
Left from the previous post:
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highER
REscanning
Oooh, I can see why you love it. Yah, a little too $$$ for me.
I'm leaning towards the all-in-one. Quality is a bit more reliable that way. Plus, I could print photos if I wanted to.
Due to the experience of having -- and subsequently throwing away -- several all-in-one units here at work, I opt (like Michelle K) for individual pieces of equipment that are rated well for the job they need to do.
I, personally, own a HP PhotoSmart printer (black ink cartridge exchanges out for a photo ink cartridge, the tri-color stays in all the time) which can print photos and/or regular documents. Then, I have a small Canon scanner off to the side.
My friend Sarah just bought an Epson scanner that I think has an LED light in it, and loves it because it's "ready" so quickly. I tend to avoid Epson printers (more bad experiences).
I tend to agree with you all on the specific hardware practice. Something that does 3 things rarely does any of them well.
However, when I was looking at the printers online, the ones that weren't specifically for photos were mostly all-in-ones.
Looks like my best option is C - borrow someone else's printer for color documents. I've had two offers so far, and I know of one or two more who would probably gladly share their color printing with me.
I hate being dependent on others like this, but every little bit of savings helps in these times.
The cheaper all in ones do nothing well, there's a price point you have to pass before they are decent at anything. In our experience, that price point is well over $100, but we haven't bought one in a few years. YMMV.
The newer machines with the newer cartridges will have a better dpi than what you would have for your 930c.
Having sold printers at OMax for many years, I can say that HP is pretty user friendly and the quality is good. We always had more people telling us about how reliable their HP is over anything else.
Of the two you linked to, though, neither of them are all in ones. The 6940 will get you a noticably better print quality than the 4360.
We have an all in one and rarely use it for anything more than printing, but it's nice to have the scanning option when we need it.
Epson printers typically have a higher dpi than HP, but aren't as user friendly. Also, their cartridges don't have the option to be refilled (at least at OMax) if you were going to go that route.
As long as the 930 was still working, and if you didn't need photo printing, then I'd probably just keep that. But if you would like to upgrade, I'd go with the 6940. The extra $20 will get you almost double the print quality and a faster rate of pages per minute, as well as the print sharing.
Hope that helps.
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