Astrophilatelist- Space Cover Collector 21 Jun 2016 06:26:16pm
I need to buy a new printer/scanner as my old one has died after 13 years. What ones can others recommend? I am looking at HP for my new one. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
The one bit of advise I can give... price out the cost of replacement ink cartridges VS other printers BEFORE you buy one! Some printers use multiple color cartridge and some are just plain more expensive than others.
You may get a deal on a printer only to find out it was on sale because nobody was buying it because the ink cost too much!
A dedicated scanner will provide better image quality and control than an all-in-one unit. I swear by Epson scanners, specifically the v5x0 series. The Canon Lide series is widely touted, although from firsthand testing I find them inferior to the Epson, at least with respect to surface detail.
Determine the optical resolution of any prospective scanner.
Almost every scanner offers to 'scan' at resolutions higher than their optical (think 'physical') resolution, an effect they achieve algorithmically, which really ain't the same thing.
My son-in-law told me that the rule amongst smart, professional graphics people is to only buy scanners with curved/rounded covers; if the cover is flat, you will soon be using the top of the scanner for storage, and will need to move that stuff every time that you want to scan something. I told him that what I liked about my flat-topped scanner was that it doubled as storage space ...
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
I agree that a stand-alone scanner is a much better option than an all-in-one. Less convenient, maybe, but it depends on what you'll use it/them for. I have 3 scanners: An HP Scanjet, a Microtek Scanmaker and an HP Officejet all-in-one. The HP Scanjet does a superb job on reflective materials, but not so much with transparencies. The Microtek does a superb job with transparencies, but not so much with reflectives. The HP Officejet is pretty useless for anything other than scanning or printing at 11x17 - and the scan and print controls and quality are horrid, the ink cartridges ridiculously expensive, and it doesn't take kindly to compatible cartridges. Quite frankly, I wish I'd never bought the thing. I'll probably never buy an all-in-one again.
For printers, I've always had Canon inkjets. My last Canon lasted more than a decade and was replaced with another Canon. The quality is pretty impressive, although the Canon-branded ink cartridges can be pricy. I usually use compatible cartridges, though - at sometimes less than a quarter of the cost of the Canon brand - and have had no quality issues with most of them.
I was space-limited so I opted for a Canon PIXMA all-in-one (MG6420) and have had no regrets. I avoid the exorbitant price of OEM ink cartridges by purchasing replacements from a low-priced ink provider. The scan quality has been sufficient for my purposes.
There are a lot of compatible cartridges out there. I usually search on Amazon, paying attention to the reviews. I believe Staples sells compatible ink as well, although I tried them with my previous Canon and they weren't so great (very watery and flaked off glossy photo papers). There's another compatible brand called "G&G", that's also not so great. The last 2 batches I bought were unbranded 20-packs from a reseller on Amazon and have had no issues.
Astrophilatelist- Space Cover Collector 24 Jul 2016 06:13:47pm
re: Types of scanners
I finally gat a new scanner an HP OfficeJet 4655 printer/scanner/copy/fax. I do not plan to use it as a fax. I like the quality of the scans and printing.
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