Cheap Printer

[yeti]

Hi,

I'd need a cheap printer as I am typically printing ten pages of text a month.

I had a quick look at Lotus today, here is what they have :

Epson Stylus C58, 1990 THB, 4 cartridges, 5760x1440 dpi, 90 nozzles (black) + 29x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 3 pl

Canon Pixma iP 1700, 1490 THB, 2 cartridges, 4800x1200 dpi, 320 nozzles (black) + 384x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 2 pl

Canon Pixma iP 3300, 3310 THB, 4 cartridges, 4800x1200 dpi, 320 nozzles (black) + 256x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 2 pl

What's the important information here? The resolutions which means I should go for the Epson? Or the number of nozzles, which mean I should go for Canon? As I don't print much is the 4 cartridge system useful?

Thxs for your help.

[briley]

Cost of the ink for the refill.

[yeti]

Cost of the ink for the refill.

I did not check this yet (I needed to have a look at the specs at home), but I'll find out about this tomorrow. Even if I'm not sure that given my consumption it's the most relevant data.

[Firefoxx]

Go for the Canon Pixma iP 3300. It's a bit more expensive than the others, but you're getting *quite* a lot more. It'll be worth it in the long run.

[penguin]

Canon will probably offer better print quality than the Epson. Avoid any printer where you have to install a complete new set of cartridges even when only one color runs out. There are plenty of sites where you can get a review on those printers to compare operating costs and print quality.

[h90]

Hi,

I'd need a cheap printer as I am typically printing ten pages of text a month.

I had a quick look at Lotus today, here is what they have :

Epson Stylus C58, 1990 THB, 4 cartridges, 5760x1440 dpi, 90 nozzles (black) + 29x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 3 pl

Canon Pixma iP 1700, 1490 THB, 2 cartridges, 4800x1200 dpi, 320 nozzles (black) + 384x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 2 pl

Canon Pixma iP 3300, 3310 THB, 4 cartridges, 4800x1200 dpi, 320 nozzles (black) + 256x3 nozzles (color), minimum ink droplet volume = 2 pl

What's the important information here? The resolutions which means I should go for the Epson? Or the number of nozzles, which mean I should go for Canon? As I don't print much is the 4 cartridge system useful?

Thxs for your help.

Had big problems with Canon printer (some dots did not come anymore because dry printhead). Now I have a Epson Stylus Photo R210 a longer time and no problems at all. But color is expensive.

If you only print black white, go with a cheap laserprinter at approx. 2500-3000 Baht

[lesdunbar]

G,day,

Have look at a Brother 115c. Found mine at Lotus only 2450-00 baht. Its a Printer , Scanner, Copier. Holds 4 ink cartridges and you can replace each one as they become empty. It works very good, for my use.

Hope this can help,

cheers,

lesdunbar

[elkangorito]

I think it really depends upon for what purpose you wish to use the printer.

Firstly, there are 2 types of ink cartridges;

1. cartridges with built-in print heads.

2. cartridges without built-in print heads.

The cartridges with the built-in heads are considerably more expensive than those without the built-in heads.

The printers that use the cartridges without built-in heads, have a separate printer head for all the cartridges. With most Canon models that use the cartridges without the built-in print heads, this separate printer head is available as a stand alone item. Also, separate colour cartridges are more economical than one 'colour' cartridge.

If you just want an all-purpose printer & you aren't too concerned about cost, go for a small & cheap printer that uses the cartridges with the built-in print heads & when the ink runs out, buy a new printer because it's cheaper to do this than to replace the cartridges, plus you get 12 months warranty with the new printer. The downside is that you are contributing to the already over-polluted state of the cosmos by doing this.

[yeti]

G,day,

Have look at a Brother 115c. Found mine at Lotus only 2450-00 baht. Its a Printer , Scanner, Copier. Holds 4 ink cartridges and you can replace each one as they become empty. It works very good, for my use.

Hope this can help,

cheers,

lesdunbar

I had a look at the Brother DCP130C in Lotus, but i read this and decided to forget about it.

[lingling]

Cost of the ink for the refill.

The price difference between the ip1700 and two replacement ink cartridges for the same printer, last time I checked was B150. So you may just want to buy a bunch of ip1700 printers, use it until you run out of ink and then throw it away, or donate it to a school or something. You won't have to worry about dry ink in the print head as you will always be using a brand new printer.

[Firefoxx]

You could do that. Thing is, for most cheap printers, you'll be getting partial-capacity cartridges with your new printer. Not only that, the head intialization phase will use up a *lot* of that ink. So you're going to end up buying a new printer pretty often, since you don't have much ink left to actually use. In the long run, you'll be paying much more this way, and there will be all those old printers you have to get rid of.

[yeti]

I had to go Central today (another electrical appliance died, 3 months after the 2 yrs guarantee expired), I may end up buying an all in one HP Photosmart C3180 but I have to check the cartridges price before, as they don't seem to last long.

[astral]

If yuo only print text, then go for the 2 cartridge unit.