I Need An Inkjet Printer.

[farseer]

I am having a problem finding an inkjet colour printer that is only designed to print colour documents. Everywhere I look the printers are designed for printing photos and I don't want this type of printer.

I have checked various sites on the internet but their information is very misleading, I have been to the shops but the assistants are only interested in getting you to buy, none of them have a clue what the printer actually does.

I was looking for a printer that costs no more than about B4,000 and I don't want want of those all in one jobs either.

Can anyone help me find a printer that just prints colour documents.

[lopburi3]

I suspect you want a color laser printer, which don't do too well for photos but are fine for documents. For 4k do not believe you will find any.

Your price range seems to be the ink jet type - and they all print good photos but document printing will be more expensive (especially if you use good ink).

[farseer]

I suspect you want a color laser printer, which don't do too well for photos but are fine for documents. For 4k do not believe you will find any.

Your price range seems to be the ink jet type - and they all print good photos but document printing will be more expensive (especially if you use good ink).

Unfortunately, laser printers are out of my price range. I am not worried about the cost of ink etc as I will only be using the inkjet now and again, just to print a very small amount of documents, no more than say 10 pages a month.

[lopburi3]

In that case a normal Canon IP1980 for 1,300 baht would serve your purpose. You can adjust the quality. And it has the ability to print good photos if you ever want them. It has printhead in cartridge so if lack of use ever causes a problem you just replace the ink cartridge for new printhead.

[Daffy D]

I don't quite understand the problem. I would have thought documents would be easier for a printer to print than photos and as even the cheapest printer will produce reasonable photos documents should be fine.

I'm a Canon fan, the thing is to select the correct paper type for your job. For documents choose plain paper. As Lopburi suggests the Canon iP range are excellent. Look for one with separate color cartridges as you don't want to replace the lot just because one color has run out. they are also easier to refill if you want to do that.

I used to scan and print my document for immigration in full color, didn't use the printer much so didn't want the nozzles to dry out, and they, the immigration people, thought the copies were original they were so good. This was with the cheap Canon iP1000.

[farseer]

Thanks for the replies, I had an HP printer before but it kind of fell apart and I think it would cost far too much to repair it.

But I do like Canon, so have to figure out which is the right one. I will buy it from a reputable shop so that they guarantee to fix it if it goes wrong.

[Chanok]

If printing only 10 pages per month, then why not just go to any internet cafe?

For others with larger amounts of print jobs, I recommend this

Laser toner cartridges manufacturer:

[Carib]

Whatever printer you buy, check out the prices of the (refill) ink cartridges first. Some brands of printers have cartridges that expensive , it is almost better to buy a new printer by the time the cartridges are empty.

[lopburi3]

Actually at less than 1,300 baht I consider it to be a throw away/give away item if broken. Bought my current printer 8 months ago and have printed several thousand photos plus school downloads for 3 students using it and it is still working. If you go to a shop insisting on service suspect they will push you into buying much more than you really need.

[lopburi3]

The difference in ink is very apparent however. New Canon Chromalife 100 ink is totally different than previous real Canon ink for IP4000 models. This holds color in sun much, much better. Sometimes paying for good ink does pay off.

[simon43]

On the topic of colour inkjet printers, can anyone suggest a make/model that has the external, refillable ink cartridges?

I need to print photo-quality colour images, perhaps 10 A4 sheets per day, and am looking for a reliable printer where the ink cost is not excessive. I understand that using external ink bottles can substantially reduce the operating costs.

Simon

[lopburi3]

Believe these are local modifications to normal printers. But be aware cheap ink is exactly that, and will fade very quickly in sunlight. And I mean indirect sunlight - having them exposed to normal room light and they are gone in a few months time.

Edited May 28, 2009 by lopburi3

[simon43]

Hmm, never thought of that... how do I know if it's cheap ink or not!? Maybe need to do a test.. At least if there is a choice of buying 'cheap' ink and 'quality' ink, then fine. But if only cheap ink is available then I'm f**ked

Simon

[MJo]

Any cheapo ink jet from lotus or cafu will do. I personally prefer HP. Just pick one that fit's you budget and is A4 size. No hassle from sales guys if you just walk in and pick one up...

[redwood13]

The Canon IP-1980 ink-jet model is available in Pattaya at Tukcom for 2000 baht complete with external ink tanks. They suggested doing the maintenance cleaning cycle weekly to prevent clogging.

-redwood

[RKASA]

I got a Cannon IP-1980 free with a new PC a year ago and was surprised its about the best little printer I have ever had.  Its less then 1300 baht at Tesco.   Its slow to start but works fine in both Linux and windows.  Add ext tanks to it for 800 baht most any IT center.  

[Gary A]

I had an i70 Canon. Ink tanks were VERY difficult to find. I ended up ordering them from my local computer shop. Naturally I ran out of ink at a time where I needed to print some documents. I weakened and bought a refill kit. It worked just fine after I filled the tanks. The next time I wanted to use the printer, I got a print head fault. After a lot of research I decided I needed a new print head.

A new print head cost 2,500 baht. I bought an HP F-4280. It copies, scans and prints. I paid 2,500 baht for it. Ink cartridges cost 500 baht for black and 650 baht for color. The black will print 200 pages and the color 165 pages. The print set up has options to print photos on photo paper and color documents on plain paper.

If it has problems after the warranty is up, I'll be happy to throw it away and buy a new one.

[Cuban]

Unfortunately, laser printers are out of my price range. I am not worried about the cost of ink etc as I will only be using the inkjet now and again, just to print a very small amount of documents, no more than say 10 pages a month.

Inkjet printer's print-heads dry out and will need replacing if left inactive for two weeks or so, print 2/3 times a week. CISS (Continous Ink Supply System), are the rage now. Look at printing costs even if you don't care about the cost - just so that you understand what those costs are. CISS tanks can be refilled.

OEM and 'copy' replacement heads will be discontinued after the end of the makers production run of a printer. Two years ago I bought a Canon ip 1880 after 6 months I could not get even copy heads for it - so was forced to upgrade to the ip1890 (or something like that) - I opted for a CISS pack and paid in total 100 Baht less than the original printer !

Thanks for the replies, I had an HP printer before but it kind of fell apart and I think it would cost far too much to repair it. But I do like Canon, so have to figure out which is the right one. I will buy it from a reputable shop so that they guarantee to fix it if it goes wrong.

Consider the cost of the item printers are like keyboards - a consumable item to be disposed of when broken.

Whatever printer you buy, check out the prices of the (refill) ink cartridges first. Some brands of printers have cartridges that expensive , it is almost better to buy a new printer by the time the cartridges are empty.

This is the crux of the subject - not features but how long with inks be availible.

The Canon IP-1980 ink-jet model is available in Pattaya at Tukcom for 2000 baht complete with external ink tanks. They suggested doing the maintenance cleaning cycle weekly to prevent clogging. -redwood

I think I paid 1,700 B about a year ago.

[jasreeve17]

I bought an Epsom printer a few months back for around 1800 baht - it now collects dust...

Well, I use it once or twice a month for the scanner, which is good.

It's noisy and slow to start up, but the problem is the ink - very expensive and lasts no time at all. The four refils must be originals which are hugely expensive and either last less than 50 sheets or within 2 weeks the ink just dries up. Printing out 200 sheets over the first 2 months of use cost me more than the price of the printer! Absolute nightmare. I had a cannon before which was much much better.

[lopburi3]

I have a Canon IP1980 and often will go a week or more between printing but do turn on most days, and that seems to keep it clean. Have never had a print problem. Always using 40/41 Canon tanks. For a 1300 baht printer believe the output is outstanding. It is nosy doing paper feed but other than that as good as most high priced units.