Thursday, January 06, 2011
Oy. Looking for a printer/scanner in $100 range. Comparing is such a drag, compounded by the fact that most buyers who bother to post user reviews hate their printers, all makes & models, even the ones highly-rated on tech sites.
I know what I want. 90% plus of my printing is b&w text, so I need REAL BLACK in final copies, not gray, with black ink in XL refills. Don't mix those damned color cartridges in so they run out faster. Bad enough most books now are printed in gray (compare an old book with new one).
Professional reviews are suspect anyway, helpful if you remember the reviewers don't actually rely on the machines. Years ago I bought a very highly-rated Okidata b&w LCD printer. Great home use substitute for laser, they all wrote, cartridges pricey but very low cost per copy. It worked beautifully for about two months. Jammed easily. The expensive image drum went bad before the cartridge ran out. That's why I read user-reviews that begin, "I've had this printer for two weeks and....." they go on with a litany of honest complaints like constant jamming, eating up ink, murky text print. The same printer the geek reviewers set up at the office, used for an hour, mesmerized by the bells & whistles. "A bit noisy" they write, "otherwise excellent, as good as more expensive printers." Yeah, sure. I'm tempted to buy whatever is on sale for $50 at CVS drugstore, or maybe Shoprite, which was selling large screen HD TVs before Christmas.
I know what I want. 90% plus of my printing is b&w text, so I need REAL BLACK in final copies, not gray, with black ink in XL refills. Don't mix those damned color cartridges in so they run out faster. Bad enough most books now are printed in gray (compare an old book with new one).
Professional reviews are suspect anyway, helpful if you remember the reviewers don't actually rely on the machines. Years ago I bought a very highly-rated Okidata b&w LCD printer. Great home use substitute for laser, they all wrote, cartridges pricey but very low cost per copy. It worked beautifully for about two months. Jammed easily. The expensive image drum went bad before the cartridge ran out. That's why I read user-reviews that begin, "I've had this printer for two weeks and....." they go on with a litany of honest complaints like constant jamming, eating up ink, murky text print. The same printer the geek reviewers set up at the office, used for an hour, mesmerized by the bells & whistles. "A bit noisy" they write, "otherwise excellent, as good as more expensive printers." Yeah, sure. I'm tempted to buy whatever is on sale for $50 at CVS drugstore, or maybe Shoprite, which was selling large screen HD TVs before Christmas.
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I've had my Brother printer, fax, scanner and photocopier for more than a year now, with nothing wrong happening to it. I print color photos, scan a lot of pictures, photocopy stuff from work, and use the fax now and then. It cost me $69 at Office Depot.
I will never use inkjet printers again. Too jam-prone and expensive to operate. I bought this monochrome wireless laser printer last month on sale for $70. It works like a champ.
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