ok i need a cheap printer...

[theholylancer]

ok my friend's mom is kinda bad at anything that has to do with computer so she spen 10 dollar and brough a SERIAL printer.... and then spen like 50 dollars on ink to try and get it working... WTF so i need someone to recommand a good cheap USB printer that uses as little ink as possible and god damit i recommand it to her....

 

[smitbret]

Epson Stylus Photo R200.
-Brett

 

[blah]

Does she print b/w or color?

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[Osage]

To holy lancer

I agree with blah, Toms hardware guides has some excellent printer reviews with per page ink consumable costs.

But look at two factors---initial purchase price and per page printing costs. Factor in projected number of pages that will be printed over a few years and you are getting somewhere in terms of evaluating costs.

In general, all printer manufacters make printers with low initial purchase price but nearly all use small volume ink jet cartridges that will have a high per page costs.

With printers with the printhead seperate from the cartridge
which means either a canon or epson, there is some hope of beating this low initial purchase cost sqeeze by obtaining dirt cheap non-oem replacement cartridges on the Internet. I use bulkinkjetcarts.com but there are a number of good vendors. So consider a canon ip1500 which I just saw on sale at Fry's for $30. Just don't expect perfect color balance in photo's with non-oem cartridges. Also consider teh canon ip3000 which uses the larger cartridges, it may cost $20-30
more than a ip1500 but its per page consumable costs is way less.

In my case, I bought a Canon ip4000 which I have seen priced as low as $80 but often on sale at $100. THG tests list it coming in at three cents per page B/W and eight cents on color using OEM ink.I figure using non-oem cartridges that I am printing at around a half cent on B/w and about a penny and a half on color text in terms of ink consumable costs.

I am not as familar with the epson line but their printer's also offers low cost printing using non-oem cartridges. Just look at the THG printer evaluations. But when you consider the worse printers in THG come in at twenty or more cents per page, midrange is around a dime, its those canon and epson models that lead the pack in test after test when compared on initial purchase price.

If your friends Mom will use only black and white, you might also consider a monocrome laser.

I warn of the new canon's using the new long life inks. The canon ip1600 and ip4200 because Canon has added a chip that may limit using non-oem cartridges and prevent refilling.

Also consider a multifuctional. Its nice to have a scanner and maybe a fax added. But worth the extra cost only if you your friends mom can use them.

Lots of choices out there, do the research and math, and make a choice. Buy new and you get a warranty so you won't get a pig in the poke.