Printer for dorm

[zepfan_75]

I am looking for a printer for my roommate and I to use in our dorm room in college, but I am having a heck of a time finding one that suits all of our performance needs while being relatively cheap and reliable.

After talking to my roommate I have singled out these qualities we wish the printer to have:
-Automatic duplex printing
-The ability to scan documents
-Wifi connectivity
-Average-Good quality black, and color printing (no excellent prints needed)
-Reliable
-Cheap ink/doesn't guzzle ink
-Average speed in black and color printing

Budget: $100-$150

I have heard a horror story that Epson printers have automatic maintenance routines to keep the print quality high and after a certain amount of time/wear the printer will shutdown and stop all functions until the printing heads are replaced. I was wondering if this is just some kind of exception, if I could shut it off, or if I needed to steer clear of all Epson printers. For all comments/suggestions thank you in advance it is most appreciated.

 

[hang-the-9]

You don't want much, cheap, duplex, cheap ink. reliable, wifi, scanner.

Reliable you can toss out the window for most multi-function systems under $500 or $1,000 that are made for businesses.

If you want cheaper ink cost you need to get a laser printer which for a multifunction color will be a lot more than your budget.

This one may be OK http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/245909/kodak_office_hero_61_allinone_printer_review_everything_but_speed.html , but keep in mind ink jets tend to fail quite often, don't expect more than a few years worth out of this thing.

 

[gr8ful]

I just bought a Canon PIXMA MG5320 ($91 on Amazon) for my college-bound kid which I believe does everything you mentioned but is above average speed. You can also print from an iPhone. Not sure about Android.

I can print from my Android phone to my Epson Workforce Pro and it is the fastest and best printer I've owned (I've been buying printers since the 80's). Epson has been known for great photo printers, however ink used to clog up if not used every few days (they may have fixed that by now). This is a big printer suitable for small office.

I've never heard of the Epson "horror story". My printer does not do that. In fact I get regular software/driver/firmware updates (my previous HP did not).

The current crop of (under $150) HP's are getting pretty low ratings. Epson and Canon are getting better ratings.

You can also find sites that measure how expensive ink is. (You cannot just go by the price.) They print the same pages with the same quality on different brands of printers and measure the cost of ink. Unfortunately I don't recall who has the cheapest ink, but if that matters to you, you can google it.