"Cheap" printer (1 Viewer)

Puddleduck

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I am looking for a printer that is cheap to buy and run to be used by my sister and I when we are my Mum's house. We will probably print around 50 pages a month between us - maybe up to 100 depending on work etc.

I am thinking an Epson all in one would work with a printing plan as I have found the HP printers a real faff to set up. There is a Canon Pixma at Lidl next week but the replacement ink is too expensive to make it sensible.

Anyone got any experience? When not in use it would be hidden away in a wardrobe so Mum doesn't mess with it!!
 
Sep 26, 2013
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My wife does a lot of craft printing which was expensive on ink until we bought an Epson eco tank one. It prints thousands of pages without having to buy refills and a complete set of the 4 colours is around £30 or so. Well worth the initial outlay.
 
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Puddleduck

Puddleduck

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That's why I am looking at Epson and HP as we can get a print plan for less than £5 a month.

I have a super fast and economic to use laser for home use.

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Sep 26, 2013
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May 2, 2014
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The real cost of a printer is the ink. It used to be that the cheaper the printer, the more ink it used. Do your research on ink useage and even then use good compatible cartridges which cost coppers and I can't fault most of them.
I now use a Canon with bulk tanks. It cost aboy £250 but I've had it a couple of years and they're still half full. I got this because I was fed up with other printers that spent the first few minutes of every print run cleaning the print heads (with ink).
 
Jul 12, 2013
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My Canon Pixma, a really cheap model, accepts any ink not just Canons own. The present trend seems to be re-using returned cartridges at half price.

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May 2, 2014
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I am looking for a printer that is cheap to buy and run to be used by my sister and I when we are my Mum's house. We will probably print around 50 pages a month between us - maybe up to 100 depending on work etc.

I am thinking an Epson all in one would work with a printing plan as I have found the HP printers a real faff to set up. There is a Canon Pixma at Lidl next week but the replacement ink is too expensive to make it sensible.

Anyone got any experience? When not in use it would be hidden away in a wardrobe so Mum doesn't mess with it!!
My last Canon I eventually used compatibles which cost very little. Canon are as good as you can get. They've always focussed on photo quality. having said that, Ink jet printers are a mature product now and there is little difference between any of the big names.
 

pappajohn

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My wife does a lot of craft printing which was expensive on ink until we bought an Epson eco tank one. It prints thousands of pages without having to buy refills and a complete set of the 4 colours is around £30 or so. Well worth the initial outlay.
We've had ours 5 or 6 years now and still printing in the same ink it came with.
We bought colour and black refill bottles when we got it....around £8 each from memory but each is around 400ml.

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Dec 24, 2014
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Ever since lighting was by Calor gas.
I bought a wireless HP Envy 6020e (c£60). It's a printer, scanner and copier. Can print double-sided.

Easy to set up and has worked perfectly for 18 months, printing about 50 pages a month.
I also use the HP print plan (50 pages a month for £2.99) and can select/ change the plan if/whenever I need to. The printer is monitored by HP who send me new cartridges automatically.

1675711234007.png
 
Sep 26, 2013
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I bought a wireless HP Envy 6020e (c£60). It's a printer, scanner and copier. Can print double-sided.

Easy to set up and has worked perfectly for 18 months, printing about 50 pages a month.
I also use the HP print plan (50 pages a month for £2.99) and can select/ change the plan if/whenever I need to. The printer is monitored by HP who send me new cartridges automatically.

View attachment 714008
50 pages a month😭my wife sometimes does 50 pages in one night

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Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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I bought an Epson all in one last year, easy to set up and it's wireless so I can print from my phone. The print quality is not as good as the HP it replaced or my wife's Cannon.
If you don't need colour a Mono Laser would be a good choice.
 
Oct 14, 2007
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16 fun filled years
Another vote for Epsom ECO
tank, cheap as chips to run compared with every other printer I have owned

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Jan 8, 2013
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HP Laserjet printers are the best buy - considering the the cost of ink and long life.
I wouldn't have any other.
There's some great deals at Argos and Currys
 
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Puddleduck

Puddleduck

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I have a laser at home but want something cheap and cheerful to use occasionally at Mum's.

I found my old HP was a real pain to set up and frequently lost it's settings which appeared to be a common issue as evidenced by the The Community. The Canon from Lidl has really expensive replacement cartridges, even the compatible ones - a new set costs more than the printer!!

I will investigate further.

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Puddleduck

Puddleduck

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Jan 15, 2014
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My sister wants a flat plate scanner which rules out one or two smaller printers.
 
Mar 11, 2013
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I have an old Pixma and use a company called INKredible for replacement inks. Never had a problem with them and seem well priced.
 

Kelsae2

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I would back up the comments from Spriddler . We have the HP Envy 6032 on a £4.49 plan and this seems to cover all of my wife's needs for her art and craft work.
It is easy to follow on the app, plus the cartridges arrive before the old ones run out.

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Sep 17, 2017
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I got a HP Pro 9019 a couple of years ago. I needed a colour all in one that printed double sided. Only print 50 pages pretty month, so £2.99 on it instant ink plan. Colour lasers were very expensive. It's been super reliable. I can print from my pc, Chromebook, phones and even mine and my wife's locked down work laptops. A neighbour even used it once when I enabled and gave them the printer's temporary email address.
 
Aug 1, 2021
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We use HP Instant Ink on a £2.99, 50 pages per month plan - works for us! (y)
I bought a HP All-in-one printer for £25 four years ago with the Instant Ink subscription service. I only do occasional printing and some scanning. I get 15 pages a month for free. (y) On the very rare occasions I have gone over this, I get charged £1 per additional 10 pages. Price is the same whether colour or B&W. One cartridge went faulty / became depleted and HP sent out a free replacement.

The HP app is pretty decent - particularly for batch scanning and conversion to PDF. All performed from a smart phone with no need for an actual PC to be switched on.

HP quickly withdrew the "15 pages for free", plan, (but after backlash had to continue it for existing users), but the other plans detailed above seem reasonable value.

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