Comments on: Printer and Scanner, or All-In-One? Readers Weigh In

By: Limitedmage

Limitedmage — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:34:08 +0000

I have a cheap-o HP Deskjet All-in-one. Scans really nicely at max. 1200 dpi. Prints OK, but not as good as my old HP Deskjet printer did before it broke. But I’ve had it for almost 2 years now and it works great, no problems at all. And best of all, I’ve saved lots of space on my desk.

By: Of Zen and Computing

Of Zen and Computing — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:35:07 +0000

I agree with John on the more unfortunate points of owning an inkjet. If you don’t use it frequently you may have issues with the ink congealing or drying, or the cartridges themselves having a built-in expiration “feature” by the manufacturer.

By: JohnMc

JohnMc — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:52:29 +0000

I used to be the printer god at a fortune 10. If you are going to look at an all in one, then prepare to pay >$250 for it. Anything less than that is crud and guaranteed to break in less than 18mos.

At my home office I have the following setup –

1/ $120 mono laser on the network.
2/ Xerox duplex Scanner [$400] Yeah alot of money but I scan a TON of docs and need the reliability. A Visioneer at $140 would also work.
3/ Drop.io [website] for sending a receiving faxes. I don’t do a lot of faxing these days so that occasional need is handled by this free service. Highly recommended.

Yes I spent more than those $200 wonders but the equipment is 3 years old and still working as good as the day it was purchased. Any single function dies I replace that unit only.

If you really, really need a all-in-one then go with a laser based product. The inkjet models will eat you alive in cartridge costs. I was partial to the old Lexmark X400. But alas it has been discontinued. My pick today? HP Laserjet 1522 MFP. Its laser, has all the function and is <$400. You will still have it 4 years from now. The annual use cost is better than those cheapie inkjet models.

By: df5

df5 — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:07:12 +0000

Repair is a non option.

2 devices, each that does their, and only their, job well. You might pay a little more up front, but the quality should be better and on first device failure you will recoup your up front costs.

Smaller utilities doing a defined job very well. It’s the UNIX way!