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My Ultimate Printer Choice
I publish a web site that's a shopper's guide and fraud alert. I
don't identify products or suppliers by name As my site is not a
complaint department nor is it intended to punish offenders. It
is meant to keep readers informed so as to avoid fraud and get
the most value for their money.
I advertise numerous products and vendors and obviously cannot
buy and test all of them. Consequently I rarely endorse a
particular product or supplier.
On occasion I feel it's appropriate that I do endorse a product
that I have purchased and tested, and that I feel comfortable
reviewing. This is one of those cases.
For a little background: I bought my first PC with a Lexmark
1100 entry level printer about six years ago and subsequently
became a printer buff. I have had many printers including a
$350.00 Photo printer. I'm not into sophisticated photo
printing, but I do a lot of printing such as greeting cards and
various types of fancy documents for a small business that we
own. The cost of ink is a major factor in my printer purchasing
decisions. I've written several articles about printers and the
cost of ink. I favor the type printer that uses ink tanks
instead of cartridges. The tanks are inexpensive and although I
don't refill them, it's easy to do. The draw back with this
style printer in the past was that the print head was built into
the machine and they were prone to failure. The cost to replace
them was prohibitive; it wasn't something you could do yourself.
When the print head failed you junked the printer.
I just disposed of a printer that was based on the separate tank
technology; I won't mention the name. It was replaced three
times in the year that I had it. The last replacement was just
before the warranty expired and the last one prints half a page
and quits printing.
I did a search on PC World's Product Finder and found a printer
that seemed to suit my requirements. There were many positive
reviews on this particular printer and although it has been
replaced by a newer model this one was still available and at a
discounted price. The printer I bought is a Canon Pixla ip3000;
the newer model is ip4200. The difference is the new one has
chips in the tanks to indicate the ink level. A disadvantage for
refillers.
I had a couple of Canon printers in the past, which I liked, but
the print heads failed. I have to admit they weren't Canon's
tops of the line. I've found that most printers print fairly
well for the average user. Photo printing is another story.
There were a lot of reviews, all positive and according to
reviewers it does an excellent job of photo printing. You can
print right from your camera, if it's compatible, without going
through your PC. I've only had this printer for a month so I
can't vouch for its longevity. However it's by far the best
printer I ever had. It exudes quality; it's quite heavy, which
to me is an advantage. It does move around and it's virtually
silent.
It has a removable print head, which can be replaced. It's
extremely fast. And very stingy with ink. This machine has two
paper feeds, one from the top and the other from a cassette
underneath. You can load two different types of paper. It has a
rather large footprint and I think its appearance is stunning.
I'm sure many will disagree with me on that score.
This printer automatically prints both sides, a feature only
found in high priced machines. I paid less than $75.00 including
shipping charges. I just printed 300 5 ½" x 8" Christmas notes
in color and when I checked the ink tanks which are transparent
they still appear full. A set of four compatible tanks cost
$10.00. A set of traditional cartridges in Walmart cost just
under $75.00. The whole 300 went through without a paper jam.
All I can say is: " Fantastic. "
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About the author:
The author is a retired manufacturing executive with extesive
experience in procurement