SofaSpud,
In general there's a tradeoff between "cost to buy" and "cost to run," at least with most consumer printers.
The cheaper ones (HP Deskjet 600 series, for example) can be quite cheap, but the ink cartidges are pretty small and expensive to replace, you run through them fairly quickly ESPECIALLY if you're doing anything with color.
The more expensive printers use larger ink cartridges which cost a bit more but last a lot longer. Long term cost of operation is much lower.
Personally, I'd opt for either a Laserjet 1100, which is the low end of the laserjet line, or one of the Deskjet 800 series printers. The Laserjet is about $400, the Deskjet 800s start somewhere below that but there are several different models. All the Deskjets are color-capable but you'll save money by turning color off if you don't really need it.
There are also printer/fax/copier combinations like the Laserjet 3150 and the Officejet T45/T65 models which are all quite good if you think you'd like that capability.
Like Fred, I would not consider buying anybody else's printer.
(Yup folks, I do have lots of good things to say about HP, many of its people, and lots of its products. Just don't ever suggest that I even consider working there again...)
Hope this helps.
mg |
