Printers (1 Viewer)

[anomalousdecay]

Need a new printer as the rollers on my current one aren't functioning well anymore.

Need it to print colour, have a small size (base dimensions can't be larger than 0.4 m x 0.3 m), last me a while and be able to scan documents.

Also, with any suggestions, would prefer that I could have a look at the ink and prices of the cartridges.

Budget is less than $200. Preferably if I can find cheaper, then I will go for a cheaper one.

Inkjet or laser are both fine. I'm mostly just going to be printing reports and lecture materials. Don't need it to do anything fancy in particular other than printing in colour/b&w and scanning documents into pdf to be e-mailed, etc.

 

[seremify007]

You should have quite a few options. I bought mine from ARC but you can check Staticice once you find a model you like.

Personally, I went with an Epson Workforce WF-3530 (it's an old model now) but absolutely no regrets. I had similar usage plans to you but I really valued two things- automatic document feeder and smartphone support (particularly iPhone) for both scanning and printing. Also had to be able to operate as a standalone device without any particular computer or mobile if I needed to just copy a document (like when copying someone's ID) or to print a file easily from a USB.

Whilst it has a colour panel to use the device to scan to dropbox/cloud/email/USB drive/etc, I found it most useful just being able to manipulate the scanned image in the Epson iOS app and then email the file straight away as a PDF or JPG. Better yet it supports multiple page PDFs using the document feeder and it can do double sided too which was great for when I marked up a document to be emailed out. Note that this isn't perfect because it's slow, using crumped paper can cause it to jam and you have to start over, and the thing is a bit noisy too so you wouldn't want to try and sleep with it on... but it's very useful/effective and I think I paid about $150 from memory. The other downside is more of an iOS limitation but unless you use an app like PrinterPro to manipulate/manage PDF/documents before printing, iOS gives you very limited options in AirPrint but when you're doing something like checking into a flight on your phone and then need a quick way to print your boarding pass, it's effective for this! Oh, and it supports double sided printing too (full duplex) - but unfortunately no automatic stapling/hole punching.

Cartridges are reasonably priced and I buy genuine. But then I don't really print that much - it was more for scanning.

The only brand I'd avoid if you care about cartridges would be HP as historically they've been very expensive.

EDIT: Google says the newest version of my printer is the WF-3640 > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2461187,00.asp
Review sounds pretty consistent with what I've seen- I would never use it to print photos (beyond making copies for ID purposes) but for reports/documents/assignments it's perect.

 

[obliviousninja]

Laser.

 

[anomalousdecay]

WF-3640 seems good but it's a bit too big for the allocated space I have to put a printer

 

[seremify007]

What is your focus? Are there any must have characteristics/features? e.g. double sided printing, double sided scanning, document feeder, iOS app access, scan to cloud/email/dropbox, colour, speed, etc
... or is it just cheap and small?

 

[anomalousdecay]

What is your focus? Are there any must have characteristics/features? e.g. double sided printing, double sided scanning, document feeder, iOS app access, scan to cloud/email/dropbox, colour, speed, etc
... or is it just cheap and small?

Pretty much everything in my OP and to add I would definitely need to be able to do double sided printing (which I can do manually too although it would be painful).

Even if I could use a phone app for it, I probably would never use that and just do it all through my computer, which would be much easier imo.

 

[seremify007]

I think in your case you really just want a basic USB scanner/printer combo. The double sided printing however is a less common feature though in the basic student/home-use category (as opposed to micro-office) and typically requires a larger unit to facilitate this.

I'd be reading up on reviews online and then just look for the price on staticice.com.au to get a feel for things.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Ended up buying HP Officejet 4630 for a bargain at Officeworks.

Really like it and it caters for all my needs