Which printer to buy?

[Accord Man]

Hello fellow geeks!

I'm about to buy a printer, but am not too sure as to which one I should get..

After reading up on the topic for more than 4 hours..

It seems that the Canon I550(180$ CAD) and the HP 990CXI(300-150=150 $ CAD), offer the best bang for the buck.. Though in the long run, the Canon will be less expesive to run, but the HP seems to pring slightly better pics *sniffle*..

What am I looking for.. Something economical, but that can print nice pictures, even though 98% of my printing will be black and white text.

Any suggestions, opionions and past experiences are welcomed..


Thanks,
JP

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

I just bought an HP Photosmart 7550 and it produces very nice pictures.

I believe the cannon has separate cartidges for each color, right? That will save you a lot of money if that's a feature you're interested. I checked out cannons and hps in many different stores, and though both had good quality images, I liked the HP better. The HP seemed like a better built unit also, but that's just personal opinion. On lower model hps, I noticed that you have to switch out the photo cartridge with the black cartridge to do photo prints. That's a major PITA if you do a lot of photo prints.

[ebpda9]

i have an epson 740 andi'm pretty happy with it. nice pictures, sharp crisp text. the only downside of it is that the cartridges are 40 a piece.

My 'rents got me a HP 940c for xmas last year. been a great printer.

quietest inkjet i've ever heard. quality is great. prints 2400x1200 ish in photo mode. 600x600 normal text.

very much recommended.

[Addict]

Don't buy Canon. I can't they still sell those.

HP is by far one of the best printers out. The cartridges are pricey, about $30USD per cartridge. HP is all we use at my work. You can't beat the longevity.

If you have the means, get a color laser printer.

Of course, if you can manage to borrow someone's printer (carry a disk or whatever) for a couple color print outs, then do that and get a regular laser printer.

Honestly, laser printers are cheaper to run than inkjets when you consider how often you need to replace ink cartridges vs. toner cartridges.

As far as inkjets go, I have always been happy with Epson printers.

I bought the i550 in december - very nice pic quality, quiet, and doesn't take long to boot/warm up.

[Accord Man]

Got the I550..

I was very unsure of what to do, especially after what C_A said..

I print so much, that economic is the name of the game.. Even though I'd like to have super dooper photo quality..

And I agree that in terms of quality, HP is probably the best (print and build)..

Oh and the Canon is probably the fastest...