Help me choose an affordable all in one printer

[vaindioux]

Hi

My Canon S630 has died. I (and Lilla from this forum) have tried it all, I have given up after a 10 day battle. I have stuff I need to print so it's time to move on.
Ok here is the deal, my PC a Dell P4 1.8 ghz will be retired at Christmas and used as a back up PC. Since I don't want to spend a lot of dough on it, I was just looking at an affordable all in one printer.
We don't print anything important, top quality not required, but we use color quiet a bit especially my daughter.
Lexmark has a x 1270 for around $50, and it is on sale right now at best buy and Target for $40. My wife works at target and she gets 20% off so that would make it $32, not bad. I know I read the reviews, not a fantastic machine but it should be enough for my current needs.
Now I was using generic cartridges from a company called "omni" which I have purchased from for 4 years now. Cheap prices, fast shipping, free shipping, great customer service. My Canon would take 4 cartridges and each cost me $1.44 (Black) and $1.95(colors) shipped.
Now looking at the Lexmark it seems to have 2 cartridges only and the generic seem to be a lot more than my old Canon generic (Not sure really).

My questions are:

Can you recommend an affordable all in one (print/scan/copies) where I will be able to get cheap generic cartridges?
Would the Lexmark x1270 be affordable to refill with generics?

(I don't want to refill myself, seems like a mess to do.)

Thanks a lot

Patrick

 

[Lilla]

Hi there, since no one has replied, I'll offer some food for thought. Sorry, I don't have a recommendation.

Can you buy prefilled compatible ink cartridges for Lexmark x1270?
I checked alotofthings.com and they don't list this printer.

Does Lexmark x1270 printer use ink cartridges with chips on them, like the latest Canon printers do?

In the case of the latest Canon printers, these chips make it difficult for 3rd parties to make compatible ink cartridges. Today, you can buy prefilled compatible ink cartridges for the latest Canon printers, BUT you must transfer the chips from the empty OEM cartridges to your prefilled compatible ink cartridges, otherwise the printer will not print. Some people would rather refill the empty chipped Canon OEM carts than transfer the chips to prefilled compatible cartridges. Either way though, the printer will not tell you that your refilled OEM carts (or prefilled compatible carts with transferred OEM chips) are empty, so you must manually monitor the ink levels. And, if you let it print when a cartridge is empty it is like running your car without oil in it - and you can/will damage the print head. You can buy a new print head, typically $35-$80 depending upon your model.

You might want to investigate the Lexmark x1270 (or whatever printer you are considering) to determine how much of the above might apply to it.

If you are forced to buy OEM ink cartridges, then look at total cost. With today's Razors and Blades marketing scheme, they sell you the printer cheap, but make up for it with the cost of the ink. Kodak's new printer is based upon a new marketing scheme that is going to charge more for the printer so they can sell the ink for less.

Consider...
Lexmark all-in-one x1270 $50 + 3 x twin ink tanks @ $60 each = $230
Kodak all-in-one 5100 $150 + 3 x twin ink tanks @ $25 each = $225

Personally, I don't like combo color carts because of the waste. If the cartridge has 5 colors, that means there are 4 colors that are not empty when you replace the cartridge. That's why I love the Canon printers with a separate cartridge for each color.

Kodak's press release

The KODAK EASYSHARE AiO Printers use Kodaks premium, pigment-based ink, priced at $9.99 for a cartridge of black ink and $14.99 for a five-ink color cartridge (US MSRP). For every $15 spent on color ink and $10 spent on black ink, consumers can print the same number of pages at half the cost of other consumer inkjet printers. When the KODAK Photo Value Pack is purchased, a 4 x 6-inch photo costs as little as 10 cents per print.

The KODAK EASYSHARE 5100 All-in-One Printer ($149.99 US MSRP), featuring print, scan and copy capabilities, delivers high-quality documents and photos for users who enjoy printing without limitations. The device can print and copy up to 32 pages per minute in black and 22 pages per minute in color, and print photos from PICTBRIDGE-enabled cameras without involving a PC.

Beginning in March 2007, the KODAK EASYSHARE 5100 and 5300 AiO Printers will retail exclusively at Best Buy locations across the United States.

Discussion thread: Razors and Blades and ....Kodak?

 

[vaindioux]

Lilla

As usual thanks for the kind help. I sent an email to the company that sold me the EOM cartridges for my Canon to see what they offer for the Lexmark or if they can recommend a printer/brand that would ensure my business to them .
That is scary what you said about the Canon not warning you about empty cartridges. That couldn't apply to me and my family, someone would forget and we would kill the printer.
I am just wondering what everyone is doing these days about saving on ink.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks a lot

Patrick

 

[ghwellsjr]

I recommend you do a search on eBay for a Canon MP750, MP760, or MP780 all-in-one. Only the last one has fax capability. The middle one does not have the auto sheet feeder, instead it has more support for photography related applications like a camera memory card reader and the ability to scan slides and negative film, as well as a color display. They all have the same five-cartridge print head and use the very cheap and readily available unchipped cartridges. Don't wait, these printers are getting more scarce.

 

[vaindioux]

G

Thanks a lot, awesome post, I am on my way to check it out.

Best regards

Patrick

 

[Trigger 37]

Vaindioux,... They left off a couple of good printers that match what you had in the S630. Here are some Multifuntions all in one printers that would work just fine if you can find one. MultiPASS C555,MultiPASS C755,MultiPASS F30,MultiPASS F50,
MultiPASS F60,MultiPASS F80,MultiPASS MP700,MultiPASS MP730. I have the MP730 and love it. It does take up a large chunk of space on one of my desks, but I love the function, I got it second hand and it works great for what I use if for. The bad news is that I see these selling for "Big Bucks" on Ebay. That is the problem now,... Canon has shot themselves in the foot by putting chips on all the carts for their new printers. Their ink is so expensive very few people will stand for the charges. Those that don't know any better just open up their wallets and cry. What is happening is that the smart people are buying up the older Canon printers because they know they are real work horses, the printheads are removeable and cleanable, and the ink is availble from 100's of places at very low prices. I can buy Black ink for my BCI-3e BK cart in bulk for about $12.00 for 8 oz and refill my own carts. That is less than $0.60 a cart or about 5 weeks of printing for me.

You must be somewhere in Europe if you are talking about a Lexmark X1270, because that is not sold in the US. I would not under any circumstances buy a Lexmark printer. I've had them, they are junk, and if you buy one just because it is cheap at Target,... then they have "Hooked You"... another susker took the bait. They see you coming and will give away their junk so you will have to buy their ink, which you will find is expensive.

Hope this helps you in your decision.

 

[vaindioux]

Trigger

Thanks for the kind and very informative post. I have purchased an all-in-one. I went for the Brother MFC-240C.
For my needs it's perfect, I wanted first of all something that would be cheap on compatible cartridges. After several posts and emails left and right and my own judgment I went for that brother printer which I purchased for $70 brand new.
I got it yesterday but didn't install it yet as I am awaiting the USB cable which I bought for $5 online new.
About the Lexmark I mentioned, it is available everywhere here in the states. I am actually from Europe but I live in the USA. I read about Lexmark ink being expensive so I passed on them. Epson should be cheap on ink too, but brother is so popular here that I went for them.
I am glad to stick it to Canon, first because they make their "waste ink tank" cleaning a headache and second because they are greedy with their ink.

Thanks a lot

Patrick