Good Cheap Printer

[UnknownVT]

"Good Cheap Printer" - this would seem like an oxymoron -
very occassionally there may be an exception, usually still with lots of caveats.

This time, I may have found a current bargain without too many objections.

Canon PIXMA iP2600 Photo Inkject Printer
this is currently at Walmart for $29.98
- and right now at least at my local branches there is also a no Sales Tax promo (I guess for back to school).

The photo quality is good - not quite in the same league as the best true photo printers - but we are only talking about a $30 printer.....

The text quality is actually very good much better than I expected.

I checked various reviews of the Canon iP2600

Inkjet Printer Reviews at ConsumerSearch
" Basic inkjet printer - Reviewers all say that printers made to sell for less than $100 are generally a poor value since replacement ink cartridges cost nearly as much as the printer itself. The best bargain is the no-frills Canon Pixma iP2600, with good text and photo quality for the price. Build quality is only so-so, with many criticizing the flimsy-feeling output tray. There's no LCD preview screen, memory card slot or PictBridge port, so printing directly from a digital camera is impossible. "

" Canon Pixma iP2600 (*est. $50) , initial reports on this printer have been largely positive. PC World ranks it just behind the Pixma iP4500 and iP3500. Melissa Riofrio is impressed with the price and the print quality for both text and photos, but underwhelmed by the print speed and minimal features. CNet's Justin Yu is also impressed by the print quality considering the price, but found other quibbles such as gray cast on brighter colors. Unlike PC World, CNet had less of an issue with print speed, however. PC Advisor gives it a "Gold" award, saying it produces good print quality at a price that's "stunningly cheap."
Like any budget printer, however, some corners are cut. No reviewers are particularly impressed with the build quality, especially a flimsy output tray, though Robin Morris at PC Advisor says there were no issues with paper jams. Like other budget choices, there's no LCD display, and memory card slots and PictBridge printing are also missing.
Still, reviewers seem relatively impressed with the output quality and -- especially -- the value of the Canon Pixma iP2600 printer. Simon Williams at TrustedReviews.com seems to sum up the consensus when he says that while more expensive printers might print faster and at a lower cost per print, "you'll have to pay quite a bit more ... before you'll get noticeably better print quality. This is a very good device for the money." "
other reviews -

Canon iP2600 at PC Pro Computer Buyers Lab

another review at PC Pro
" But the quality is excellent: photos are sharp and full of detail, and colours are reasonably accurate. Reds appeared a little orange and washed out in some of our prints, but for running off holiday snaps it's perfectly acceptable. Text is solid and shows only minor feathering around the edges, and draft output is perfectly readable, which is always a bonus.
The iP2600 lives up to Canon's usual high standards, and does so at a price that makes it an absolute bargain. Those wanting top quality photos will be better served by the individual ink tanks of the dearer iP4500 or the multifunction MP610, but as a cheap addition to a home PC this is hard to fault. "

My caveat - ink for all inkjet printers are notoriously EXPENSIVE - often a full set of ink cartridges cost more than the initial cost of the printer!!! - this is definitely the case for this $30 Canon iP2600 from Walmart.

Note: Walmart calls this a SE - "Special Edition" - as far as I can see there seems no difference from the regular iP2600 I linked to.

However if all one wants is a printer attached to one's PC or Mac for the occassional printing of mainly text and graphics, and a few casual photos - this Canon iP2600 at $29.98 from Walmart would seem like a bargain.

PS - the reason why I bought this printer is because my old laser printer gave up the ghost, and I had been using my photo printer (an old Epson Stylus Photo 780) for my web page and text printing - ink is very expensive for the Epson (like all other inkjets) -
this Canon iP2600 printer with full set of included ink cartridges is cheaper than a set of cartridges for my Epson......
I will now reserve my Epson strictly for photo printing and use this Canon for other printing.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

If you do a lot of printing you may consider investing in a contiuous ink system. CIS I think they are called. It costs about $75-$100 or so for the kit which includes cartridges with hoses attached to them going to bottles that hold the ink that are refillable. I have heard the cost goes to 1/10 as much for the ink this way perhaps less but you have to put out the money to get into one and decide on a printer beforehand to use it with as they are designed around the cartridges. I have an old HP 855C that uses the large HP cartridges and I rarely print color with it so it suits me fine. Look into places that refill cartridges too that drops the price of them to about 1/2 the cost.

 

[Trashman]

For people that already own that printer, it's probably cheaper just to buy more printers than to buy more inks (black+color)! I bought a lower end canon printer (Pixma 1600, I think) a couple of years ago, from Fry's, for $17.99, and a week or two later the price went down to $9.99 (really, the whole printer, ink and all!)! It prints quite well, too. Canon really does make some of the finest printers, and even their dirt cheap models are good. Fry's is always a good place to check for cheap printers, namely the Pixma line. They even had an all-in-one Canon a few weeks ago for only $49.99. Heck, they even had an all-in-one HP, recently, for $39.99, and it even had a pop up screen for viewing the photos you're going to be printing! Deals on cheap printers are all around, but they can be most easily found at Walmart & Fry's. Fry's, BTW, will beat any store's advertised price by 5%. Just bring in the advertisement and they'll beat it. (does not apply to big box or internet stores)

 

[UnknownVT]

For people that already own that printer, it's probably cheaper just to buy more printers than to buy more inks (black+color)! I bought a lower end canon printer (Pixma 1600, I think) a couple of years ago, from Fry's, for $17.99, and a week or two later the price went down to $9.99 (really, the whole printer, ink and all!)! It prints quite well, too. Canon really does make some of the finest printers, and even their dirt cheap models are good.

Those were my thoughts when I bought this Canon iP2600.
The printer turned out a lot better than I was expecting.

Good to read about keeping an eye out for closeouts on cheapo printers at Fry's.

Thanks

 

[Black Rose]

We have a Canon Pixma iP3000 we bought several years ago.

It's an excellent printer for documents or photos...it works just as well now as it did when we bought it. We use Staples brand ink cartridges in it (more ink, less money).

 

[Aluminous]

When comparing OEM ink cartridges, I think Canon's tend to be the best deal -- more ink per dollar, are common across most of the recent Canon printers (and the previous generation had a mostly-common type too), and most use separately-replaceable cartridges for each color (although other manufacturers are getting into this lately, Canon has been doing it much longer on more of their models vs just the high-end/specialized).

 

[UnknownVT]

Re: Refill/other brand and continuous ink systems - thanks for the advice.

I am always on the lookout for bargains.

Unfortunately (for me) this isn't, at least for my Epson Photo printer.

Earlier Epson Photo printers had a terrible reputation for clogging heads even on their own inks - my Epson Stylus Photo 780 was one of them - and I have lots of firsthand experience (I've had it exchanged by Epson 3 times!!) - often I almost use up 1/2 the ink just clearing the heads - so my already expensive ink costs are almost DOUBLE -
but it is hard to beat the photo results from this printer (same engine as the now legendary Epson 1280 - same head and uses the same ink cartridges).

Other brand inks have been shown to clog the heads in tests -
also the longevity of photo prints come into severe questioning - by several tests -
and these are very important to me.

EDIT to ADD -

see ConsumerSearch on quality of off-brand ink in their report on printer ink and Full story continued....

So using the Epson for my text and web printing was "stoopid" as it was very costly.

Hence this cheapo Canon printer for text, casual and Non-Photo printing -
where hopefully running cost would be lower,
and since Canon has its nozzles on each cartridge - there is less likeihood of clogging, and if it does I just change cartridge, and return the clogged one to Canon.

I can try cheaper other brand or even refill inks for this Canon -
but according to things I've read on the web there may be some difficulties as the newer ink cartridges are now chipped......

 

[JohnR66]

If you don't print photo quality color, get a laser printer. I got a monochrome HP Laserjet 1020 last summer ($100) after becoming fed up with inkjets. In econo mode the original cartridge has not ran out and I print work orders and shipping labels nearly every day.

 

[UnknownVT]

If you don't print photo quality color, get a laser printer. I got a monochrome HP Laserjet 1020 last summer ($100) after becoming fed up with inkjets. In econo mode the original cartridge has not ran out and I print work orders and shipping labels nearly every day.

Yep, when it comes down to cost per page (wiith quality) the laser printer is the one - that's why it's bascially the de facto office printer.

As mentioned in my opening post I had one that died.

However - these days I don't do that much printing - I tend to save web pages etc - only occassionally printing when I have to show someone off of the PC or things like e-tickets, mailing labels, forms I have fill in etc - but these are literally few and far between.

I considered another laser printer - but the initial/entry cost was too high, even refurbished ones - so I decided to try out a cheapo inkjet printer - like I said, the whole thing with ink cartridges was cheaper than a set of ink cartridges for my photo printer.

This cheapo printer turned out to be a lot better than I expected.

 

[Trashman]

Fry's has an HP all-in-one this week (now) for $39.99. The two inks cost $29.99 (they're included), so it's like getting a $10 printer! This one doesn't have a fax, however, but it's probably a decent printer, as it is the upgraded model of the one we're using, which we bought at Wal-Mart about a year and a half ago for $49.99. It's still working fine. We were having problems with lines in the print, and finally, no printing at all, and the cleaning function wasn't fixing it, so after a little internet research, I learned that the print head in the HP printers is in the cartridge and that a new cartridge should fix it. Well, I bought a new cartridge today for $14.99 (regular price) and it now prints perfectly! We actually bought a refill kit for this type of cartridge and had refilled our old (first) cartridge several times, which saved a good deal of money. I've read how refilling cartridges eventually screws up the print heads in printers, but since they're actually in the cartridge, there's no worries. If the new cartridge didn't fix our problem, then I'd have just returned tomorrow and bought the $39.99 printer, as it uses the same ink as ours. Anyway, it's a good deal on a cheapo all-in-one, for those that just need something that prints/copies/and scans for basic use.

 

[Trashman]

Fry's, this week (as of today), has a Canon IP1800 photo printer (refurb) for $17.99! If you happen to need the type of ink the printer uses, here's a chance to get a full set of cartridges for cheap!

 

[UnknownVT]

Fry's, this week (as of today), has a Canon IP1800 photo printer (refurb) for $17.99! If you happen to need the type of ink the printer uses, here's a chance to get a full set of cartridges for cheap!

WoW! this is a great heads-up -

The Canon iP1800 was the immediate predecessor to the iP2600 - and also got good reviews -

From the same report on InkJet printers at ConsumerSearch -
" If you can find it, the now-discontinued Canon Pixma iP1800(*est. $50) is inexpensive and gets solid reviews. Brian Chen, of PC World, calls the iP1800 "impressive," and PC Magazine's M. David Stone comments that the iP1800's color prints are "as good as photos from your local drugstore or photo shop." Tom Warhol of PrinterInfo.com describes several qualitative issues such as poor color accuracy, but concludes, "Users can hardly go wrong with a $50 photo printer from Canon." This budget printer offers few features and comes with a skimpy 90-day limited warranty, but for basic, at-home needs, it is a good value. "

At $17.99 for the printer at Frys -
that's over $15 Cheaper than the lowest price I could find for a set of ink cartridges for it (uses same cartridges as the iP2600)
and actually cheaper than just the color cartridge!

Good call!

EDIT to ADD - Hmmmm.... I phoned a local Fry's and asked if they had the refurbished printer in stock - they said to get the $17.99 sale price one had to order it on-line - I asked if they would please check stock - again they said order it on-line and I would get an e-mail telling if the store had it in stock to pick up.... not very helpful - but not matter how I asked the person on the phone insisted that I had to do all inquiries on-line.

So I went on-line and it seems the only way was "mail-order" and the cheapest shipping was $8.57 - there was NO in store pick up option - so the total shipped would be $26.56....

I tried another Fry's location - but this time I just asked for stock situation of the Canon iP1800 (without mentioning "refurbished") - they said they no longer carried this - BUT they had refurbished ones in stock at $19.99 - and they did come with "sampling" ink cartridges. So this was a bit better. However with sales tax this puts it at $21.39, and add gas for my 21 miles round trip (for my closest store) ~$3 - we are up to $24.39 - so this would be a savings of $5.49 for me over the WalMart price for the new iP2600 (on my way - so no extra journey).

Still the in-store price is still very good, if one has a Fry's close by.

 

[Trashman]

They're now $15.99. http://www.outpost.com/product/5511460