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Wireless Printer?

jmd
Grafter
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Wireless Printer?

I tend to be using my laptop downstairs now I live in a house but the only place I can put printer is upstairs.  This means every timeI want to print I have to undo things, take computer upstairs connect to printer, print what I want, and then take computer back downstairs.  I have a epsom all in one printer at present but it is slow.
Have found cost of a wi-fi thing for printer is about £70 but have also seen all in one printers that are already wi-fi for about same price!
I do not do hundreds of sheets of printing - occasionally photographs but mainly as Methodist local preacher my services [about 10 pages], housegroup material, or anything email that I want to pass on to someone without computer.
Can anyone advise me about what is best?
whether to go for new wi-fi printer or get a wi=fi thing for present one?
18 REPLIES 18
Not applicable

Re: Wireless Printer?

I would go the new printer option on the basis that it'll probably be faster, and have better photo-printing resolution than your current machine.
Cost of ink is something to factor into the cost though. Many printers are sold with smaller size ink cartridges fitted, meaning you have to buy the replacement full size (and full cost!) ones sooner than you might expect.
Its worth looking for a printer with individual cartridges for each colour if you can too, so you don't end up throwing away red and yellow ink, just because you've run out of blue!
It might be worth taking the other all-in-one to church, in case you ever need to do a quick copy of something whilst you are there. (Assuming you don't have one there) Saves throwing it away with part-full ink too.
atbs1
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Go and have a look at the printers on the PC Pro magazine A list. www.pcpro.co.uk
petlew
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Re: Wireless Printer?

I know one of my printers (an Epson photo only printer) will work (although I don't use it as such) via bluetooth. As will my one of my 2 main Canons' Are you close enough for this to work for you?
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jmd
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Bluetooth being different to wi=fi?
I use a wi=fi router for broadband.
Unfortunately, PCPro A list does not mention any wireless printers.
jelv
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Haven't you got an old PC you could use as a print server?
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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jmd
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Quote from: jelv
Haven't you got an old PC you could use as a print server?

I only have a laptop[sony vaio] and 1 printer[epsom all in one].  I am not one of those with lots of computers etc.
Strat
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Hi
Quote from: SGTE
Go and have a look at the printers on the PC Pro magazine A list. www.pcpro.co.uk

I found this one with a decent PC Pro review.
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netreg
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Re: Wireless Printer?

jmd
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Thanks for suggestions - the Lexmark is a very good price.  Is ebuyer a good firm? Argos have it at £59.99 without the extra bits mentioned on ebuyer.
Would like to know how easy they are to set up and nothing is said about that aspect in respect of the Lexmark or the  HP Deskjet mentioned in PCPro.  A friend has suggested a Brother but it is £160!  I think I will go down replacement route rather that getting s print server.  Any other comments welcome.
Strat
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Quote from: jmd
Is ebuyer a good firm?

IMHO Ebuyer is a very good online retailer.
I have used them for a few years with no problems.
They encourage customer comments and reviews of the products they sell and these are worth a read.
BTW I don't work for them and never have.
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Be3G
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Btw, individual ink cartridges are just a useless marketing gimmick. My experience with Epson, and I assume I can extrapolate this to other inkjet manufacturers as well, is that the cost-per-ml of ink in individual cartridges is considerably higher (can be as much as double) as that of combined ink cartridges, which means the net saving is basically nothing. Although I do admit that if you can get individual cartridges sold in multipacks, then they often work out to be quite a good price... but they also somewhat defeat the point of individual cartridges.
(This, by the way, is coming from someone who's tried more photo inkjet printers than he cares to think about.)
Strat
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Without doing tests and putting aside the cost factor, logic would suggest that separate inks are more cost effective as you would not be disposing of unused ink.
However if what Be3G says is true about the cost implications (and I have no reason to doubt it) then a comparison test would be interesting.
I have no doubt such a test report exists somewhere in the IT related press.
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Not applicable

Re: Wireless Printer?

I do prefer the results of Dye Sub printers for photos - for some reason the inkjet ones just don't seem so convincing up close - I don't fully understand why though, since the Inkjet ones claim much higher resolution in dpi
At least with Dye Sub printers, you know how much ribbon you will use, and therefore what the cost-per-copy will be.
Be3G
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Re: Wireless Printer?

Logic would indeed suggest that individual ink cartridges are best - after all, that's why they're used as a selling point. However, it just doesn't always work out that way unfortunately. For example, the RRP of the ink cartridges for my printer is £9.99 each for a mere 13ml of ink, and this is a printer with comparatively cheap per-ml costs. Whereas in years gone by, I can recall using multi-colour cartridges (again by Epson) which were about £15 for 25ml.
A further point to consider about individual cartridges is that you waste more on maintenance with them. When you change an ink cartridge in a desktop inkjet printer, ink is wasted from all of the installed ink cartridges, not just the new one. (Which, according to my stats for printer, uses about £2.50 worth of ink split between all the cartridges.) Therefore, if you have a 25ml cartridge rather than a 12ml one, you don't need to change a cartridge quite so frequently (assuming that you're able to use more than half of the ink in the 25ml multi-colour one) so you're saving on ink wasted from print head charging.
As for dye subs, they have their pros and cons. They certainly can produce some excellent photographs... but you need a good one. For example, cheap consumer ones may come without a black 'ink', which means a composite has to be formed from CMY, which invariably results in poor blacks and lacklustre shadow detail. Not a problem from a bright photo with a yellow beach and blue sky, but very evident in photographs with more shadowy areas.