Printer suggestions

Hello,
I currently have a HP officejet 4500 but the ink cartridges are 30-45.00 a piece. They claim the black one prints 350 sheets but I can say that is not true. I got 167-180 pages out of my last cartridge. Can anyone recommend a printer that is budget friendly? It can be wireless or wired, as long as the ink is affordable and actually gives you a decent amount of sheets per cartridge. Thanks!

Floating around like a feather hoping the wind will set me down somewhere awesome.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Lelou, I have a Brother all in one that I don't think they make anymore, Model MFC 7440 N (not wireless). It uses a toner cartridge and I get knockoffs from Amazon that work great. You need to get away from the ink cartridges if you want cheap printing. I also have a Brother HL 2170W (wireless) that I bought initially which only prints, no fax or scan feature. It also works great and used the exact same toner cartridge. When you buy replacements, get the long life cartridge if you have an option. I print out a lot of papers for shops and also I'm writing a book and do a lot of printing on that. I use a single cartridge for several months. I'm sure Brother is not the only good choice in the toner printers and your local Office Max or Best Buy can give you some up to date advice.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Make sure you are printing in quick or draft mode. I at least double my output that way. Anyone with a Brother, check Best Buy, they were putting cartridges on clearance for $9.97.( on line and in store) I bought all I could for my MFC-665CW Love it, will miss it when I can't get cartridges any more. Think laser if you don't need color.

I'm sure some fellow shoppers will write back to tell me the error of my ways but here goes ....

I don't print anything, ever. Well, I recently had to print one sheet for my first revealed audit (which was a blast!)

I jot down notes and bring them with me. I find by the time I have written down the notes I have it memorized.

I too print very little for shops but I am also a couponer and print a lot of coupons. I have never been willing to put up with an ink jet printer because of the ongoing costs. My current printer is an HP M1217nfw that is a Laser Jet and I buy the toner cartridges on line at a little under $17 for a cartridge that prints 1600 pages or under $24 for a cartridge that prints 3200 pages. Their estimates of number of pages are pretty accurate. Although there is a color printer in the house, it is used for the rare function where color is actually needed and it is also a laser printer. I use my printer primarily as a scanner for receipts when it comes to shops.

I buy replacement color ink cartridges on amazon. I have a HP printer as well and it's affordable now.

..and! I use fast draft and greyscale. It helps a lot

A friend gifted me with a Canon printer and it has been much better about ink thankfully. 3 weeks of use and the color cartridge is still full and the black is at about 50%. I still plan on upgrading printers later, but for now I'm going to make this work. I will say the scanner is great on this model.

Floating around like a feather hoping the wind will set me down somewhere awesome.

I remember when I first started out on this journey, I printed every single page in color! Now, I print just what I need and it's black and white. Only color if needed. Buying ink cartridges from amazon saved me a ton of money because those HP cartridges are extremely expensive, aren't they? Rip off!

Look for a comparison on PC World or some similar reputable computer website as the new models change things. A few years ago when I bought my all-in-one one of the best was the HP officejet 6500 because of the low price to print per page (based on replacement ink costs).

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

I've done 7 printer/notebook purchase scenarios in the past 2 months and the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 e All-in-One has been the one mentioned the most. One sales rep even had me print an email from my smartphone and I was ready to buy that printer on the spot. Of course, some of the targets were HP reps, but even the Costco guy said that he'd go with the HP over the Brother.

I have a crappy Dell that sucks up ink and gets paper jams all the time. I can't wait to replace it with a better model that does 2 side printing and wireless printing.

I have a Brother now, cartridges are at least cheaper than HP were. HP cartridge prices are ridiculous. I print as little as possible. As mentioned previously, mine does tell me that even what looks like it should be all black and white uses color inks, unless you specifically select grayscale. I often buy cartridges off eBay.

Like Pony, I print very little. Writing the notes helps me read them thoroughly and remember what I need to remember.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Printer suggestions

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine