[Novalug] Maybe OT: Please recommend an inkjet color printer

[Kevin Chin]

Personally I'm a fan of HP and Brother printers at home.

I have a Brother MFC-7420N which is hardwired to the network.  Prints like a
champ from SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) and openSUSE.  I have never
tried to use the network fax or scan capabilities from Linux.  We mostly use
it as a laser printer and a copier, and rarely as a fax machine.  We seldom
use it for scanning.  The unit is low cost, and the toner cartridges are
reasonably priced ~$65 at Staples.

For color stuff, I have an HP PhotoSmart D7460 and it's older brother the
D7360.  The D7360 is connected via USB to my SLED laptop.  Works great.  The
D7460 is on the wireless network and also works fine.  I like the fact that
there are 6 separate color cartridges which means I don't have to throw away
an entire cartridge b/c one color is empty, and the cartridges are easy to
use, find and inexpensive (~$10-13 ea at Staples).  These printers are fast,
and on the rare occasion that I do print a photo or two from home, they do
it very quickly and a high quality job.  (I generally agree that for
quantity, Costco has a unbeatable price and convenience factor... upload
from home and pick up decent quality prints within an hour for $0.17 ea)
I've never had a ink cartridge jam, although I use only new cartridges --
not a fan of refills or refurb ink.  I also appreciate the fact that the
printer can run out of ink mid-job, I can change out a cartridge and the job
can finish without having to do any special priming or color calibration
first.

Of course, all these printers work with Windows too, XP and Vista... but I
suppose most on this list won't heavily concern themselves with that.

One last comment... installing drivers for these printers on Linux is orders
of magnitude easier than Windows.  I suppose it's all the bloatware that
comes with the printer, but it's a fact in my book.

TTYL.
--Kc



On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 10:53 AM, Jim Ide <jimsmaillists at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I have been able to avoid getting a color printer for several
> years now, but my 7th grader will be needing one for school
> projects, and my wife would like to be able to print color
> photos at home.
>
> If you have a color printer you're happy with, please tell me
> about it.  I am particularly interested/concerned about the
> price, reliability, and longevity of the ink cartridges.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
>
>
>
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