Printers....

[Nick]

So I’m pretty sure I’m in the market for a new printer. Previously, we had an HP OfficeJet 7210 that worked great for a really long time before doing something unsatisfactory that I can’t remember. So, we got an Epson WF-3520 all in one InkJet printer that we’ve had now for probably 4 or 5 years, and it’s been doing some weird crap. I can’t use Google Cloud Print anymore because it causes the printer to completely panic, the ADF is really loud and squeaky, any and all wireless connection strategies are useless (Epson’s own software needs reinstallation and setup every couple of weeks, and connecting it to NETGEAR’s router printer share thingly disables scanning. Only AirPrint still works.) Anyway, my dad had an HP printer at work that lasted 15 years, and I’m starting to come to the conclusion that Epson printers just aren’t built to last or with good quality. Side-note: I’m remembering that we have another Epson XP-400 printer elsewhere that constantly needs annoying maintenance to work. ANYWAY, I started doing some of my own research and have narrowed it down to either one of these Epson products, this Epson product, or something like this HP printer. I haven’t really considered Brother as a company, as I’m just not really impressed with their products and I couldn’t really get their website to work. I’m kind of all over the place right now with trying to find a new printer that will be good enough for me and my family, so I’m just asking for help. I’d like the printer to have Google Cloud Print (unfortunately, the HP I picked out doesn’t), I’d like the printer to have a reliable wireless printing software for laptops, a USB port for my desktop, I need it to be an all-in-one (fax isn’t needed, as I’m looking to install a PCIe modem in my PC to use as a fax thingy), it needs to be able to print double-sided, duplex scanning/copying with the ADF that the printer needs to have would be a nice feature, it needs to have AirPrint, it needs to be under $200 (with exceptions), but maybe most importantly, it needs to be reliable and needs to be known to last and work well. I feel like this topic doesn’t belong in PCHF and I might’ve just typed this all for no reason, but let me know what you all think. Thanks in advance…

[Bastet]

As you’re having so many problems with Epson AiOs it might be time to consider another company
Would you consider a Canon product? Mine is just a printer but does duplex/double-sided printing, disc printing & air print. I’m sure they’ll also do AiOs.
This is one I’ve found on a UK site which sounds like it might be what you’re looking for - it’ll give you an idea of what to search for in your Country:
[CANON Maxify MB5150 All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer with Fax](‘http://canon Maxify MB5150 All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer with Fax’)

[plodr]

Someone I know had two Canon printers that each died before 2 years was up so he won’t consider Canon.

Unfortunately, I think the quality of all printer brands has gone downhill. We had 5 HP printers in the house. The three oldest never gave us any problems. The two newest are always having problems. (They are all different models). We just recently e-cycled the oldest. It worked with DOS and Windows 3.1 and perhaps Windows 9x. Since we no longer have any hardware that this printer would probably work on, it seemed foolish to keep it in the house.

We hope the two remaining old printers keep on working because when we want headache free printing, we turn to these two.

I’d say read reviews from a few different sites for the models you are considering. I like to read the 1 star reviews to see what sort of issues people are having. I disregard posts that state “it doesn’t work with (fill in the blank) OS” because they didn’t bother reading the system requirements. I also disregard posts complaining about the cost of ink. (We all know that ink is way overpriced).

[jmarket]

Someone I know had two Canon printers that each died before 2 years was up so he won’t consider Canon.

I know Canon have made some excellent products, but from people I’ve known and researching the net you would have to be very brave or have backup printers available before purchasing a Canon, reckon your’e spot on @plodr.

This seems a common repair method for them


Also Plodr is correct about the older HP’s they are built to a higher quality standard than some of the newer stuff. Would not be concerned about using an old HP on a new pc or operating system as there are generic drivers that enable printing. If it’s a all in one then you may have issues with the fax, copy, and scan features when used from a pc, but that’s no big deal.

Been a HP user for too many years, both lasers and inkjets with mostly a good experience. Some time back I purchased my first Epson since the days of dot matrix printers. It’s a wf3640 and has every feature imaginable, including 2 paper trays that hold a huge amount of paper, and the duplexer is very good. Sure it uses ink but Epson supplies are cheap. Has a silly waste tank that has to be renewed every now and again, but it’s a great machine. All my printers have a wired network connection.

Nick, almost any Brand name printer/AIO will do what you want, for how long remains the question? Base you choice on price and features, but unless you are buying an upmarket laser don’t count on it being a long term investment.

FWIW.

[Bastet]

My Canon printer lasted 8 years before it died.

[veeg]

My perspective on this is,all the years i worked in manufacturing.. Things are built these days with a fail in them and it is usually something real simple but hard to find or fix…you know got to have those re-sales.. I have had only 2 printers since the 90’s one canon and one epson all in one..

[plodr]

Mine is just a printer
Then I suspect it is an older model. (and more reliable than what is now available)
Have a look at what the stores are selling and it is almost impossible to buy just a printer; everything is AIO.

We brought home an HP simple printer last year - the only one we could find. The printer refused to even feed the paper! My husband took it back the same day. He made sure to tell them the issue, just in case we were doing something wrong. We weren’t.
We didn’t consider coming home with the same model for fear we’d have the same problem.

[Nick]

This is all very useful information everyone, thank your for the input… I think I’m kind of leaning towards HP even though the Epson would have more features… I really don’t swnt to go without Google Cloud Print because it;s the only normal way I know of how to print from Android, but my relative has a couple of OfficeJet Pro 8100s at work and they seem to have been working fine since he got them a little while back…

[veeg]

Any updates for us?

[plodr]

Yes, please let us know what you bought and if it is good or has issues.

When I want to print from android, I simply hook the tablets or the phone to the computer and print that way. The only thing I’d generally consider printing is a phot and it is easier for me to just keep the photos on the device or move them to a USB stick for storage.

[Nick]

Yes, please let us know what you bought and if it is good or has issues.

When I want to print from android, I simply hook the tablets or the phone to the computer and print that way. The only thing I’d generally consider printing is a phot and it is easier for me to just keep the photos on the device or move them to a USB stick for storage.

My Android phone is a main device in my everyday life, as well as my dad’s Android device for him, so we often find ourselves trying to print webpages and things from them. Google Cloud Print has been the easiest way to do that so far, but our printer doesn’t like it.