I am thinking about buying a new printer for my house and was looking at the All-in-One printers, which seem to be gaining in popularity. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations, here is what I have in mind:

- Don't really care about the fax component
- would like to have an auto feed so if I scan in my documents, I don't have to do it one by one
- would like printer to have network capabilities built in. Ideally I would prefer wireless, but am ok with wired.
- can actually find printer cartridges at store (I think I have heard for some vendors you can only purchase online)
- nice to print photos but not a big deal as I find photo printers suck down the ink cartridges
- Compatability across Windows platform (I am running Windows XP, Vista 32, Vista 64, and thinking about putting back together my Commodore 64 )
- this is strictly for home use, so don't need a bad ass machine, thinking somewhere in the $150-$250 range

I have always had HP printers, so that is where I am leaning. Here are the printers I am thinking of:

Canon:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Pixma-Offic ... 764&sr=1-1

HP:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-Officejet-J648 ... 362&sr=8-1

Epson:
http://www.amazon.com/Epson-WorkForce-W ... roduct_top

Are there any other contenders?

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Have a look at rhe Canon MX700...it's got all the features you need, and often on sale at the Egg for $99. It is wired ethernet.

I actually have one (I paid 129) that's still sitting in the box because I'm too lazy to set it up

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This Space For Rent

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... sku=9682YR


This is one that I use.

I'm not one to price or comparison shop so I can't tell you if it's any better than anyone of the other ones you are looking at.

You can get the ink:
Online (Simple & no charge for shipping)
Wal-Mart
Staples

_________________
Chris Bickerstaff
HP MSS DataVault X510
Core 2 Quad Core Q9550s
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TR4MB eSata Enclosure
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UPS APC 1500 XS LCD

I have to give a nod to the HP!

I have always used HP products and have loved them. Wireless option is deffinetly worth the extra $. I have my printer across the room from my PC and I don't have to run a CAT5e or USB to where it sits. Vista did a great job of finding the printer wirelessly over my network. I have the document feeder and it will print front and back (HP OfficeJet 7410). Although my printer doesn't get great reviews, it has worked flawlessly for me.

The only thing I would say is that, most All-in-one printers do a good job at everything, but not great. Prints off the internet, word document are very good, while photos are pretty good, but not as good as a dedicated photo printer.

_________________
Sean
"I do not like the cone of shame."
Boom Boom Room

You already said you don't care about faxing or photo printing, so why are you considering an all in one? Do you scan that often? If not, I would suggest you consider a laser printer instead of an ink-guzzler. These days they don't cost that much more than ink jets and are much more cost effective in the long run.

If you really need a scanner, you can get one of those compact ones. Or a multi-function laser. Just think of how much you will spend on ink, even not printing photos -- it adds up fast. I switched to a color laser almost 3 years ago and have NEVER bought toner in that time and I still have 70% full cartridges. I figure I have saved hundreds on ink in that time. That's assuming the ink jet still worked after 3 years. None of mine have lasted that long.

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Sue

Hey Sue, to be fair to the folks, you should mention that you can justify the cost of the laser because you are a hotshot Graphics Pro Most of us would never need it

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This Space For Rent

The auto feed/scan is the main reason why I want an all in one. Currently I bring my documents to work, scan them there, then email them to myself at home. Also, I don't want to buy a separate scanner because one of my main goals is to reduce clutter, my home is getting over run by gadgets I don't need but can't stop buying!!!

I appreciate everyone's feedback, hopefully there should be some good sales coming up into Black Friday

Completely off topic, I just received the Harmony One as a gift (my first Universal Remote). This thing rocks!!!

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

My guess on blood-in-the-streets will be just after neither brick and morters OR E-tailers can get it to you for Xmas. I'm betting 24 December Midnight PST through New Years will be a fire sale online.

This has been an opinion. In the event of actual knowledge, you would have been instructed to tune to an Emergency Broadcasting Geek.

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This Space For Rent

Well, I don't know about hotshot. I mostly just write about graphics rather than doing real graphics design work that requires much printing. I hardly do any printing at all, actually, although I have done some things for family like invitations and CD covers. In a typical month it is rare that we print more than 5 pages between my husband and I. Another problem with ink jets is if you don't print a lot, you might not be using much ink, but then you have to deal with clogged jets.

But my point is that there is little to justify as far as cost because now you can get a color laser for the same or less than the cost of an ink jet plus 6-12 months worth of refills. And if you don't need color, B&W lasers are very affordable now. Just thought I'd throw it out there for the OP to consider.

_________________
Sue

One thing i would point out about wired .vs w-fi, If you do a lot of scanning wired still has a big advantage.

I keep 90% of my documents scanned into paperport, so scanning speed is a big issue for me.

_________________
This Space For Rent

I think I might go wired. All the wireless printers seem like they are wireless g. I have a wireless n router and one of my pcs runs on wireless n. I read that throwing a wireless g in the mix can drag down the performance of the router. I have powerline set up, so really anywhere where there is an outlet I can throw the printer and make it wired.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Well, you can always add in a second wireless router (on a different channel) to separate the wireless traffic.

I personally use a B&W wireless printer and really like being able to move it around. Just pull the power, move & plug in. Sweet. But scanning is a bit of a different animal. Generally you want to be very close to your computer for scanning and that really negates the need for wireless. Ask yourself how separated you will be from the scanner and, if you want it in the same room, a wire may be the easiest solution, the best performance and the best price.

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

I recently bought an Epson Artisan 800. WHAT AN AMAZING FRICKIN' PRINTER ! (sorry about the caps but it is).

It is a bit on the spendy side but I found a $50 off at staples.com with free shipping and I've been an epson 'fan' since I got a hand-me-down epson printer in 2001 that's still printing photos and greeting cards and all sorts of geneology pics for my grandmother - she LOVES it. Anyway, I purchased an RX580 and I wore out in a few months printing all my own paper goods (programs, invites, save the dates, etc.....) for my wedding in 2004, then went to an RX680 that was going great for the last few years - and we go through about a reem a month mixed between photos and normal prints. It still works great, but it's hooked up to our spare computer and it's a laptop - so didn't work out so well. I have never regretted buying an epson - ever. and I've had lexmark (won't go there), HP has been hit or miss and photo quality can't compare to epson photo printers.

Finall sprung for the Artisan800 - I need the photo capability and even on cheap semigloss photo paper it outdoes the Costco prints we used to pay for. It has both wirelesss (although it is 'g') and wired connection. printing is blazing fast, ADF is awesome, it has a motor that 'serves' you the CD tray if you are so inclined to print on a CD, has a touch pannel interface and all folds up like some sort of 22nd century device that's hard to really figure out. The one con is that scanning over wireless is slow, but if you get it set up to scan to a network share, the transfer speed isn't as big a deal. I haven't tried it over wired, but with my gigaswitch between the Artisan800 and the computers and the WHS, I'm sure it would speed things up significantly.

Epson finally hit the mark DEAD ON with the Artisan 800 and if you don't need photo quality, the Workforce lines are just as compelling and much cheaper. Hope this helps. let me know if you have other questions.