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Richard Perkin

wrote in news:e39578a0-f95b-45ac-8d6d-a8443a671084
@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

Fed up with the reliability of HPs printers (Talking about the sub
£300 market here.) which seem to have gone down the tubes recently.
We've had 2 DOAs and at least 3 die within 6 months. Dealing with
their "Customer Support" is enough to give you severly raised blood
pressure. It's a pity, as i've been buying their kit and finding it
very reliable for years prior to this.

What brands are people having success with these days, or has the
downward trend in prices meant that they are all going the same way?

My experience of HP printers is good - but then I only run old ones!

I have several HP LaserJet 6P mono laser printers - v. good as a low
volume personal printer (P = personal, geddit?). Original toner
cartridges (well, I think they're actually combined toner + drum) can
be bought on eBay for under £10. You should be able to pick up the
printer also on eBay for under £20.

For colour, I have a HP Color LaserJet 4500. A big old beast to be
sure, and the consumable costs were once v. high. But now it's
obsolete, a complete set of toners (C+M+Y+K) can be picked up for £40
and will last years (?) in a home/home office setup. OK, you will still
have to budget for the occasional drum or fuser, but again these are
now afordable and will last years.

I fitted the LJ 4500 with the maximum memory + Ethernet network
interface (embedded printserver) + duplex unit, all bought on eBay for
a v. modest price. I run it as a networked wireless printer by
connecting it to a wireless client device. A solid (very solid!)
product indeed. It does fail the Wife Acceptance Factor though, on
account of its size

The best part is - it only cost £10...

More recently, I bought a HP Photosmart D7460 inkjet for my father in
law. Good quality photo printing, Ethernet + wireless (802.11g +
Bluetooth) networking. Cost £66 direct from HP. Ink cartridges (of
which there are six!) are expensive, but I also bought a 3rd party
'continuous ink supply system' with external reservoirs on eBay. That
should see out FIL's lifetime use...

Kind regards

--
Richard Perkin
To email me, change the AT in the address below
richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com

It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News