Tim Lamb wrote:
I have been looking for a cheap printer to replace the gummed up inkjet
my wife used to use before we bought her a laptop. I now get irregular
e-mails requesting that such and such letter/recipe/birth/marriage/death
etc. attachment should be printed on the office m/c.

I don't leave my PC switched on so networking won't work and she works
at the other end of the house so picking up copy is inconvenient.

I confidently expected dot matrix printers to be dirt cheap by now and
half promised one as a birthday pressie. 150ukp they must be joking!

For 70ukp I can get an entry level laser inc. usb cable. Is there
something I should know?


Yes. Dot matrix are now only used in proffesional applications like
printing thousands of fan fold stock pages on a heavy duty basis.

They are built to last, and to be extremeley cheap to run. Ribbons last
years..and cost peanuts.


A cheap laser will pay for itself over an inkjet fairly quickly. I preer
old but good HP stuff ex ebay.


The scale goes
inkjet: ultra low capital cots, very high per page cost.
Laser jet. Middling on both.
Dot matrix. fairly high purchase, ultra low ongoing costs.
Line printer (if they still exists) Ultra high purchase cost but best of
all speed wise and per page costs.

regards