Can't decide on a printer

[HBAndrew]

Hi all, I currently have a Canon i865 inkjet printer, and while it is pretty quick, I am replacing a cartridge every few days, not fond of the photo quailty and because it was given to me by someone who's pretty stupid, came with no bits, no DVD tray etc.

I am looking for a new printer and it's giving me a headache all these different versions etc, need one with good photo quality, but also good graphics quality as I am quite often burning Steam games to DVD and would like to print decent looking covers for them, with little to no bleeding. I would also like a printer that supports full face disc printing at good quality, where dark colours in the same area don't look like horrible smears.

I am also looking for one with wifi, though it's not totally essential, just one less cable, will settle for USB/Ethernet. One that isn't going to screw me over in time like Epsons with that overflow chip thing.

I have found 2 so far that I think seem to be OK, but not sure, first is the Canon Pixma IP4700, apparently has good photo quality, has a way to print on DVD's, though not sure of the DVD/graphics/tiny text quality, and it has no scanner.

Second is the Canon Pixma MP640, quite cheap yet I hear has great photo, DVD and scanning quality, and a good LCD, however, apparently the ink is used up VERY fast, as in a couple photos use up half the ink. Sounds unbelieveable but 2 people have said, so not sure. The similar MP990 version which is much more expensive doesn't sound much different other than an extra grey ink tank and more fine art type paper support.

Is there anything out there that I would be happy with, solid build, ink that isn't gone after a couple dozen high quality photos, good photo/graphics quality even graphics with fine text, DVD printing that looks great, and good scanner which doesn't cost an arm to get? :/

If anyone has the MP640 what is the ink usage like?

Thanks

 

[The Hat]

HBAndrew..

I have an i865 for years its a real workhorse and the cartridges (non chipped) are quite big as I can get 50 or so High quality photos easy from a set. The i865 that I have does not have CD printing.
The ip4700 you mentioned does have everything fast, very high quality, prints CDs but.... has small cartridges and their chipped. Maybe you will have more luck with mp 640 attributes. Hope this helps..

 

[HBAndrew]

Thanks, I thought the i865 did come with a CD tray as shown here, maybe only in certain countries or a certain time period.

About the i865 ink, I suppose it isn't too bad, but only managed 200 (280 when letting last ink slowly go down) A5 sheets with only 1/4 of the page in colour before 2 cartridges ran out, TBH I am not sure if that is good or not, could have sworn I used to get more out of my older printer.

The ip4700, if it has small cartridges, then not really interested as I will be replacing them all the time, also I suppose the only downfall with chipped ones is not refillable, or could say out of ink when there's really a little bit left?

Still thinking about getting the MP640, people say no where near as ink hungry as the MP990 version, but still good quality prints, just not sure of any better alternatives. Was thinking of the Epson Artisan 810, sounds fantastic, just the constant clogging, expensive ink use unclogging it, and it failing when the overflow chip tells it to stop working that put me off, but other than those it seemed perfect quality/feature wise.

 

[The Hat]

HBAndrew..

HBAndrew wrote:- Thanks, I thought the i865 did come with a CD tray as shown here,

Ops sorry, I had forgotten about the CD tray. It was over 4 years since I last used the CD gadget on the 865 thats probably why Id forget about it. You are most welcome to it if you want to try it out. Mail me your details and I will post it to you compliments of the hat..

 

[HBAndrew]

Thanks for the offer that's very kind of you, however I am pretty sure I will be getting the MP640 as soon as Canon has finished changing administration or whatever it is they are doing, my mum works for an office supplies company, can get me pretty much any printer and ink at cost price heh, but MP640 not available for a few weeks.

Will keep looking for alternatives, but pretty sure I will go for this one.

 

[The Hat]

HBAndrew..

Good on ya. I hope it goes well for you (mp640)..

 

[Stacy]

Thanks for the offer that's very kind of you, however I am pretty sure I will be getting the MP640 as soon as Canon has finished changing administration or whatever it is they are doing, my mum works for an office supplies company, can get me pretty much any printer and ink at cost price heh, but MP640 not available for a few weeks.

Will keep looking for alternatives, but pretty sure I will go for this one.

Did you buy it?

The mp640 is a really great printer for the money.

If ink price is an issue, consider that the greater the resolution, the more ink you are going to use. If you get an OMG printer that pushes droplets at 9600 x 2400dpi, then you can expect to use a lot of ink. Still a lot cheaper than commercial developers though.

Also, if you are going to use anything other than OEM ink, you might want to reconsider. Some third party ink is good but you really never know what you're getting batch for batch. The most expensive single part in the printer is the print head and a single cartridge of bad ink can destroy it. If you want to go on the cheap for ink but still want good printing, get the MP490 with disposable print heads (though half the resolution too).

P.S. What's this about canon 'changing administrations'?

 

[fotofreek]

Also, if you are going to use anything other than OEM ink, you might want to reconsider. Some third party ink is good but you really never know what you're getting batch for batch. The most expensive single part in the printer is the print head and a single cartridge of bad ink can destroy it.

Having used excellent aftermarket inks for years with no damage to my Canon printheads I would respectfully disagree with part of your statement. There are excellent inks, formulated specifically for several printers, that forum participants have been using for years. I would agree that prefilled carts can be a problem as the cart manufacturers have been known to change their ink source without the und users' knowledge. Aftermarket carts are generally not the same quality as OEM carts for refilling and may not feed as well. We've also come to the conclusion that it is best to avoid generic inks that claim to be for all printers.

 

[Stacy]

Having used excellent aftermarket inks for years with no damage to my Canon printheads I would respectfully disagree with part of your statement. There are excellent inks, formulated specifically for several printers, that forum participants have been using for years. I would agree that prefilled carts can be a problem as the cart manufacturers have been known to change their ink source without the und users' knowledge. Aftermarket carts are generally not the same quality as OEM carts for refilling and may not feed as well. We've also come to the conclusion that it is best to avoid generic inks that claim to be for all printers.

I agree with everything you say. But, when someone is buying an mp640 (or other mid-range non-pro machine) it is often the case that such a casual or novice user won't know the diff and end up with the office-max cartridge that may or may not be filled with piss.