Printer purchase help

[Stormyme]

You may have noticed how good the deals are in the US:-

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/december-deal-canon-pro-100-59-after-rebate.13019/unread

Looks like we posted at the same time, I did not see this We have those occasional deals here too mainly at Fry's Electronics.

 

[The Hat]

Anyone familiar with these three printers, anything I should know?

I have a Maxify MB5155 as my everyday printer and it’s a real work horse, it’s not a photo printer but will still produce good quality prints, it has large cartridges and can be refilled quite easy, it got all the usual bells and whistles which I don't use, only the Duplex.. O' it also uses Pigment ink..

I’m happy with it and it gives no trouble, but @Emulator is right there are far better deals to be had on the Pro 100..

The things you say in your posts! Am I wrong?

I have retired from printing for others and organisations, and don’t print as much as I use too, but I still manage somehow get through quite a lot of paper for myself...

 

[PeterBJ]

@Stormyme How important are scanner specifications and film scanning capability? The 3 printers from post #9 are all office type all-in-one. They are not optimal for photo print and the scanners cannot do film scanning. Years ago the top models of the Canon home use all-in-ones had CCD scanners with film scan capability, but the last of these models were made maybe 5 years ago. Newer models use the less expensive CIS scanners and cannot do film scanning.

The Canon Pro-100 is a good A3 photo printer which once or twice a year can be bought at a bargain price in the US, but it is a printer only, it has no scanner so you will need a separate scanner.

If film scanning is important I recommend buying a separate scanner, here and here are some good scanners, some of them with film scanning capability.

 

[stratman]

I do not do a lot of printing, mainly eBay shipping labels, some game walkthroughs and the occasional news story to show the family.

The dye-based ink Pro 100 would not be my choice for someone who needs water resistant pigment ink for text printing of eBay labels.

Overall, the Pro-100 is a monster in size, more expensive to run though it can use lower costing refill ink, does not have water resistant pigment ink for text, and there is no scanner.

PeterBJ's recommendations on standalone scanners for film scanning are valid, but it will double your purchase costs or more. There is no free lunch. A decent review of film scanners, both as a single function standalone or as part of a flatbed scanner here. Like anything else, research reviews to see if the advertising is real or hype, such as the first review of this Amazon product by "Caleb". His pictures drive home his points.

@Stormyme - All of us are going to have our own opinion, so take mine with a grain of salt as well. Only you can determine what is best for you. If possible, go to a brick&mortar store, like a Best Buy or other store where you can demo the printers in order to see the printed output quality. It may be possible to take your own paper and files/images on a USB stick and have them printed out.

I cannot advise on the Epson printers. The Canon Maxify is a good home office printer. It is not a photo printer, but it does a serviceable job with images. Again, go to a store that has them on display and can demo print so you can see the output. Also, use Google to search on reviews, such as "Canon MAXIFY MB5120 review". User reviews on Amazon, Newegg and other places can be quite useful. Last, if you can, purchase from a place that has a strong return policy, hopefully one without a restocking fee, such as found with Microcenter (unfortunately far away in San Jose), in case you do not like it (like your previous Canon)

What is the overall opinion about wifi printers?

I have no need for WiFi but I have installed for others and seen them in action. They can be your best friend or a little devil. Once installed correctly, WiFi works. It can, however, be affected by signal strength depending on the location of the printer from the device sending the print job (walls, plumbing, etc), other electrical devices in use (microwave oven, baby monitors, refrigerators, etc.), or wireless signals from your neighbors. You won't know until you try it. There are ways to resolve certain issues. Fortunately, wifi works for most people.

One other area that can bottleneck wifi performance is sending a print job that is many megabytes big. Again, you'll know it when it happens.

Also, some printers perform better than others, and wifi is no different. Some handle Apple better than others, or, you may need to use a different driver to get best results. In general, the printers today work for PC and Apple as long as you follow the setup instructions faithfully.

Last, directly hooking a printer to a computer with USB is always the fastest and surest. You should be able to connect your printer to a computer directly as well as use the printer over wifi to connect with other wireless devices. Best of both worlds.

As far as affecting your network speed, your connection speed with the internet is unaffected and the wireless router your wireless devices use to access the internet or a LAN in your home should be able to manage traffic well enough. If you are accessing the printer directly via the printer's own built-in wifi then it should not affect your wireless router or wireless LAN. Of course, if two or more devices try accessing the printer at the same time then only one device gets to print at a time while the other(s) waits their turn in the print queue. Again, you won't know until you try.

 

[Stormyme]

Now that is what I call "answering a cry for help". Thank you for your replies and coming through !! I need to re-read each one again because they are full of a lot of helpful information. Like buying a separate scanner for film, I never thought of that. The ink differences of Dye-based and Pigment ink are news to me as well.

One thing I forgot to mention was, I am an agoraphobic, so going to the brick & mortar to try them out is what I would like to do, but not an easy task. That is why I do all my research and choice narrow down online.

 

[palombian]

I have a Maxify MB5155 as my everyday printer and it’s a real work horse, it’s not a photo printer but will still produce good quality prints, it has large cartridges and can be refilled quite easy, it got all the usual bells and whistles which I don't use, only the Duplex.. O' it also uses Pigment ink..
...

Best office printer I ever had.
Cheap to run and easy to refill once you know how.
Will update my thread on it.

 

[Stormyme]

Well, now I am wondering if I should just keep the canon tr8520 my guy bought me and hold onto the stylus 500 for photo scanning. I hate to house 2 printers but what the hell, I have turned this other room into an office Any opinion about the tr8520? Pro's cons?

 

[PeterBJ]

That's a good idea IMO and affordable . The TR8520 is an office type all-in-one with fax and a scanner with a document feeder. The printer uses pigment black for plain paper printing, so your address labels will be waterproof if you print them in black only. The printer also has got four dye ink cartridges, so it can also do decent quality photo prints.

If the Epson is still OK it is fine for scanning films, photos and other inclusive 3D objects. The CCD scanner has a much better focus depth than the CIS scanner in the Canon. A standalone replacement scanner with comparable specifications to the Epson would be 100+$ I think.

I think the reason no(?) multifunctional machines offer film scanning today is that there is no demand for such scanners any more. 10 or more years ago traditional Silver photography was being replaced by digital photography and printing so there was a need to digitize films and photos. I think only a few enthusiasts use Silver photography today,

 

[palombian]

Well, now I am wondering if I should just keep the canon tr8520 my guy bought me and hold onto the stylus 500 for photo scanning. I hate to house 2 printers but what the hell, I have turned this other room into an office Any opinion about the tr8520? Pro's cons?

Don't worry.

I am at 3 printers (Maxify for office, PRO-9500II for photo, an old 9500 for B/W office A3 and an Mustek Scanexpress A3 (very nice scanner for the price).
Moved to storage the 9500 for GO overprint and the MX8250 with CCD scanner.
If not it would be a @jtoolman's cave soon .

Personally I stopped with Canon dye printers, refill ink fades very fast and I struggle with the (Durchstich) refill method.

If it is mostly office, cards, flyers etc and less photo's I would compare the TR8520 with a small model Maxify point by point.

 

[Stormyme]

If the Epson is still OK it is fine for scanning films, photos and other inclusive 3D objects. The CCD scanner has a much better focus depth than the CIS scanner in the Canon. A standalone replacement scanner with comparable specifications to the Epson would be 100+$ I think.

Yes the scanner works perfect for scanning to the PC the negatives, slides and old photos I have. I have recently come across 6 undeveloped rolls of film I had in a closet in a keepsake chest that I am both nervous and excited about getting developed. That is if the local walgreens still does that.

I think the reason no(?) multifunctional machines offer film scanning today is that there is no demand for such scanners any more. 10 or more years ago traditional Silver photography was being replaced by digital photography and printing so there was a need to digitize films and photos.

That is exactly why and of course I take on this geneology project when the tech has moved from inexpensive and multi function printers to expensive stand alone scanners. lol