Inkjet Cheap
Do you want to get an inkjet cheap? To help you find the right cheap inkjet printer for you, we’ve put together this quick guide. A cheap ink printer will nearly always cost less than a laser printer of the same capabilities, but ink cartridge replacements can be expensive and annoying. The following information on cheap inkjet printers comes from ZDNet.com.
Inkjet printers
Inkjet printers have come a long way in the last 10 years. Today's versatile inkjets can produce both crisp text and rich photo prints. Most manufacturers offer both general-purpose and photo inkjet printers, which shouldn't be confused with snapshot or photo printers designed for only 4x6 or smaller prints. Inkjets print an image by applying a precisely controlled stream of tiny ink droplets from one or more cartridges to coated paper. Each manufacturer uses slightly different techniques, and the size of the droplets and the way they are applied to the paper determine the image quality. Unfortunately, the process is relatively slow compared to that of laser printing--and the ink cartridges and the special papers can be costly--so inkjets are best suited for home users and small businesses with light printing needs. Inkjet printers range in price from less than $100 to as much as $800, depending on features, image quality, and paper-handling capabilities.
The information below comes from ConsumerSearch.com:
Today's inkjet printers are better, faster and cheaper than those of even three or four years ago, with new features being introduced all the time. Keeping up with the latest innovations is a challenge. We've found that dedicated computer publications like Tom's Hardware Guide, PC World and CNet.com, as well as digital photography sites like Steve's Digicams.com, are the best sources for the most up-to-date, comprehensive reviews of personal inkjet printers. Models are tested for print quality, speed, ease of setup and cost of consumables—no small consideration when a replacement ink cartridge can cost $30, and a brand new printer only $50. Consumer Reports presents an up-to-date, concise report that is easy to read and geared to average home users. It ranks in the number-three spot for credibility in testing the best inkjet printers in our All Reviews chart, a relatively high ranking for Consumer Reports in this category.
As you can see in our Consensus Chart (below), Canon printers have performed uniformly well in recent comparisons, and according to reviewers tend to have a combination of strong value, speed and high quality printouts. Epson inkjets have also fared well. Some reviewers feel that the Epsons have the strongest photo output, but note that they are often not the fastest printers. HP printers have gotten generally good reviews. Although they aren't top-ranked as often as the Epsons and Canons lately, experts appreciate their user-friendly features, such as automatic paper sensors, automatic alignment, customer service and parallel port support, but warn about the high price of HP inks.
Lexmark, still a big player in budget printers, doesn't appear among reviewers' top picks. In comparison after comparison, Lexmark finishes behind the rest. Occasionally Lexmark printers will perform well in time trials involving text or PowerPoint documents, but these may be accompanied by unacceptably long print times for photo output. Perhaps Macworld magazine says it best in its review of the Lexmark Z65. The editors praise the printer's clean, sharp text and crisp, fine graphics, but note a problem with the printed images: "Although we would have expected these results and even found them completely acceptable in earlier printers, advancing technology has raised the bar considerably." It would seem that Lexmark hasn't been as aggressive as the competition in improving both print speed and photo quality.
We saw the Lexmark Z605 (*est. $50) reviewed a few times; PC World is the most optimistic, saying although the Lexmark's performance is slower than others, print quality is acceptable for the price. At G4TechTV, however, the Z605 receives more harsh critique: "How bad is bad? Terrible. No, make that miserable," write reviewers Andrew Hawn and Lawson Wong regarding the Lexmark's print quality. Most recently, Tom's Hardware Guide tests the Lexmark Z816 (*est. $100). This model's photo output lags behind seven other new models, plus the Lexmark "operates at the speed of a turtle with arthritis," writes Vincent Verhaeghe. What's more, the Lexmark had the highest per-page costs of any other model, costing thee times as much as the Canon Pixma iP4000 (*est. $140).
Computer-maker Dell has recently started distributing inkjet printers (the printers are actually manufactured by Lexmark under a licensing agreement with Dell). The Dell J740 (*est. $90), according to Smart Computing, "has its share of flaws." Interestingly, this model only works with Windows 2000 or XP, so if you have a different Windows operating system or a Macintosh computer, you won't be able to use it. Reviewers say glossy photo output is grainy, and plain-paper photo printing isn't any better. Plus, Dell-brand ink is sold only through Dell, so consumers can't shop for a better price.
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