Need new inkjet HP suggestions please

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My old 8302C HP just died refusing to print yellow. Bought new color cartridge $30 and still won't print yellow. NUTS. Replacement time.

Had Epson years ago with 6100. Printed fine but seemed to clean on every start and inkjet printhead could clog easily. Prefer HP which replace printhead with every new cartridge.

Suggestions? BUDGET limited $100-$150 at most.

Confusing online. Found HP5650 which seemed okay, Prices $89-$139 for same printer. Then Amazon says this model discontinued. Amazon suggested HP 6540 online prices $129-$160.

I guess the 6540. Needs are modest. any comments on this model?
I will be using this with 933MHz G4 QuickSilver & 450 G4, both currently 10.3.4 OSX.

Are any of the ALL in ONEs any good? Heard they are not as good as any standalone.

Thanks in advance.
 
I would say canon offer the best all round inkjets. good quality and they have the cheapest cartriges by far. I have seen a black for canon as low as 8$ retail. it was a genuine canon and not some crappy generic or refill.
 
All in ones have been giving some people problems. Did you do a head cleaning on the HP?
 
blue&whiteman said:
I would say canon offer the best all round inkjets. good quality and they have the cheapest cartriges by far. I have seen a black for canon as low as 8$ retail. it was a genuine canon and not some crappy generic or refill.

I will second Canon! Sure I don't print a lot of high quality pictures, but I can't believe my 1 year old Canon low budget printer (s520) is still giving out such great black and color prints. It even does real decent home pictures. It still amazes me of how fast it is. Don't believe me, then look at this Macworld Article. The replacement ink cartriges (four separate colors) are dirt cheap compared to the other brands.
 
I have an HP 6127. I still have HP printers from at least a 10 years ago. I will always stand by HP printers. The 6127 has an ethernet connection so I just hook up to my network, and OS X, Windows, and FreeBSD all print to it just fine. It has the duplex printing, which really saves paper.
 
Heh... I gotta ring in with my choice -- a budget-minded hp 3320. Total cost at Target: $39. Two ink cartridges (black + color) for it run me about the same, perhaps a little less. I get about 500 sheets of various black/white and color prints on the "FastDraft" quality setting before I need to change out the cartridges. Simple USB connection, and the included software tracks my ink levels and seems to be fairly accurate.

I've also printed five or six full-page, high-quality, glossy photos on the printer, and while the quality could be better, I was stunned at what this dinky little printer was able to achieve.

I don't print a lot of archive-quality stuff or photos, though. For someone who prints out tons of black/white stuff like projects and essays and stuff, it's perfect: cheap and reliable. I took 6 classes at my university this semester, all requiring 10+ pages to be printed out a week. Finals start this week and I am just now dropping below 20% ink levels.

If all you need are hard copies of text or a quick print for reference, you can't beat a cheap-o hp printer. For archival-quality prints or photos, I would suggest a much higher priced printer.
 
First, decide what you need to do with the new one. Will it be primarily for 'everyday' printing, is it something you'll be using for pictures, or a lot of BW text, etc..

For ink-jets, I'm a sworn HP guy. Especially if you're looking for a good all-purpose inkjet. I've had numerous brands over the years, but the HPs consistently have been the most dependable, provide excellent quality, and are the cheapest to run. The HPs also have been the only ones which stand up to the torture I apply to printers.

The PSC1350 would be a good choice if you're looking for a good deal on a 3-n-1 model. It's $129.99 at Besy Buy.

The 5740 isn't a bad choice either. It's $99 at Best Buy.


Stay as far away from Lexmark and Canon as possible. Especially their all-in-one units. Both brands are expensive to keep ink in and their quality is questionable, IMO. Canon has made some advances in the past few years, but I'd still stay away from them if possible.

Epsons are great if all you do is going to be photos, but in every day use they can't compete as well.
 
I agree the older Epsons had a problem with clogged nozzles, but they seem to have solved that problem with their newer printers and the DuraBright inks. I have a Stylus C84 that has soldiered on for a year with never a head cleaning and never a clogged nozzle. Quiet, fast, reliable, excellent quality output, water and fade resistant inks -- I couldn't ask for more in any printer regardless of brand.

Besides that, between a store discount and an Epson rebate, it only cost me about $45. :D
 
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