All-in-One Inkjet Printers

Its all about the clampettes (users)

I agree, a true test is deploying the printers to the herd and see which one they complain about the most. This printer would get eliminated big brother style and get blown up in the service yard. Then just repeat the process until you have your winner :)

Canon

To answer the Linux question above: I have a Canon PIXMA 610 that works very well with ubuntu, both printing and scanning. Photoprints aren't that good though, as the Canon software does special tricks there that even bypass the windows drivers - I keep XP in a VM whenever I print photo.

(I know, no faxing - but who cares these days?)

The printer is 1+ years old and still running very well. Quality is great.

What I like most is that the papertray is closed at the bottom (cassette style), and the output tray can safely be closed - it pops open automatically when needed.

One negative point would be that it refuses to start completely when ink is empty, so you can't even scan. There is a key combo to make it ignore the empty ink but it still looks like a silly software limitation :)

Reading ...

Seriously, guys, now I have to get it off my breast:

For the third time now, I read

"And the best malfunctioning machines are..."

No idea why, though.

More for Canon

I've installed 6 Canon AIOs this last 6 months - all of them MP560. I would say that the wifi connection can be done by anyone who can read instructions and knows what OK is likely to mean (and knows what the WEP/WPA for their router is. Suprisingly many non-techie people don't !)

On macs they can scan and print wirelessly - it seems that some AIOs won't scan wirelessly, but I've not come across a Canon that can't)

My own Canon printers are still gpoing strong after many years. An A3 that is almost 10 years old and a newer (relatively) A4 that spits out full colour photos at an alarming rate.

In my consultancy work I come across all the printer makes and I find more folks throwing out Epsons than any other brand.

Have you noticed that lots of people can't say Epson. They tend to say Epsom.

Not fully relevant conclusions

In my experience over years with inkjet printers and all-in-ones with various clients - there are other factors which are relevant when buying and using them. For example you might be rating the Epson relatively high because it is fast - but I found inkjet Epson printers in general to be rather weaker machines then Brother and HP. They seem to develop mechanical faults easier - and their print heads just don't last very well. Also, many of the current generation all-in-one Epson's are really clunky and noisy - they just feel really cheaply built inside. Another gripe I have against Epson printers is their cartridge chipping system - which seem to go wrong so many times. Compatible or original cartridges not being recognised correctly or at all, printers of the same model, but with several different generation of cartridge chipsets - so if your printer was manufactured before a certain month, only some chipped cartridges work - while after a certain month - other generation of chips work. And we are talking about the same model here.

On the other hand - the HP might look good when comparing the price of original cartridges - and they are indeed on average sturdier printers then other inkjets. But the fact that the cartridge includes the printhead on their consumer grade inkjets - which makes it impossible to replicate by other companies - is an important factor. It means you will always be limited to original cartridges, or refills - and refills can be problematic - as the printing head can dry out, or the person who used the cartridge before you might have refilled it already several times and the printing head on the cartridge is worn out etc.

All-in-all - I found Brother inkjet printers/all-in-ones the best compromise. They seem to be stronger and last better then both Canon and Epson printers. I have used them at clients for years with compatible (brand new) cartridges without any visible side effects. Their Windows software and driver support is perfectly good. Not so good if you want to use them with Linux. I haven't managed to get any of them working with Linux yet - but there is supposed to be some support. All the current ones that I know of can scan over network - which is nice. And if you buy one of the ones which take cartridges from the LC900 (mostly discontinued), LC1000 or LC1100 series, you can easily find cheap brand new, non-original replacements for very little. The supplier I currently use (available on the internet) charges £2.99 for a full, 4 cartridge set. It will make a huge difference in running costs, specially when printing photos. And yes, you might say that my printer is going to last 3.75 years instead of 4, because I've used non-original ink - but by then, I would have saved enough money on ink to buy another 4 printers - so who's winning and who's loosing here?

And a note on the above comment(s) about HP printing and scanning software. I agree. It seems like the HP department in charge of printer/scanner software is hell bent on destroying the one which actually makes the printers. The printers are quite decent, strong, fairly well performing. On the other hand, the software is bloated, buggy, and worse of all - the updates keep on breaking working installations. So many times I had calls from clients with HP printers or scanners which either have stopped working - or entire functions have disappeared from their software. Just to discover that HP Update has done the deed. I always uninstall HP Update as soon as I install an HP printer or scanner. Then you will be ok.

There you go - that should round up nicely that review.