We have an older HP OfficeJet all-in-one that is starting to get buggy. It's also time to buy more ink, so I'm wondering if I should buy more ink for this one or if it's time to consider buying a new printer...

If we do get a new printer, we would want the same functionality (color and B&W printing, scanning, copying and auto-duplex, printing from devices etc.).

I've been reading reviews (Consumer Reports, NYT's the Wirecutter, PCMag, CNET) and many recommend the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, which seems like it's in the ballpark. But its low rating on CR is giving me pause...

Anyone have any models to recommend? My last several printers have be HP, and in Japan we had an Epson, so I'd be ok with either of those brands... I mean, they all kind of suck but....

Anyway, beyond that, several companies now have subscription programs for ink, so I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with that? I'm trying to estimate how many pages per month I print out... It's been a lot higher since the pandemic of course, and writing now I'm working on a huge project and have been printing out a pretty significant amount...

ETA: it seems like the ink subscriptions mean that you cannot print unless connected to the internet... That seems like it could be a problem??

Anyway, sorry for the ill-expressed questions but TIA!!

I generally buy Canons, for no particular reason other than I have been happy with them. My large format printer is an HP and it's been OK as well.

I think the trick is to select a printer that costs about $500 and then shop around for the previous year's model at about $200. The Canon website usually has deals like that.

[edit]One thing I have noticed is that no matter how good a printer might be there a re people on line who absolutely hate it - right up through model that cost $1000+. I bought our last one through Amazon for that reason - easy returns. I bought another one from Staples for the same reason.

I have never owned a Canon, but I think CR reviews them more highly than HP...

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large format printer

I kind of really want a large format printer... but only for sheet music printing, and that seems sort of frivolous.

Hmmm, the HP that's most recommended sells for $230-ish. I wish I could figure out what the newest version of my current printer is. Though maybe they've changed too much??

Mine is an Ofice Jet Pro 7740. It's about 5 years old and so far there have been no issues.

$279 at Staples, which tells me they still make it. I view this as a good sign.

If you're working at home and your employer does not reimburse you it may be tax deductible - although I have heard that changed last year.

[edit] Canon "Maxify" and "Image Class" printers are generally higher end than "Pixma" printers.

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If you're working at home and your employer does not reimburse you it may be tax deductible - although I have heard that changed last year.

Yes, there were some changes, although now I don't remember the details, but my conclusion was that there wasn't a way to use that to our advantage.

Re employer, I have a printer in my office (on campus I mean) so after the fall semester starts, I may be using that more often. But our uni is trying to get people to reduce the amount of printing they do (a worthy goal to be sure) so it's not clear to me whether there will be restrictions once I am back in my office-office more regularly.

Separate from that, it's just worth it to me to pay for my own printing needs because of the convenience and so on (plus Mr. SK prints too though no where near as much as I do).....

Anyway...

You reminded me that I need to look at a few more sellers besides just Amazon.. I'll check Staples, OfficeMax, Best Buy, Walmart... ??

I have an HP Envy AIO that is connected to Instant Ink. It just goes over my WiFi. They send ink when it’s needed. I have had it for three years and never had a problem and the ink subscription has saved me a tonne of money. Also, I find I use it whenever I need it (rather than really contemplating whether I need to print something) because of the ink subscription. I highly recommend it!

If you do a lot of scanning, one thing to look at is what the scanner does with scanned images. The HP has a dialog box that asks me where I want to call the document and where to save it. The Canons save the file to somewhere in the "Pictures" folder with a name you can't choose. I've never figured out how to change that and I don't like it.

Flip side is that the HP doesn't like cheap paper in the document feeder. It will not go through squarely and I have to use the scanner glass.

The Canons appear to accept just about anything.

We bought a Canon PIXMA MG6220 quite a few years ago now.

https://www.usa.canon.com/inte...-series/pixma-mg6220

It just keeps on going. I use the cheapest generic ink I can find online, with no problem.

Dol, that's it, Instant Ink. So you like it? Maybe I should try it, it looks like they actually give you 6 months of free ink first, that would let me estimate how much printing I do before signing up for the program afterwards... Hmmm. Although, I hate that you're then locked into that, and it has to be connected to the internet to work forever after that.... Hmmm...

Steve, thanks for the comment about scanning, I do a fair amount of scanning, and what you described (the file naming problem) would make me crazy!

Mark, I'll check out Canon again, thanks!

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Dol, that's it, Instant Ink. So you like it? Maybe I should try it, it looks like they actually give you 6 months of free ink first, that would let me estimate how much printing I do before signing up for the program afterwards... Hmmm. Although, I hate that you're then locked into that, and it has to be connected to the internet to work forever after that.... Hmmm...

Steve, thanks for the comment about scanning, I do a fair amount of scanning, and what you described (the file naming problem) would make me crazy!

Mark, I'll check out Canon again, thanks!

They do have a free plan after 6 months too if you only print very occasionally. It being connected to our WiFi doesn’t bother us - it’s just so it can let HP know when to send ink and for printing wirelessly.

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connected to our WiFi doesn’t bother us - it’s just so it can let HP know when to send ink and for printing wirelessly.

Yeah, considered how stable our internet connection is, I shouldn't be concerned (although, famous last words, right!)

I just buy something at Costco. Printers are like razors ... they sell you the printer cheaply and make money on the ink. The ink that comes with the first purchase usually subsidizes the price of the machine itself.

Look at Wirecutter and CNET; those are my go-to sources for recommendations these days.

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Printers are like razors

Yes indeed! Which is why I don't want to buy any more razors ink for my current printer. I checked, I think we've had it for like 8+ years.

I also rely on Wirecutter a lot! Just this time, I was a little disconcerted when I saw that the Wirecutter and CR take a completely different view of the printer I was thinking of getting.

Have you thought about a laser printer? The cartridges last a very long time.

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Have you thought about a laser printer?

I have but we do enough color and scanning etc. that the last time I thought about it, it seemed like the inkjets are the way to go.

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The cartridges last a very long time.

That's what I hear, but the last time I checked replacement cartridges are like $400....

Maybe I'll revisit the question and see if anything has changed...