Functional Home Computer Printer?

10 July 2022, 04:50 PM

How to find a home computer printer that is easy to set up to print and scan?

Bought an Epson, it was so much trouble I bought a Canon.
The Canon was worse. Founds pages of sites with people complaining about them.
Back to the Epson. It is printing, but scanning a major puzzle. Bob has 30+ years of IT experience and he gave up and quit. My problem solving bent makes it difficult for me to give up.

10 July 2022, 05:12 PM

CHAS

They all suck

10 July 2022, 05:18 PM

Doug

Not an answer to your question, but one of the best decisions I ever made was giving up on all my home printers. I use the local FedEx office.

I print whatever I need to a PDF file, and email it to FedEx. I pick it up whenever I’m driving by their office. And of course they have scanners there. I find that I spend way less on my per page printing, then I was just keeping the damn ink up-to-date on the printers. It’s really pretty darn cheap.

So, back to your original question. No I have no idea…

10 July 2022, 05:23 PM

CHAS

Thank you

10 July 2022, 05:56 PM

RealPlayer

I have a Canon MX 922. I have had no problem with scanning but it is limited to 8-1/2 x 11 pages. We scan all the time but our needs are uncomplicated.

10 July 2022, 06:16 PM

wtg

We have the same model Canon printer as RP. Works fine but ink is pricey.

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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training

10 July 2022, 08:01 PM

Steve Miller

I’ve had good luck with my Canons but when it came time to get a new printer for my sister I bought an HP Envy.

Very easy to set up and worked properly right out if the box. On sale at Staples.

The trick seems to be to spend enough. That number seems to be around $200.

10 July 2022, 08:06 PM

pianojuggler

Mrs pj has an old HP 3-in-one color inkjet printer. The color cartridges are hard to find and hideously expensive. We only print in black and white anymore. The quality is inconsistent, partly because we print so infrequently, the printhead dries out and clogs up. We'll get the black cartridge refilled if it runs out.

I tried the scanner several times. HP claims the only way to use it is to install their app. Not gonna.

I had to scan a bunch of documents recently. Went to FedEx Office. Scanned them to PDF onto a thumb drive for 49 cents a page. It's a bargain compared to buying a new printer/scanner and trying to get it working in an afternoon.

10 July 2022, 09:06 PM

Steve Miller

“I tried the scanner several times. HP claims the only way to use it is to install their app. Not gonna.”

Why not? It works very well.

10 July 2022, 09:50 PM

Axtremus

Buy two separate appliances.

Go with a laser printer for a printer, you’ll never have to deal with inkjet cartridges again. Laser cartridges are quite a bit more expensive to start, but they last a long time, won’t clog, and generally won’t go bad just because you leave them unused for a long time. So over the longer term, it will be cheaper to go with a laser printer than to keep buying inkjet cartridges.

Get a separate scanner that’s great for scanning. Pick one with TWAIN support and hope that can save you from having to install custom scanning software. Or if you want to go low-cost, buy a cheapo inkjet+scanner combo and use it only for its scanning function, never have to pay for another inkjet cartridge again.

Good luck.

11 July 2022, 12:54 PM

Nina

Don't get me started on HP Envy printers. I bought one and it's been nothing but a headache. First, their controller app (HP Smart) is stupid. Second, the printer continually goes offline, and the only way to reconnect is to reboot both the printer AND your computer.

Finally, and where I totally lost it, you have the option of signing up for their ink subscription service, and you get the first three months of ink free. So I signed up because, well, three months free. Then I unsubscribed after that three month free period. What they don't tell you - when you unsubscribe, they brick the existing ink you have. By that, I mean they literally will not allow you to print if you're using "subscription" ink cartridges and you aren't currently an active subscriber.

What this means, as far as I can tell, is that I now have about 2 unusable cartridges of perfectly good ink of each color (plus packaging, manufacturing, etc.), that I can either return (more waste and transportation cost) or throw out. Then I have to purchase their ink cartridges and install those "ink without subscription taint" cartridges. At that point, I think the printer will print again. I haven't tested this because the entire process has taken me weeks. Grrrrr. Insanity. Never again.

11 July 2022, 01:06 PM

Steve Miller

Ugh. We didn't sign up for the ink service (I hate plans like that), and it seems to be working currently, but maybe it was a mistake.

11 July 2022, 01:48 PM

Nina

No, I think my mistake was in signing up for it in the first place. Since you didn't, I think you should be good.

11 July 2022, 05:36 PM

pianojuggler

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Miller:
“I tried the scanner several times. HP claims the only way to use it is to install their app. Not gonna.”

Why not? It works very well.

Distinct lack of trust. And the printer is from the Windows 7 era. My experience with old HP products on new versions of Windows has been 80% failure.